Charles III (17 September 879 – 7 October 929), calledthe Simple orthe Straightforward (from theLatinCarolus Simplex),[a] was theKing of the Franks from 898 until 922 and the King of Lotharingia from 911 until 919–23. He was a member of theCarolingian dynasty.
Charles was the third andposthumous son ofLouis the Stammerer by his second wife, Adelaide of Paris.[2] As a child, Charles was not allowed to become king in 884 when his half-brotherCarloman died.[3] TheFrankishnobles instead asked hiscousin,Charles the Fat, to rule over them.[4] King Charles the Fat was not a good king so he was removed (deposed) in November 887. He died soon after in January 888. The nobility electedOdo, the hero of theSiege of Paris as their king. Charles Simplex was put under the protection ofRanulf II of Aquitaine who used the royaltitle himself until making peace with Odo.
In 893 Charles was finally crowned by part of the nobility who were opposed to Odo. He wascrowned atReims Cathedral but was not fully accepted as king until Odo died in 898.[5]
In 911, a group ofVikings lead byRollobesiegedParis andChartres. After a victory near Chartres on 26 August, Charles decided tonegotiate with Rollo. The talks were led by Hervé, the Archbishop of Reims. This resulted in theTreaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte, which granted Rollo and his soldiers all the land between the riverEpte and the sea. It also granted himBrittany, "for his livelihood". At the time, Brittany was an independent land which France had not been able toconquer. In exchange, Rollo promised the king his loyalty and military assistance when needed. Rollo also agreed to be baptised and to marry Gisela, the king's daughter. The territory given Rollo is about the same asUpper Normandy. This would grow to becomeNormandy under Rollo'sdescendants.
The realms ruled by Charles the Simple in 915 (red)
Also in 911,Louis the Child, theKing of Germany, died. The nobles ofLotharingia made Charles their new king even though some had electedConrad of Franconia king.[5] Charles had tried to win their support for years. In April 907 he married a Lotharingian noblewoman namedFrederuna. He also defended Lotharingia twice againstattacks by Conrad, King of the Germans.[6] Queen Frederuna died on 10 February 917 leaving six daughters and no sons.[7] so Charles did not have an heir. On 7 October 919 Charles married again to Eadgifu of Wessex (England). She was the daughter ofEdward the Elder,King of England. She bore him his only son, the future KingLouis IV of France.
Charles' had a favorite at court, a man namedHagano. This turned his nobles against Charles. He gave Hagano several monasteries that already belonged to otherbarons which angered them. Charles also turned the new duke,Gilbert against him. He turned his support to the German kingHenry the Fowler in 919.[5] Not everyone in Lotharingia was against Charles; he kept the support ofWigeric.
Finally the nobles seized Charles in 920.[8] They were tired of Charles' policies and his favoritism of count Hagano.[8] But after negotiations by Archbishop Herveus of Reims the king was released.[8]In 922 the Frankish nobles revolted again led byRobert of Neustria.[8] Robert was Odo's brother and was elected king by the rebels. Charles had to flee to Lotharingia. On 2 July 922, Charles lost his most faithful supporter, Herveus of Reims. Charles returned with a Norman army in 923 but was defeated on 15 June nearSoissons by Robert, who died in the battle.[5] Charles was captured andimprisoned in a castle atPéronne under the guard ofHerbert II of Vermandois.[9] Charles' English wife Eadgifu and their son Louis fled to England.[10] Robert'sson-in-lawRudolph of Burgundy was elected to succeed him.[11] In 925 the Lotharingia became part of the Kingdom of Germany. Charles died in prison on 7 October 929 and was buried at the nearby abbey ofSaint-Fursy. His only son by Eadgifu would later be crowned in 936 as Louis IV of France.[10]
↑Hisnickname 'simplex' or the simple is misleading. Charles was not simple as in being stupid. Even though he was called Charles the Stupid by a laterchronicler. This was over an event in 919 where he left his men. The latin word 'Simplex' was given to him meaning honest and open, also loyal or direct. The nickname 'the Simple' has stayed with him even though its meaning has been misunderstood.[1]
↑Jim Bradbury,The Capetians; Kings of France 987–1328 (New York; London: Hambledon Continuum, 2007), p. 33
12345678910111213Detlev Schwennicke,Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten, Neue Folge, Band II (Marburg, Germany: J. A. Stargardt, 1984), Tafel 1
↑The Annals of Flodoard of Reims, 9919–966, ed. & trans. Steven Fanning; Bernard S. Bachrach (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2011), p. xv
↑Pierre Riché,The Carolingians; A Family who Forged Europe, trans. Michael Idomir Allen (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1993), p. 216
1234Michel Parisse, "Lotharingia",The New Cambridge Medieval History, III: c. 900–c. 1024, ed.Timothy Reuter (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005), 313–15.
↑Cambridge Medieval History, Vol. III—Germany and the Western Empire, eds. H. M. Gwatking; J. P. Whitney, et al. (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1922), p. 74
↑Genealogiæ Comitum Flandriæ, Witgeri Genealogica Arnulfi Comitis MGH SS IX, p. 303.
1234Pierre Riché,The Carolingians; A Family who Forged Europe, trans. Michael Idomir Allen (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1993), p. 250
↑Jean Dunbabin, "West Francia: The Kingdom",The New Cambridge Medieval History, III: c. 900–c. 1024, ed.Timothy Reuter (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005), 378–79.
12The Annals of Flodoard of Reims, 9919–966, ed. & trans. Steven Fanning; Bernard S. Bachrach (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2011), p. xvii
↑The Annals of Flodoard of Reims, 9919–966, ed. & trans. Steven Fanning; Bernard S. Bachrach (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2011), p. xvi
↑Orderic Vitalis,The Ecclesiastical History of Oderic Vitalis, ed. Marjorie Chibnall, Volume II, Books III And IV (Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1993), p. 9
