 Division of the Frankish Empire after the Treaty of Meerssen in 870. Italy East Francia West Francia | |
| Date | 8 August 870 |
|---|---|
| Location | Meerssen |
| Participants | Louis the German,Charles the Bald |
| Outcome | Middle Francia partitioned between Louis the German, Charles the Bald and Louis II of Italy. |
TheTreaty of Mersen orMeerssen, concluded on 8 August 870, was a treaty to partition the realm ofLothair II, known asLotharingia, by his unclesLouis the German ofEast Francia andCharles the Bald ofWest Francia, the two surviving sons of EmperorLouis I the Pious. The treaty followed an earliertreaty of Prüm which had splitMiddle Francia betweenLothair I's sons after his death in 855.[1][2]
The treaty is referred to in some Western Europeanhistoriographies as the third major partition ofFrancia, all of which took place from August 843 to August 870, through the treaties ofVerdun,Prüm and Mersen. It was followed by theTreaty of Ribemont.
In 869, Lothair II died without legitimate children, so his heir was his brother, Emperor Louis II of Italy. As Louis was at that time campaigning against theEmirate of Bari, his uncles,Louis the German andCharles the Bald, took his inheritance. Charles had himself crowned inMetz the same year, but was forced by his brother to partition the short-lived Lotharingia, together with the lands Lothair II acquired after the death of Charles of Provence, as they had agreed at Metz in 868.
Their contract of 870 at Meerssen replaced the 843 Treaty of Verdun, after which the Carolingian Empire was also split into three parts, by dividing the northern half of Middle Francia stretching from theRhone valley to the North Sea, in effect recombining sundered territories ofFrancia into two larger east and west divisions. However, at this time large parts of the Frisian coast were underViking control and therefore only divided on paper. The borderline ran roughly along the riversMeuse,Ourthe,Moselle,Saone andRhone.
In the north, Louis received most of Lothair's Austrasia, with his eastern part including bothAachen andMetz, and most of Frisia. In the south, however, while Louis received most of Upper Burgundy that was left to Lothair (after ceding the southern half to Italy), Charles received Lothair's inheritance in Lower Burgundy (includingLyon andVienne) and a small western part of Upper Burgundy (parts ofPortois and Varais (includingBesançon)) – this opened him the way to Italy. Louis joined the newly acquired parts of central Austrasia to the subkingdom of his sonLouis the Younger in eastern Austrasia, while the illegitimate son of Lothair II,Hugh, was granted theDuchy of Alsace.
Theempire of Louis the Pious, son ofCharlemagne, had originally split in three parts by the 843Treaty of Verdun:
Lothair I, his eldest son, received the Imperial crown and the personal realm ofMiddle Francia
Louis the German († 876), the second born son, receivedEast Francia (which would evolve into theKingdom of Germany)
Charles the Bald († 877), his half-brother, receivedWest Francia (which would evolve into theKingdom of France), although this was disputed byPepin II of Aquitaine until he was captured
Upon the death of Lothair I in 855, his realm of Middle Francia was partitioned between his sons by theTreaty of Prüm:
Louis II of Italy († 875), the eldest son, received the imperial crown andItaly
Charles of Provence († 863) becameKing of Provence (Lower Burgundy andProvence proper), later partitioned by Louis II and Lothair II
Lothair II († 869) receivedAustrasia (the central part still controlled by his father after Verdun),Frisia andUpper Burgundy – this realm came to be namedLotharii Regnum (Lotharingia)
East Francia and West Francia remained as before:
Louis the German († 876) ruledEast Francia
Charles the Bald († 877) ruledWest Francia
Lothair II ceded the southeastern parts of Upper Burgundy to his brothers, whereuponCharles of Provence received the bishoprics ofBelley andTarentaise in 858, andLouis II of Italy the bishoprics ofGeneva,Lausanne andSion the next year.
Charles of Provence, who suffered from epilepsy, died heirless in 863, and his kingdom was partitioned between his brothers. Lothair II received the western Lower Burgundian parts (bishoprics ofLyon,Vienne,Vivarais andUzès) which were bordering his western Upper Burgundy (remnants of his original Burgundian possessions), while Louis II received the rest of theKingdom of Provence.
The arrangement did not endure more than ten years. Upon the death of Louis the German in 876,[3] Charles the Bald, by then King of Italy and Emperor, attacked eastern Lotharingia, but was defeated by Louis the Younger in theBattle of Andernach (876). In turn, after Charles the Bald had died and his successors struggled to consolidate their rule over West Francia, Louis the Younger campaigned in western Lotharingia in 879. Charles's grandsons were forced to cede the whole of Lotharingia to him, sealed by the 880Treaty of Ribemont, according to which it finally became part ofEast Francia.
Definitions from Wiktionary
Media from Commons
