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Louis III
Louis III (born 863—died Aug. 5, 882,Saint-Denis, Fr.) was theking ofFrance (i.e., Francia Occidentalis, the West Frankish kingdom) from 879 to 882, whosedecisive victory over the Northmen in August 881, at Saucourt, Ponthieu, briefly stemmed the incursions of the Scandinavian invaders into northern France.
After the death of their father,Louis II the Stammerer, on April 10, 879, Louis and his brotherCarloman agreed atAmiens in 880 to a partition of the kingdom, by which Louis received Francia and Neustria. Invasions instigated by dissident West Frankish nobles and byLouis the Younger, one of the East Frankish kings, were bought off by the cession of western Lotharingia (Treaties of Verdun, 879, and of Ribémont, 880). In 880–881 Louis and his brother made a concerted but unsuccessful campaign against the usurperBoso of Provence.
- Born:
- 863
- Died:
- Aug. 5, 882,Saint-Denis, Fr. (aged 19)
- Title / Office:
- king (879-882),Francia Occidentalis
- House / Dynasty:
- Carolingian dynasty
The pagan Northmen, whose frequent raids had turned toconquest, were the greatest menace faced by Louis III; Amiens, Arras, Cambrai, and the famous monasteries of Saint-Bertin and Corbie were all sacked in 880–881. Louis’s victory atSaucourt (the memory of which was preserved in thechanson de geste calledGormont et Isembart) inflicted heavy losses on the Vikings, but the able and energetic king, not yet 20, died in the following year.
