Charles the Fat
Emperor of the West
Seal of Charles the Fat, the ninth century. Bayerisches Nationalmuseum , Munich.
Reign
12 February 881 - November 887 &&&&&&&&&&& 02,453 6 years, 8 months and 19 days
Rite	12 February 881
Dynasty	Carolingian
Full track	Emperor of the West Regent of Western Francia King of East Francia King of Italy ( 879 - 897 )
Predecessor	Charles the Bald
Successor	Guy III of Spoleto
Other functions
Co-king of East Francia and King of East Francia
Period 876 - November 887
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Monarch	Charles II
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Predecessor	Louis II
Successor	Arnulf of Carinthia
Regent of Western Francia
Period June 885 - November 887
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Monarch
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Predecessor	Carloman II (879-884)
Successor	Eudes
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Biography
Birth	839
Deaths	13 January 888
	Neudingen
Father	Louis II the German
Mother	Emma of Bavaria
Spouse (s)	Richarde of Swabia ill .. X
Descent	Bernard (? - 891 ).
{{{List}}} sovereign

Charles III ^{Destiny of an imperial prince and Carolingian decline}

In the division of Frankfurt of 865 Charles receives a Alemania , that is to say, the Swabian and Rhaetia . At the death of his father Louis in 876 , Charles, King of Alemannia order to the Alsace , the Swabian , the Rhaetian and some adjacent lands embraced in Alemania. He has the dignity of king of Francia , but its land is small and it is far from being the master of eastern France.

Charles is quick to catch the Italy at the expense of his brother Carloman. His other brother instigator of the strategy, the Younger Louis seized at the same time the Bavaria to Carloman. Appointed King of Italy in 879 , Charles actively supports his brother Louis the Younger who, after arguing in 876 dioceses of Metz and Trier, possession of Louis the German, covets between 879 and 880 throughout the Lorraine. After a decisive victory over the heirs of Louis le Begue, Louis obtained the full Lorraine and Charles gets a reward of rights to land on the edge of the Vosges Alsace and part of the regal dignity in Lorraine.

But a gnawing worry wins the descendants of Charles the Bald and Louis II the German. They hold a congress of peace Gondreville summer 880: Louis III and Carloman , the son of Louis le Begue, Charles the Fat and the representatives of Louis the Younger. They are alarmed by the growing insecurity caused by the Normans , they decide to terminate jointly revolts and intestine bastards dissent sovereign, starting with the incredible empowerment of regal Boson and the terrible devastation in the Bastard Lotharingia of Lothair II of Lorraine , Hugh. After the meeting, delegates joined the gestures to the floor, crushing all the troops patibulaires Hugh, commanded by his brother-Thiebaut.

Louis Charles shared with family wealth after the death in 880 of the brother already partially looted, Carloman and is actively preparing his coronation by the Pope as an emperor of the West on 12 February 881. Hugh losing support gives the hand of his sister Gisele, the Norman chief Godefrid enriched installed on the Meuse to Elsloo.

In 882 , the sudden death of his brother Louis III of Germany is Charles, the only surviving legitimate son of Louis II the German , recovering the heritage of the royal family, but it appears powerless to defend and protect. The announcement of the death of the warrior king, Louis the Younger attracts bands by Norman Maas, the Rhine and Moselle. Trier is making the general bafflement. The Archbishop of Trier, Bertulf anxious to redeem his flight, with Wala , ebullient bishop of Metz and Earl Adalard, come to the rescue, but were defeated near Remich. Wala perished in the bloody struggle. Invaders Vikings are now ravaging the Lorraine. Charles is the front with a powerful army, but he dithers and negotiate their removal by buying peace instead of fight. Everywhere now, men of war reminiscent of the shameful treaty signed with Godfrid. Overwhelmed by these rumors and the inability of the power to seize the outlaw bastard Hugh Charles ponders a long revenge: it attracts respectable Godfrid an interview in 885 and killed. He even trap Gondreville Hughes, had him arrested and locked up in a monastery after making her eyes out. Charles restores his fragile power by holding two large meetings in Lorraine, at Toul and Metz in 885 by 886.

On 12 December 884 , Carloman II , King of Western Francia , died without heirs. He remains the youngest son of Louis II le Begue , the adolescent Charles. Considered too young, the assembly of French aristocrats led by Abbot Hugh renounces him king and invited the Emperor Charles the Fat and ensure the supervision and direction of the kingdom. This flattering nods.

In June 885 , Charles receives the oath of allegiance of the great vassals of the Frankish kingdom to the palace of Ponthion. In taking this guardianship, the Frankish kingdom or the empire of Charlemagne is almost restored, with the exception of Provence, Burgundy transjuran who seceded and Britain has always been a walking hard to control. It is possible that Charles was crowned rex in Gallia by the bishop of Langres Gilon , Grand (Vosges) 20 May 885, the feast of the Ascension .

From October 885 to February 886 , the Normans invaded Neustria and besieged Paris. Arriving from Germany with a powerful army of relief, Charles the Fat remains undecided on the action. He prefers to deal with the Normans by allowing them to pass to sack the Burgundy which is in revolt against its central government and paying them a ransom of 700 pounds of silver the following year. These decisions and their inability to ease the suffering of the Resistance in Paris under siege by a prompt response profoundly alters his royal prestige .

Supporters of Arnulf , a bastard nephew of the Emperor, now share the opinion of Robert the Strong on the fickleness and incompetence of Charles the Fat. It weathers to madness and great abandon.

In November 887 , when the diet that he had met for the Saint-Martin (11 November) Tribur , near Mainz in Hesse , Charles was stripped of his titles by nobles East Frankish rebels, led by his nephew Arnulf of Carinthia , the illegitimate son of Carloman of Bavaria with a flattering reputation Military .

It is not counted among the kings of France, the number he wears III designating his title of Emperor of the West. In western France, Charles is regarded as regent during the minority of Charles III the Simple .

On 29 February 888 , the lords of Western Francia elected as king the hero of the siege of Paris , Count Odo , whom Charles has conferred honor him . The testimony of Charles by the East Frankish nobles in November 887 does not result in western France (the nobles of Lorraine did not recognize his successor, Arnulf of Carinthia and choose Rudolph I of Burgundy in the spring of 888 ) and it is his death Jan. 13 888 which causes the election of a successor .

Upon losing power, Charles is obese, insane and epileptic in February after suffering a 887 trepanning to relieve their suffering ^, . He died without heir on 13 January 888 , the cloister Neudingen located along the Danube. His body was interred in the monastery of Reichenau with all the honors due his rank.

Genealogy

It was the third son of Louis II the German and Emma of Bavaria (c. 808 - January 31 876), daughter of Welf I, and sister of Judith of Bavaria , second wife of Louis the Pious , which is the small -son.
With Richarde of Swabia , daughter of a count of the palace Erchanger, he has no children. However, he is the father of Bernard of Germany ( 891) , it was a concubine of low birth and attempted to gain legitimacy, without success before the opposition of the bishops. On the death of Boso of Provence in 887, he adopted his son, Louis , but Arnulf Tribur march at the head of a troupe composed of Bavarians and Slavs, Charles retired to Frankfurt, while the large drop out and recognize Arnulf .

       told Louis I the Pious ( 778 - 840 ), king of Aquitaine ( 781 - 814 ), Holy Roman Emperor ( 814 - 840 ). 
    Louis said the Germanic (ca 806 -  876 ), king of Germany ( 843 - 876 ). 
     Hesbaye Ermengarde ( 780 -  818 ).   Ingramm daughter or Robert Earl Cancor Hesbaye.
  
  Charles said the Fat
  
     Welf I (?-?). 
    Emma (?-?). 
       Heilwich (?-?). 

  Charles said the Fat
   1) thick. Richarde of Swabia
   2) ill ..   X
   
     From 2 Bernard (? -  891 ).

References

Bibliography

• Pierre Riche , The Carolingians, a family that was in Europe , Paris, Hachette, coll. "Plural," 1983 (reprint 1997), 490 p. ( ISBN 2-01-278851-3 )
• Jean-Charles Volkmann Know the genealogies of the kings of France, Gisserot Publishing, 1999 ( ISBN 2-877472086 )
• Michel Mourre , Little Mourre. Dictionary of World History, Editions Bordas, April 2007 ( ISBN 978-2-04-732194-2 )

• Portal History
• Portal of the High Middle Ages

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