General Notes

Louis I, Frankish Emperor (Louis the Pious) Although Louis I, b. 778, d. June 20, 840, was an able ruler and energetic military commander, his reputation has suffered because he was not as successful as his father, CHARLEMAGNE. Louis was crowned king of Aquitaine at the age of three. In this capacity, after reaching his majority, he established a vigorous Carolingian presence in Spain. His brothers having died, he was crowned co-emperor in 813, and in 814 he succeeded Charlemagne as sole ruler of the Frankish empire.
Louis sought to develop the imperial ideal, working closely with the church. However, squabbles among his sons for greater shares in what was to be their inheritance led to civil war. In 817, Louis made his eldest son, LOTHAIR I, co-emperor and allocated parts of the empire to his other sons, LOUIS THE GERMAN and Pepin. The birth of another son, the future Emperor CHARLES II, to Louis's second wife, Judith of Bavaria, started the trouble. Louis's attempts to provide for Charles precipitated a series of revolts by the older sons. The invasions of Vikings and Muslims further weakened Carolingian power. By the time of Louis's death the empire was in serious decline.
Bernard S. Bachrach
Bibliography: Duckett, Eleanor, Carolingian Portraits (1962; repr. 1988); Goodman, P., and Collins, R., eds., Charlemagne's Heir (1990).