General Notes

Ancestral File Number:<AFN> 9G61-L4
Charles II, King de France

(Andre Roux: Scrolls,191.)
(Stuart, Royalty for Commoners, Page 130, Line 171-39.)
(Rosamond, Frankish kingdom under Carolingians, Page 180.)
(Paul, Nouveau Larousse Universel.)
(Andre Castelot, Histoire de La France, Tome 1, Pages 369, 387).

AKA: Charles II, Emperor of the West. AKA: Charles II, King de Bourgogne. AKA: Charles II, King of Italy. Also Known As: Charles "Le Chauve".

Born: on 13 Jun 823 in Francfort-sur-le-Main, Germany, son of Louis I, King de France and Judith de Baviere , Some sources assert King Charles II was born in the year 829.

Note - between 824 and 875 in France: The birth of Charles II in 823 did not at first excite jealousy or rivalry among his brothers.  In 829, Charles was granted the region of Alemannia, Rhaetia and part of Burgundy. In 837, his Father Louis I "Le Debonnaire", by arrangement with Louis the German and Pepin gave Charles the land West of the Meuse, Burgundy, Chartres and Paris together with all the bishops, abbots and counts who held benefices in these territories.  A portion of Neustria was added in 838, and upon Pepin's death, Louis Le Pieux made Charles King of Aquitaine.  On 24 July 840, the new Emperor, Lothar, in Strasburg, refuses to support the land claims of Charles (from the agreement of Worms on 30 May 839). The two brothers, Louis and Charles, unite against Lothar and the War of the Three Brothers begins. Meanwhile, on 12 May 841, the Normands ravage Rouen and all the localities along the Seine, increasing their wealth considerably. At Fontenoy-en-Puisaye (24 June 841), Charles defeats his brothers Lothar (in spite of the arrival of the Army of Aquitaine in the Imperial ranks -- and at a total loss of 40,000 lives at the battle) and Louis Le Germanique. Charles and Louis signed an alliance on 14 February 842 at Strasbourg. Leaving Strasbourg, the two brothers defeat the imperial army of Lothar just West of Comblence. Lothar leaves Aix-le-Chapelle precipitously, pursued by the two brothers. In Mellecey, not far from Chalon-sur-Saone, Lothar proposes a plan to establish perpetual peace which is acceptable to both Louis and Charles. On 15 June, they sign the preliminary peace document. On 1 October 842, each of them sends 40 commissioners to Metz to forge the official document.  Prudence, the Bishop of Troyes, notes that Louis regained Germania in the East, Lothar gets the middle part of the Franc Kingdom, including Italy, and Charles obtains the Western lands (West of the Rhone, including Soissons). After that Charles goes to the Palace in Quierzy, where he marries Ermentrude.

Charles signed the Treaty of Verdun (843) which split the Kingdom of Charlemagne. By the Treaty, the destiny of Occidental Europe would be heavily influenced to this day. Louis obtains all lands East of the Rhine, including the cities of Spire, Worms, Mayence. Lothar gets all the lands extending between the Rhine and the Escaut, the Cambresis, the Hainaut, the country of Mezieres, and all the countships neighboring the Meuse, through the Saone and the Rhone, the Artois and Italy. Charles got all the lands East all the way to Spain. The Kingdom of Charlemagne thus was split forever, with the most serious rift between the germanic lands of Louis, and the French lands of Charles.  The intervening lands extending from Frisia to Rome, from the North Sea to the Mediterranean including what would become Holland, Belgium, Lorraine and Switzerland would become a sore point of contention between these two peoples.  The only thing that mattered to Lothar was the fact that both capitals (Aix and Rome) were located within his territory, thus legitimizing the title of Emperor.

Meanwhile, the Normands pillage Nantes and lower Aquitaine.  Charles laid siege to Toulouse in vain (May to July 844).  The Normands led by Ragnar Lodbrog arrive in Paris and must be heavily bribed to leave. Other Normand armies ravage Toulouse and Bordeau