Louis the Child

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For the king of Sicily with the same nickname, see
Louis of Sicily. For the Chicago-based musical duo, see Louis the Child (DJs)
.
Louis the Child
Ota

Louis the Child (893 – 20/24 September 911), sometimes called Louis III or Louis IV, was the king of East Francia from 899 until his death and was also recognized as king of Lotharingia after 900. He was the last East Frankish ruler of the Carolingian dynasty. He succeeded his father, Arnulf, in East Francia and his elder illegitimate half-brother Zwentibold in Lotharingia.

Louis became king when he was six and reigned until his death aged 17 or 18. During his reign the country was ravaged by

Magyar
raids.

Life

Louis was born in September or October 893 in

Ota, a member of the Conradine dynasty. He had at least two brothers: his elder, illegitimate brother Zwentibold, who ruled Lotharingia, and another brother named Ratold, who briefly ruled the Kingdom of Italy
. Ratold's maternity and age are unknown.

East Francia

Louis was crowned in

Forchheim on 4 February 900.[1]
This is the earliest East Frankish royal coronation about which records are known to exist. Louis was of a weak personal constitution, often sick, and due to his young age, the reins of government were entirely in the hands of others – the nobles and bishops. Indeed, the coronation was probably a result of the fact that there was little Louis could gain at the expense of the nobles.

The most influential of Louis's councillors were

Babenbergers in the matter of the Duchy of Franconia. They appointed Louis's nephew, Conrad as a duke. In 903 the Raffelstetten customs regulations
were promulgated under Louis' reign, the first customs regulations in the East Frankish part of Europe.

Lotharingia

Louis succeeded Zwentibold in 900. He maintained a separate chancery for East Francia and Lotharingia, the latter under Archbishop

duke of Lotharingia, alienating the Lotharingian nobility. The latter did not participate in East Frankish assemblies.[2]

Magyar invasions

In 900, during the

Alemannia. On their return, however, Arnulf, Duke of Bavaria inflicted a defeat on them on the river Rott, but in 910 they, in their turn, defeated Louis the Child's army in the Battle of Augsburg.[5] Louis himself tried to take some military control as he grew older, but he had little success against the Magyars. His army was destroyed at Ennsburg
in 907.

Death and succession

In a state of despair, possibly afflicted by severe

Saint Emmeram's in Regensburg
, where his father Arnulf also lay. His death brought an end to the eastern branch of the Carolingian dynasty.

In 911 the dukes of East Francia elected Conrad of Franconia, son of Gebhard, as the king, while the nobles of Lotharingia elected the Carolingian Charles the Simple, already king of West Francia, as their king.

See also

Notes

  1. ^  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Louis the Child". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 17 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 50.
  2. ^ Rosamond McKitterick (1983), The Frankish Kingdoms under the Carolingians, 751–987, London: Longman, p. 307.
  3. ^ Györffy, György (1959). "Tanulmányok a magyar állam eredetéről". Budapest: Akadémiai Publishing Company.
  4. ISBN 1-931313-21-0
    .
  5. ^ Gwatking, H. M., Whitney, J. P., et al. Cambridge Medieval History: Volume III – Germany and the Western Empire.

External links

Louis IV of East Francia
Born: September/October 893 Died: 20/24 September 911
Regnal titles
Preceded by
King of East Francia

899–911 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
King of Lotharingia

900–911 		Succeeded by
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