Louis the Stammerer

Louis the Stammerer
Denier of Louis the Stammerer
King of West Francia
Reign	877–879
Coronation	8 October 877 in Compiègne
Predecessor	Charles the Bald
Successor	Louis III and Carloman II
Born	1 November 846
Died	10 April 879(879-04-10) (aged 32) Compiègne
Burial	Saint-Corneille Abbey, Compiègne, France
Spouses	Ansgarde of Burgundy Adelaide of Paris
Issue Detail	Louis III of France Carloman II Ermentrude of France Charles the Simple
Dynasty	Carolingian
Father	Charles the Bald
Mother	Ermentrude of Orléans

Louis II, known as Louis the Stammerer (French: Louis le Bègue; 1 November 846 – 10 April 879), was the king of Aquitaine and later the king of West Francia. He was the eldest son of Emperor Charles the Bald and Ermentrude of Orléans.^[1] Louis the Stammerer was physically weak and outlived his father by a year and a half.

Louis succeeded his younger brother Charles the Child as the ruler of Aquitaine in 866 and his father in West Francia in 877, but he was never crowned emperor. He was crowned king on 8 October 877 by Hincmar, archbishop of Reims, at Compiegne^[2] and was crowned a second time in August 878 by Pope John VIII at Troyes while the pope was attending a council there.^[3] The pope may have even offered him the imperial crown, but it was declined. Louis had relatively little impact on politics. He was described "a simple and sweet man, a lover of peace, justice, and religion". In 878, he gave the counties of Barcelona, Girona, and Besalú to Wilfred the Hairy. His final act was to march against the invading Vikings, but he fell ill and died on 10 April 879 at Compiègne,^[4] not long after beginning this final campaign. On his death, his realms were divided between his two sons, Carloman II and Louis III of France.

Family

During the peace negotiations between his father and Erispoe, duke of Brittany, Louis was betrothed to an unnamed daughter of Erispoe in 856. It is not known if this was the same daughter who later married Gurivant. The contract was broken in 857 after Erispoe's murder.

Louis was married twice. His first wife Ansgarde of Burgundy had two sons: Louis (born in 863) and Carloman (born in 866),^[2] both of whom became kings of West Francia, and three daughters: Hildegarde (born in 864), Gisela (865–884).

By his second wife, Adelaide of Paris,^[2]he had Princess Ermentrude (874–914)^[5] and a posthumous child, Charles the Simple who would become, long after his elder brothers' deaths, king of West Francia.

With his first wife, Ansgarde of Burgundy, Louis had the following children:

• Louis III of France^[5]
• Carloman II^[5]
• Princess Hildegarde (born in 864)^[5]
• Princess Gisela (865–884)

With his second wife, Adelaide of Paris, Louis had:

• Charles the Simple^[5]
• Princess Ermentrude (874–914)^[5]

References

Sources

• Bak, János M. (1990). Coronations: Medieval and Early Modern Monarchic Ritual. University of California.
• Lößlein, Horst (2019). Royal Power in the Late Carolingian Age: Charles III the Simple and His Predecessors. Modern Academic Publishing.
• McKitterick, Rosamond (1999). The Frankish Kingdoms under the Carolingians. Pearson Education Limited.
• Riche, Pierre (1993). The Carolingians: A Family who Forged Europe. Translated by Allen, Michael Idomir. University of Pennsylvania Press.
• Riche, Pierre (2002). "John VIII". In Levillain, Philippe (ed.). The Papacy: Gaius-Proxies. Vol. 2. Routledge.

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Louis II. of France". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 17 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 34.

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