CHARLES II.,' called THE BALD (823-877), Roman emperor and king of the West Franks, the son of the emperor Louis the Pious, was born in 823. The death of the emperor in 84o was the signal for the outbreak of war between his sons. Charles allied himself with his brother Louis the German to resist the pretensions of the emperor Lothair, and the two allies conquered him in the bloody victory of Fontenoy-en-Puisaye (June 25, 841) . In the following year the two brothers confirmed their alliance by the celebrated oaths of Strasbourg (see FRANCE: History). The war was brought to an end by the treaty of Verdun (Aug. 843), which gave to Charles the Bald the kingdom of the western Franks, which practically corresponded with what is now France, as far as the Meuse, the Saone and the Rhone, with the addition 'For Charles I., Roman emperor, see CHARLEMAGNE ; cf. under Charles I. of France below.
of the Spanish March as far as the Ebro. The first years of his reign up to the death of Lothair I. (855) were comparatively peaceful, and during them was continued the system of "confra ternal government" of the sons of Louis the Pious, who had various meetings with one another, at Coblenz (848), at Meersen (851), and at Attigny (854). In 858 Louis the German invaded the kingdom of Charles. In 86o he in his turn tried to seize the kingdom of his nephew, Charles of Provence, but met with a repulse. On the death of Lothair II. in 869 he tried to seize his dominions, but by the treaty of Meersen (87o) was compelled to share them with Louis the German. Besides this, Charles had to struggle against the incessant rebellions in Aquitaine, against the Bretons, who inflicted on the king the defeats of Ballon and Juvardeil (851), and especially against the Normans, who devastated the country in the north of Gaul, the valleys of the Seine and Loire, and even up to the borders of Aquitaine. Charles led various expeditions against the invaders, and tried to put a barrier in their way by having fortified bridges built over all the rivers. In 875, after the death of the emperor Louis II., Charles the Bald, supported by Pope John VIII., descended into Italy, receiving the royal crown at Pavia and the imperial crown at Rome. But Louis the German revenged himself for Charles's success by invading and devastating his dominions. Charles was recalled to Gaul, and after the death of Louis the German (Aug. 28, 876), in his turn made an attempt to seize his kingdom, but at Andernach met with a shameful defeat (Oct. 8, 876). In the meantime, John VIII., who was menaced by the Saracens, was continually urging him to come to Italy, and Charles again crossed the Alps. At the same time Carloman, son of Louis the German, entered northern Italy. Charles started on his way back to Gaul, and died while crossing the pass of the Mont Cenis, Oct. 5 or 6, 877. He was succeeded by his son Louis the Stammerer.
most important authority for the history of Charles's reign is represented by the Annales Bertiniani, which were the work of Prudentius, bishop of Troyes, up to 861, then up to 882 of the celebrated Hincmar, archbishop of Reims. This prince's charters are to be found published in the collections of the Academie des Inscriptions, by M. M. Prou. The most complete history of the reign is found in E. Dummler, Geschichte des ost f rdnkischen Reiches (3 vols., Leipzig, . See also J. Calmette, La Diplomatie carolingienne du traite de Verdun a la mort le Charles le Chauve (Paris, 19o1) , and F. Lot, "Une Annee du regne de Charles le Chauve," in Le Moyen-Age , PP. ; F. Lot and L. Halphen, Le Regne de Charles le Chauve (1909) ; M. Jusselin, La Chancellerie de Charles le Chauve d'apres les notes tironiennes (1922).