CHARLM I., Le Cheers (the Bald), the son of Louis le Deleon noire, and grandson of Charlemagne, was born at Frankfurt-on-the Maine, A.D. b23: his mother, Judith, was the second wife of Louis, who had, before the birth of Charles, parted his dominion, among his three DOM —Lothaire, whom he associated with himself in the empire, and Pepin and Louis, to whom be gave respectively the king doms of Aquitaine and Bavaria The birth of Charles was regarded by these princes with jealousy, which was greatly increased when, by a now partition of his dominions, Louis formed for Charles the king dom of Germany, comprehending Switzerland, Swabia, and the Grisoue (629.) In the year 833 Charles was shut op in a monastery, In the diocese of Treece, by his brothers, who had successfully revolted against their father; but in a few years (839), new partition. of the empires, one previous to, and another consequent upon the death of Pepin, king of Aquitaine, gave to him much larger dominions than his first kingdom of Germany : the wood partition 'signed to him all that part of France which lies west of the Rhine and the Manse.
Soon after the death of Louis Is D6bonnalre (840), Charles, now approaching manhood, was involved hi hostilities with his brother Lothar. (who had claimed the succession to the imperial crown), and with his nephew Pepin, son of the deceased king of Aquitaine. lie allied himself with his brethar, Louis of Bavaria, and these two gained the victory in a sanguinary engagement at Fontenay, near Auxerre, over Lotbalre and Pepin (841); but the victors were so weakened by the lose they had curtained, that Charles thought It prudent to retire across the Selo.. In the following year, Lothaire, renouncing his claim to supremacy, made proposes!' of Isece to his brother., and the year 843 wee sigmdised the partition of the empire of Charle magne. By this Charles obtained the acknowledged pos session of that part of Franey which Ilea to the west of the Mons, &As, and Rhone ; and of that part of Spain which Iles between the Pyrenees' end the Ebro. The remainder of Frans, with Italy, formed the porting of Lethal's, and Germany became the portion of Louis, hence denominated Le Germanique. The French portion of Istlialre'a dominions took hence the names of France de Labels, Lothariugia, and In later time. Lorraine.
The following years of the reign of Charles (843 to S5S) were marked by the ravage, of the Northmen, who took Rouen (S41), Nantes and Saints (843), Bordeaux (843 and 848), Paris (845 and 856), Tours (853), Blois (854), °Wane (S56), and other places; by the each of Marseille (848), by some Greek pirates ; and by the wars with No1316;106 of Bretagne and Pepin of Aquitaine, each of whom Charles was obliged to allow to remain in possession of a considerable portion of his dominions, with the title and power of king. In the war with
Pepin, Charles put to death Bernard, duke of Septlmania, hie reputed father. In 852 Pepin was however delivered up, by one of his own partisans, Sancho, marquis of Gascogne, to Charles, who shaved hie head and shut him up its a convent, from which he escaped to dispute again with Charles the sovereignty of Aquitaine. Before his escape the people of Aquitaine had offered their crown to Louie, sou of Louis Is Ocr manique, who accepted their offer, and in 855 Charles conferred the crown of this part of his dominions upon hie second eon, Charles, who was yet in hie minority. The unhappy country of Aquitaine was ravaged by the troops of these rival claimants, as well as by the Northmen and Saracens, who came as their allies; and the people themselves, disgusted by their degenerate prised when in prosperity, but pitying them when reduced to adversity, shifted their allegiance from one to another with great facility. Charles made little effort to defend his kingdom from invasion, and incurred by his misconduct the contempt of his subject'.
In 858 the subjects of Charles called in his brother Louis la Germs nique, to whom they offered the crown. Charles was obliged to abandon hie kingdom, but he regained it the following year, and the influence of the church brought the brothers to a reconciliatiou. The following years of Charles's reign, though marked by the success of some of his ambitious sehemee, yet brought little advantage to his people, who continued to suffer under the miseries of civil discord and the ravages of the savage Northmen. Tho mighty fabric of empire which Charlemagne had erected was hastening to decay through the misgovernment of his weak and worthless successors, and the kingly power was fast eioking, while the power of the great feudal lords was rising on its ruine. lu 863 Charles had to engage in war with his sons—Louis, whom he had created king of Noustria, and Charles, king of Aquitaine—who had both married without his consent, and had been excited to revolt by the relation, of their wives. They were however obliged to submit, though they seem to have obtained by their submission an increase of power and possessions. Charles of Aquitaine died miserably (S66), lu consequeuce of a wound acci dentally received two years before. Pepin of Aquitaine had fallen again into the hands of Charles le Chauve, after having endeavoured in vain to support himself against him by means of the Northmen; and having been condemned to death as a traitor by a diet of the French (864), ended his changeful life some years after in a dungeon, to which he had been consigned by a commutation of his sentence.