In 866, Charles, disheartened by the success of a party of North man who had ascended the Some, concluded with them a most disgraceful treaty, agreeing to pay them four thousand pounds weight of silver, on condition that they should cease their depredations; to deliver up or make compensation for all the French whom they had reduced to slavery and who had escaped, and to pay a certain sum for every Northman who had been killed by his subjects. But those who infested the banks of the Loire do not seem to have been included iu this treaty ; with them therefore hostilities were continued, and in one of the conflict, with them, Robert Is Fort, count of Anjou, the most celebrated of' the French captain, of his day, and the first of that race of ' dukes of France' which afterwards ascended the throne in the person of Ifugues Capet, lost his life.
The emperor Lothaire, brother of Charles, had died in the year 855, and hie kingdom had been divided between his three eons. Louis, who took the title of emperor, had Italy ; Lothaire, the younger, had the provinces between the Rhine and the Meuse; and Charles those between the Rhona and the Alps. Upon the death of this Charles in 863, his portion was divided between his two brothers. Charles la Chauve was anxious to seize a portion of the spoil, but was obliged to forego his purpose. In 869, Lothaire the younger, who had been involved in a series of disputes with the pope, arising from his domestic eirsumstances, died, and his dominions were shared between his uncles, Louis lo Germanique and Charles Is Chauve, to the injury of the em peror Louie, his brother and rightful heir. Louis Is Germauique sub aeqnently restored his share of the spoil to the emperor ; but Charles was not so scrupulous, and retained what ho had seized.
In 875 the emperor Louis 11. died without issue, and in him the alder branch of the descendants of Louis le Dibonnairo became extiuct. Louis la Germanique and Charles (both invited by tho powerful lords of Italy, who desired to counterbalance the power of one by that of the other) hastened to take possession of their nephew'. dominions; Charles going In person, and Louis sending his two sons, Karlomauu and Charles lo Gros. These young princes however were compelled or prevailed upon to withdraw, and Charles, by the favour of the pope, received the imperial crown at Rome on Christmas-Day 375, and was again crowned at Pontyon (between Chalons and Langres) In 376. Charles's dominions then attained their greatest extent : he
possessed all the countries now comprehended in France (except Alsace, Lorraine, and a part of Burgundy) and Italy. But he was not secure from attack : the Northmen, though their ravages bad some what slackened, continued to infest the coasts and rivers; and Louis, irritated by the retreat of his sons from Italy, attacked Franca (876), before Charles had returned from Italy, but upon his return he retreated. The death of Louis the same year offered new allurement to the ambition of Charles, who prepared forthwith to attack Louis of Saxony, one of the sons of the deceased prince and heir to one part of his dominions. The troops of Charles were defeated (876), and in the following year Charles was driven out of Italy by Karlomann, another of the sons of Louis, and ended his days at a place called Brios, in the neighbourhood of Mount Cenis in the Alps. He died in 877, at the age of fifty-four, having reigned thirty-seven years from the time of his father's death.
Charles experienced much trouble in his family : the rebellion of his sons Louis (who succeeded him, and is known in French history as Louis la Begun.) and Charles has been noticed. His fourth sou, Carloman, whom he had brought up in a cloister, a life quite unsuited to his turbulent genius, gave him much trouble by his disobedience; but the unhappy youth was at last punished by the loss of his eyes, an infliction which he did not long survive. The pope, Adrian IL, supported the rebellious prince, and addressed to his father a letter marked by arrogance as yet unparalleled in the feats of papal assump tion. The king's reply was calm and dignified ; but the honour of it is probably due rather to Hincmar, who wrote it, than to the prince in whose name it was written. Charles was twice married ; his first wife was Hermantrude, daughter of Eudes, count of Orldans; his second Richilde, daughter of Beuves, count of Ardennes, and sister of Richard, duke of Bourgogne and of Boson, afterwards king of Provence.