We remember from school that Charlemagne had his seat in Aachen and that after his son the wast empire was divided into three parts and then a fourth son was born. What could go wrong?
Louis the Pious was the son of Charlemagne and Hildegard.
On his father's death in 814, he inherited the entire Carolingian Empire and all its possessions (with the sole exception of the kingdom of Italy; although within Louis's empire, in 813 Charlemagne had ordered that Bernard, Pepin's son be made and called king).
Louis's first act was to purge the palace of what he considered undesirable. He destroyed the old Germanic pagan tokens and texts which had been collected by Charlemagne. He further exiled members of the court he deemed morally "dissolute", including some of his own relatives.[11]
He quickly sent all of his many unmarried (half-)sisters and nieces to nunneries in order to avoid any possible entanglements from overly powerful brothers-in-law.[10] Sparing his illegitimate half-brothers Drogo, Hugh and Theoderic, he forced his father's cousins, Adalard and Wala to be tonsured, placing them in into monastic exile at St-Philibert on the island of Noirmoutier and Corbie, respectively, despite the latter's initial loyalty.[12]
He made Bernard, margrave of Septimania, and Ebbo, Archbishop of Reims his chief counsellors
After the treaty of Verdun the partitioning of the Frankish empire after verdun 843
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Verdun#/media/File:Vertrag_...
the division of the empire into three souvereign entities was settled. West Francia and East Francia became the kernels of modern France and Germany respectively. Middle Francia, that included Burgundy, the Low Countries and northern Italy among other regions was only short-lived until 855 and later reorganized as Lotharingia.
Lothair I as King of Middle Francia
Louis the German as King of East Francia
Charles the Bald as King of West Francia
Louis had by his first wife, Ermengarde of Hesbaye (married c. 794),[30] he had three sons and three daughters:
Lothair (795–855), king of Middle Francia
Pepin (797–838), king of Aquitaine
Adelaide (b. c. 799)
Rotrude (b. 800)
Hildegard (or Matilda) (b. c. 802)
Louis the German (c. 806–876), king of East Francia
By his second wife, Judith of Bavaria, he had a daughter and a son:
Gisela, married Eberhard of Friuli
Charles the Bald, king of West Francia
By Theodelinde of Sens, he had two illegitimate children:
Arnulf of Sens
Alpais
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The church was extremely important for the frankish expansion and the families put their relatives on vital clerical posts.
The papal church was on it's side dependent on the franks for expansion and for the elimination of competition. See for example the Aryans princes that were wiped out.
Louis sought to prevent the dangers of such division by law of hereditary succession published in 817, by which the sovereign power and the imperial crown were to be passed to the oldest son. This law was probably enacted through the influence of the Church, which approved of this unity of the supreme power and the Crown, as being in harmony with the idea of the Kingdom of God and also as required by the hierarchical economy of the church organization.
When Louis had a fourth son, by his second wife, Judith, he immediately set aside the law of partition of 817 for the benefit of the new heir. An odious struggle broke out between father and sons, and among the sons themselves. In 833 the emperor was captured by his sons at the battle of Luegenfeld (field of lies) near Colmar. Pope Gregory IV was at the time in the camp of the sons.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Catholic_Church_in_Ger...
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The families that we deal with here on Geni are descendants of femilies and clans that were in power already before Charlemagne. The were the foundation of the Frankish Empire and it's expansion.
They are among others:
Agilolfings, Ahalolfing dynasty, Aleramici, Anscarids,
Bosonids, Conradins, Etichonids, Gerulfingians, Guideschis,
Herbertiens, Hunfridingers, Luitpoldings, Ottonians,
Robertians, Rorgonids, Unruochinger, Nibelungids, Ramnulfids etc etc.
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The key to understanding the situation with Eberhard II and Eberhard III
is that their ancestors had been in the game since Charlemagne. They had close ties and relations with the Imperial family and Louis the Pious and Louis the German.
They also founded churches and monastries. Part of their history is known by deeds concering this.
The Adalbert III who married Gisela and his father Adalbert II who was married to Judith of Friuli
gives us information that the control of Rätia was crucial. Switzerland and Austria did of course not yet exist, we must look and talk about the concrete regions, Zürichgau, Rätia, Carintia, etc.
We see from these families that they had property and influence
in what is now called Italy. We must look on who inherited what land and property.
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