East Francia (
Medieval Latin
Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin used in Roman Catholic Western Europe during the Middle Ages. In this region it served as the primary written language, though local languages were also written to varying degrees. Latin functioned ...
: ) or the Kingdom of the East Franks () was a successor state of
Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...
's
empire
An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
ruled by the
Carolingian dynasty
The Carolingian dynasty (; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charlemagne, grandson of mayor Charles Martel and a descendant of the Arnulfing and Pippin ...
until 911. It was created through the
Treaty of Verdun
The Treaty of Verdun (), agreed in , divided the Francia, Frankish Empire into three kingdoms among the surviving sons of the emperor Louis the Pious, Louis I, the son and successor of Charlemagne. The treaty was concluded following almost three ...
(843) which divided the former empire into three kingdoms.
The east–west division, enforced by the
Germanic-
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
language split, "gradually hardened into the establishment of separate kingdoms", with East Francia becoming the
Kingdom of Germany
The Kingdom of Germany or German Kingdom ( la, regnum Teutonicorum "kingdom of the Germans", "German kingdom", "kingdom of Germany") was the mostly Germanic-speaking East Frankish kingdom, which was formed by the Treaty of Verdun in 843, especi ...
and
West Francia
In medieval history, West Francia (Medieval Latin: ) or the Kingdom of the West Franks () refers to the western part of the Frankish Empire established by Charlemagne. It represents the earliest stage of the Kingdom of France, lasting from about ...
becoming the
Kingdom of France
The Kingdom of France ( fro, Reaume de France; frm, Royaulme de France; french: link=yes, Royaume de France) is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the medieval and early modern period. ...
.
Terminology
The term ''orientalis Francia'' originally referred to Franconia and ''orientales Franci'' to its inhabitants, the ethnic
Franks
The Franks ( la, Franci or ) were a group of Germanic peoples whose name was first mentioned in 3rd-century Roman sources, and associated with tribes between the Lower Rhine and the Ems River, on the edge of the Roman Empire.H. Schutz: Tools, ...
living east of the Rhine. The use of the term in a broader sense, to refer to the eastern kingdom, was an innovation of Louis the German's court. Since eastern Francia could be identified with old Austrasia, the Frankish heartland, Louis's choice of terminology hints at his ambitions. Under his grandson, Arnulf of Carinthia, the terminology was largely dropped and the kingdom, when it was referred to by name, was simply ''Francia''.
When it was necessary, as in the
Treaty of Bonn
On 7 November 921, the Treaty of Bonn, the text of which calls itself a "pact of friendship" ('' amicitia''), was signed between Charles III of France and Henry I of Germany in a minimalist ceremony aboard a ship in the middle of the Rhine not far ...
(921) with the West Franks, the "eastern" qualifier appeared.
Henry I Henry I may refer to:
876–1366
* Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936)
* Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955)
* Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018)
* Henry I of France (1008–1060)
* Henry I the Long, Margrave of the No ...
refers to himself as ''rex Francorum orientalium'', "king of the East Franks", in the treaty. By the 12th century, the historian
Otto of Freising
Otto of Freising ( la, Otto Frisingensis; c. 1114 – 22 September 1158) was a German churchman of the Cistercian order and chronicled at least two texts which carries valuable information on the political history of his own time. He was Otto I ...
, in using the Carolingian terminology, had to explain that the "eastern kingdom of the Franks" (''orientale Francorum regnum'') was "now called the kingdom of the Germans" (''regnum Teutonicorum'').
History
![Partage de l'Empire carolingien au Traité de Verdun en 843](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/Partage_de_l%27Empire_carolingien_au_Trait%C3%A9_de_Verdun_en_843.JPG)
In August 843, after three years of civil war following the death of emperor
Louis the Pious
Louis the Pious (german: Ludwig der Fromme; french: Louis le Pieux; 16 April 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair, and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aqui ...
on 20 June 840, the
Treaty of Verdun
The Treaty of Verdun (), agreed in , divided the Francia, Frankish Empire into three kingdoms among the surviving sons of the emperor Louis the Pious, Louis I, the son and successor of Charlemagne. The treaty was concluded following almost three ...
was signed by his three sons and heirs. The division of lands was largely based on the
Meuse
The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a t ...
,
Scheldt
The Scheldt (french: Escaut ; nl, Schelde ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of Netherlands, the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corr ...
,
Saone and
Rhone rivers. While the eldest son
Lothair I
Lothair I or Lothar I (Dutch and Medieval Latin: ''Lotharius''; German: ''Lothar''; French: ''Lothaire''; Italian: ''Lotario'') (795 – 29 September 855) was emperor (817–855, co-ruling with his father until 840), and the governor of Bavar ...
kept the imperial title and the kingdom of
Middle Francia,
Charles the Bald
Charles the Bald (french: Charles le Chauve; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as Charles II, was a 9th-century king of West Francia (843–877), king of Italy (875–877) and emperor of the Carolingian Empire (875–877). After a ser ...
received
West Francia
In medieval history, West Francia (Medieval Latin: ) or the Kingdom of the West Franks () refers to the western part of the Frankish Empire established by Charlemagne. It represents the earliest stage of the Kingdom of France, lasting from about ...
and
Louis the German
Louis the German (c. 806/810 – 28 August 876), also known as Louis II of Germany and Louis II of East Francia, was the first king of East Francia, and ruled from 843 to 876 AD. Grandson of emperor Charlemagne and the third son of Louis the P ...
received the eastern portion of mostly Germanic-speaking lands: the
Duchy of Saxony
The Duchy of Saxony ( nds, Hartogdom Sassen, german: Herzogtum Sachsen) was originally the area settled by the Saxons in the late Early Middle Ages, when they were subdued by Charlemagne during the Saxon Wars from 772 and incorporated into the C ...
,
Austrasia
Austrasia was a territory which formed the north-eastern section of the Merovingian Kingdom of the Franks during the 6th to 8th centuries. It was centred on the Meuse, Middle Rhine and the Moselle rivers, and was the original territory of the F ...
,
Alamannia
Alamannia, or Alemannia, was the kingdom established and inhabited by the Alemanni, a Germanic peoples, Germanic tribal confederation that had broken through the Roman ''Upper Germanic Limes, limes'' in 213.
The Alemanni expanded from the Main ...
, the
Duchy of Bavaria
The Duchy of Bavaria (German: ''Herzogtum Bayern'') was a frontier region in the southeastern part of the Merovingian kingdom from the sixth through the eighth century. It was settled by Bavarian tribes and ruled by dukes (''duces'') under Fr ...
, and the
March of Carinthia
The March of Carinthia was a frontier district (march) of the Carolingian Empire created in 889. Before it was a march, it had been a principality or duchy ruled by native-born Slavic (or semi-Slavic) princes at first independently and then unde ...
.
The contemporary East Frankish ''
Annales Fuldenses'' describes the kingdom being "divided in three" and Louis "acceding to the eastern part". The West Frankish ''
Annales Bertiniani'' describe the extent of Louis's lands: "at the assigning of portions, Louis obtained all the land beyond the Rhine river, but on this side of the Rhine also the cities of Speyer, Worms and Mainz with their counties". The kingdom of West Francia went to Louis's younger half-brother Charles the Bald, and between their realms a kingdom of Middle Francia, incorporating
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
, was given to their elder brother, the Emperor Lothair I.
While Eastern Francia contained about a third of the traditional Frankish heartland of Austrasia, the rest consisted mostly of lands annexed to the Frankish empire between the fifth and the eighth century.
[Goldberg 1999, 41.] These included the duchies of Alamannia, Bavaria, Saxony and
Thuringia
Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million.
Erfurt is the capital and larg ...
, as well as the northern and eastern marches with the Danes and Slavs. The contemporary chronicler
Regino of Prüm wrote that the "different people" (''diversae nationes populorum'') of East Francia, mostly Germanic- and Slavic-speaking, could be "distinguished from each other by race, customs, language and laws" (''genere moribus lingua legibus'').
In 869
Lotharingia was divided between West and East Francia under the
Treaty of Meersen
The Treaty of Mersen or Meerssen, concluded on 8 August 870, was a treaty to partition the realm of Lothair II, known as Lotharingia, by his uncles Louis the German of East Francia and Charles the Bald of West Francia, the two surviving sons of ...
. The short lived Middle Francia turned out to be the theatre of Franco-German wars up until the 20th century.
All the Frankish lands were briefly reunited by
Charles the Fat, but in 888 he was deposed by nobles and in East Francia
Arnulf of Carinthia
Arnulf of Carinthia ( 850 – 8 December 899) was the duke of Carinthia who overthrew his uncle Emperor Charles the Fat to become the Carolingian king of East Francia from 887, the disputed king of Italy from 894 and the disputed emperor from Feb ...
was elected king.
The increasing weakness of royal power in East Francia meant that dukes of Bavaria, Swabia,
Franconia
Franconia (german: Franken, ; Franconian dialect: ''Franggn'' ; bar, Frankn) is a region of Germany, characterised by its culture and Franconian dialect (German: ''Fränkisch'').
The three administrative regions of Lower, Middle and Upper Fr ...
, Saxony and Lotharingia turned from appointed nobles into hereditary rulers of their territories. Kings increasingly had to deal with regional rebellions.
In 911 Saxon, Franconian, Bavarian and Swabian nobles no longer followed the tradition of electing someone from the Carolingian dynasty as a king to rule over them and on 10 November, 911 elected one of their own as the new king. Because
Conrad I was one of the dukes, he found it very hard to establish his authority over them. Duke
Henry of Saxony was in rebellion against Conrad I until 915 and struggle against
Arnulf, Duke of Bavaria cost Conrad I his life. On his deathbed Conrad I chose Henry of Saxony as the most capable successor. This kingship changed from Franks to Saxons, who had suffered greatly during the conquests of Charlemagne. Henry, who was elected to kingship by only Saxons and Franconians at
Fritzlar
Fritzlar () is a small town (pop. 15,000) in the Schwalm-Eder district in northern Hesse, Germany, north of Frankfurt, with a storied history.
The town has a medieval center ringed by a wall with numerous watch towers. Thirty-eight meters (125& ...
, had to subdue other dukes and concentrated on creating a state apparatus which was fully utilized by his son and successor
Otto I
Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), traditionally known as Otto the Great (german: Otto der Große, it, Ottone il Grande), was East Francia, East Frankish king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the olde ...
. By his death in July 936 Henry had prevented collapse of royal power as was happening in
West Francia
In medieval history, West Francia (Medieval Latin: ) or the Kingdom of the West Franks () refers to the western part of the Frankish Empire established by Charlemagne. It represents the earliest stage of the Kingdom of France, lasting from about ...
and left a much stronger kingdom to his successor Otto I. After Otto I was crowned as the Emperor in Rome in 962 the era of the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...
began.
Kingship
The regalia of the Carolingian empire had been divided by Louis the Pious on his deathbed between his two faithful sons, Charles the Bald and Lothair. Louis the German, then in rebellion, received nothing of the crown jewels or liturgical books associated with Carolingian kingship. Thus the symbols and rituals of East Frankish kingship were created from scratch.
From an early date the East Frankish kingdom had a more formalised notion of royal election than West Francia. Around 900, a liturgy (''ordo'') for the coronation of a king, called the early German ''ordo'', was written for a private audience. It required the coronator to ask the "designated prince" (''princeps designatus'') whether he was willing to defend the church and the people and then to turn and ask the people whether they were willing to be subject to the prince and obey his laws. The latter then shouted, "''Fiat'', ''fiat''!" (Let it be done!), an act that later became known as "Recognition". This is the earliest known coronation ''ordo'' with a Recognition in it, and it was subsequently incorporated in the influential
Pontificale Romano-Germanicum The ''Pontificale Romano-Germanicum'' ("Roman-Germanic pontifical"), also known as the ''PRG'', is a Catholic_liturgy.html" "title="Latin">set_of_Latin_documents_of_Catholic_Church.html" "title="Latin.html" ;"title="set of Latin">set of Latin doc ...
.
In June 888, King Arnulf of Carinthia convened a council at
Mainz
Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...
. In attendance were the three archbishops of the East Frankish kingdom—
Wilbert of Cologne,
Liutbert of Mainz and
Ratbod of Trier
Radbod (or Ratbod) (died 915) was the Archbishop of Trier from 883 until his death. Under the last Carolingians he obtained a great deal of benefits and converted the archdiocese of Trier into one of the most powerful institutions in Germany.
In ...
—and the West Frankish archbishops of Reims (
Fulk Fulk is an old European personal name, probably deriving from the Germanic ''folk'' ("people" or "chieftain"). It is cognate with the French Foulques, the German Volk, the Italian Fulco and the Swedish Folke, along with other variants such as Fulk ...
) and Rouen (John I) along with the bishops of
Beauvais
Beauvais ( , ; pcd, Bieuvais) is a city and commune in northern France, and prefecture of the Oise département, in the Hauts-de-France region, north of Paris.
The commune of Beauvais had a population of 56,020 , making it the most populous ...
and
Noyon. According to
Walter Ullmann, the presence of the West Franks was on account of the "barren ecclesiastical thought" of the East, and the council proceeded to adopt West Frankish ideas of royal sacrality and
anointing. It was "the first phase in the process of assimilation of the two halves of the Carolingian inheritance".
[Ullmann 1969, 124–27.] In another church council at
Tribur
Trebur is a municipality in Groß-Gerau district in Hessen, Germany. It is 13 km southeast of Mainz, and 8 km south of Rüsselsheim.
Geography Location
Trebur is located in the Frankfurt Rhein-Main Region. The cities of Mainz, Wiesbade ...
in 895, the prelates declared that Arnulf was chosen by God and not by men and Arnulf in turn swore to defend the church and its privileges from all its enemies. When Arnulf died in 899, his minor son,
Louis IV, was crowned, but not anointed, and placed under the tutelage of Archbishop
Hatto I of Mainz. Louis's coronation was the first in German history. When Louis died in late September 911, Duke Conrad I, then the
Duke of Franconia
The Duchy of Franconia (german: Herzogtum Franken) was one of the five stem duchies of East Francia and the medieval Kingdom of Germany emerging in the early 10th century. The word Franconia, first used in a Latin charter of 1053, was applied li ...
, was elected to replace him on 10 November and he became the first German king to receive unction.
Church
The three basic services monasteries could owe to the sovereign in the Frankish realms were military service, an annual donation of money or work, and prayers for the royal family and the kingdom. Collectively, these were known by the technical term ''servitium regis'' ("king's service"). According to the evidence of the ''
Notitia de servitio monasteriorum
The ''Notitia de servitio monasteriorum'' ("Notice of the Service of Monasteries") is a list of monasteries in the Frankish Empire and the services they owed the crown. It was compiled under Emperor Louis the Pious in 819, probably as a summation ...
'', a list of monasteries and the services they owed drawn up around 817, the burden of military and monetary service was more severe in west Francia than in east Francia. Only four monasteries listed as "beyond the Rhine" (''ultra Rhenum'') owed these services:
Lorsch,
Schuttern,
Mondsee and
Tegernsee.
[Bernhardt 1993, 112 and n. 116.]
List of kings
*
Louis the German
Louis the German (c. 806/810 – 28 August 876), also known as Louis II of Germany and Louis II of East Francia, was the first king of East Francia, and ruled from 843 to 876 AD. Grandson of emperor Charlemagne and the third son of Louis the P ...
(843–876)
*Divided
**
Carloman in Bavaria (876–879)
**
Louis the Younger in Saxony (876–882) and Bavaria (879–882)
**
Charles the Fat in Alemannia (876–882)
*
Charles the Fat (882–887)
*
Arnulf of Carinthia
Arnulf of Carinthia ( 850 – 8 December 899) was the duke of Carinthia who overthrew his uncle Emperor Charles the Fat to become the Carolingian king of East Francia from 887, the disputed king of Italy from 894 and the disputed emperor from Feb ...
(887–899)
*
Louis the Child
Louis the Child (893 – 20/24 September 911), sometimes called Louis III or Louis IV, was the king of East Francia from 899 until his death and was also recognized as king of Lotharingia after 900. He was the last East Frankish ruler of the Car ...
(900–911)
*
Conrad I of Germany (911–918)
*
Henry the Fowler
Henry the Fowler (german: Heinrich der Vogler or '; la, Henricus Auceps) (c. 876 – 2 July 936) was the Duke of Saxony from 912 and the King of East Francia from 919 until his death in 936. As the first non-Frankish king of East Francia, he ...
(919–936)
*
Otto the Great
Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), traditionally known as Otto the Great (german: Otto der Große, it, Ottone il Grande), was East Frankish king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the oldest son of Henr ...
(936–973)
See also
*
List of Frankish kings
*
List of German monarchs
Notes
References
*
Bernard Bachrach
Bernard Stanley Bachrach (born 1939) is an American historian. He taught history at the University of Minnesota from 1967 until his retirement in 2020. He specializes in the Early Middle Ages, mainly on the topics of medieval warfare, medieval J ...
and
David Bachrach
David Bachrach, Jr. (1845–1921) was an American commercial photographer based in Baltimore, Maryland. He made contributions to the technical, artistic, and professional advancements in the field as well as being the founder of a photographic dy ...
. "The Saxon Military Revolution, 912–973: Myth and Reality". ''Early Medieval Europe'' 15 (2007), 186–222.
*Bernard Bachrach and David Bachrach. "Early Saxon Frontier Warfare: Henry I, Otto I, and Carolingian Military Institutions". ''Journal of Medieval Military History'' 10 (2012), 17–60.
*David Bachrach. "Exercise of Royal Power in Early Medieval Europe: The Case of Otto the Great, 936–973". ''Early Medieval Europe'' 17 (2009), 389–419.
*David Bachrach. "The Written Word in Carolingian-Style Fiscal Administration under King Henry I, 919–936". ''German History'' 28:4 (2010), 399–423.
*John W. Bernhardt. ''Itinerant Kingship and Royal Monasteries in Early Medieval Germany, c. 936–1075''. Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought, 21. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993.
*
Jim Bradbury
Jim Bradbury (born 27 February 1937) is a British historian specialising in the military history of the Middle Ages.
Bradbury lectured in history at Brunel University.
Selected works
* (1975) ''Shakespeare and his Theatre'', Longman,
* (1985) ...
. ''The Capetians: Kings of France, 987–1328''. London: Hambledon Continuum, 2007.
*Eric J. Goldberg. "'More Devoted to the Equipment of Battle Than the Splendor of Banquets': Frontier Kingship, Military Ritual, and Early Knighthood at the Court of Louis the German". ''Viator'' 30 (1999), 41–78.
*Eric J. Goldberg. ''Struggle for Empire: Kingship and Conflict Under Louis the German, 817–876''. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 2006.
*Eckhard Müller-Mertens. "The Ottonians as Kings and Emperors". Timothy Reuter, ed. ''The New Cambridge Medieval History. Volume II: c.900–c.1024''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999.
*
Timothy Reuter
Timothy Alan Reuter (25 January 1947 – 14 October 2002), grandson of the former mayor of Berlin Ernst Reuter, was a German-British historian who specialized in the study of medieval Germany, particularly the social, military and ecclesiastical ...
. "The Medieval German ''Sonderweg''? The Empire and its Rulers in the Highe Middle Ages". In ''Kings nd Kingship in Medieval Europe'', ed. Anne J. Duggan (London: 1993), 179–211.
*Timothy Reuter. "The Ottonian and Carolingian Tradition". In ''Medieval Polities and Modern Mentalities'', ed.
Janet L. Nelson
Dame Janet Laughland Nelson (born 1942), also known as Jinty Nelson, is a British historian. She is Emerita Professor of Medieval History at King's College London.
Early life
Born on 28 March 1942 in Blackpool, Nelson was educated at Keswic ...
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006), 268–83.
*
Susan Reynolds
Susan Reynolds FBA (27 January 1929 – 29 July 2021) was a British medieval historian whose book ''Fiefs and Vassals: the Medieval Evidence Reinterpreted'' (1994) was part of the academic critique on the concept of feudalism as classically por ...
. ''Kingdoms and Communities in Western Europe, 900–1300''. Oxford: Clarendon, 1997.
*Len Scales. ''The Shaping of German Identity: Authority and Crisis, 1245–1414''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012.
*
Walter Ullmann. ''The Carolingian Renaissance and the Idea of Kingship''. London: Methuen, 1969.
*Karl Ferdinand Werner. "Les nations et le sentiment national dans l'Europe médiévale". ''Revue Historique'', 244:2 (1970), 285–304.
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