Lügenfeld, Lugenfeild, or Field of Lies(833 CE) was the name for a battle/encounter that took place between

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 ...

, the

Carolingian 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 ...

Emperor and his rebellious sons. When his sons and their forces met up near

Colmar Colmar (, ; Alsatian: ' ; German during 1871–1918 and 1940–1945: ') is a city and commune in the Haut-Rhin department and Grand Est region of north-eastern France. The third-largest commune in Alsace (after Strasbourg and Mulhouse), it is ...

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

, Louis the Pious' sworn supporters infamously deserted him to join his sons.

Background

Louis the Pious, Holy Roman Emperor, inherited a vast empire from his father

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 ...

in 814 CE. This vast territory included all of

western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...

excluding the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...

, the small

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

northern Spanish states,

Muslim Spain Al-Andalus translit. ; an, al-Andalus; ast, al-Ándalus; eu, al-Andalus; ber, ⴰⵏⴷⴰⵍⵓⵙ, label=Berber, translit=Andalus; ca, al-Àndalus; gl, al-Andalus; oc, Al Andalús; pt, al-Ândalus; es, al-Ándalus () was the Mus ...

and

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

southern

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 ...

and

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

. It is often suggested that Louis the Pious’ reign marks the beginning of a period of decline of what had been his father, Charlemagne’s powerful empire, leading to the eventual decline of the Carolingians. Louis’ role as Emperor carried with it the ecclesiastical basis for universal power; the concept that one of the Emperors duties was to protect the Church against dangers which might threaten its ability to correctly teach and spread the faith. The title of Holy Roman Emperor brought new ideas of inheritance. Possessing a universal authority to preserve the Church meant preserving the unity of the empire. In the past,

Merovingian The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gauli ...

and Carolingian predecessors like Charlemagne treated kingdoms as private estates and, at death, the territory was divided among the sons. The early Carolingian idea of dividing up the territories of the kingdom among sons began to change. The reasoning behind passing along a kingdom undivided was casually linked to the Carolingian dynasty and their affiliation to the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, establishing the notion of a Christian empire. Following this reasoning, for Louis to divide up the empire among his sons was to commit a mortal sin, he would be breaking up a true Christian empire that protected Catholic faith. The unity of the empire had to be maintained, thus, in a special ceremony Louis prayed to God for inspiration to decide which son should be the inheritor. The eldest of the three,

Lothar Lothar is a Danish, Finnish, German, Norwegian, and Swedish masculine given name, while Lotár is a Hungarian masculine given name. Both names are modern forms of the Germanic Chlothar (which is a blended form of ''Hlūdaz'', meaning "fame", and ...

, was selected and was then associated with imperial authority, crowned co-emperor and ordered to look after and rule over his younger brothers, Pepin and

Louis Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis ( ...

. These actions were to have serious consequences for both the succession to the throne, and integrity of the

Frankish realm Francia, also called the Kingdom of the Franks ( la, Regnum Francorum), Frankish Kingdom, Frankland or Frankish Empire ( la, Imperium Francorum), was the largest post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It was ruled by the Franks duri ...

. After the death of his first wife, Louis married Judith, who bore him another son,

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

, in 823 CE. The accommodations required when a new heir was born brought on a crisis in the family. This included dissatisfied nobles and greedy bishops persuading Louis the Pious’ sons, that in reality their father wished to destroy their inheritance. Louis the Pious’ attempt to make

co-heir to the Frankish kingdom caused agitation among his sons.

Main Players

Louis the Pious (778-840 CE)

Lothar (795-855 CE)

was Louis the Pious' first-born son and heir to his empire. He led his two younger brothers in a revolt against their father in 833 CE, and fought a war against his brother Louis II and their half-brother, Charles.

Pepin (797-838 CE)

He was Louis the Pious' second son, he received the territory of

Aquitaine Aquitaine ( , , ; oc, Aquitània ; eu, Akitania; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne ( oc, Guiana), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former administrative region of the country. Since 1 January ...

in his father’s kingdom. He participated in a rebellion with his brothers against their father.

Louis II (806-876 CE)

He was the third son of Louis the Pious. He received the territory of

Germania Germania ( ; ), also called Magna Germania (English: ''Great Germania''), Germania Libera (English: ''Free Germania''), or Germanic Barbaricum to distinguish it from the Roman province of the same name, was a large historical region in north- ...

also known as

East Francia East Francia (Medieval Latin: ) or the Kingdom of the East Franks () was a successor state of Charlemagne's Carolingian Empire, empire ruled by the Carolingian dynasty until 911. It was created through the Treaty of Verdun (843) which divided t ...

. He also received the title King of

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

from his grandfather Charlemagne upon his death.

Charles II (823-877 CE)

Louis the Pious youngest son born to his second wife. He received title of Holy Roman Emperor in 875 CE.

Pope Gregory IV (795-844 CE)

Pope Gregory IV Pope Gregory IV ( la, Gregorius IV; died 25 January 844) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from October 827 to his death. His pontificate was notable for the papacy’s attempts to intervene in the quarrels between Emperor Loui ...

became Bishop of Rome in 827 CE and had previously held the title of Cardinal Priest of Basilica of St Mark. His papacy is notable due to his involvement in the disagreements between Louis the Pious and his sons.

Event

:''"Evil communications corrupt good manners."'' The division of the realm between Lothar and Charles stirred up Frankish aristocrats. The various dissatisfied nobles and clans of the Frankish realm caused Lothar, Pepin and Louis to form a common league against their father and to muster a large army of supporters. The brothers called upon Pope Gregory IV hoping that he of all people could help reconcile father to sons. Rumors began to circulate that if there was any disobedience to the Pope’s will or that of Louis the Pious’ sons, the Pope would excommunicate Louis the Pious and his bishops. An assembly was held in Alsace in 833 CE. This assembly included the convergence of Louis the Pious, his three elder sons, their respective forces and Pope Gregory (with his entourage). This event was to be known as the Field of Lies, because those who had sworn fealty to the emperor betrayed him to join his sons. It was here that Louis had to confront his sons and their moral pretext of defending the realm. As Louis stood in battle formation he received Pope Gregory. The Pope reported hearing that Louis was having an ongoing struggle between his sons and that Gregory was there to help them all to gain peace. Louis stated his position and Pope Gregory returned to the Emperor's sons, but his efforts to attain a mutual peace was in vain. Due to bribes, threats or seduction by promises, Louis’ sworn supporters were surging to the side of his sons and joining their followers. The defection grew in momentum as the days passed and Lothar, Pepin and Louis were threatening to launch an attack on their father. Louis found himself in a position where, if an armed conflict were to take place, he would be overwhelmed by his sons' forces. The Emperor agreed to meet his sons on the field. There, Louis told them to remember the promises they had made to him and his son (Charles) then proceeded to their camp. They told their father to abandon his camp and join them at theirs, which he did. At the camp of Lothar, Pepin and Louis, Louis the Pious was held in a pavilion designed for the specific purpose of keeping him at the camp.

Aftermath

After these events, the empire was partitioned among the brothers in a threefold division. Pope Gregory departed for Italy, Pepin returned to Aquitaine, and Louis returned to Bavaria. Charles was banished to Italy and his mother was sent to a convent. Lothar took their father Louis with him as he continued on with his many duties. As Lothar traveled across his territory, he kept his father under constant watch. He also received an embassy from the

Byzantine Emperor This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as le ...

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

. He accepted the gifts and withheld the gifts designated for his father. He sent the gifts home along with the news of the tragedy, and fall from grace of Louis the Pious.Cabaniss (1962), 98. Louis the Pious then performed a public display of penance for his crimes against the empire and God. After the imprisoned Emperor performed his penance, his son Louis was compelled to make peace with him for the unity of the empire. After another shift of loyalties, Lothar fled to

Burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The c ...

and Louis the Pious was restored to power in 834 CE.

Notes

References

*Booker, Courtney M. Past Convictions: "The Penance of Louis the Pious and the Decline of the Carolingians." Philadelphia: Philadelphia University Press, 2009. *Cabaniss, Allen. ''Son of Charlemagne: A Contemporary Life of Louis the Pious''. Massachusetts: Syracuse University Press, 1962. *Cornah, Pauline Anne "Louis the Pious, Reputation and Reality". German History. vol. 9, pg. 62. *Granshof, F. L. "Louis the Pious Reconstructed" History. vol 42, pg.171-189, 1757. {{coord missing, France 833 830s conflicts Battles involving the Carolingian Empire Battles in Grand Est