Charles (953 – 22 June 992×995) was the

Duke of Lower Lorraine The rulers of Lorraine have held different posts under different governments over different regions, since its creation as the kingdom of Lotharingia by the Treaty of Prüm, in 855. The first rulers of the newly established region were kings of t ...

from 977 until his death.

Life

Born at

Reims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...

in the summer of 953, Charles was the son of

Louis IV of France Louis IV (September 920 / September 921 – 10 September 954), called ''d'Outremer'' or ''Transmarinus'' (both meaning "from overseas"), reigned as King of West Francia from 936 to 954. A member of the Carolingian dynasty, he was the only son o ...

and

Gerberga of Saxony Gerberga of Saxony (c. 913 – 5 May 968/9 or 984?) was a French queen who ruled as regent of France during the minority of her son Lothair in 954–959. She was a member of the Ottonian dynasty. Her first husband was Gilbert, Duke of Lorraine ...

and the younger brother of King Lothair. He was a sixth-generation descendant 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 ...

.Detlev Schwennicke, ''Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten'', Neue Folge, Band II (Marburg, Germany: J. A. Stargardt, 1984), Tafel 1Detlev Schwennicke, ''Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten'', Neue Folge, Band I (Marburg, Germany: J. A. Stargardt, 1980), Tafel 2 When his father was captured by the Normans and held, both his sons were demanded as ransom for his release.''The Annals of Flodoard of Reims, 919–966'', eds. & trans. Stephen Fanning; Bernard S. Bachrach (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2004), p. 44 Queen Gerberga would only send Charles, who was then handed over and his father was released into the custody of

Hugh Capet Hugh Capet (; french: Hugues Capet ; c. 939 – 14 October 996) was the King of the Franks from 987 to 996. He is the founder and first king from the House of Capet. The son of the powerful duke Hugh the Great and his wife Hedwige of Saxony, ...

. In or before 976, he accused Lothair's wife, Emma, daughter of

Lothair II of Italy Lothair II (926/8 – 22 November 950), often ''Lothair of Arles'', was the King of Italy from 947 to his death. He was of the noble Frankish lineage of the Bosonids, descended from Boso the Elder. His father and predecessor was Hugh of Prove ...

, of infidelity with

Adalberon, Bishop of Laon Adalberon, or Ascelin (died July 19, 1030/1031), was a French bishop and poet. He was a son of Reginar of Bastogne, and a nephew of Adalberon, Archbishop of Reims. He studied at Reims and was in the chapter of Metz Cathedral. He became bishop of La ...

.Pierre Riché, ''The Carolingians; A Family Who Forged Europe,'' trans. Michael Idomir Allen (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1983), p. 276 The council of Sainte-Macre at Fismes (near

) exonerated the queen and the bishop, but Charles maintained his claim and was driven from the kingdom, finding refuge at the court of his cousin, the emperor

Otto II Otto II (955 – 7 December 983), called the Red (''der Rote''), was Holy Roman Emperor from 973 until his death in 983. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto II was the youngest and sole surviving son of Otto the Great and Adelaide of Italy. ...

. Otto promised to crown Charles as soon as Lothair was out of the way and Charles paid him homage, receiving back

Lower Lorraine The Duchy of Lower Lotharingia, also called Northern Lotharingia, Lower Lorraine or Northern Lorraine (and also referred to as '' Lothier'' or '' Lottier''

. In August 978, Lothair invaded Germany and captured the imperial capital of

Aachen Aachen ( ; ; Aachen dialect: ''Oche'' ; French and traditional English: Aix-la-Chapelle; or ''Aquisgranum''; nl, Aken ; Polish: Akwizgran) is, with around 249,000 inhabitants, the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the 28th- ...

, but failed to capture either Otto or Charles. In October, Otto and Charles in turn invaded France, devastating the land around Reims,

Soissons Soissons () is a commune in the northern French department of Aisne, in the region of Hauts-de-France. Located on the river Aisne, about northeast of Paris, it is one of the most ancient towns of France, and is probably the ancient capital ...

and

Laon Laon () is a city in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. History Early history The holy district of Laon, which rises a hundred metres above the otherwise flat Picardy plain, has always held strategic importance. ...

. In the latter city, the chief seat of the kings of France, Charles was crowned by

Theodoric I, Bishop of Metz Dietrich of Metz (died 18 July 984) was Bishop of Metz from 964 until his death. He succeeded Adalbero I (929–962) as bishop of Metz. He founded the abbey of St Vincent, Metz.He assembled a large number of relics for thi He crowned Charles, Duke ...

. Lothair fled to Paris and was there besieged. But a relief army of Hugh Capet's forced Otto and Charles to lift the siege on 30 November. Lothair and Capet, the tables turned once more, chased the German king and Charles back to Aachen and retook Laon. Around 979, Charles transferred the relics of Saint

Gudula Saint Gudula was born in the pagus of Brabant (in present-day Belgium). According to her 11th-century biography ( Vita Gudilae), written by a monk of the abbey of Hautmont between 1048 and 1051, she was the daughter of a duke of Lotharingia call ...

from

Moorsel Moorsel is a village in the Denderstreek in the province East Flanders in Belgium, a '' deelgemeente'' of the city of Aalst. The village belongs to a league of neighbouring villages, which call themselves the ''Faluintjesgemeenten''. Moorsel is ...

to the

Saint Gaugericus Saint Gaugericus, in French Saint Géry (also known as Gorik, Gau; in Walloon, Djèri) ( 550 – August 11, 619) was a bishop of Cambrai, France. Biography He was born to Roman parents, Gaudentius and Austadiola, at ''Eposium'' (present Ca ...

chapel on

Saint-Géry Island Saint-Géry Island (french: île Saint-Géry) or Sint-Goriks Island ( Dutch: ) was the largest island in the river Senne in Brussels, Belgium. It was named after Saint Gaugericus, nl, Sint-Goriks, link=no of Cambrai, who according to legend, b ...

near

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

. This is generally accepted as the time when the city was founded. Charles would construct the first permanent fortification in the city, doing so on that same island. As he had been a vassal also of Lothair, Charles's acts on behalf of Otto were considered treason and he was thereafter excluded from the throne. On Lothair's death (986), the magnates elected his son

Louis V Louis V may refer to: * Louis V of France (967–987) * Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor and V of Germany (1282–1347) * Louis V, Duke of Bavaria (1315–1361) * Louis V, Elector Palatine (ruled 1508–1544) * Louis V, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt (r ...

and on the latter's death (987),

. Thus, the

House of Capet The House of Capet (french: Maison capétienne) or the Direct Capetians (''Capétiens directs''), also called the House of France (''la maison de France''), or simply the Capets, ruled the Kingdom of France from 987 to 1328. It was the most s ...

came to the throne over the disgraced and ignored Charles.Pierre Riché, ''The Carolingians; A Family Who Forged Europe'', trans. Michael Idomir Allen (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1983), p. 278 Charles's unexceptional marriage and his lack of wealth are two of the reasons he was denied the throne. Charles made war on Hugh, even taking Rheims and Laon. However, on

Maundy Thursday Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday (also known as Great and Holy Thursday, Holy and Great Thursday, Covenant Thursday, Sheer Thursday, and Thursday of Mysteries, among other names) is the day during Holy Week that commemorates the Washing of the ...

''La cathédrale de Laon'' by madame Suzanne Martinet, p. 80
/ref> (26 March) 991, he was captured, through the perfidy of the Bishop Adalberon, and was imprisoned by Hugh in

Orléans Orléans (;"Orleans"
(US) and Pierre Riché, ''The Carolingians; A Family Who Forged Europe,'' trans. Michael Idomir Allen (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1983), p. 279 He was succeeded as Duke of Lower Lorraine by his son

Otto Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants ''Audo'', ''Odo'', ''Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded fro ...

. There is uncertainty over the date and place of Charles's death. The

necrology An obituary (obit for short) is an article about a recently deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on positive aspects of the subject's life, this is not always the case. Acc ...

of the

diocese of Liège In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

dates Charles's death to 22 June without specifying the year.

Sigebert of Gembloux Sigebert of Gembloux (Sigebertus Gemblacensis; 1030 – 5 October 1112) was a medieval author, known mainly as a pro-Imperial historian of a universal chronicle, opposed to the expansive papacy of Gregory VII and Pascal II. Early in his life ...

records it under the year 991, but he may have confused it with his capture, since two documents of January 992 seem to imply that Charles was still alive. One was dated by a supporter to the fifth year of "Charles king in waiting" (''sperante Karolo rege''), the other is dated by Hugh's reign, "Charles being thrown in prison" (''Karolo trusus in carcere''). He must have been dead by 995, when Adalberon and Count Odo of Blois tried to install his son

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 ( ...

on the throne. His death is sometimes placed in Orléans, but this is pure conjecture. Ferdinand Lot, ''Les derniers Carolingiens: Lothaire, Louis V, Charles de Lorraine (954–991)'' (Paris: Émile Bouillon, 1891), pp. 277–279, 281–282. The '' Historia Francorum Senonensis'', written between 1015 and 1034, propagated the view that Charles was the rightful king in 987 and Hugh a usurper.Fraser McNair, "A Post-Carolingian Voice of Dissent: The ''Historia Francorum Senonensis''", ''Journal of Medieval Latin'' 28 (2018): 15–47. In 1666, the lead

sarcophagus A sarcophagus (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek ...

of Charles was discovered in the Basilica of Saint Servatius in

Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; li, Mestreech ; french: Maestricht ; es, Mastrique ) is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital and largest city of the province of Limburg. Maastricht is located on both sides of the ...

with an inscription bearing the date 1001. This appears to be the date of his interment in Maastricht, however, and not of his death. Probably his son Otto had his body moved. While the sarcophagus remains, the original inscription has been lost.

Family

In 970 Charles married Adelaide of

Troyes Troyes () is a commune and the capital of the department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within the Champagne wine region and is near to ...

. Together he and Adelaide had: *

, succeeded as Duke of Lower Lotharingia *Ermengarde, who married Albert I, Count of Namur *

Gerberga of Lower Lorraine Gerberga of Lower Lorraine (975-1019), Countess of Louvain, was the daughter of Charles, Duke of Lower Lorraine, himself the son of Louis IV of France and Gerberga of Saxony. Her mother was Adelaide/Agnes de Vermandois. Personal life She married ...

(b. 975–1018), who married Lambert I, Count of Louvain *

( 989 – aft. 993) *Charles (b. 989)

References

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Life

Family

References

Sources

Further reading