Topic summary
Eastern Francia
Extracted from the Wikipedia article East Francia.
Terminology
The term orientalis Francia originally referred to Franconia and orientales Franci to its inhabitants, the ethnic Franks 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 was simply known as Francia.