Battle of Fontenay
Part of Frankish Civil War
The battle as depicted in the fourteenth-century Grandes Chroniques de France.
Date June 25, 841 Location Fontenay, eastern France Result Decisive Divisionist victory (Empire divided between the three leaders in 843)
Combatants
Imperialists	Divisionists
Commanders
Lothair I, frankish king	Charles the Bald, Louis the German
Strength
150,000	150,000
Casualties
20-30,000	10,000-20,000

Contention over the division of the Holy Roman Empire between the three surviving sons of Louis the Pious culminated in the decisive Battle of Fontenay-en-Puisaye fought at Fontenay on the 25 June 841. It was a defeat for the allied forces of Lothair I of Italy and Pepin II of Aquitaine and a victory for Charles the Bald and Louis the German. The Frankish Empire was the territory of the Franks, from the 5th to the 10th centuries, from 481 ruled by Clovis I of the Merovingian Dynasty, the first king of all the Franks. ... A civil war is a war in which parties within the same culture, society or nationality fight against each other for the control of political power. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Philip Augustus captures Tours in 1189. ... June 25 is the 176th day of the year (177th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 189 days remaining. ... Events June 25: Battle of Fontenay _ Louis the German and Charles the Bald defeat Lothar. ... Fontenay can refer to: Abbaye de Fontenay, see Marmagne Fontenai and Fontenay is the name or part of the name of several communes in France: Fontenay, in the Eure département Fontenay, in the Indre département Fontenay, in the Manche département Fontenay, in the Saône-et-Loire... Events Treaty of Verdun divides the Carolingian empire between the 3 sons of Louis the Pious. ... A cartoon portraying the British Empire as an octopus, reaching into foreign lands Imperialism is a policy of extending the control or authority over foreign entities as a means of acquisition and/or maintenance of empires, either through direct territorial or through indirect methods of exerting control on the politics... Lothair I Lothair I (German: Lothar, French: Lothaire, Italian: Lotario) (795 – 2 March 855), king of Italy (818 – 855) and Holy Roman Emperor (840 – 855), was the eldest son of the emperor Louis the Pious and his wife Ermengarde of Hesbaye, daughter of Ingerman, duke of Hesbaye. ... Charles the Bald - Detail from a painting in the First Bible of Charles the Bald, painted ca. ... Louis the German (also known as Louis II or Louis the Bavarian or German Ludwig der Deutsche) (804 – August 28, 876), the third son of the emperor Louis the Pious and his first wife, Ermengarde of Hesbaye, was the king of Bavaria from 817, when his father partitioned the empire... The extent of the Holy Roman Empire in c. ... Louis the Pious, contemporary depiction from 826 as a miles Christi (soldier of Christ), with a poem of Rabanus Maurus overlaid. ... Fontenay can refer to: Abbaye de Fontenay, see Marmagne Fontenai and Fontenay is the name or part of the name of several communes in France: Fontenay, in the Eure département Fontenay, in the Indre département Fontenay, in the Manche département Fontenay, in the Saône-et-Loire... June 25 is the 176th day of the year (177th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 189 days remaining. ... Events June 25: Battle of Fontenay _ Louis the German and Charles the Bald defeat Lothar. ... Lothair I (German: Lothar, French: Lothaire, Italian: Lotario) (795 – 23 September 855), king of Italy (818 – 855) and Holy Roman Emperor (840 – 855), was the eldest son of the emperor Louis the Pious and his wife Ermengarde of Hesbaye, daughter of Ingerman, duke of Hesbaye. ... Pepin II, called the Younger (823-after 864, Senlis), was King of Aquitaine from 838 as the successor upon the death of his father, Pepin I. Pepin II was eldest son of Pepin I and Ingeltrude (also called Engelberga, Hringard, or Ringart), daughter of the count of Madrie, Theodobert. ... Charles the Bald - Detail from a painting in the First Bible of Charles the Bald, painted ca. ... Louis the German (also known as Louis II or Louis the Bavarian or German Ludwig der Deutsche) (804 – August 28, 876), the third son of the emperor Louis the Pious and his first wife, Ermengarde of Hesbaye, was the king of Bavaria from 817, when his father partitioned the empire...

Background

Louis the Pious throughout his long reign had entreated to divide his empire meritoriously amongst his sons—all his sons. With the late-born Charles, his attempts led to civil wars which culminated in his vindicating defeat of his last rebellious son, Louis, in 839. At Worms, on May 30 that year, he divided his empire for the last time, giving Lothair the kingdom he already held (Italy) and the imperial title, with all the other lands of the east and Charles receiving all the lands of the west. Louis was left with Bavaria while Pepin, his grandson, was left out of the inheritance. Events Louis the Pious attempts to divide his empire among his sons. ... // Worms (pronounced ) is a city in the southwest of Germany. ... May 30 is the 150th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (151st in leap years). ... The geographic region and Free State of Bavaria (German:  ), with an area of 70,553 km² (27,241 square miles) and 12. ... Pepin I (797-November 13 or December 13, 838) was King of Aquitaine. ...

On 24 July 840 in Strasbourg, Lothair precipitated a new civil war by declaring his imperium over all the lands of the empire and, joining with his nephew Pepin attacked, attacked the Loire Valley. The barons of Burgundy divided over allegiance to Charles and Lothair. Ermenaud III of Auxerre, Arnoul of Sens, and Audri of Autun pledged themselves for Lothair, while Guerin of Provence and Aubert of Avallon remained with Charles. Girard II, Count of Paris, the emperor's brother-in-law, joined Lothair also. In March 841, the Burgundians faithful to Charles accompanied Guerin to join him and in May, Louis of Bavaria and his troops met Charles army at Châlons-sur-Marne. In June, Pepin finally joined with Lothair in Auxerre. July 24 is the 205th day (206th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 160 days remaining. ... After the death of Louis the Pious, his sons Lothar, Charles the Bald and Louis the German fight over the division of the Holy Roman Empire, with Lothar succeeding as Emperor. ... City flag City coat of arms Location Coordinates Time Zone CET (GMT +1) Administration Country France Region Alsace Department Bas-Rhin (67) Intercommunality Urban Community of Strasbourg Mayor Fabienne Keller  (UMP) City Statistics Land area¹ 78. ... Imperium can, in a broad sense, be translated as power. ... Loire Valley (French: Vallée de la Loire) is known as the Garden of France and the Cradle of the French Language. ... région of Bourgogne, see Bourgogne. ... Guerin, Garin, Warin, or Werner (Latin: Werinus or Guarnarius; died 845 or 856) was the Count of Auvergne, Chalon, Mâcon, Autun, Arles and Duke of Provence, Burgundy, and Toulouse. ... Girart de Roussillon is an epic figure of in a cycle of Carolingian romances, collectively known as the Matter of France. ... Châlons-en-Champagne is a city and commune in France. ... Coordinates Administration Country France Region Bourgogne Department Yonne (Prefecture) Arrondissement Auxerre Canton Chief town of 5 cantons Intercommunality Communauté de Communes de lAuxerrois Mayor Guy Ferez (2001-2008) Statistics Altitude 93 m–217 m (avg. ...

The battle

The two armies, of about 150,000 men each, met on June 25. According to tradition, Charles established his camp at Thury, on the hill of Roichat. Lothair and Pepin intiated battle and took the upper hand until the arrival of Guerin and his army of Provençals. While Pepin and his contingent continued to push back Charles men, Lothair was slowly pushed back himself by Louis the German and the Provençals. Finally, when victory seemed sure for Charles, Bernard of Septimania entered the conflict on his side and the victory became a rout. A total of 40,000 men died, including Gerard of Auvergne and Ricwin of Nantes, who fell at Charles' side. June 25 is the 176th day of the year (177th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 189 days remaining. ... Thury is the name of several communes in France: Thury, in the Côte-dOr département Thury, in the Yonne département It is part of the name of several communes: Thury-en-Valois, in the Oise département Thury-Harcourt, in the Calvados département Thury-sous... Bernard or Bernat of Septimania son of William of Gellone, was a Frank and Count of Barcelona from 826 to 832 and again from 835 to 844. ... Ricwin, Ricuin, Richwin, or Richovin (died 25 June 841) was the Count of Nantes from 831 to 841. ...

In spite of his personal gallantry, Lothair was defeated and fled to his capital of Aix-la-Chapelle. With fresh troops he entered upon a war of plunder, but the forces of his brothers were too strong for him, and taking with him such treasure as he could collect, he abandoned to them his capital. Oche redirects here; in darts the oche is the line from which players must throw. ...

See also

• Oath of Strasbourg (842)
• Treaty of Verdun (843)

In 842, Louis the German, son of Louis the Pious, and ruler of the eastern Frankish kingdom, met with his brother, Charles the Bald, ruler of the western Frankish kingdom, at Strasbourg. ... Events Oaths of Strasbourg — alliance of Louis the German and Charles the Bald against emperor Lothar — sworn and recorded in vernacular languages. ... Geopolitical divisions according to the Treaty of Verdun. ... Events Treaty of Verdun divides the Carolingian empire between the 3 sons of Louis the Pious. ...

Sources

• Initial text adapted from the entry for Lothair I in the 1911 Encyclopedia.