Louis the Pious

Lore & Background

Louis was born in 778 while his father Charlemagne was on campaign through the Pyrenees, at the Carolingian villa of Cassinogilum, usually identified with Chasseneuil near Poitiers. He was the third son of Charlemagne and Hildegard, and had a twin brother named Lothair who died young. Crowned King of Aquitaine as a three-year-old in 781, he was sent to Aquitaine with regents and a court. Charlemagne constituted this sub-kingdom to secure the border after the war against the Aquitanians and Basques. Louis conquered Barcelona from the Emirate of Córdoba in 801 and asserted Frankish authority over Pamplona and the Basques south of the Pyrenees in 812.

Reader's Guide

Louis the Pious is significant as the successor to Charlemagne, inheriting the entire Carolingian Empire in 814. His reign was marked by efforts to maintain imperial unity through the Ordinatio Imperii of 817, which divided the empire among his sons Lothair, Pepin, and Louis. However, the 830s saw civil war exacerbated by his attempts to include his son Charles by his second wife in the succession. Though his reign ended with order largely restored, it was followed by three years of civil war. Louis is generally compared unfavourably to his father but faced distinctly different problems, including managing multiple adult heirs and internal rebellions. His legacy includes the establishment of the tradition of French kings being crowned at Reims, following his 816 coronation by Pope Stephen IV.

Did You Know?

• Louis had a twin brother named Lothair who died young.
• He conquered Barcelona from the Emirate of Córdoba in 801 after a seven-month siege.
• He was deposed from November 833 to March 834.
• His coinage imitated his father Charlemagne's portrait to project imperial authority.