WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.560 Okay, let's unpack this. Today, we are plunging 00:00:02.560 --> 00:00:04.620 deep into the heart of the 9th century, into 00:00:04.620 --> 00:00:09.039 a period of just violent, messy succession after 00:00:09.039 --> 00:00:11.439 the greatest empire Western Europe had seen since 00:00:11.439 --> 00:00:14.140 Rome. The Carolingian dynasty. Exactly. We're 00:00:14.140 --> 00:00:15.919 talking about the direct grandsons of Charlemagne, 00:00:16.039 --> 00:00:18.940 and specifically one man whose life story is 00:00:18.940 --> 00:00:21.859 the foundation of modern France. Charles II, 00:00:22.179 --> 00:00:24.519 the ultimate political survivor, better known 00:00:24.519 --> 00:00:27.239 to history by a nickname that, well, it remains 00:00:27.239 --> 00:00:30.399 a biting historical joke. Charles the Bold. And 00:00:30.399 --> 00:00:32.520 he's a huge figure. I mean, King of West Francia 00:00:32.520 --> 00:00:36.219 from 843 to 877. And if that wasn't enough drama, 00:00:36.299 --> 00:00:38.960 he pulled off a daring last -minute grab for 00:00:38.960 --> 00:00:41.159 the ultimate Carolingian prize, becoming Holy 00:00:41.159 --> 00:00:43.719 Roman Emperor from 875 until his death. For two 00:00:43.719 --> 00:00:46.520 years, but still. All right, so our mission today 00:00:46.520 --> 00:00:49.259 is designed to be your essential shortcut through 00:00:49.259 --> 00:00:51.960 this incredibly dense, complex era. We're going 00:00:51.960 --> 00:00:54.479 to navigate his decades -long struggle for legitimacy 00:00:54.479 --> 00:00:57.340 against his own family, his unruly nobles. We'll 00:00:57.340 --> 00:00:59.780 dissect his profound political and military innovations, 00:01:00.079 --> 00:01:02.560 specifically how he armed a cavalry that would 00:01:02.560 --> 00:01:04.780 define France for centuries. And finally, we 00:01:04.780 --> 00:01:06.439 have to solve the enduring mystery surrounding 00:01:06.439 --> 00:01:09.540 his famous and possibly deeply ironic moniker. 00:01:09.840 --> 00:01:11.859 It's crucial when we look at Charles the Bald 00:01:11.859 --> 00:01:14.719 that we immediately shed the traditional framing 00:01:14.719 --> 00:01:17.299 that sees him as just presiding over the fragmentation 00:01:17.299 --> 00:01:19.560 of Charlemagne's legacy. He wasn't just a failure, 00:01:19.640 --> 00:01:22.450 though. Not at all. He was born into chaos, yet 00:01:22.450 --> 00:01:24.689 he didn't just witness the empire's collapse. 00:01:24.790 --> 00:01:27.650 He was an astonishing survivor who actively shaped 00:01:27.650 --> 00:01:30.209 the resulting kingdoms. His entire life from 00:01:30.209 --> 00:01:33.069 the moment of his birth in 823 was just defined 00:01:33.069 --> 00:01:35.769 by negotiation. He was constantly fighting for 00:01:35.769 --> 00:01:38.409 legitimacy against his powerful established brothers, 00:01:38.569 --> 00:01:41.590 against a highly independent nobility, and against 00:01:41.590 --> 00:01:44.090 multiplying external threats, most famously the 00:01:44.090 --> 00:01:47.019 Vikings. So, King of West Francia. from the crucial 00:01:47.019 --> 00:01:51.780 Treaty of Verdun in 843 until 877, and briefly 00:01:51.780 --> 00:01:54.980 emperor. Making his political career really a 00:01:54.980 --> 00:01:57.780 masterclass in high -stakes compromise. The moment 00:01:57.780 --> 00:02:00.500 Charles was born in Frankfurt in 823, he was 00:02:00.500 --> 00:02:02.640 a political problem for his father, Louis the 00:02:02.640 --> 00:02:05.319 Pious. A huge problem. I mean, Louis already 00:02:05.319 --> 00:02:07.799 had three adult sons from his first marriage, 00:02:08.159 --> 00:02:11.759 Lothair, Pepin, and Louis the German. And they 00:02:11.759 --> 00:02:13.819 weren't just grown men. They had already been 00:02:13.819 --> 00:02:16.219 assigned their own substantial regna, their own 00:02:16.219 --> 00:02:19.360 sub -kingdoms. Immensely. Charles arrived so 00:02:19.360 --> 00:02:21.539 late to the party. He was the product of Louis 00:02:21.539 --> 00:02:23.879 the Pious' second marriage to Judith of Bavaria. 00:02:24.020 --> 00:02:26.560 And his older half -brothers had what? Established 00:02:26.560 --> 00:02:29.500 interests? Armies? Decades of expectations. So 00:02:29.500 --> 00:02:31.159 when Louis the Pious tried to carve out a place 00:02:31.159 --> 00:02:33.300 for Charles, he was essentially taking land or 00:02:33.300 --> 00:02:35.020 authority that the elder sons already viewed 00:02:35.020 --> 00:02:37.219 as theirs or, you know, as their eventual sphere 00:02:37.219 --> 00:02:39.599 of influence. This wasn't just sibling rivalry 00:02:39.599 --> 00:02:41.800 then? No, no. This was a zero -sum territorial 00:02:41.800 --> 00:02:44.300 game. Life and death, really. And we see this 00:02:44.300 --> 00:02:47.300 play out almost immediately. His father's attempts 00:02:47.300 --> 00:02:51.080 to settle him just kept failing. First, he tried 00:02:51.080 --> 00:02:54.460 to assign Charles Alemania, which is basically 00:02:54.460 --> 00:02:57.620 modern -day Alsace in Switzerland. And the resistance 00:02:57.620 --> 00:03:00.939 was immediate. So when Louis tried again, the 00:03:00.939 --> 00:03:03.300 opposition only hardened. Right. Because after 00:03:03.300 --> 00:03:07.319 Pepin I of Aquitaine revolted in 832, Louis tried 00:03:07.319 --> 00:03:10.539 to assign Charles this huge, sprawling territory. 00:03:11.120 --> 00:03:13.199 The region stretching from the Meuse River all 00:03:13.199 --> 00:03:15.599 the way south to the Pyrenees. But the problem 00:03:15.599 --> 00:03:17.199 was that the older brothers were locked in these 00:03:17.199 --> 00:03:20.120 constant cycles of, well, reconciliation and 00:03:20.120 --> 00:03:22.620 then rebellion against their father. So Charles's 00:03:22.620 --> 00:03:25.259 promised share, whether it was Aquitaine or even 00:03:25.259 --> 00:03:27.979 temporary control of Italy, it was always conditional. 00:03:28.340 --> 00:03:30.500 Always being promised land, but never securely 00:03:30.500 --> 00:03:32.500 holding it. Exactly. So the problem wasn't just 00:03:32.500 --> 00:03:34.460 what land he was getting, but the fact that Louis 00:03:34.460 --> 00:03:36.699 the Pious was constantly tearing up the existing 00:03:36.699 --> 00:03:40.159 map to accommodate his youngest son. Absolutely. 00:03:40.199 --> 00:03:42.259 And you have to think about the nobles loyal 00:03:42.259 --> 00:03:45.039 to the older brothers. Every attempt to settle 00:03:45.039 --> 00:03:47.699 Charles was seen as an attack on the sort of 00:03:47.699 --> 00:03:50.860 constitutional integrity of the empire. Louis 00:03:50.860 --> 00:03:54.020 the Pious eventually just doubled down. He demonstrated 00:03:54.020 --> 00:03:57.460 this ironclad determination to make Charles the 00:03:57.460 --> 00:04:00.639 heir to the entire Western Frankish realm, essentially 00:04:00.639 --> 00:04:04.080 the land that was once Gaul. And to do that. 00:04:04.490 --> 00:04:07.550 to bypass the older sons, he held that pivotal 00:04:07.550 --> 00:04:10.990 diet at Aiken in 837. A critical moment. What 00:04:10.990 --> 00:04:12.930 was he trying to achieve there, exactly? He was 00:04:12.930 --> 00:04:15.129 trying to preemptively validate Charles' succession. 00:04:15.530 --> 00:04:18.370 He explicitly bade the most powerful nobles and 00:04:18.370 --> 00:04:20.709 bishops to come and do homage to Charles as his 00:04:20.709 --> 00:04:23.129 designated successor. That is not a subtle move. 00:04:23.250 --> 00:04:25.610 Oh, not at all. It was an open declaration that 00:04:25.610 --> 00:04:28.310 Charles was meant to rule the West. It just bypassed 00:04:28.310 --> 00:04:30.209 all the established customs of partimal inheritance, 00:04:30.389 --> 00:04:32.949 infuriating the older brothers, and, as historians 00:04:32.949 --> 00:04:35.810 suggest, making civil war a near certainty. It 00:04:35.810 --> 00:04:38.290 was Louis' final desperate attempt to secure 00:04:38.290 --> 00:04:41.089 his youngest son's future. But it only guaranteed 00:04:41.089 --> 00:04:44.029 violence. And then, when Pepin of Aquitaine died 00:04:44.029 --> 00:04:46.910 in 838, Charles briefly gained control of that 00:04:46.910 --> 00:04:49.069 kingdom, but it was a poison chalice, wasn't 00:04:49.069 --> 00:04:52.009 it? It really was. Aquitaine had its own distinct 00:04:52.009 --> 00:04:55.269 legal and cultural identity, and the local nobles 00:04:55.269 --> 00:04:57.850 were fiercely independent. So they didn't want 00:04:57.850 --> 00:05:00.000 him. They immediately supported Pepin's son, 00:05:00.160 --> 00:05:02.980 Pepin II, creating a decades -long headache for 00:05:02.980 --> 00:05:05.939 Charles. So even as he fought the main family 00:05:05.939 --> 00:05:09.420 drama, he had this massive, persistent rebellion 00:05:09.420 --> 00:05:12.040 burning in his own backyard. So when Louis the 00:05:12.040 --> 00:05:15.300 Pious finally died in 840, that certainty of 00:05:15.300 --> 00:05:18.220 violence you mentioned, it arrived. Instantly. 00:05:18.220 --> 00:05:20.980 The moment the old emperor was gone, the simmering 00:05:20.980 --> 00:05:23.860 resentment just boiled over. open warfare erupted. 00:05:24.360 --> 00:05:27.180 Lothair I, as the designated new emperor, tried 00:05:27.180 --> 00:05:29.579 to assert his supremacy over the entire realm. 00:05:30.060 --> 00:05:31.720 Which left Charles in a pretty desperate position. 00:05:31.980 --> 00:05:35.000 He was. He needed help against the imperial pretensions 00:05:35.000 --> 00:05:36.959 of his half -brother. And that's where we see 00:05:36.959 --> 00:05:39.819 the first real sign of Charles' tactical intelligence. 00:05:40.259 --> 00:05:42.819 He knew he couldn't fight Lothair alone. So he 00:05:42.819 --> 00:05:44.980 formed a strategic alliance with his other brother, 00:05:45.120 --> 00:05:47.819 Louis the German, who was also resisting Lothair's 00:05:47.819 --> 00:05:50.920 push for total dominance. An alliance which culminated 00:05:50.920 --> 00:05:54.160 in the monumental and incredibly bloody Battle 00:05:54.160 --> 00:05:58.990 of Fontenoy -en -Puithay on June 25, 841. That 00:05:58.990 --> 00:06:02.649 battle was massive, brutal, and strategically 00:06:02.649 --> 00:06:06.629 decisive. The sources from the time, they describe 00:06:06.629 --> 00:06:09.470 it as just devastating for the Frankish aristocracy. 00:06:09.670 --> 00:06:11.629 So many nobles were killed, right? So many that 00:06:11.629 --> 00:06:14.449 the coniclers lamented it left the empire exposed 00:06:14.449 --> 00:06:17.579 to external threats. Charles and Louis the German 00:06:17.579 --> 00:06:20.100 won, shattering Lothair's immediate military 00:06:20.100 --> 00:06:23.500 power and, maybe more importantly, fracturing 00:06:23.500 --> 00:06:26.540 the very notion of a unified Carolingian empire. 00:06:26.860 --> 00:06:28.819 And the political genius move that immediately 00:06:28.819 --> 00:06:31.740 followed cementing that fracture was the celebrated 00:06:31.740 --> 00:06:35.230 Oath of Strasbourg in 842. Yes. This wasn't just 00:06:35.230 --> 00:06:37.110 an agreement. It was a performance, wasn't it? 00:06:37.370 --> 00:06:39.550 Designed to solidify their political bond and 00:06:39.550 --> 00:06:41.709 rally support. It's one of the most remarkable 00:06:41.709 --> 00:06:44.129 documents in early medieval history because it 00:06:44.129 --> 00:06:45.910 speaks directly to the reality of the emerging 00:06:45.910 --> 00:06:48.350 divisions. The odes were recited by Charles and 00:06:48.350 --> 00:06:49.970 Louis, not just in their own native languages. 00:06:49.970 --> 00:06:52.610 So their armies could understand. Exactly. So 00:06:52.610 --> 00:06:54.629 their respective armies could understand and 00:06:54.629 --> 00:06:57.769 swear to uphold the alliance. Louis the German's 00:06:57.769 --> 00:07:00.149 troops heard it in the Frankish tongue, while 00:07:00.149 --> 00:07:02.629 Charles's men, who spoke in early form of French, 00:07:02.829 --> 00:07:05.490 heard it in the Romance language. That linguistic 00:07:05.490 --> 00:07:08.579 reality is key. It's the moment historians point 00:07:08.579 --> 00:07:11.759 to that acknowledges the deep cultural and political 00:07:11.759 --> 00:07:14.199 separation taking place. The Frankish elite were 00:07:14.199 --> 00:07:17.420 splitting into distinct linguistic groups, foreshadowing 00:07:17.420 --> 00:07:19.819 the political nation states to come. It wasn't 00:07:19.819 --> 00:07:22.899 just a promise. It was a public, solemn commitment 00:07:22.899 --> 00:07:26.120 broadcast to two nascent national armies. And 00:07:26.120 --> 00:07:29.379 this war, which had started in 840, was finally 00:07:29.379 --> 00:07:31.220 brought to an end by the Treaty of Verdun in 00:07:31.220 --> 00:07:34.420 August 843. And this wasn't a voluntary agreement. 00:07:34.500 --> 00:07:36.879 It was a necessary division of territory based 00:07:36.879 --> 00:07:39.699 on political and military realities. And Charles 00:07:39.699 --> 00:07:42.360 finally secured his kingdom. Finally. So we know 00:07:42.360 --> 00:07:44.379 Charles received the Kingdom of the West Franks. 00:07:44.379 --> 00:07:46.060 But what did that actually mean on the ground, 00:07:46.180 --> 00:07:48.699 geographically and culturally? He received the 00:07:48.699 --> 00:07:51.680 Western Third. Geographically, it broadly corresponds 00:07:51.680 --> 00:07:54.579 to modern France. His border ran along the Meuse, 00:07:54.740 --> 00:07:57.060 the Seine, and the Rhône rivers. And it included 00:07:57.060 --> 00:07:59.040 the Spanish March too, right? Critically, yes. 00:07:59.220 --> 00:08:01.480 That southern border zone stretching down to 00:08:01.480 --> 00:08:04.939 the Ebro River. His kingdom was culturally and 00:08:04.939 --> 00:08:07.420 linguistically more homogenous than his brothers, 00:08:07.680 --> 00:08:10.519 dominated by Latin -derived romance languages. 00:08:11.220 --> 00:08:14.120 Louis the German's East Francia was largely German 00:08:14.120 --> 00:08:16.759 -speaking. So this Western Third gave him a distinct 00:08:16.759 --> 00:08:19.560 territorial and cultural base. which would become 00:08:19.560 --> 00:08:21.300 essential for developing a separate political 00:08:21.300 --> 00:08:23.459 identity down the line. And just for context, 00:08:23.759 --> 00:08:25.800 Louis the German got the eastern portion, East 00:08:25.800 --> 00:08:29.579 Francia, the precursor to Germany, while Lothair, 00:08:29.759 --> 00:08:32.519 despite his defeat, kept the imperial title Italy 00:08:32.519 --> 00:08:35.879 and that complicated central region, Middle Francia. 00:08:36.330 --> 00:08:38.649 That strip of land from Flanders to Burgundy, 00:08:38.789 --> 00:08:41.509 perpetually unstable. It was soon swallowed by 00:08:41.509 --> 00:08:43.169 its neighbors, which really proves that Charles 00:08:43.169 --> 00:08:45.470 and Lady the German got the better, more defensible 00:08:45.470 --> 00:08:48.230 long -term chunks. So Charles the Bald had survived 00:08:48.230 --> 00:08:50.919 the first round. He had his kingdom. But now 00:08:50.919 --> 00:08:53.559 his real work began, governing this turbulent 00:08:53.559 --> 00:08:56.500 new entity while battling not only his family, 00:08:56.519 --> 00:08:58.980 but also the powerful, entrenched interests within 00:08:58.980 --> 00:09:01.639 his own borders. So if the first 20 years of 00:09:01.639 --> 00:09:04.299 his life were defined by civil war, the two decades 00:09:04.299 --> 00:09:07.120 after Verdun were all about frantic, high -stakes 00:09:07.120 --> 00:09:10.330 negotiation and survival. That's right. Initially, 00:09:10.330 --> 00:09:13.370 there was a period of, well, fragile peace, partly 00:09:13.370 --> 00:09:15.850 due to this attempt to maintain an illusion of 00:09:15.850 --> 00:09:18.090 confraternal government with his brothers. And 00:09:18.090 --> 00:09:21.429 that lasted until Lothair I's death in 855. That 00:09:21.429 --> 00:09:23.750 concept of confraternal government is fascinating, 00:09:24.049 --> 00:09:26.590 isn't it? It is. What does it show us? It shows 00:09:26.590 --> 00:09:29.190 that despite the physical division of Verdun, 00:09:29.330 --> 00:09:32.330 there was still this deep -seated feeling that 00:09:32.330 --> 00:09:37.100 they were one family, one political entity. Fractured. 00:09:37.139 --> 00:09:39.379 They kept meeting. Not just to socialize, but 00:09:39.379 --> 00:09:42.039 to manage shared problems. They met at Koblenz 00:09:42.039 --> 00:09:46.399 in 848, Mearsen in 851. And Atteny in 854. We 00:09:46.399 --> 00:09:48.600 tend to just list these dates, but why were these 00:09:48.600 --> 00:09:50.159 meetings so essential? What kind of business 00:09:50.159 --> 00:09:52.220 were they actually handling? Well, for one, border 00:09:52.220 --> 00:09:54.460 disputes. These came up constantly from the artificial 00:09:54.460 --> 00:09:57.159 lines drawn at Verdun. They also dealt with shared 00:09:57.159 --> 00:10:00.259 defense costs. Against who? The Saracens and 00:10:00.259 --> 00:10:03.659 Vikings. Primarily. The Saracens in the south 00:10:03.659 --> 00:10:06.220 and the emerging, relentless threat of the Vikings 00:10:06.220 --> 00:10:09.360 in the north. They used these summits to reassert 00:10:09.360 --> 00:10:12.440 a unified Christian front and issue shared legislation 00:10:12.440 --> 00:10:15.100 to manage church affairs. It was a mechanism 00:10:15.100 --> 00:10:18.220 to manage chaos. But it ultimately revealed that 00:10:18.220 --> 00:10:20.899 the lines drawn at Verdun were never really seen 00:10:20.899 --> 00:10:23.860 as final. Never. And yet, even while he was dealing 00:10:23.860 --> 00:10:26.759 with his brothers, Charles' power at home was 00:10:26.759 --> 00:10:29.419 immediately contested. The ink on the Treaty 00:10:29.419 --> 00:10:32.039 of Verdun had barely dried when he was forced 00:10:32.039 --> 00:10:34.259 to sign the critical Treaty of Coulaines. With 00:10:34.259 --> 00:10:37.960 his own nobility and clergy in 843, Coulaines 00:10:37.960 --> 00:10:40.980 is an absolutely crucial moment. Why? What did 00:10:40.980 --> 00:10:43.120 it establish? It shows the immediate limits on 00:10:43.120 --> 00:10:46.120 Charles's royal authority. It essentially dictated 00:10:46.120 --> 00:10:48.679 the terms of his governance. The nobles and bishops 00:10:48.679 --> 00:10:50.620 made Charles agree to protect their rights and 00:10:50.620 --> 00:10:53.139 customs, guarantee them control over their lands. 00:10:53.320 --> 00:10:55.419 So there's a check on the crown. A huge check. 00:10:55.559 --> 00:10:58.000 It demonstrated that Charles was not an absolute 00:10:58.000 --> 00:11:00.580 ruler like his grandfather Charlemagne. He was 00:11:00.580 --> 00:11:03.039 a king dependent on the local power of his elites. 00:11:03.299 --> 00:11:06.080 That dependency comes to a terrifying head in 00:11:06.080 --> 00:11:09.940 the crisis of 858. Disaffected West Frankish 00:11:09.940 --> 00:11:12.360 nobles invite his brother, Louis the German, 00:11:12.539 --> 00:11:15.879 to invade and replace him. This was perhaps the 00:11:15.879 --> 00:11:18.240 lowest point of Charles's reign. The sources 00:11:18.240 --> 00:11:20.879 suggest he had become so unpopular with a significant 00:11:20.879 --> 00:11:23.179 faction of the aristocracy that he was completely 00:11:23.179 --> 00:11:26.379 unable to summon a loyal army. He couldn't even 00:11:26.379 --> 00:11:28.779 raise an army. Not quickly enough to defend himself. 00:11:29.080 --> 00:11:31.820 He was forced to flee to Burgundy, near Sens, 00:11:32.139 --> 00:11:34.419 effectively losing control of his kingdom. It 00:11:34.419 --> 00:11:37.320 was a total breakdown of central authority. So 00:11:37.320 --> 00:11:39.840 what saved him? Sounds like he was completely 00:11:39.840 --> 00:11:42.379 doomed. He was saved by two specific interconnected 00:11:42.379 --> 00:11:45.860 forces. First, the bishops, led by figures like 00:11:45.860 --> 00:11:48.279 Hinkmar of Rheims. They were deeply committed 00:11:48.279 --> 00:11:50.480 to the political reality established at Verdun. 00:11:50.659 --> 00:11:52.860 So they wouldn't crown Louis. They refused. They 00:11:52.860 --> 00:11:54.799 argued that the division of the kingdom was sanctioned 00:11:54.799 --> 00:11:56.779 by God and that only Charles held legitimate 00:11:56.779 --> 00:11:59.740 authority in the West. Second, Charles leaned 00:11:59.740 --> 00:12:01.840 heavily on the fidelity of the wealth family. 00:12:02.100 --> 00:12:04.850 His mother's family. Exactly, the kinship network 00:12:04.850 --> 00:12:08.129 of his mother, Judith of Bavaria. The welfs were 00:12:08.129 --> 00:12:10.509 powerful supporters in Burgundy and Aquitaine 00:12:10.509 --> 00:12:12.850 and provided him with refuge and the core of 00:12:12.850 --> 00:12:15.750 a loyal military force. So that crisis must have 00:12:15.750 --> 00:12:18.289 taught him a profound lesson. I think so. It 00:12:18.289 --> 00:12:20.389 taught him that the church and personal kinship 00:12:20.389 --> 00:12:22.929 ties were often more powerful levers than inherited 00:12:22.929 --> 00:12:25.570 royal decree. But the internal strife just kept 00:12:25.570 --> 00:12:28.820 going, didn't it? especially in Aquitaine. Relentless. 00:12:28.860 --> 00:12:31.700 Even with Pepin I dead, the rebellions fueled 00:12:31.700 --> 00:12:35.039 by Pepin II and the powerful local nobles simply 00:12:35.039 --> 00:12:37.259 refused to accept Charles as their legitimate 00:12:37.259 --> 00:12:40.139 ruler. It was a constant drain on his resources. 00:12:40.500 --> 00:12:42.100 And Charles wasn't just defending his borders. 00:12:42.200 --> 00:12:45.039 He was also ambitious. He tried to seize territory 00:12:45.039 --> 00:12:47.799 whenever a Carolingian relative died. He did. 00:12:47.940 --> 00:12:50.399 In 860, he attempted to take the kingdom of his 00:12:50.399 --> 00:12:52.960 nephew, Charles of Provence, but was repulsed. 00:12:53.000 --> 00:12:55.220 The real territorial prize, though, came later 00:12:55.220 --> 00:12:57.200 with the partition of Lotharingia. Lotharingia, 00:12:57.299 --> 00:12:59.879 that rich, crucial strip of land between West 00:12:59.879 --> 00:13:02.980 and East Francia. When Lothair II had died in 00:13:02.980 --> 00:13:06.519 869, Charles made his move. He acted with incredible 00:13:06.519 --> 00:13:10.379 speed and audacity. He immediately rode to Metz 00:13:10.379 --> 00:13:13.100 and had himself consecrated king of Lotharingen. 00:13:13.279 --> 00:13:16.860 A massive land grab. It was! Designed to reunite 00:13:16.860 --> 00:13:19.100 a substantial portion of his grandfather's empire 00:13:19.100 --> 00:13:22.440 under his own crown. But Louis the German saw 00:13:22.440 --> 00:13:25.360 this as a gross violation of their earlier agreements. 00:13:25.980 --> 00:13:28.559 Louis quickly mobilized, found support among 00:13:28.559 --> 00:13:31.340 Lothair's former vassals, and forced Charles 00:13:31.340 --> 00:13:33.940 to the negotiating table. Which resulted in the 00:13:33.940 --> 00:13:36.450 Treaty of 870. partitioning the territory between 00:13:36.450 --> 00:13:38.830 them. And Charles got a substantial amount, including 00:13:38.830 --> 00:13:41.370 the western half of modern day Belgium and areas 00:13:41.370 --> 00:13:43.789 around the Moselle. But it was another compromise. 00:13:44.169 --> 00:13:47.049 It solidified the idea of two distinct emerging 00:13:47.049 --> 00:13:49.850 nation states. It cemented the reality that the 00:13:49.850 --> 00:13:52.750 Carolingian imperial ideal was giving way to 00:13:52.750 --> 00:13:55.450 two major regional powers. The West and the East. 00:13:55.629 --> 00:13:57.830 The core of France and the core of Germany were 00:13:57.830 --> 00:14:00.529 separating. geographically and politically. But 00:14:00.529 --> 00:14:02.590 all this internal politicking was taking place 00:14:02.590 --> 00:14:04.750 against a backdrop of relentless foreign threats. 00:14:05.230 --> 00:14:07.549 We have to address the Breton and Viking crises. 00:14:07.789 --> 00:14:09.769 They were the defining existential challenges 00:14:09.769 --> 00:14:12.549 of his reign. In Brittany, the situation rapidly 00:14:12.549 --> 00:14:15.580 spiraled out of Charles's control. He faced two 00:14:15.580 --> 00:14:18.620 powerful local leaders, Nomenoi and later his 00:14:18.620 --> 00:14:21.220 son, Erisbo. And Charles's forces were beaten. 00:14:21.620 --> 00:14:24.480 Decisively in two major battles. The Battle of 00:14:24.480 --> 00:14:28.139 Ballon in 845 and the Battle of Jingland in 851. 00:14:28.620 --> 00:14:31.240 These were crippling defeats, forcing Charles 00:14:31.240 --> 00:14:33.700 to recognize the de facto independence of the 00:14:33.700 --> 00:14:36.559 Bretons. So he was forced to concede a portion 00:14:36.559 --> 00:14:39.299 of his own kingdom. He was. But the Viking Scourge 00:14:39.299 --> 00:14:41.700 was far more terrifying because it was nationwide. 00:14:42.679 --> 00:14:44.980 Historical records confirm the devastation was 00:14:44.980 --> 00:14:47.399 widespread, affecting the core of West Francia, 00:14:47.559 --> 00:14:50.100 especially the fertile valleys of the Seine and 00:14:50.100 --> 00:14:52.700 the Loire. The sources from the period paint 00:14:52.700 --> 00:14:55.559 a horrifying picture. They do. Raids reached 00:14:55.559 --> 00:14:58.620 deep inland, striking monasteries, towns, even 00:14:58.620 --> 00:15:01.340 the edges of Aquitaine. The fear of these highly 00:15:01.340 --> 00:15:04.360 mobile, brutal invaders dictated royal policy. 00:15:04.580 --> 00:15:06.419 And the defining moment of this early crisis 00:15:06.419 --> 00:15:09.419 was the 845 siege and sack of Paris. The Vikings, 00:15:09.620 --> 00:15:12.139 led by a chieftain named Brigidon Harris, sailed 00:15:12.139 --> 00:15:15.000 up the Seine with a massive fleet. And Charles, 00:15:15.240 --> 00:15:18.720 lacking the military means to repel them, made 00:15:18.720 --> 00:15:20.379 a decision that would define the vulnerability 00:15:20.379 --> 00:15:23.620 of his government. He paid them to leave. He 00:15:23.620 --> 00:15:26.320 was repeatedly forced into this degrading practice 00:15:26.320 --> 00:15:30.240 known as paying dengeld, a heavy price in silver 00:15:30.240 --> 00:15:32.740 or gold to simply get the Vikings to leave, if 00:15:32.740 --> 00:15:36.919 only temporarily. The 845 payment was enormous. 00:15:36.960 --> 00:15:40.139 And this policy, while maybe a necessary expedient 00:15:40.139 --> 00:15:42.779 to buy time, it just underscored the government's 00:15:42.779 --> 00:15:45.100 weakness. And it incentivized future raids. I 00:15:45.100 --> 00:15:46.960 mean, why should the Vikings fight when the king 00:15:46.960 --> 00:15:49.419 will just pay you? But Charles wasn't merely 00:15:49.419 --> 00:15:52.090 a passive victim. He eventually made a major 00:15:52.090 --> 00:15:55.710 definitive strategic shift, a true military revolution 00:15:55.710 --> 00:15:59.250 detailed in the Edict of Peachtrees of 864. A 00:15:59.250 --> 00:16:01.269 monumentally important piece of legislation. 00:16:01.590 --> 00:16:03.649 So what was it? It was a direct response to the 00:16:03.649 --> 00:16:05.870 mobility problem. The Viking launch ships were 00:16:05.870 --> 00:16:08.269 fast. The Frankish defense forces, relying mostly 00:16:08.269 --> 00:16:10.629 on foot soldiers, were slow. Charles needed to 00:16:10.629 --> 00:16:12.950 respond quickly. The edict of Pistres provided 00:16:12.950 --> 00:16:14.730 for the establishment of a specialized professional 00:16:14.730 --> 00:16:17.450 cavalry element. This was a critical military 00:16:17.450 --> 00:16:20.669 innovation, an armored, mobile, rapid response 00:16:20.669 --> 00:16:23.330 force. Designed to intercept... the Vikings, 00:16:23.450 --> 00:16:24.990 before they could get away with their plunder. 00:16:25.370 --> 00:16:28.669 And this professional cavalry is seen by historians 00:16:28.669 --> 00:16:31.830 as the direct predecessor of the famous French 00:16:31.830 --> 00:16:34.250 chivalry, right? For the next 600 years, yes, 00:16:34.389 --> 00:16:36.929 it changed the face of warfare in the West. But 00:16:36.929 --> 00:16:39.190 here's the critical tension, something the sources 00:16:39.190 --> 00:16:43.690 hint at. Who paid for all this? The horses, the 00:16:43.690 --> 00:16:45.940 armor, the training. That's the key question. 00:16:46.139 --> 00:16:48.799 This reliance on highly specialized, expensive 00:16:48.799 --> 00:16:51.820 cavalry necessarily transferred more localized 00:16:51.820 --> 00:16:54.580 power and control over resources to the regional 00:16:54.580 --> 00:16:56.879 magnates and wealthy landholders who could afford 00:16:56.879 --> 00:16:59.659 to maintain these horsemen. So while the edict 00:16:59.659 --> 00:17:02.750 was brilliant militarily, It ironically accelerated 00:17:02.750 --> 00:17:05.410 the power shift away from the central monarchy 00:17:05.410 --> 00:17:07.730 and toward the regional lords. That's precisely 00:17:07.730 --> 00:17:10.470 the consensus. It solved the immediate Viking 00:17:10.470 --> 00:17:13.089 problem, but hastened the political decentralization 00:17:13.089 --> 00:17:15.430 that would characterize the 10th century. Did 00:17:15.430 --> 00:17:18.470 Charles create the very system that would eventually 00:17:18.470 --> 00:17:20.990 undermine his centralized authority? I think 00:17:20.990 --> 00:17:23.440 you could make a very strong case for that. The 00:17:23.440 --> 00:17:26.200 edict also contained crucial defensive infrastructure 00:17:26.200 --> 00:17:29.299 measures. Charles ordered that fortified bridges 00:17:29.299 --> 00:17:32.420 be constructed at all major navigable rivers. 00:17:32.740 --> 00:17:34.480 Like hard checkpoints on the liquid highways 00:17:34.480 --> 00:17:36.859 the Vikings used. Exactly. And we know these 00:17:36.859 --> 00:17:39.380 structures were highly effective. The sources 00:17:39.380 --> 00:17:41.460 specifically note that two of these fortified 00:17:41.460 --> 00:17:43.700 bridges at Paris were absolutely essential in 00:17:43.700 --> 00:17:46.279 saving the city during the massive Viking siege 00:17:46.279 --> 00:17:50.660 of 885 -886, long after Charles was dead. So 00:17:50.660 --> 00:17:54.009 that shows incredible strategy. It does. And 00:17:54.009 --> 00:17:56.210 beyond military action, Charles also engaged 00:17:56.210 --> 00:17:59.470 in surprisingly sophisticated diplomacy. It's 00:17:59.470 --> 00:18:02.569 a fascinating detail that in 865, he was corresponding 00:18:02.569 --> 00:18:05.269 with the powerful Islamic Emirate of Cordoba. 00:18:05.390 --> 00:18:07.509 He even received camels from Amir Muhammad I. 00:18:07.869 --> 00:18:10.690 An astonishing diplomatic reach, given the chaos 00:18:10.690 --> 00:18:13.029 surrounding him. It shows Charles operating not 00:18:13.029 --> 00:18:15.130 just as a king fighting local skirmishes, but 00:18:15.130 --> 00:18:17.470 as a major player on the Mediterranean stage. 00:18:18.059 --> 00:18:20.880 And as his reign progressed, the Palace of Compiègne 00:18:20.880 --> 00:18:23.119 became an increasingly important center of power. 00:18:23.299 --> 00:18:26.039 It became the symbolic and practical headquarters 00:18:26.039 --> 00:18:29.319 of his realm, strategically located, defensible 00:18:29.319 --> 00:18:32.799 and a stable base for governance. It was so important 00:18:32.799 --> 00:18:35.500 that later chroniclers nicknamed it Carlopolis. 00:18:35.680 --> 00:18:38.769 The city of Charles. an indelible marker of his 00:18:38.769 --> 00:18:41.670 long -defining reign over the West. So Charles 00:18:41.670 --> 00:18:44.769 had survived decades of crises. He'd solidified 00:18:44.769 --> 00:18:48.190 West Francia, invented modern cavalry, and centralized 00:18:48.190 --> 00:18:51.529 his power. But he still had one ultimate burning 00:18:51.529 --> 00:18:54.390 ambition left. The ambition of his grandfather 00:18:54.390 --> 00:18:58.009 Charlemagne, the imperial crown. He was a survivor, 00:18:58.089 --> 00:19:00.210 but he was also a true Carolingian at heart. 00:19:00.349 --> 00:19:02.430 And the imperial title represented the final 00:19:02.430 --> 00:19:05.539 confirmation of legitimacy. The opportunity arose 00:19:05.539 --> 00:19:08.579 unexpectedly in 875 with the death of Emperor 00:19:08.579 --> 00:19:11.400 Louis II, the last surviving son of his half 00:19:11.400 --> 00:19:13.940 -brother, Lothair I. And Charles seized the moment 00:19:13.940 --> 00:19:16.019 immediately. This was a race, right? His brother, 00:19:16.119 --> 00:19:18.079 Louis the German, also wanted the title. It was. 00:19:18.200 --> 00:19:20.619 So Charles needed to strike a political bargain. 00:19:20.819 --> 00:19:23.119 With the church. He needed the church. He traveled 00:19:23.119 --> 00:19:25.920 straight to Italy, bypassing any military confrontation, 00:19:26.240 --> 00:19:28.880 and secured the vital support of Pope John VIII. 00:19:29.130 --> 00:19:31.410 The bargain was likely centered on promising 00:19:31.410 --> 00:19:33.650 protection against the Saracen threats menacing 00:19:33.650 --> 00:19:37.430 Rome. This alliance was the key. Charles received 00:19:37.430 --> 00:19:40.210 the royal crown at Pavia, confirming his status 00:19:40.210 --> 00:19:42.630 as king of Italy. And then on Christmas Day, 00:19:42.730 --> 00:19:46.809 875, he received the imperial insignia in Rome. 00:19:46.970 --> 00:19:49.809 Christmas Day. That is absolutely intentional. 00:19:49.970 --> 00:19:52.069 Well, completely. It consciously links him directly 00:19:52.069 --> 00:19:54.369 to Charlemagne's famous coronation on Christmas 00:19:54.369 --> 00:19:58.210 Day 800, a direct ideological claim to the glorious 00:19:58.210 --> 00:20:00.829 past. And his ambition was then encapsulated 00:20:00.829 --> 00:20:03.769 in the grand motto on his new imperial seal, 00:20:04.009 --> 00:20:08.009 Renovatio Imperi Romani et Francorum. The renewal 00:20:08.009 --> 00:20:10.210 of the empire of the Romans and Franks. He wasn't 00:20:10.210 --> 00:20:12.049 just king. He was claiming the mantle of imperial 00:20:12.049 --> 00:20:14.230 renewal for the West. But securing the papal 00:20:14.230 --> 00:20:15.970 endorsement didn't mean he was subserving to 00:20:15.970 --> 00:20:18.750 the church. The sources reveal a surprising conflict 00:20:18.750 --> 00:20:21.309 over sovereignty almost immediately. This is 00:20:21.309 --> 00:20:23.509 a crucial detail that shows Charles was far more 00:20:23.509 --> 00:20:25.990 than a papal puppet. Before his coronation in 00:20:25.990 --> 00:20:30.009 871 and 872, he had sent two sharply worded letters 00:20:30.009 --> 00:20:33.410 to Pope Adrian II. About what? What was the conflict? 00:20:33.910 --> 00:20:37.730 Papal intrusion into secular state affairs. Specifically, 00:20:37.930 --> 00:20:40.289 the pope attempting to interfere with the appointment 00:20:40.289 --> 00:20:42.730 of bishops and asserting jurisdiction over lands 00:20:42.730 --> 00:20:45.329 Charles claimed. So what was Charles's argument? 00:20:45.720 --> 00:20:47.799 His argument, drawn from Frankish tradition, 00:20:48.079 --> 00:20:50.279 was that the church had spiritual authority, 00:20:50.440 --> 00:20:53.700 but secular governance control of borders, military 00:20:53.700 --> 00:20:56.220 levies, selection of bishops who held secular 00:20:56.220 --> 00:20:58.819 land belonged absolutely to the crown. He was 00:20:58.819 --> 00:21:00.920 defending royal sovereignty. He was making it 00:21:00.920 --> 00:21:03.039 clear that he welcomed the pope's blessing, but 00:21:03.039 --> 00:21:05.400 not his governance. You can imagine how Louis 00:21:05.400 --> 00:21:07.640 the German reacted to his younger brother winning 00:21:07.640 --> 00:21:10.259 the title. They both coveted. The coronation 00:21:10.259 --> 00:21:13.240 immediately provoked him. He retaliated by invading 00:21:13.240 --> 00:21:15.460 and devastating Charles' domains back in West 00:21:15.460 --> 00:21:18.640 Francia. This rivalry was truly until death. 00:21:18.839 --> 00:21:21.339 And Charles attempted to retaliate in kind after 00:21:21.339 --> 00:21:24.059 Louis the German finally died in August 876. 00:21:24.500 --> 00:21:28.180 He saw a golden final opportunity to seize the 00:21:28.180 --> 00:21:31.579 East Frankish kingdom. This was, however, a critical, 00:21:31.759 --> 00:21:35.420 fatal overreach. He was overconfident, unprepared, 00:21:35.460 --> 00:21:37.900 and marched into his own disaster. The Battle 00:21:37.900 --> 00:21:42.400 of Andernach. Yes. On October 8, 876, Charles 00:21:42.400 --> 00:21:45.359 the Bald's forces were decisively beaten by Louis 00:21:45.359 --> 00:21:48.920 the German's sons. This defeat crushed his ambition 00:21:48.920 --> 00:21:52.140 to reunify the empire by force and revealed the 00:21:52.140 --> 00:21:54.960 fragility of his power outside of his core territories. 00:21:55.319 --> 00:21:57.380 It was a clear signal that the divisions of Verdun 00:21:57.380 --> 00:21:59.690 were now permanent. Absolutely. And that brings 00:21:59.690 --> 00:22:02.390 us to the final frantic chapter of his life in 00:22:02.390 --> 00:22:05.910 877. Pope John VIII, who had helped crown him, 00:22:06.029 --> 00:22:09.170 was now menaced by Saracens and urgently requested 00:22:09.170 --> 00:22:11.569 Charles' return for defense. Charles, feeling 00:22:11.569 --> 00:22:13.670 the weight of his imperial promise, crossed the 00:22:13.670 --> 00:22:15.950 Alps again. But this final Italian expedition 00:22:15.950 --> 00:22:18.730 was doomed from the start. His nobles were enthusiastic. 00:22:19.109 --> 00:22:21.170 A complete lack of enthusiasm. They were tired 00:22:21.170 --> 00:22:23.569 of costly foreign campaigns. And critically, 00:22:23.769 --> 00:22:26.049 his most powerful regent in Lombardy, a man named 00:22:26.049 --> 00:22:28.710 Bozo, refused point -blank to join the army. 00:22:28.910 --> 00:22:31.809 So Charles was left exposed, isolated, and politically 00:22:31.809 --> 00:22:34.339 unsupported in Italy. The sources make it clear 00:22:34.339 --> 00:22:36.660 he was ill and in great distress when he realized 00:22:36.660 --> 00:22:38.960 the campaign was hopeless. He had to retreat. 00:22:39.220 --> 00:22:42.420 He started his return to Gaul, but died while 00:22:42.420 --> 00:22:44.779 attempting to cross the perilous Montsinas Pass 00:22:44.779 --> 00:22:49.359 at Brideslevan on October 6, 877. He had been 00:22:49.359 --> 00:22:52.500 emperor for less than two years. His final journey 00:22:52.500 --> 00:22:55.329 perfectly mirrors his life. ambitious reach, 00:22:55.529 --> 00:22:58.170 followed by abandonment and failure. And the 00:22:58.170 --> 00:23:00.930 end of this great king was incredibly undignified. 00:23:01.130 --> 00:23:04.230 The sources, specifically the contemporary annals 00:23:04.230 --> 00:23:07.470 of Saint -Bertin, detail the truly macabre circumstances 00:23:07.470 --> 00:23:10.509 of his burial. It's a shocking detail. They describe 00:23:10.509 --> 00:23:12.930 Charles's body decaying so rapidly during the 00:23:12.930 --> 00:23:15.250 journey that the bearers, his own attendants, 00:23:15.269 --> 00:23:17.710 were unable to withstand the stench. So he was 00:23:17.710 --> 00:23:20.390 hastily buried at the Abbey of Nantua in Burgundy. 00:23:20.720 --> 00:23:22.380 Not because it was his choice, but because the 00:23:22.380 --> 00:23:24.259 living could no longer tolerate the proximity 00:23:24.259 --> 00:23:27.180 of the dead. It's a stunningly visceral detail 00:23:27.180 --> 00:23:29.700 for a man who claimed the grand mantle of Roman 00:23:29.700 --> 00:23:32.960 renewal. What a contrast. The high imperial ambition 00:23:32.960 --> 00:23:35.579 versus the low, hasty interment because of the 00:23:35.579 --> 00:23:37.900 smell. But that wasn't his final resting place, 00:23:37.980 --> 00:23:40.759 was it? No, because despite that ignominious 00:23:40.759 --> 00:23:44.039 end, the value of the Carolingian imperial lineage 00:23:44.039 --> 00:23:47.200 was still paramount. Charles had long wished 00:23:47.200 --> 00:23:49.539 to be buried at the Abbey of Saint -Denis, the 00:23:49.539 --> 00:23:52.099 sacred resting place of French kings near Paris. 00:23:52.380 --> 00:23:55.380 A few years later, his son arranged for his remains 00:23:55.380 --> 00:23:57.980 to be transferred there. He was eventually interred 00:23:57.980 --> 00:24:01.289 in a magnificent porphyry tub. The one some historians 00:24:01.289 --> 00:24:03.690 think is Dagobert's tub in the Louvre today. 00:24:03.890 --> 00:24:05.990 That's the one. He was succeeded by his son, 00:24:06.150 --> 00:24:08.750 Louis the Stammer, who inherited a highly unstable, 00:24:09.049 --> 00:24:11.970 fragmented kingdom. Before we dive into the mystery 00:24:11.970 --> 00:24:14.170 of his name, it's worth noting that Charles wasn't 00:24:14.170 --> 00:24:16.890 just a military and political brawler. He was 00:24:16.890 --> 00:24:19.630 genuinely committed to intellectual life. Oh, 00:24:19.650 --> 00:24:22.130 yes. The sources clearly establish him as a prince 00:24:22.130 --> 00:24:24.309 of education and letters. And this is key to 00:24:24.309 --> 00:24:26.089 understanding his reliance on the church, isn't 00:24:26.089 --> 00:24:28.869 it? It is. He recognized that intellectual and 00:24:28.869 --> 00:24:31.210 religious leaders were far more reliable than 00:24:31.210 --> 00:24:33.509 the secular nobles who were constantly plotting 00:24:33.509 --> 00:24:36.470 against him. He consciously chose his counselors 00:24:36.470 --> 00:24:38.910 from the higher clergy. People like Hinkmar of 00:24:38.910 --> 00:24:41.910 Reims, a brilliant and fiercely loyal advisor. 00:24:42.509 --> 00:24:45.670 But he also backed prominent scholars like John 00:24:45.670 --> 00:24:48.470 Scotus Ariagina. The greatest philosopher of 00:24:48.470 --> 00:24:50.670 the ninth century working in Charles's court. 00:24:51.470 --> 00:24:54.849 Erugena was crucial. Charles's patronage helped 00:24:54.849 --> 00:24:57.329 preserve classical and early Christian scholarship 00:24:57.329 --> 00:25:00.309 during this tumultuous era. Charles used his 00:25:00.309 --> 00:25:02.990 court as a center of learning, much like Charlemagne 00:25:02.990 --> 00:25:05.809 had, using high culture to enhance his legitimacy 00:25:05.809 --> 00:25:08.609 and distinguish himself from his rivals. And 00:25:08.609 --> 00:25:10.710 now we get to the core puzzle, the question that 00:25:10.710 --> 00:25:13.369 defines him for history. Why on earth was he 00:25:13.369 --> 00:25:15.970 known as the Bald? Let's get into the competing 00:25:15.970 --> 00:25:18.890 theories about the moniker Carolus Calvus. The 00:25:18.890 --> 00:25:21.730 primary reason this is such a puzzle is the overwhelming 00:25:21.730 --> 00:25:24.630 visual evidence that contradicts the name. If 00:25:24.630 --> 00:25:26.390 you were looking at Charles in his prime, he 00:25:26.390 --> 00:25:28.930 had a full head of hair. Really? How do we know 00:25:28.930 --> 00:25:31.289 that? What are the sources? We have several exceptionally 00:25:31.289 --> 00:25:34.109 detailed contemporary artistic sources. First, 00:25:34.230 --> 00:25:36.529 there's the Vivian Bible, a masterpiece commissioned 00:25:36.529 --> 00:25:39.789 around 845, which clearly depicts Charles with 00:25:39.789 --> 00:25:42.200 a thick, healthy head of dark hair. Okay, what 00:25:42.200 --> 00:25:44.839 else? Then there are his official seals. His 00:25:44.839 --> 00:25:48.740 royal seal of 847, and later his impressive imperial 00:25:48.740 --> 00:25:52.960 seal of 875, both show a ruler with a full head 00:25:52.960 --> 00:25:55.519 of hair and a prominent beard. And that famous 00:25:55.519 --> 00:25:58.559 statuette, the equestrian one. The equestrian 00:25:58.559 --> 00:26:00.980 statuette of Charlemagne, as it's often labeled, 00:26:01.160 --> 00:26:04.059 it's now widely believed by scholars to actually 00:26:04.059 --> 00:26:07.359 depict Charles the Bald from around 870. That 00:26:07.359 --> 00:26:09.759 figure is also clearly crowned and fully haired. 00:26:10.119 --> 00:26:13.779 So if he was visibly not bald, the nickname Carolus 00:26:13.779 --> 00:26:16.019 Calvus must be something other than a physical 00:26:16.019 --> 00:26:18.160 description. It has to be. There are two major 00:26:18.160 --> 00:26:21.309 theories. The first suggests irony. Yes. the 00:26:21.309 --> 00:26:23.190 less accepted theory proposes that the nickname 00:26:23.190 --> 00:26:25.549 was used ironically perhaps meaning the opposite 00:26:25.549 --> 00:26:27.930 that if he was called the bald it might have 00:26:27.930 --> 00:26:30.009 been satirical slang for him being extremely 00:26:30.009 --> 00:26:33.269 hairy kind of medieval joke exactly but the second 00:26:33.269 --> 00:26:36.029 theory the political interpretation is far more 00:26:36.029 --> 00:26:38.130 powerful and aligns perfectly with the chaos 00:26:38.130 --> 00:26:40.369 of his early life that we discussed that balls 00:26:40.369 --> 00:26:42.950 was a political joke referring to his initial 00:26:42.950 --> 00:26:46.190 lack of a secure regnum or sub -kingdom this 00:26:46.190 --> 00:26:48.890 interpretation transforms the nickname from trivia 00:26:48.890 --> 00:26:52.369 into biting political satire. It does. Think 00:26:52.369 --> 00:26:55.049 back to his birth. His older brothers were adults 00:26:55.049 --> 00:26:58.009 and powerful sub -kings. Charles was born late 00:26:58.009 --> 00:27:00.210 and spent the first two decades of his life being 00:27:00.210 --> 00:27:02.109 promised land but constantly having it taken 00:27:02.109 --> 00:27:04.650 away. He was bald in the sense of being stripped 00:27:04.650 --> 00:27:07.609 bare landless. Landless at the age when he should 00:27:07.609 --> 00:27:09.990 have been established. So the joke was on his 00:27:09.990 --> 00:27:12.470 vulnerability as the youngest late arriving son. 00:27:12.910 --> 00:27:15.750 Used by his rivals, likely the disaffected nobles 00:27:15.750 --> 00:27:18.089 and his vengeful brothers, to mock his lack of 00:27:18.089 --> 00:27:20.890 established inheritance. It implies a lack of 00:27:20.890 --> 00:27:23.849 land or resources, not a lack of hair. That's 00:27:23.849 --> 00:27:25.930 the true aha moment of his history, isn't it? 00:27:25.990 --> 00:27:28.190 It is. And we know this insult was widespread 00:27:28.190 --> 00:27:31.549 and early. The nickname Corallus Calvus appeared 00:27:31.549 --> 00:27:35.109 in written sources by at least 869, documented 00:27:35.109 --> 00:27:37.869 in the genealogy of Frankish kings from Fontenelle. 00:27:38.299 --> 00:27:40.180 So it was codified history during his lifetime. 00:27:40.420 --> 00:27:43.500 It was. And later chroniclers, like Richier of 00:27:43.500 --> 00:27:46.759 Reims, just cement the name, unaware of the original 00:27:46.759 --> 00:27:49.640 political irony. To wrap up his incredible life, 00:27:49.799 --> 00:27:51.660 let's briefly touch on the dynastic connections 00:27:51.660 --> 00:27:54.579 he forged, which show the lasting impact of his 00:27:54.579 --> 00:27:57.019 geopolitical strategy through marriage. Charles 00:27:57.019 --> 00:28:00.140 was married twice. First to Ehrmantrud of Orleans, 00:28:00.380 --> 00:28:03.079 who bore him several children and died in 869, 00:28:03.240 --> 00:28:07.319 and then to Richild of Provence in 870. These 00:28:07.319 --> 00:28:10.119 were essential for consolidating power internally. 00:28:10.579 --> 00:28:13.299 But the most significant alliance, the one that 00:28:13.299 --> 00:28:16.000 projected Carolingian power outward, is seen 00:28:16.000 --> 00:28:18.539 through his daughter Judith. She had an extraordinary 00:28:18.539 --> 00:28:21.519 marital history, a true Carolingian political 00:28:21.519 --> 00:28:25.119 pawn. She first married King Aethelwulf of Wessex, 00:28:25.140 --> 00:28:27.279 an alliance to connect the Franks to the rising 00:28:27.279 --> 00:28:30.079 power of Anglo -Saxon England. And after his 00:28:30.079 --> 00:28:33.029 death. She controversially married his son, King 00:28:33.029 --> 00:28:35.910 Ethelbald. And finally, after Ethelbald's death, 00:28:36.069 --> 00:28:39.569 she married Baldwin I, who was the powerful margrave 00:28:39.569 --> 00:28:41.670 of Flanders. That Flanders connection is critical, 00:28:41.789 --> 00:28:44.640 isn't it? It is absolutely crucial. By marrying 00:28:44.640 --> 00:28:46.720 Judith to Baldwin, Charles the Bald effectively 00:28:46.720 --> 00:28:49.039 sanctioned the establishment of the powerful 00:28:49.039 --> 00:28:51.480 autonomous line of the Counts of Flanders. This 00:28:51.480 --> 00:28:53.779 dynasty, established through his daughter, became 00:28:53.779 --> 00:28:56.240 a massive regional power center, successfully 00:28:56.240 --> 00:28:58.700 weaving the Carolingian lineage into the future 00:28:58.700 --> 00:29:01.180 aristocratic structures of Western Europe. So 00:29:01.180 --> 00:29:04.059 even as his centralized empire was failing, he 00:29:04.059 --> 00:29:06.359 was successfully projecting his family into the 00:29:06.359 --> 00:29:09.299 future power centers of the continent. Precisely. 00:29:09.640 --> 00:29:11.660 So what does this all mean? When we look back 00:29:11.660 --> 00:29:14.279 at Charles the Bald's life, we see a king who 00:29:14.279 --> 00:29:16.619 was constantly under threat, yet who secured 00:29:16.619 --> 00:29:19.279 the boundaries and defined the identity of West 00:29:19.279 --> 00:29:22.420 Francia, a master of tactical political maneuvering. 00:29:22.480 --> 00:29:24.680 He was a vital innovator, yes, but one whose 00:29:24.680 --> 00:29:27.640 innovations carried unforeseen costs. The Edict 00:29:27.640 --> 00:29:29.660 of Pistres, while solving the Viking problem, 00:29:29.960 --> 00:29:32.359 was the catalyst that accelerated the power of 00:29:32.359 --> 00:29:34.779 the local nobility. Laying the groundwork for 00:29:34.779 --> 00:29:37.099 the decentralized, feudal France that was to 00:29:37.099 --> 00:29:39.759 follow. His life perfectly exemplifies the tension 00:29:39.759 --> 00:29:42.480 between the glorious Carolingian imperial dream, 00:29:42.720 --> 00:29:46.539 the Renovatio, and the messy, regionalizing reality 00:29:46.539 --> 00:29:49.900 of territorial kingdoms. His necessity for constant 00:29:49.900 --> 00:29:52.700 war and compromise, evidenced by treaties like 00:29:52.700 --> 00:29:55.700 Cullane's, fundamentally accelerated the transfer 00:29:55.700 --> 00:29:58.539 of power away from the central imperial authority. 00:29:58.839 --> 00:30:01.160 And into the hands of local strongmen and regional 00:30:01.160 --> 00:30:03.920 dukes. He was a king who spent his entire reign 00:30:03.920 --> 00:30:06.059 negotiating the terms of his own diminishing 00:30:06.059 --> 00:30:08.119 power. But the enduring lesson of Charles the 00:30:08.119 --> 00:30:11.359 Bald is that survival sometimes means creating 00:30:11.359 --> 00:30:13.559 the very forces that will eventually dismantle 00:30:13.559 --> 00:30:15.819 your legacy. He solidified the borders of France, 00:30:15.940 --> 00:30:18.599 but only by empowering the aristocracy who would 00:30:18.599 --> 00:30:21.119 eventually replace his family. We've discussed 00:30:21.119 --> 00:30:23.599 Charles's nickname, his alliances, his military 00:30:23.599 --> 00:30:26.220 genius. But let's return to that final poignant 00:30:26.220 --> 00:30:29.920 detail. The hurried, ignominious burial due to 00:30:29.920 --> 00:30:33.109 the odor of his decaying body. Considering the 00:30:33.109 --> 00:30:35.670 later meticulous, deliberate effort to transfer 00:30:35.670 --> 00:30:37.829 his remains to the sacred abbey of Saint -Denis, 00:30:37.950 --> 00:30:40.690 what does that transfer tell you about the necessary 00:30:40.690 --> 00:30:43.789 power of imperial lineage? Was the effort purely 00:30:43.789 --> 00:30:46.329 about respecting the man, or was it a desperate 00:30:46.329 --> 00:30:48.670 political move by his son, Louis the Stammerer, 00:30:48.750 --> 00:30:51.250 to reclaim the sacred political legitimacy that 00:30:51.250 --> 00:30:53.549 Charles' hasty death had so nearly obliterated? 00:30:53.769 --> 00:30:55.589 Something for you to consider as you reflect 00:30:55.589 --> 00:30:58.329 on the enduring power of historical legacy, even 00:30:58.329 --> 00:31:00.369 after a king's own body has betrayed him.