Ludwig the German

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Depiction of a king, probably Ludwig the German, in the so-called Ludwigspsalter from the late 9th century. Without a sign of his sovereign dignity, the king kneels on the cross of Christ . (Berlin, Staatsbibliothek Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Ms. theol. Lat. Fol. 58, fol. 120r).

Ludwig II the German (* around 806; † August 28, 876 in Frankfurt am Main ) from the noble family of the Carolingians was appointed in 817 by his father Ludwig the Pious as sub-king of Bavaria , which he ruled independently from 826. From 843 to 876 Ludwig was King of Eastern Franconia .

After lengthy disputes with his father and brothers, Ludwig received the East Franconian Empire in the Treaty of Verdun in 843 . His attempts to conquer the West Franconian empire of his half-brother Karl the Kahlen in 858/59 were unsuccessful. The 860s were marked by a serious crisis with the East Franconian greats and rebellions of the sons. In the Treaty of Meerssen in 870 he succeeded in winning eastern Lotharingia for the East Franconian Empire. However, he tried in vain for the Empire and Italy. In the east, Ludwig was able to reach a long-term peace agreement in 874 after decades of conflict with the Moravians . Due to a decline in written form in administration and government as well as an increase in rituals , Ludwig's reign already points to the Ottonian period.

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the division of the Franconian Empire through the Treaty of Verdun was often seen as the beginning of German history. Since the 1970s, the view has prevailed that the German Reich did not come into being through an act, but rather in a long process. Nevertheless, Ludwig's unusually long reign is seen as an important stage in this development. Under his government and that of his brothers Karl in West Franconia and Lothar I in the so-called Middle Kingdom, the disintegration of the Franconian Empire began , which was ultimately the prerequisite for the emergence of the later national states of Germany, France and Italy.

Life

Origin and youth

Ludwig the German came from the Carolingian family , who had held the Franconian royal dignity since 751. As the son of Louis the Pious, he was a grandson of Charlemagne . He emerged from his father's first marriage to the Frankish woman Irmingard von Hespengau . Of the children from this marriage, in addition to Ludwig, two sons, Lothar I and Pippin I , and two daughters, Rotrud and Hildegard, reached adulthood. Ludwig spent the first years of his life in Aquitaine at his father's court. According to Wilfried Hartmann , the sources for childhood, appearance and personality are distorted by topical rulers panegyric. Nevertheless, individual traits could be deduced from the source material, including Ludwig's enthusiasm for weapons and his "special ability to deal with people, which proved itself in the conflicts with his sons". In addition, Ludwig was very pious and had shown a special admiration for the monks and an interest in theological questions.

In 814 Louis the Pious made his two older sons Lothar and Pippin sub-kings in Bavaria and Aquitaine. As the youngest son, Ludwig the German stayed at his father's court in Aachen for several years. In the Ordinatio imperii Ludwig the Pious 817 divided his empire among the sons. As the eldest son, Lothar I received most of the empire; the younger sons had to come to terms with Aquitaine and Bavaria. In addition to Bavaria, Carinthia and Bohemia, Ludwig the German received other border areas in the east. In his kingdom, however, he should not rule independently, but report to his brother Lothar. He should not be allowed to wage war or make peace without his consent. Internally, however, he was able to assign spiritual and secular offices on his own responsibility. In 824 he took part in a campaign in Brittany .

Ludwig first came to his kingdom of Bavaria in 826. In 827 he married the Welfin Hemma, a sister of the Empress Judith , his stepmother, whom his father had married in a second marriage. In 828 and 829 he undertook two campaigns against the Bulgarians who wanted to invade Pannonia , without much success . During his time as sub-king, he tried to extend his rule to the Rhine-Main area.

Fight for the legacy of Louis the Pious

Depiction of Louis the Pious, Fulda, second quarter of the 9th century (Rome, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana , Codex Vaticanus Reginensis latinus 124, folio 4 verso).

In June 823 the marriage of Ludwig the Pious to Judith gave birth to the son Karl (the bald). In Worms, Ludwig assigned six-year-old Karl Alemannia , Raetia , Alsace and part of Burgundy in 829 . The three older sons then allied themselves and rebelled against their father in order to secure their parts of the empire. On the Liesfield of Colmar they prevailed without a fight in June 833, because Louis the Pious was abandoned by his army. After these events, Ludwig the German changed his ruler title. He had previously held the title of king in Bavaria and counted the years of his father's reign in the dating of his documents. From October 833 onwards he dubbed himself rex in orientali Francia (King in the Eastern Franconian Empire). In the East Franconian Empire, however, Ludwig the Pious retained the prerogative in appointing abbots and bishops until his death ; Ludwig the German could only assign these offices with the approval of the emperor. At a meeting of bishops in October 833, Ludwig the Pious was deposed. However, the rebellious sons could not agree on the rulers. Lothar I tried to get a priority over his brothers. Ludwig the German and Pippin I then pursued the reinstatement of their father. In March 834 Ludwig the Pious was again recognized as emperor. In the years to come Judith tried to get her growing son Karl as large a share as possible in the empire. Pippin's death in December 838 opened up new opportunities for Judith to care for her son . Pippin's eldest son, Pippin II , made claims to his father's inheritance, based on strong support in Aquitaine. Aquitaine was awarded to Charles the Bald.

After the death of Pippin I, Louis the Pious intended to split Lothar I and Charles in two along the Maas - Saône - Rhone line . Ludwig the German was to remain limited to Bavaria, which would have been a serious political setback for him, especially since he had again enjoyed his father's favor and supported him after the rebellion of 833/34. The renewed loss of paternal favor was also due to the interests of several East Franconian greats, which differed from those of Ludwig the German. At the beginning of 840 Ludwig the German undertook a campaign against his father in Alemannia. But he withdrew without a fight when the emperor advanced with an army. On June 20, 840, Ludwig the Pious died in Ingelheim .

Treaty of Verdun (843)

The division of territory in the Treaty of Verdun 843

After the death of Emperor Ludwig the Pious, Lothar claimed all of the imperial rights laid down in the Ordinatio of 817. Thereupon Ludwig the German and Karl the Bald allied. Lothar I entered into an alliance with his nephew Pippin II, the son of Pippin I, who died in 838. In the Battle of Fontenoy Ludwig the German and Charles the Bald fought successfully against Lothar I and Pippin II in June 841. Both sides suffered heavy losses. According to the Fulda annals , it was the greatest bloodbath that the Franks had experienced in living memory. At the same time it was Ludwig's last battle in the struggle for the division of the empire. Ludwig bloody crushed the Stellinga uprising, which Lothar I then sponsored in Saxony .

Ludwig and Karl affirmed their alliance on February 14, 842 in Strasbourg before their armies by mutual oaths . The vernacular wording handed down by the chronicler Nithard represents “the oldest monument of the French and an early one of the German language”. Lothar I dropped Pippin and agreed with his brothers to split it into three parts. In the summer of 842 peace negotiations began. The starting point for the regulation of the details were the existing rulership rights of Lothar in Italy, Ludwig in Bavaria and Charles in Aquitaine. The wording of the Verdun Treaty, concluded in August 843, has not survived. The Annales Bertiniani give at least a rough outline of the content of the contract. Lothar was assigned the empire in the middle, in which the imperial cities Aachen and Rome were. It stretched from the North Sea to southern Italy and was difficult to control because of its extent. Most important economically and culturally was the part of Charles the Bald. The extensive royal estate in the west of the Carolingian Empire had already served the Merovingians as a basis for rule. However, Charles first had to enforce his rule in Aquitaine against his nephew Pippin II. Ludwig's partial empire was far less developed economically, culturally and administratively than West Franconia or Italy. As compensation he received some areas on the left bank of the Rhine, including the three important episcopal cities of Mainz, Worms and Speyer with their hinterland. Probably because of the low prospect of booty, his part of the kingdom was less threatened by the Normans . Inside, the nobility and the church were much more united behind the ruler than in the west. Linguistic differences were not decisive in the division of the empire; the decisive factor was rather the supply of one's own followers.

The three brothers held meetings in 844 in Diedenhofen , 847 and 851 in Meerssen , where they affirmed "peace and unity" and assured "advice and help". This was to ensure effective action against the Norman incursions, which threatened the individual parts of the brothers. In a rank-conscious society, border locations were preferred at rulers' meetings in order to make the equality clear. The tripartite meetings, however, all took place in the Middle Kingdom. In addition to the convenient location, Lothar's rank as elder and emperor was also likely to have been decisive.

Power structure and power practice

Itinerary and royal central places

Seal of Ludwig the German
The signature of Ludwig the German under a document that was issued on May 22, 859 in Frankfurt for Paderborn, St. Maria and Kilian ( cathedral monastery ).

Due to the small number of 172 royal documents from 50 years of rule, it is not possible to create a detailed picture of Ludwig's whereabouts in the East Franconian Empire. For comparison, Ludwig the Pious has 18 certificates a year, and his stepbrother Karl the Bald has 12 certificates. The tradition is sometimes completely suspended for several months. For example, it is completely uncertain where the East Frankish king stayed between June 849 and July 850. At least 52 documents are addressed to Bavarian recipients. The intensity of the document production for Bavarian recipients steadily declined over the course of the reign.

The view that Baiern was a “heartland” or “center” of the East Franconian Empire can, according to Roman Deutinger, “hardly be sustained” based on the itinerary and the management staff in the vicinity of the East Franconian king. The Rhine-Main area between Frankfurt, Mainz and Worms is considered the royal landscape at that time. It had plenty of palaces and fiscal assets . Since it was in the geographical center of the East Franconian Empire, it was easy to get to in terms of transport. Most of the East Franconian synods and imperial assemblies took place there.

Ludwig stayed mostly in Frankfurt (49) and in Regensburg (34). In view of the large number of stays, the two cities are given the character of a residence. Frankfurt and Regensburg were the main places of representative rulership. In Frankfurt Ludwig undertook the future division of his empire among his sons. It was there that his sons' revolts were ended. Most of the court days and, with 11 out of a total of 39, most of the imperial assemblies, took place in Frankfurt. Numerous greats appeared there to have a royal certificate issued, while the certificates issued in Regensburg concerned almost exclusively Baier and Alemannic recipients. Despite its importance as a place of residence, only three imperial assemblies took place in Regensburg. Regensburg was an important center, especially during the consolidation of Ludwig's rule in the forties and early fifties. It was used to negotiate Bavarian, Swabian and Slavic affairs. With the government of one or two preferred Falzes, Ludwig continued the Carolingian rule.

In Alemannia, Thuringia and Saxony, however, Ludwig was dependent on reliable local followers to exercise his rule. In Alemannia, central positions were filled with members of the royal family. Outstanding confidants were Bishop Solomon of Constance and Abbot Grimald of St. Gallen . The Welf Konrad conducted important negotiations for Ludwig. From 859 Ludwig's son Karl ruled Alemannia. Ludwig himself can therefore only be traced back to Alemannia once in the year 874. After the Treaty of Meersen in 870, he increasingly relocated to the west. Aachen replaced Regensburg as the second most important residence after Frankfurt. Since then, Bavaria has been regarded as a country far removed from the king. Compared to his stepbrother, King Karl of West Franconia did not have a permanent residence. Rather, Karl traversed his empire and, with the exception of wintering, stayed in one place no longer than two to three months. Ludwig's ruling practice differed from the conditions of future centuries. Until well into the 14th century, medieval royal rule in the empire was exercised through outpatient rulership practice. There was neither a capital nor a permanent residence. The center of the empire was where the rulers exercised the royal right of hospitality .

Composition of the chancellery and court chapel

A certificate from Ludwig the German from 856 for the Abbey of St. Gallen . St. Gallen, Stiftsarchiv , documents FF.1.H.106

Prosopographical investigations, such as Philippe Depreux was able to do about the court of Louis the Pious, are considerably more difficult for Ludwig's time in view of the small number of rulers' deeds. The court was subject to great fluctuations in its composition and size. The most important components were the chancellery and the court chapel . The office was responsible for issuing the certificates. On average, not even five documents have survived for the individual years. Ludwig was apparently able to rule his part of the world without a pronounced written form. There was a significant innovation in the sealing of the royal documents: the king is shown with a shield and spear on the seal. This image of rulers was adopted by the future East Frankish-German kings. According to Hagen Keller's research , the “elements of the culture of writing to ensure authenticity” in the early and high Carolingian documents were replaced by a greater public and representativeness in the act of notarization. The monogram in which the king entered the execution line and the seal were enlarged and clearly separated from the text. The “visual presentation of the document” seems to be “embedded in a change in the public communication between the ruler and his followers”. This type of sealing took into account the poor literacy of the secular office holders. The society of the East Franconian Empire was an oral one, in which knowledge and the most important information were passed on orally.

The court chapel was responsible for pastoral care and the holding of church services at the royal court. The Bishop of Regensburg Baturich was from 833 until his death in 847 Erzkapellan . Grimald von St. Gallen was his successor in 848. From 860 to 870 Grimald also headed the firm. He was thus one of the most important advisors to Ludwig the German. However, the court orchestra played only a relatively minor role as an instrument of royal rule. Compared to the late Ttonian-Salic era, only a few East Franconian bishops emerged from the court chapel.

Royal policy towards spiritual and secular greats

Wandalbert von Prüm hands a king - probably Ludwig the German - his martyrology . The king is shown on a folding chair with a three-pronged crown (Vatican, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Reg. Lat. 438, fol. 1 v ).

Research into constitutional history in the 19th century saw the Carolingians at the head of a hierarchical ruling association that was oriented towards the king. According to more recent research, however, the rulership structure of the East Franconian Empire was polycentric and therefore “not solely geared towards the king”. Rather, the empire was an independent entity. It was entrusted to the king for the maintenance of divine order. In an empire without a written constitution and an organized system of rule, personal ties were decisive. The ruler had to win over and over again the officials and mandate holders to participate in the royal rule. Personal encounters to form a common will were decisive for this. The exercise of power in the East Franconian Empire was based on consensual rule and less on command and obedience. The consensus was established with advisors (consiliarii) in confidential discussions and then staged publicly. The king could bring about consensus with the great with gifts, but also through violence or threats. Little concrete can be said about the composition of Ludwig's advisory board, which influenced his decisions, given the unfavorable tradition. What is certain, however, is that Margrave Ernst acted in a prominent position with the king for many years .

The royal rule was based on bishops, counts and imperial abbots. When Ludwig took over power, his relationship with the bishops and abbots was heavily strained in view of the rift with his father Ludwig the Pious. Even the aristocratic groups that were installed in influential positions by his brother Lothar I or his father Ludwig the Pious, Ludwig still had to win over to his kingship. According to Boris Bigott's research, “in the year 840, Ludwig could apparently not build on a single diocese or monastery outside Bavaria”. From 840 he succeeded in filling positions that became vacant through death or resignation with people he liked. At the synod of 847 in Mainz, under the leadership of Archbishop Hrabanus Maurus , an agreement was reached with most of the bishops of the East Franconian Empire. This synod is one of a maximum of nine synods that have been safely passed down during Ludwig's reign. The high point was the Synod of Mainz 852, where almost the entire East Franconian episcopate was present. The focus of the East Franconian synodal resolutions concerned penalization and the treatment of criminal offenses. The bishops should be more involved in the administration of justice. Most of the bishops were appointed personally by Ludwig. The royal influence in the elevation of the bishops increased compared to the early Carolingian and early Merovingian times. This is probably due to the small size of the empire, which facilitated personal intervention in personnel decisions. However, Ludwig never attempted to remove a bishop.

In relation to the nobility, Eric J. Goldberg has observed a more self-confident demeanor in the ruling behavior of the East Franconian king since the early 850s. Ludwig saw the counts as removable royal officials. Königsbote and Pfalzgrafen were responsible for controlling the officials in the individual regions. Ludwig did not accept hereditary claims to the office of count. He wanted to prevent the emergence of strong intermediate powers between the king and the local officials. With his resistance to an allodialization of the offices, Ludwig continued the policy of the Carolingians.

Church and monastery foundations

Ludwig only founded the nunnery St. Felix and Regula 853 in Zurich. It was run by his daughters Hildegard (853–856) and Bertha (857–877). Ludwig founded a Marienstift in Frankfurt and Regensburg. He also supported foreign initiatives such as the founding of Gandersheim by the Saxon Count Liudolf or the monastery Rohr in Thuringia by Count Christian.

The monasteries of St. Gallen (11), Salzburg (10) and Fulda (10) received the most donations. The Carolingian kings repeatedly supported monasteries for the prayer service with donations; the motive was personal piety and the conviction that divine assistance was imperative for successful rule.

family

The sparse sources offer no further information about Ludwig's personal relationship with his wife Hemma or about their influence. The connection resulted in three sons, Karlmann , Ludwig and Karl , and four daughters, Hildegard , Irmingard , Gisla and Bertha . The continued existence of the dynasty was ensured by the sons. In contrast to his father Ludwig the Pious and grandfather Charlemagne, Ludwig the German neither made his three sons sub-kings nor left them a part of the empire during his lifetime. He only awarded "military commands and clearly subordinate positions". Ludwig's eldest son Karlmann took control of Carinthia in 856. At the end of the 850s, Ludwig assigned his youngest son Karl, Alemannia, his own domain. None of his sons were appointed to the clergy. In the western empire, however, his stepbrother Charles the Bald has categorically excluded two sons from rule and arranged for them to pursue a spiritual career. Ludwig married his sons to daughters from the most influential and distinguished noble families in their respective regions. The marriage connections were intended to ensure the acceptance of royal rule and the support of the leading noble families. Karlmann married a daughter of Margrave Ernst in 861. In the following year Karl married Richardis , daughter of Count Erchanger from Alsace. Ludwig the Younger married Liutgard , the daughter of the Saxon Count Liudolf , in 869 or maybe even 874 .

Unlike his stepbrother Karl, and also unlike the rulers of the Ottonian - Salian - Staufer times, Ludwig did not marry his daughters to members of important noble families. Rather, they had to pursue a spiritual career. The Schwarzach monastery near Würzburg was handed over to his eldest daughter Hildegard . In 853 she took over the management of St. Felix and Regula in Zurich. She died there in December 856. Ludwig's youngest daughter Bertha was transferred to the Schwarzach monastery in 853, and the Zurich monastery in 857 until her death in 877. The third daughter Irmingard is documented in contemporary tradition as the owner of the Buchau am Federsee monastery and, according to later sources, also of the Frauenchiemsee monastery . Nothing is known about Ludwig's daughter Gisla. The legal status of these women in the monastery remains unclear. The title abbess, which is usually found in specialist literature, has no contemporary evidence for Ludwig's daughters.

Clashes with the Slavs

Approximate borders of Moravia under the rule of Moimir I.
Carolingian cavalry from the Psalterium aureum (St. Gallen, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. 22, p. 140).

After the conclusion of the Treaty of Verdun, the restoration of the Franconian tributary rule over the Slavs was one of Ludwig's most urgent tasks. This had completely collapsed as a result of the inner-dynastic battles of the Carolingians. The sovereignty over the neighboring Slavic tribes was of crucial importance for Ludwig to secure the East Franconian border. He therefore devoted "more time, energy and resources to this ongoing war with the Slavs than to any other aspect of his long government." Ludwig did not intend to conquer the Slavic territories. Rather, the individual Slavic rulers had to take an oath of allegiance to the East Franconian king and pay an annual tribute. For this they received a peace treaty. In the north, Ludwig achieved a quick victory over the Abodrites in 844 . In return, however, he had to accept an attack on Hamburg by the Danes allied with the Abodrites in 845 . The seat of the local Archbishop Ansgar was therefore moved to Bremen. In Paderborn, Ludwig was able to make a peace with the Danes and Abodrites, but he demanded that the Slavs provide hostages as security. Also in 845, 14 Bohemian leaders (duces) were baptized before Ludwig in Regensburg and from then on provided him with military support. The dispute with the Moravians, on the other hand, was much more protracted .

The Christian Moravian rulers Moimir , Rastislav and Svatopluk I tried for decades to break away from Frankish supremacy and to build up a kingdom. In 846 Ludwig led a major campaign to Moravia. Moimir must have refused the annual tribute. Ludwig replaced Moimir with his nephew Rastislav. But after a few years Rastislav also tried to get rid of the Frankish supremacy. Ludwig's campaign against him in 855 was a complete failure, but in 864 he successfully besieged Rastislav. Rastislav had to take an oath of loyalty and hostages, but rebelled again the following year. With Franconian help, Svatopluk rose against his uncle Rastislav in 870 and handed him over to Ludwig. Rastislav was sentenced to death by a court. Ludwig has softened the judgment to dazzle . But Svatopluk also resumed the conflict with Ludwig after a short time. In 871 a Bavarian army suffered a heavy defeat. In the following year an army from Karlmann was defeated. After these setbacks, Ludwig developed considerable diplomatic activities in the last years of his life. In the early summer of 874 he met in Verona for negotiations with Pope John VIII and his nephew Emperor Ludwig II. Ludwig's son Karlmann was recognized as the heir of the kingdom and the empire. In return, Ludwig accepted an independent Moravian church under Archbishop Methodius . After these negotiations, a peace was concluded with the Moravians in Forchheim in 874 , which apparently lasted ten years. In any case, no warlike actions between the Moravians and the East Franconian king are recorded during this period.

Archaeological studies have shown that the Moravians had large and well-developed fortresses. Ludwig could only attack them with well-equipped and large armies. Campaigns against the Moravians consisted of long lasting sieges and were less of a looting. They required considerable logistical and strategic planning. In the siege wars in Moravia 5,000 to 7,000, at times also 10,000 soldiers are likely to have been involved. In the sources, the size of Ludwig's armies is probably exaggerated, especially since he primarily relied on well-trained, battle-tested and therefore powerful troops.

Failed expansion into western France (853/54 and 858)

After the Treaty of Verdun, Charles the Bald struggled to enforce his rule against the strong aristocratic opposition in Aquitaine and the Aquitaine King Pippin II . In 848 he succeeded in being crowned king of this empire in Orléans . Pippin II was taken into custody. However, when Karl had Count Gauzpert of Maine beheaded in March 853, the aristocratic opposition to him received new impetus. Aquitaine greats offered Ludwig the German the royal dignity. Ludwig responded to this. In doing so, he broke the Strasbourg oaths he and Karl had made in 842, with which they had mutually affirmed the integrity of their territories. Ludwig did not undertake the campaign himself, however, but instead sent his second oldest son, Ludwig the Younger. This broke out at the beginning of the year 854 with an army of Thuringians, Alemanni and Baiern and advanced as far as Limoges . A fight with the army of Charles the Bald did not take place. Ludwig the Younger had found little support in Aquitaine, whereupon he turned into negotiations. In the summer of 855 Aquitaine had again submitted to Charles's rule. In 856 numerous Aquitanians fell away from Charles again and converted to Pippin II, who had meanwhile escaped from monastery custody. In the same year West Franconian ambassadors again turned to Ludwig the German and visited him in Frankfurt. In making this delicate decision, the indecisive king sought advice from the great . The opportunity to intervene was favorable because Karl had to fight the Normans. Ludwig moved into the western empire and in September 858 was in Ponthion , the easternmost palatinate of the western empire . Several West Frankish nobles who had fallen away from Karl's rule appeared there, including Archbishop Wenilo von Sens . Due to the crisis of the West Franconian Empire and the invitation to take over power to Ludwig the German, the idea of ​​a contractual binding of the king to the consensus of the great was increasingly taken up and finally fixed in the coronation ordines in the late 9th century. Karl responded with an offer of contract to the rebels and, as the Carolingian king, took an oath himself for the first time. But there was no battle between Karl and Ludwig. In January 859 Ludwig had to withdraw gloriously, because on the eastern border of his empire he had to fight a revolt of the Sorbs . In June 860 a peace was made in Koblenz . Ludwig had to take an oath not to touch the life or property of his brothers and three nephews in the future.

Crisis in the 860s

With only 27 surviving documents, the document output reached an absolute low between 860 and 869. The historiographical tradition for this period is also extremely sparse. The failed expansion into western France apparently triggered a severe crisis of rule in the 860s. In 861, at an imperial assembly in Regensburg, Ludwig had to withdraw his offices from Margrave Ernst , who, according to contemporary assessments, was the “best friend of the king” and “highest ranking among the great”, on suspicion of infidelity. There may be a connection with the rebellion of Ludwig's son Karlmann. Around 861, Karlmann had pursued a policy that was too independent in the Bavarian Ostmark with Moravian help, which Ludwig viewed as an uprising. Other nobles were deposed with Ernst. In particular, the relationship with the Conradinians had deteriorated. The Konradiner Uto , Waldo and Berengar as well as a Count Sigihard were convicted and deposed.

In 864, Ludwig reconciled with Karlmann, but in the late 860s conflicts broke out with the younger royal sons. 865 or 866/67 Ludwig decided that after his death Karlmann Baiern and the Eastern Mark, Ludwig the Younger the Franconian areas and Thuringia as well as Saxony, Karl III. Alemannia with Churrätien should be preserved. Not only the rebellions of East Franconian greats and the king's sons made for years of crisis. Several famines are recorded in the annals in Eastern Franconia. Ludwig tried to counter the famine with a law that provided for a general fast.

Treaty of Meerssen (870)

Shortly before his death on September 29, 855, Lothar I divided the Middle Kingdom. Ludwig II, crowned emperor in 850 , received Italy , Charles received southern Burgundy and Provence, and Lothar II received the northern parts of the empire from the North Sea to the Alps. From Lothar II's marriage to Theutberga in 855 no children had emerged. He tried in vain to dissolve this marriage and to make a son from a previous connection to his heir. After Lothar's death on August 8, 869, Charles the Bald took the initiative. On September 9, 869, he was crowned king of the kingdom of Lothar II in Metz. Ludwig, who was seriously ill at that time, sent an embassy to Charles the Bald after his recovery in February 870, threatening war. Ludwig received support from the Lotharingian greats. Karl then gave in. In March 870 negotiations began. When the Middle Kingdom was divided up, Charles the Bald and Ludwig the German ignored the inheritance claims of Lothar's brother Ludwig II, the closest male relative. The emperor had to fight the Arabs in southern Italy until 871 and could only protest against the division. In the Treaty of Meerssen , Ludwig the German won territories on the left bank of the Rhine with Aachen, Cologne, Metz and Strasbourg in August 870.

Younger Sons Revolts (871–876)

In 869 Ludwig fell seriously ill, stayed in Regensburg and decided to make a will. Encouraged by rumors of their disinheritance, his younger sons gathered in Speiergau . In the years 871 to 876 they undertook further rebellions, as they felt they were disadvantaged by their father because of their eldest brother's favor. The most dangerous attempt at insurrection occurred in 873. Ludwig the Younger and Karl planned in vain to disempower and capture their father at a meeting in Regensburg on January 26, 873. In contrast to his stepbrother Karl the Bald, Ludwig did not take any harsh punitive measures against his sons. According to Gerd Althoff's investigations , his mild reaction to his sons was an “exception” for the Carolingian period. Ludwig's conflict behavior corresponds to the future pattern of unwritten, but socially binding "rules of the game" that were to become customary for rebellious sons in the Ottonian era in the 10th century. In the case of intra-family conflicts, peaceful agreement was first achieved through a ritual deditio (submission).

Last years

Memorial plaque at the site of the Ecclesia varia in Lorsch
The gate hall of the Lorsch monastery was probably built in the time of Ludwig the German.

In the years 872 and 873, envoy of the Eastern Roman emperor Basil I appeared at Ludwig in Regensburg and showed that his rule was exercised as far as Constantinople. After the death of Emperor Ludwig II in August 875, Ludwig tried to win over the empire for himself and his descendants. For this purpose Abbot Sigihard von Fulda undertook a trip to Rome to see Pope John VIII. On May 18, 876 he was back in Ingelheim and reported to Ludwig. In December 875, Charles the Bald was able to achieve the dignity of emperor through a swift move to Rome. Even Ludwig's incursion into the West Franconian Empire, where he celebrated Christmas as an important act of representing the power in the Palatinate Attigny , could not prevent Charles' coronation as emperor. However, Ludwig did not give up his claims to the imperial crown until his death. However, according to research, he did not pursue a well-thought-out Italian policy during his four Alpine crossings, but only reacted briefly to new developments.

His wife Hemma visited Ludwig for the last time in May 875. In 874 she had lost her ability to speak due to a stroke. During this stay, he bequeathed the Berg monastery as a gift to the Marienkapelle built by him . Hemma died in Regensburg at the end of January 876. A few months later, Ludwig died after a brief serious illness on August 28, 876 in his Palatinate in Frankfurt. The following day he was buried by his son Ludwig in Lorsch Abbey . According to Wilfried Hartmann, however, it cannot be determined with certainty whether the dead person in the sarcophagus of Ludwig the German is actually the Carolingian king. In view of the sparse tradition, it cannot be decided whether Ludwig, like his wife Hemma, was commemorated from the dead . After Ludwig's death, Charles the Bald tried to win over the Eastern Empire as well. However, Ludwig the Younger defeated him on October 8, 876 near Andernach with a contingent from Franconia, Saxony and Thuringia. Charles the Bald died a year later.

The older sons of Ludwig the German, Karlmann and Ludwig the Younger, died on September 29, 880 and January 20, 882, respectively. As a result, Ludwig's youngest son, Charles III, "the fat", was able to gain three partial empires and thus the empire of Charles Unite the greats again for a few years under his rule. After the death of Charles III. a dynastic crisis arose for the Carolingian family, who ruled alone. There were no longer any legitimate Carolingians, and other families claimed royal dignity. With Ludwig's death in 876, a rapid succession of changes of rulers began in the Carolingian ruling house. The five kings ruling between 876 and 911 could no longer guarantee effective royal power. This was also due to the extremely long reign of Ludwig the German, due to which his sons could only take over rule at a relatively old age.

Nickname "the German"

Ludwig was only given the nickname "the German" in the 18th century. Contemporary West Franconian sources called Ludwig rex Germaniae ("King of Germania") or rex Germanorum ("King of the Teutons"). However, Germania or Germani do not mean “Germany” or “the Germans” here, but rather, as in ancient Latin, the area on the right bank of the Rhine outside the former Roman Empire and its inhabitants. Contemporaries also gave Ludwig the nickname pius (pious) or piissimus (very pious). The legend of a coinage also called it HLUDOVICUS PIUS REX. In the 11th century, Ludwig was given the nickname pius in numerous forgery of documents from St. Emmeram in Regensburg , which is still given to his father today.

German-speaking historiographers around 1500 such as Johannes Aventin and Johannes Carion spoke of Ludwig as "King in Beyern and Easter France" or "King Ludwig auß Beyern", who ruled "Teutschlandt", or of "Ludovicus Germanicus". Since the 19th century the nickname "the German" became common. According to Heinz Zatschek's (1940) depiction, which was heavily influenced by National Socialist ideology , Ludwig earned his nickname “the German” by opening up additional rooms for the German Volksboden. Occasionally, some recent research articles no longer mentioned the nickname “the German”. Carlrichard Brühl spoke in his presentation (1990) of "Ludwig II. East Franconia". But there was no Ludwig I of Eastern Franconia. Joachim Ehlers (1994) spoke of Ludwig II and consequently renounced the nickname. The ordinal number cannot be proven in any contemporary source. In addition, problems arise in the demarcation to Emperor Ludwig II in Italy and the West Franconian King Ludwig II "the Stammler". On the other hand, Wilfried Hartmann's biography (2002) stuck to the name Ludwig the German that has been used since the 19th century. His anachronistic nickname “the German” is given a certain justification, as Ludwig ruled over the greater part of the Germanic imperial territories and thus later Germany for decades. In his overview presentation (2011), Jörg W. Busch dispensed with the traditional surnames for all Carolingians (with the exception of Karl Martell ) - a terminological approach that, according to Rudolf Schieffer, is unlikely to gain acceptance in the professional world. With the German Archive for Research into the Middle Ages and the Early Medieval Studies , the two most respected specialist journals in German-speaking Medieval Studies have stayed with the nickname “the German”.

effect

Early middle ages

Written form has become less important for the practice of rule and as a means of communication since Ludwig the German. The capitularies disappear as important documents for the administration and jurisdiction from the East Franconian Empire and are not otherwise replaced. From his long reign of 50 years only 172 documents have survived. The tradition for the years 861 to 869 is particularly sparse . Wilfried Hartmann , however, objected to a general decline in written form during the reign of Ludwig the German . He refers to important scholars (especially Hrabanus Maurus ) and monastery schools (Fulda, St. Gallen, Reichenau and Corvey) for Eastern Franconia . Based on studies of library catalogs, for example by Paul Lehmann , as well as palaeographic works, especially the works of Bernhard Bischoff , Hartmann estimates that of the approximately 7,000 to 8,000 Latin manuscripts preserved in Western Europe from the entire 9th century, around 3,000 come from Eastern France . Most of these are copies of older works of Christian literature.

In contrast to his grandfather Charlemagne and his father Ludwig the Pious, no contemporary biography was written about Ludwig the Germans. No contemporary commented negatively. The Fulda Annals are the main source . Notker von St. Gallen is one of the most important authors of the time of Ludwig the German . Of the historiographers of the late 9th century, only von Notker is known to have personally seen the East Frankish king. For the St. Gallen monk, Ludwig was an exemplary ruler. The Xantener Annalen also draw a positive conclusion. For the annalist, Ludwig was wiser and more just than the other kings. The eminent scholar Hrabanus Maurus dedicated several works to Ludwig, including De universo , which he sent to him in 842/46. Ludwig also became the subject of vernacular poetry. In the gospel book of Otfrids von Weißenburg he is praised as a bold and wise ruler. His rulers extend over the country of the Franks. Although Ludwig could not achieve the imperial crown in 875, he was honored in some monastic documents and in later historical sources as an emperor (emperor) and thus upgraded as ruler.

High and late Middle Ages

In the historiographical works from the 10th to the 15th century there are only a few statements about Ludwig. The historians preferred to rely on the Fulda annals. Only Hermann von Reichenau , Adam von Bremen and Sigebert von Gembloux have dealt with him in more detail. In the High and Late Middle Ages, many chroniclers mistook him for his nephew, Emperor Ludwig II. The fact that both Carolingians died within a short time also contributed to this. Ludwig's fame reached its peak in the 11th century. In a genealogy around 1100 he was the only ruler to be given the name magnus rex (great king). The world chronicles of the late Middle Ages hardly deal with Ludwig and his rule. Among the historiographers around 1500, Johannes Aventine particularly deals with the Carolingian ruler in his Bavarian Chronicle.

Research history

Johannes Fried (2009)

After Georg Waitz , the German Empire was founded by the Treaty of Verdun in 843. In 1843, on the thousandth anniversary of the Verdun Treaty, Waitz said: “From then on there was a German Empire. Ludwig founded it, the Verdun Treaty introduced it into history. ”The most important work on the history of events in Ludwig the German is the three-volume history of the East Franconian Empire (2nd edition, Leipzig 1887) by Ernst Dümmler . The first two volumes deal with the time of Ludwig the German. Dümmler's portrayal is designed similarly to the yearbooks of German history . He proceeded strictly chronologically and comprehensively evaluated the written sources for each year. His thorough account of the history of the East Franconian Empire could be one reason why historiography has barely researched the second half of the 9th century for over a hundred years. Ludwig received a detailed biography neither in the 19th nor in the 20th century. Only a few brief biographical abstracts appeared. In the overarching representations, too, it was mostly only dealt with in passing. For a long time, his reign was seen either as an era of decline compared to the time of Charlemagne or as the era of the emergence of the "German" empire.

Since the 1970s, through the studies of Joachim Ehlers , Bernd Schneidmüller and Carlrichard Brühl on the beginnings of German and French history, the view that the "German Empire" was not due to an outstanding event such as the division of the Franconian Empire became more and more popular by the Treaty of Verdun in 843, but rather as the result of a development that began in the 9th century, which in some cases was not yet completed even in the 11th and 12th centuries. Interest in Ludwig's rule remained low in medieval studies . Even the 1100th anniversary of the death of the East Frankish King in 1976 received little scientific attention. In the last decades of the 20th century numerous works were published on the times of Charlemagne and the Ottonians in the 10th century. On the other hand, there are no major works at all about the upheaval of the 9th century from the second half of the 20th century.

After the representation The path in history. The origins of Germany up to 1024 by Johannes Fried (1994), Ludwig was "undoubtedly the king to whom the future German Empire owed its existence". According to Fried, however, the king did not play a major role in shaping this nascent empire. In view of the current state of research, Fried concluded: “The Germans slipped into their national existence without realizing it and without striving for it.” His assessment of the Karolinger was negative. "His personality is enveloped in silence", "Ludwig's story slipped away without a climax", "Ludwig was therefore not an imperial architect", and "His kingship gained solidity because it continued and there was no one to question it".

It was only around the turn of the millennium that Ludwig was examined more intensively, especially through Wilfried Hartmann's biography (2002) and a collection of essays he edited. Hartmann asked whether between 826 and 876 the prerequisites for a feeling of togetherness among the various East Franconian ethnic groups (Saxony, Franconia, Thuringians, Baiern, Alemanni, etc.) can be recognized. He was also interested in the importance of Ludwig's long reign for the emergence of the later “German” empire. According to Hartmann, the war system in particular "promoted the integration of the peoples united in Eastern Franconia" through the participation of several ethnic groups. In contrast to Carlrichard Brühl, Hartmann interpreted the mention of conflicts between the ethnic groups at the end of Ludwig's reign as evidence of a growing sense of belonging. In his conclusion, he agreed with Johannes Fried, referring to Ludwig the German as the king "to whom the future German Reich owed its existence." In the anthology edited by Hartmann, Thomas Zotz (2004) has the time of the rule of Ludwig the German as "Formation phase of the East Franconian Empire". In addition to Hartmann's biography and his collection of articles, numerous studies on Ludwig the German and the second half of the 9th century have been published within a few years. For Eric J. Goldberg, Ludwig was simply “a traditional Carolingian king”. As a Carolingian ruler, he saw himself in the tradition of Charlemagne and regarded himself as his legitimate heir. Boris Bigott (2002) examined the development of the East Franconian imperial church under Ludwig the German and thus made “a valuable contribution to the neglected history of the Carolingian era”.

More recent studies since the 1990s have relativized the view of a general decline after 830, which was strongly rooted in the 19th century in the East Franconian Empire. The diverse development processes in the 9th century had their starting point during the reign of Charlemagne, and they reached a climax under the rule of his son and successor Ludwig the Pious.

swell

  • Yearbooks of Fulda. In: Sources on the Carolingian Empire history. Part 3: Yearbooks of Fulda, Regino: Chronicle, Notker: Acts of Karl. Newly edited by Reinhold Rau. (= Selected sources on the German history of the Middle Ages. Freiherr-vom-Stein-Gedächtnisausgabe. Volume 7). 4th edition, expanded by a supplement compared to the 3rd. Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 2002, pp. 19–177 (Latin text and German translation).
  • Notker, Gesta Karoli. In: Sources on the Carolingian Empire history. Part 3: Yearbooks of Fulda, Regino: Chronicle, Notker: Acts of Karl. Newly edited by Reinhold Rau. (= Selected sources on the German history of the Middle Ages. Freiherr-vom-Stein-Gedächtnisausgabe. Volume 7). 4th edition, expanded by a supplement compared to the 3rd. Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 2002, pp. 321–427 (Latin text and German translation).
  • Xanten yearbooks. In: Sources on the Carolingian Empire history. Part 2: Yearbooks of St. Bertin. Yearbooks of St. Vaast. Xanten yearbooks. Edited by Reinhold Rau. (= Selected sources on the German history of the Middle Ages. Freiherr-vom-Stein-Gedächtnisausgabe. Volume 6). 2nd Edition. Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 1992, ISBN 3-534-06964-1 , pp. 339-371 (Latin text and German translation).

literature

  • Boris Bigott: Ludwig the German and the Reich Church in the East Franconian Empire (826–876). Matthiesen, Husum 2002, ISBN 3-7868-1470-8 ( review ).
  • Roman Deutinger : Royal rule in the East Franconian Empire. A pragmatic constitutional history of the late Carolingian period (= contributions to the history and source studies of the Middle Ages. Volume 20). Thorbecke, Ostfildern, 2006, ISBN 978-3-7995-5720-7
  • Ernst Dümmler : History of the East Franconian Empire. Volume 1: Ludwig the German to the Peace of Koblenz 860; Volume 2: Ludwig the German from the Peace of Koblenz to his death (860–876). Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 1960 (reprint of the 2nd edition from 1887; old but basic illustration).
  • Eric J. Goldberg: Struggle for Empire. Kingship and Conflict under Louis the German. 817-876. Cornell University Press, Ithaca et al. a. 2006, ISBN 0-8014-3890-X ( review ).
  • Wilfried Hartmann : Ludwig the German. Primus Verlag, Darmstadt 2002, ISBN 3-89678-452-8 ( review ).
  • Wilfried Hartmann (Ed.): Ludwig the German and his time. Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 2004, ISBN 3-534-17308-2 (collection of articles with 11 contributions by renowned medievalists, supplement to the biography of Wilfried Hartmann from 2002; review ).
  • Rudolf Schieffer : The Carolingians. 5th updated edition. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2014, ISBN 978-3-17-023383-6 , pp. 139-169.

Lexicon article

Web links

Commons : Ludwig the German  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Remarks

  1. ^ Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German. Darmstadt 2002, p. 21.
  2. ^ Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German. Darmstadt 2002, pp. 22 and 218–222. Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German - portrait of a little known king. In: Wilfried Hartmann (Hrsg.): Ludwig the German and his time. Darmstadt 2004, pp. 1–26.
  3. ^ Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German. Darmstadt 2002, pp. 24-28.
  4. ^ Roman Deutinger: Hludovicus rex Baioariae. On the role of Bavaria in the politics of Ludwig the German. In: Wilfried Hartmann (Hrsg.): Ludwig the German and his time. Darmstadt 2004, pp. 47–66, here: p. 49.
  5. ↑ Boris Bigott: The reconciliation of 847. Ludwig the German and the imperial church. In: Wilfried Hartmann (Hrsg.): Ludwig the German and his time. Darmstadt 2004, p. 121–140, here: p. 122. Matthias Becher: Merowinger and Karolinger. Darmstadt 2009, p. 108.
  6. ↑ Boris Bigott: The reconciliation of 847. Ludwig the German and the imperial church. In: Wilfried Hartmann (Hrsg.): Ludwig the German and his time. Darmstadt 2004, pp. 121–140, here: p. 124.
  7. ↑ Eric J. Goldberg: Struggle for Empire. Kingship and Conflict under Louis the German. 817-876. Ithaca 2006, p. 71ff.
  8. ↑ Eric J. Goldberg: Struggle for Empire. Kingship and Conflict under Louis the German. 817-876. Ithaca 2006, pp. 87-90.
  9. ↑ See also Eric J. Goldberg: Struggle for Empire. Kingship and Conflict under Louis the German. 817-876. Ithaca 2006, p. 91ff.
  10. ↑ Annales Fuldenses to 841.
  11. ↑ Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German - Portrait of a little-known king. In: Wilfried Hartmann (Hrsg.): Ludwig the German and his time. Darmstadt 2004, pp. 1–26, here: p. 15.
  12. ↑ See in detail Eric Joseph Goldberg: Popular revolt, dynastic politics, and aristocratic factionalism in the early Middle Ages. The Saxon Stellinga reconsidered. In: Speculum , 70, 467-501 (1995).
  13. ^ Rudolf Schieffer: The time of the Carolingian empire 714-887. Stuttgart 2005, p. 141.
  14. ^ Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German. Darmstadt 2002, pp. 40-44. Rudolf Schieffer: The time of the Carolingian empire 714-887. Stuttgart 2005, p. 147ff. Matthias Becher: Merovingians and Carolingians. Darmstadt 2009, p. 114ff. and 129.
  15. ^ Roman Deutinger: Royal rule in the East Franconian Empire. A pragmatic constitutional history of the late Carolingian era. Ostfildern 2006, S. 350. Rudolf Schieffer: Christianization and empire formations. Europe 700–1200. Munich 2013, p. 108. Ingrid Voss: Meeting of rulers in the early and high Middle Ages. Investigations into the encounters of the East Franconian and West Franconian rulers in the 9th and 10th centuries as well as the German and French kings from 11th to 13th centuries. Century. Cologne u. a. 1987, pp. 10ff., 207ff.
  16. ↑ Numbers after Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German. Darmstadt 2002, p. 125. Roman Deutinger: Royal rule in the East Franconian Empire. A pragmatic constitutional history of the late Carolingian era. Ostfildern 2006, p. 320.
  17. ^ Roman Deutinger: Hludovicus rex Baioariae. On the role of Bavaria in the politics of Ludwig the German. In: Wilfried Hartmann (Hrsg.): Ludwig the German and his time. Darmstadt 2004, pp. 47–66, here: p. 55.
  18. ^ Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German. Darmstadt 2002, p. 80f.
  19. ↑ See for example Kurt Reindel: Bavaria in the Middle Ages. Munich 1970, P. 90. Andreas Kraus: History of Bavaria. From the beginning to the present. Munich 1983, p. 53.
  20. ^ Roman Deutinger: Hludovicus rex Baioariae. On the role of Bavaria in the politics of Ludwig the German. In: Wilfried Hartmann (Hrsg.): Ludwig the German and his time. Darmstadt 2004, pp. 47-66, especially p. 65.
  21. ^ Roman Deutinger: Royal rule in the East Franconian Empire. A pragmatic constitutional history of the late Carolingian era. Ostfildern 2006, pp. 267, 364ff., 385f.
  22. ^ Roman Deutinger: Royal rule in the East Franconian Empire. A pragmatic constitutional history of the late Carolingian era. Ostfildern 2006, pp. 364–367.
  23. ^ Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German. Darmstadt 2002, p. 127.
  24. ↑ Thomas Zotz: Ludwig the German and his Palatinate. Royal rulership practice in the formation phase of the East Franconian Empire. In: Wilfried Hartmann (Hrsg.): Ludwig the German and his time. Darmstadt 2004, pp. 27–46, here: p. 28. Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig der Deutsche. Darmstadt 2002, p. 128.
  25. ^ Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German. Darmstadt 2002, p. 70.
  26. ^ Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German. Darmstadt 2002, p. 128. Roman Deutinger: Hludovicus rex Baioariae. On the role of Bavaria in the politics of Ludwig the German. In: Wilfried Hartmann (Hrsg.): Ludwig the German and his time. Darmstadt 2004, pp. 47–66, here: p. 61.
  27. ↑ Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German - Portrait of a little-known king. In: Wilfried Hartmann (Hrsg.): Ludwig the German and his time. Darmstadt 2004, pp. 1–26, here: pp. 13f.
  28. ^ Roman Deutinger: Hludovicus rex Baioariae. On the role of Bavaria in the politics of Ludwig the German. In: Wilfried Hartmann (Hrsg.): Ludwig the German and his time. Darmstadt 2004, pp. 47–66, here: p. 61.
  29. ↑ Thomas Zotz: Ludwig the German and his Palatinate. Royal rulership practice in the formation phase of the East Franconian Empire. In: Wilfried Hartmann (Hrsg.): Ludwig the German and his time. Darmstadt 2004, pp. 27–46, here: p. 34.
  30. ↑ Thomas Zotz: Ludwig the German and his Palatinate. Royal rulership practice in the formation phase of the East Franconian Empire. In: Wilfried Hartmann (Hrsg.): Ludwig the German and his time. Darmstadt 2004, pp. 27-46, here: pp. 35f.
  31. ^ Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German. Darmstadt 2002, p. 91f.
  32. ^ Roman Deutinger: Hludovicus rex Baioariae. On the role of Bavaria in the politics of Ludwig the German. In: Wilfried Hartmann (Hrsg.): Ludwig the German and his time. Darmstadt 2004, pp. 47–66, here: p. 61.
  33. ↑ Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German - Portrait of a little-known king. In: Wilfried Hartmann (Hrsg.): Ludwig the German and his time. Darmstadt 2004, pp. 1–26, here: p. 14.
  34. ^ Rudolf Schieffer: From place to place. Tasks and results of research into outpatient domination practice. In: Caspar Ehlers (Ed.): Places of rule. Medieval royal palaces. Göttingen 2002, pp. 11-23.
  35. ^ Philippe Depreux: Prosopographie de l'entourage de Louis le Pieux (781-840). Sigmaringen 1997.
  36. ^ Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German. Darmstadt 2002, p. 255.
  37. ↑ Hagen Keller: On the seals of the Carolingians and the Ottonians. Documents as "emblems" in communication between the king and his loyal followers. In: Frühmittelalterliche Studien , Vol. 32 (1998), pp. 400-444, here: pp. 411f.
  38. ↑ Hagen Keller: On the seals of the Carolingians and the Ottonians. Documents as "emblems" in communication between the king and his loyal followers. In: Frühmittelalterliche Studien , Vol. 32 (1998), pp. 400–444, here: p. 436. Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig der Deutsche. Darmstadt 2002, p. 137.
  39. ↑ Hagen Keller: On the seals of the Carolingians and the Ottonians. Documents as "emblems" in communication between the king and his loyal followers. In: Frühmittelalterliche Studien , Vol. 32 (1998), pp. 400-444, here: p. 441.
  40. ↑ On this term Hanna Vollrath: The Middle Ages in the Typics of Oral Societies. In: Historische Zeitschrift , Vol. 233 (1981), pp. 571-594.
  41. ^ Ernst Tremp: Ludwig the German and the monastery of St. Gallen. In: Wilfried Hartmann (Hrsg.): Ludwig the German and his time. Darmstadt 2004, pp. 141–160, here: pp. 148ff.
  42. ^ Roman Deutinger: Royal rule in the East Franconian Empire. A pragmatic constitutional history of the late Carolingian era. Ostfildern 2006, p. 62.
  43. ^ Roman Deutinger: Royal rule in the East Franconian Empire. A pragmatic constitutional history of the late Carolingian era. Ostfildern 2006, p. 222.
  44. ^ Roman Deutinger: Royal rule in the East Franconian Empire. A pragmatic constitutional history of the late Carolingian era. Ostfildern 2006, pp. 225-272.
  45. ^ Roman Deutinger: Royal rule in the East Franconian Empire. A pragmatic constitutional history of the late Carolingian era. Ostfildern 2006, p. 245. Gerd Althoff: Colloquium familiare - Colloquium secretum - Colloquium publicum. Advice on political life in the early Middle Ages. In: Frühmittelalterliche Studien , Vol. 24 (1990) pp. 145-167. Gerd Althoff: The power of rituals. Symbolism and rule in the Middle Ages. Darmstadt 2003, pp. 189–194.
  46. ^ Roman Deutinger: Royal rule in the East Franconian Empire. A pragmatic constitutional history of the late Carolingian era. Ostfildern 2006, p. 262.
  47. ^ Roman Deutinger: Royal rule in the East Franconian Empire. A pragmatic constitutional history of the late Carolingian era. Ostfildern 2006, p. 232.
  48. ^ Roman Deutinger: Royal rule in the East Franconian Empire. A pragmatic constitutional history of the late Carolingian era. Ostfildern 2006, p. 309.
  49. ↑ Boris Bigott: Ludwig the German and the Imperial Church in the East Franconian Empire (826-876). Husum 2002, p. 80.
  50. ↑ Boris Bigott: Ludwig the German and the Imperial Church in the East Franconian Empire (826-876). Husum 2002, pp. 104-111. Boris Bigott: The reconciliation of 847. Ludwig the German and the imperial church. In: Wilfried Hartmann (Hrsg.): Ludwig the German and his time. Darmstadt 2004, pp. 121-140.
  51. ^ Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German. Darmstadt 2002, p. 192.
  52. ^ Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German. Darmstadt 2002, p. 197. Rudolf Schieffer: The Karolinger. 4th, revised and expanded edition, Stuttgart 2006, p. 150.
  53. ^ Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German. Darmstadt 2002, p. 200.
  54. ^ Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German. Darmstadt 2002, pp. 185 and 255.
  55. ^ Roman Deutinger: Royal rule in the East Franconian Empire. A pragmatic constitutional history of the late Carolingian era. Ostfildern 2006, p. 391.
  56. ^ Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German. Darmstadt 2002, pp. 185f.
  57. ↑ Eric J. Goldberg: Dominus Hludowicus Serenissimus Imperator sedens pro tribunali. Conflict, Justice, and Ideology at the Court of Louis the German. In: Matthias Becher, Alheydis Plassmann (ed.): Dispute at the court in the early Middle Ages. Göttingen 2011, pp. 175–202.
  58. ^ Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German. Darmstadt 2002, p. 254.
  59. ^ Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German. Darmstadt 2002, p. 188.
  60. ^ Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German. Darmstadt 2002, pp. 128 and 189.
  61. ^ Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German. Darmstadt 2002, p. 128.
  62. ^ Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German. Darmstadt 2002, p. 190.
  63. ^ Roman Deutinger: Royal rule in the East Franconian Empire. A pragmatic constitutional history of the late Carolingian era. Ostfildern 2006, p. 129.
  64. ^ Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German. Darmstadt 2002, p. 76.
  65. ↑ Janet L. Nelson: Charles the Bald. London 1992, p. 174 with note 68. Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German - portrait of a little-known king. In: Wilfried Hartmann (Hrsg.): Ludwig the German and his time. Darmstadt 2004, pp. 1–26, here: p. 11.
  66. ↑ Gerd Althoff: The Ottonians. Royal rule without a state. 2nd expanded edition, Stuttgart et al. 2005, p. 20.
  67. ^ Roman Deutinger: Royal rule in the East Franconian Empire. A pragmatic constitutional history of the late Carolingian era. Ostfildern 2006, p. 393. Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German. Darmstadt 2002, p. 78f.
  68. ↑ On Ludwig's daughters cf. Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German. Darmstadt 2002, pp. 77-79.
  69. ^ Roman Deutinger: Royal rule in the East Franconian Empire. A pragmatic constitutional history of the late Carolingian era. Ostfildern 2006, p. 136f. and 286f.
  70. ↑ Eric J. Goldberg: Struggle for Empire. Kingship and Conflict under Louis the German. 817-876. Ithaca 2006, p. 119.
  71. ↑ Eric J. Goldberg: Ludwig the German and Moravia. A study of the Carolingian border wars in the east. In: Wilfried Hartmann (Hrsg.): Ludwig the German and his time. Darmstadt 2004, pp. 67–94, here: p. 71 ( online ); Eric J. Goldberg: Struggle for Empire. Kingship and Conflict under Louis the German. 817-876. Ithaca 2006, here: p. 119f.
  72. ↑ Eric J. Goldberg: Ludwig the German and Moravia. A study of the Carolingian border wars in the east. In: Wilfried Hartmann (Hrsg.): Ludwig the German and his time. Darmstadt 2004, pp. 67-94, here: p. 68 ( online ).
  73. ↑ Eric J. Goldberg: Ludwig the German and Moravia. A study of the Carolingian border wars in the east. In: Wilfried Hartmann (Hrsg.): Ludwig the German and his time. Darmstadt 2004, pp. 67–94, here: p. 71 ( online ); Eric J. Goldberg: Struggle for Empire. Kingship and Conflict under Louis the German. 817-876. Ithaca 2006, here p. 119f.
  74. ↑ Eric J. Goldberg: Struggle for Empire. Kingship and Conflict under Louis the German. 817-876. Ithaca 2006, pp. 132-135.
  75. ↑ Eric J. Goldberg: Struggle for Empire. Kingship and Conflict under Louis the German. 817-876. Ithaca 2006, pp. 137ff.
  76. ↑ Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German - Portrait of a little-known king. In: Wilfried Hartmann (Hrsg.): Ludwig the German and his time. Darmstadt 2004, pp. 1–26, here: p. 13.
  77. ^ Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German. Darmstadt 2002, p. 118.
  78. ↑ Eric J. Goldberg: Ludwig the German and Moravia. A study of the Carolingian border wars in the east. In: Wilfried Hartmann (Hrsg.): Ludwig the German and his time. Darmstadt 2004, pp. 67-94, here: p. 70 ( online ).
  79. ↑ Eric J. Goldberg: Struggle for Empire. Kingship and Conflict under Louis the German. 817-876. Ithaca 2006, pp. 127-129.
  80. ↑ Eric J. Goldberg: Ludwig the German and Moravia. A study of the Carolingian border wars in the east. In: Wilfried Hartmann (Hrsg.): Ludwig the German and his time. Darmstadt 2004, pp. 67-94, here: p. 81 ( online ).
  81. ↑ Eric J. Goldberg: Struggle for Empire. Kingship and Conflict under Louis the German. 817-876. Ithaca 2006, pp. 124-126 and pp. 129f.
  82. ↑ Eric J. Goldberg: Struggle for Empire. Kingship and Conflict under Louis the German. 817-876. Ithaca 2006, p. 240ff.
  83. ^ Roman Deutinger: Royal rule in the East Franconian Empire. A pragmatic constitutional history of the late Carolingian era. Ostfildern 2006, p. 240.
  84. ↑ Burkhard Apsner: Treaty and Consensus in the Early Middle Ages. Studies on social programs and statehood in the West Franconian Empire. Trier 2006, p. 216ff .; 271-278.
  85. ^ Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German. Darmstadt 2002, pp. 48-54.
  86. ^ Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German. Darmstadt 2002, p. 54.
  87. ^ Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German. Darmstadt 2002, pp. 55 and 253.
  88. ↑ The quotations come from the Annales Fuldenses to 849. Cf. Roman Deutinger: Hludovicus rex Baioariae. On the role of Bavaria in the politics of Ludwig the German. In: Wilfried Hartmann (Hrsg.): Ludwig the German and his time. Darmstadt 2004, pp. 47–66, here: p. 53.
  89. ^ Roman Deutinger: Royal rule in the East Franconian Empire. A pragmatic constitutional history of the late Carolingian era. Ostfildern 2006, p. 310. Brigitte Kasten: Royal sons and royal rule. Studies on participation in the empire in the Merovingian and Carolingian times. Hanover 1997, p. 510.
  90. ^ Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German. Darmstadt 2002, p. 70.
  91. ↑ Brigitte Kasten: The sons of kings and the rule of kings. Studies on participation in the empire in the Merovingian and Carolingian times. Hanover 1997, p. 524ff. Rudolf Schieffer: The time of the Carolingian empire 714-887. Stuttgart 2005, p. 149.
  92. ^ Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German. Darmstadt 2002, p. 55f.
  93. ↑ Brigitte Kasten: The sons of kings and the rule of kings. Studies on participation in the empire in the Merovingian and Carolingian times. Hanover 1997, p. 381ff.
  94. ↑ On the preference for Karlmann, cf. Michael Borgolte: Karl III. and new things. On the problem of the succession plan for Ludwig the German. In: Zeitschrift für die Geschichte des Oberrheins , Vol. 125 (1977), pp. 21-55; Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German. Darmstadt 2002, pp. 7 and 71; Brigitte Kasten: Royal sons and royal rule. Studies on participation in the empire in the Merovingian and Carolingian times. Hannover 1997, pp. 534-536.
  95. ^ Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German. Darmstadt 2002, p. 76. Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German - portrait of a little-known king. In: Wilfried Hartmann (Hrsg.): Ludwig the German and his time. Darmstadt 2004, pp. 1–26, here: pp. 11f.
  96. ^ Gerd Althoff: Royal rule and conflict resolution in the 10th and 11th centuries. In: Frühmittelalterliche Studien , Vol. 23 (1989), pp. 265-290, here: p. 277.
  97. ↑ Gerd Althoff: Rules of the game of politics in the Middle Ages. Communication in peace and feud. Darmstadt 1997.
  98. ^ Gerd Althoff: The privilege of the deditio. Forms of amicable ending of conflict in medieval aristocratic society. In: Ders .: Rules of the game of politics in the Middle Ages. Communication in peace and feud. Darmstadt 1997, pp. 99-125. (First published in: Otto Gerhard Oexle (ed.): Nobilitas. Festschrift for Karl Ferdinand Werner on his 70th birthday. Göttingen 1997, pp. 27–52.). Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German. Darmstadt 2002, p. 255.
  99. ^ Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German. Darmstadt 2002, pp. 120-122.
  100. ↑ Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German - Portrait of a little-known king. In: Wilfried Hartmann (Hrsg.): Ludwig the German and his time. Darmstadt 2004, pp. 1–26, here: pp. 7f.
  101. ^ Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German. Darmstadt 2002, p. 62.
  102. ↑ Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German - Portrait of a little-known king. In: Wilfried Hartmann (Hrsg.): Ludwig the German and his time. Darmstadt 2004, pp. 1–26, here: p. 26.
  103. ↑ Brigitte Kasten: The struggle for economic resources at the time of King Konrad I. In: Hans-Werner Goetz (Ed.): Konrad I .: On the way to the "German Empire"? Bochum 2006, pp. 151–167, here: p. 151.
  104. ^ Rudolf Schieffer: Christianization and empire formations. Europe 700–1200. Munich 2013, p. 103.
  105. ^ Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German. Darmstadt 2002, p. 1.
  106. ↑ Cf. Dieter Geuenich : Ludwig "the German" and the emergence of the East Franconian Empire. In: Wolfgang Haubrichs , Ernst Hellgardt , Reiner Hildebrandt, Stephan Müller, Klaus Ridder (eds.): Theodisca. Contributions to the Old High German and Old Low German language and literature in the culture of the early Middle Ages. An international symposium in Schönmühl near Penzberg, March 13-16, 1997. Berlin 2000, pp. 313–329, here: p. 317. Carlrichard Brühl: Germany - France. The birth of two peoples. Cologne et al. 1990, 140ff.
  107. ↑ Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German - Portrait of a little-known king. In: Wilfried Hartmann (Hrsg.): Ludwig the German and his time. Darmstadt 2004, pp. 1–26, here: p. 24.
  108. ↑ Rudolf Schieffer: Ludwig "the pious". On the creation of a Carolingian ruler's legacy. In: Frühmittelalterliche Studien , Vol. 16 (1982) pp. 58-73.
  109. ^ Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German. Darmstadt 2002, p. 13.
  110. ↑ Heinz Zatschek: How the first German empire came into being. State leadership, imperial estate and eastern settlement in the age of the Carolingians. Prague 1940, pp. 166-173. Heinz Zatschek: Ludwig the German. In: Theodor Mayer (ed.): The Treaty of Verdun. Leipzig 1943, pp. 31–65, here: p. 61.
  111. ^ Carlrichard Brühl: Germany - France. The birth of two peoples. Cologne et al. 1990, p. 108 and 140ff.
  112. ↑ Joachim Ehlers: The emergence of the German Empire. Munich 1994.
  113. ^ Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German. Darmstadt 2002, p. 2.
  114. ^ Roman Deutinger: Royal rule in the East Franconian Empire. A pragmatic constitutional history of the late Carolingian era. Ostfildern 2006, p. 16.
  115. ^ Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German. Darmstadt 2002, p. 2ff.
  116. ^ Rudolf Schieffer: The time of the Carolingian empire 714-887. Stuttgart 2005, p. 147.
  117. ↑ Jörg W. Busch: The Lords of the Carolingians 714–911. Munich 2011.
  118. ↑ Review by Rudolf Schieffer in: German Archive for Research of the Middle Ages , Vol. 68 (2012), pp. 280f.
  119. ↑ Gerd Althoff, Hagen Keller: Late Antiquity to the End of the Middle Ages. The time of the late Carolingians and Ottonians. Crises and Consolidations 888–1024. Stuttgart 2008, p. 32. For the few traces cf. Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German. Darmstadt 2002, pp. 150-152; Eric J. Goldberg: Struggle for Empire. Kingship and Conflict under Louis the German. 817-876. Ithaca 2006, pp. 228f.
  120. ^ Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German. Darmstadt 2002, pp. 235-240 (with further literature). Similarly, Roman Deutinger: Royal rule in the East Franconian Empire. A pragmatic constitutional history of the late Carolingian era. Ostfildern 2006, p. 395.
  121. ^ Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German. Darmstadt 2002, p. 14.
  122. ↑ Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German - Portrait of a little-known king. In: Wilfried Hartmann (Hrsg.): Ludwig the German and his time. Darmstadt 2004, pp. 1–26, here: p. 3.
  123. ^ Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German. Darmstadt 2002, p. 122.
  124. ^ Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German. Darmstadt 2002, p. 23.
  125. ^ Translation of Gisela Vollmann-Profe: Otfrid von Weißenburg, Gospel Book. Selection of Old High German / New High German. Stuttgart 1987, p. 9. Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German. Darmstadt 2002, p. 222.
  126. ^ Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German. Darmstadt 2002, pp. 222 and 253.
  127. ^ Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German. Darmstadt 2002, p. 11.
  128. ^ Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German. Darmstadt 2002, p. 12 and 122.
  129. ^ Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German. Darmstadt 2002, p. 12.
  130. ↑ Georg Waitz: About the establishment of the German Empire through the Treaty of Verdun. Kiel 1843, p. 18.
  131. ^ Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German. Darmstadt 2002, p. 14f.
  132. ↑ Critical to these predominant perspectives, Simon MacLean: Kingship and Politics in the Late Ninth Century. Charles the Fat and the End of the Carolingian Empire. Cambridge 2003, pp. 1-22.
  133. ↑ See: Joachim Ehlers: The emergence of the German Empire. 4th edition, Munich 2012. Carlrichard Brühl: Germany - France. The birth of two peoples. Cologne et al. 1990. Bernd Schneidmüller: Nomen patriae. The emergence of France in political-geographical terminology (10th – 13th centuries). Sigmaringen 1987. Bernd Schneidmüller: Reich – Volk – Nation: The emergence of the German empire and the German nation in the Middle Ages. In: Almut Bues, Rex Rexheuser (ed.): Medieval nationes - modern nations. Problems of nation building in Europe. Wiesbaden 1995, pp. 73-101.
  134. ↑ Dieter Geuenich: Ludwig "the German" and the emergence of the East Franconian Empire. In: Wolfgang Haubrichs, Ernst Hellgardt, Rainer Hildebrandt, Stephan Müller, Klaus Ridder (eds.): Theodisca. Contributions to the Old High German and Old Low German language. Berlin u. a. 2000, pp. 313-329, here: p. 314.
  135. ↑ Johannes Fried: The way into history. The origins of Germany up to 1024. Berlin 1994, p. 417.
  136. ↑ Johannes Fried: The way into history. The origins of Germany up to 1024. Berlin 1994, p. 15.
  137. ↑ Johannes Fried: The way into history. The origins of Germany up to 1024. Berlin 1994, p. 417. Selection of quotations from Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig der Deutsche. Darmstadt 2002, p. 5.
  138. ^ Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German. Darmstadt 2002, pp. 5, 43 and 252.
  139. ^ Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German. Darmstadt 2002, p. 166.
  140. ^ Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German. Darmstadt 2002, p. 104. Carlrichard Brühl: Germany - France. The birth of two peoples. Cologne et al. 1990, p. 279.
  141. ^ Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German. Darmstadt 2002, p. 258.
  142. ↑ Thomas Zotz: Ludwig the German and his Palatinate. Royal rulership practice in the formation phase of the East Franconian Empire. In: Wilfried Hartmann (Hrsg.): Ludwig the German and his time. Darmstadt 2004, pp. 27-46.
  143. ↑ Boris Bigott: Ludwig the German and the Imperial Church in the East Franconian Empire (826-876). Husum 2002. Simon MacLean: Kingship and Politics in the Late Ninth Century: Charles the Fat and the End of the Carolingian Empire. Cambridge 2003; Eric J. Goldberg: Struggle for Empire. Kingship and Conflict under Louis the German. 817-876. Ithaca 2006; Roman Deutinger: Royal rule in the East Franconian Empire. A pragmatic constitutional history of the late Carolingian era. Ostfildern 2006. Franz Fuchs, Peter Schmid (Ed.): Kaiser Arnolf. The East Franconian Empire at the end of the 9th century. Munich 2002; Hans-Werner Goetz (Ed.) With the collaboration of Simon Elling: Konrad I. On the way to the "German Reich"? Bochum 2006.
  144. ↑ Eric J. Goldberg: Struggle for Empire. Kingship and Conflict under Louis the German. 817-876. Ithaca 2006, p. 6.
  145. ↑ Boris Bigott: Ludwig the German and the Imperial Church in the East Franconian Empire (826-876). Husum 2002. Review by Roman Deutinger in: German Archive for Research into the Middle Ages , Vol. 59 (2003), pp. 733–734 ( digitized version ).
  146. ↑ See, for example, Peter Godman, Roger Collins (ed.): Charlemagne's heir. New perspectives on the reign of Louis the Pious (814-840). Oxford 1990; Wilfried Hartmann: Ludwig the German. Darmstadt 2002. To summarize this reassessment of the late Carolingian period Matthew Innes: Introduction to early medieval Western Europe, 300–900. The sword, the plow and the book. London et al. 2007, p. 494.
This article was added to the list of excellent articles on November 24, 2014 in this version .
predecessor Office successor
Lothar I. King of Bavaria
817–865 		Karlmann
personal data
SURNAME Ludwig the German
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Louis the Pious
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Frankish king
DATE OF BIRTH around 806
DATE OF DEATH August 28, 876
Place of death Frankfurt am Main