Division of the Carolingian Empire

Following the death of Louis the Pious, his sons fought for control of the Carolingian inheritance. The Treaty of Verdun in 843 divided the empire into western, middle and eastern realms, but dynastic rivalry and territorial disputes continued.

The division created the political setting of West Francia, East Francia and the unstable middle kingdom. Their rulers also faced Viking raids, internal rebellion and competition for the prestige attached to Charlemagne’s legacy.

This context supports historical fiction involving Louis the German, Charles the Bald, Lothair I and the wars and alliances of the mid-ninth-century Frankish world.