Loathar I by Sean Adams

Lothar I
Lothar I was born in the year 795 and passed away in the year 855. He was the grandson of Charlemagne and the son of Louis the Pious. His childhood is rather unknown due to the lack of sources written about young Lothar. However, being a member of a royal bloodline meant that he must have had a rather easy and privileged childhood with no responsibilities. He probably heard stories from his grandfather about the old days of Germanic tribes and their native language. He must have also been schooled in Latin both the language and the written word. He would have eaten the best food and worn the most elaborate clothing made of silk and jewelry and golden trinkets. However, what is commonly accepted by most researchers, is the belief that he was an active member within the court of his grandfather, Charlemagne. This, of course, would have given first hand knowledge of being a ruler and an emperor. It could also explain his future actions of treachery and lust and hunger for power.
His adult life is better understood and in 821 he married a beautiful woman by the name of Irmengarde who was the daughter of Hugo, Count of Tours. This marriage, like all marriages within nobility, was more than likely arranged to gain wealth, land, and prestige, rather than two people meeting and falling in love. This would solidify his father’s reign by uniting Hugo within his own bloodline, thus insuring allegiance and soldiers whenever needed. He had three sons, Louis II, who was the oldest, Lothar II and Charles, all of whom would carry on the bloodline and reign of the Carolingians.
Lothar’s adult life was also blessed because he was the oldest son and this would come to benefit him quite well. He lusted for power of his own, even though he had been crowned co- emperor by his father. He led a revolt against his father and ruled for about a year until his father regained power. Then, on his death bed, Louis the Pious divided his lands evenly among his sons. Louis even included Charles, his step son from his marriage with Judith, (who had fought for her son to be recognized as a legitimate heir to be worthy of receiving part of the vast kingdom) in his decision. Louis did not want any fighting or insurrection, like what Lothar had done to him.
Lothar I inherited not only land, Italy and many others, but also the title of being crowned emperor and received the royal insignia proving this. In April 823 he was crowned emperor by the pope Paschal I, in order to give legitimacy to his reign as emperor like all the emperors before him. This, of course, gave him reign over the Western region, but there was still an Eastern emperor. Lothar became greedy with power and he soon wanted all the lands for himself. He had seen his grandfather’s reign firsthand and his vast empire and great power and he wanted the same.
His brothers Charles and Louis II decided it was time to lead a revolt against Lothar rather then lose their inheritance and have one man being emperor again. They remembered that he had led a revolt against their father in his lust for power. They became fearful of the possibility of their own deaths because Lothar I would not want anyone challenging his authority. In 842 they made a pledge together to reinstate the order and dream of peace among the sons that their father had wanted when he divided the lands as one of his last acts.
. The brothers fought Lothar I on June 25th of 842 at Fontenoy. Lothar’s men were instructed to take as much gold and valuables as possible before retreating from his brother’s combined armies. He was defeated but not totally powerless. Nevertheless the defeat showed him that the combined forces of his brothers was too overwhelming and would mean certain demise for him. So in 843 he decided it was best to make peace, rather than being completely stripped of his power. In the Treaty of Verdun he did just that. He retained power within Italy and Belgium and the Netherlands down the Rhine River to Switzerland and his brothers divided the rest amongst themselves. He would reside mainly in Italy and would not cause any more insurrections worthy of his brothers fighting him again and making any more treaties.
He remained in power until 855 when he became ill. Knowing that he had not long for this world he divided his lands among his 3 sons and joined the monastic order. He entered the monastery of Prum and died six days later.
Thus was the life of Lothar I, son of Louis the Pious, and grandson of Charlemagne. When researching this paper I found mainly the same basic information about Lothar I, his life, his rule, and the end of his life. I found that Lothar seemed like a treacherous man who was full of greed and power hungry. This can be seen when he lead a revolt against his own father because he wanted power immediately rather then waiting until his father’s demise. He decided that he would rather strip Louis the Pious of everything he had inherited and gained on his own rather then spending as much time with his father until his death.
Even after he had gained power and was later stripped of it, his father still gave him and his brothers land and wealth so there would be no fighting. This, of course, was a wise decision because he wished for nothing but peace and prosperity amongst his sons. This was his way of balancing power. Once Lothar was given such a marvelous gift of land, also being named emperor, he would rather keep it himself then to share it with his brothers. I would have guessed that after the insurgence against his father he would be weary of a revolt happening to him but still he put himself in that position. His brothers did go against him and he was on the verge of losing everything so that is when he wanted peace, if not stopped he would have ruled everything until his death.
Only until his impending demise around 855, did his sons and brothers see his humanity and kindness. He divided his land and joined the monastic order to save his soul and be at peace. However, his hunger for power could be explained by his years in Charlemagne’s court. When you are young and impressionable and are within the presence of great man (whom many people would write about, Alcuin being one such notable author), it is hard not to wish that for one’s self. Perhaps if Lothar I would have had someone as wise and as humble as Alcuin, the bishop, within his own inner circle of advisors the insurrection against his father would never have happened. His lust for being as powerful and as noble as his grandfather, the great Charlemagne, was too great and so he was corrupted with a need for power.
Once he had ascertained this power by crowning himself emperor, he quickly saw the errors of his ways when he had enraged and faced the powerful combined forces of his brothers. This is perhaps when he knew that being emperor was too difficult to keep when you do not have the hearts and minds of all those who should be loyal to you.
Either way love him or hate him, Lothar I has his own place in history; he did carry on the Carolingian line that his grandfather had created. He was a great leader because he remained in power even after assaults on his lands by the Normans and Saragens, until his death and change to the monastic order.
There are historical documents written about his reign and life. Of course reading and learning about him makes historians question his motives and thought process for his actions. However, that is all that studying history is, you read the documents and make your own judgments and predictions based on that information in the context of that time period. So he can be seen as both a devil and an angel, which echos in to our world today. Many of us crave power and wish for it at any costs. We soon find that what we wish for may just be our downfall. When you do whatever you can to ascertain such goals, then you make peace and try to live your life as best as you can in order to make up for past mistakes. So in the end, Lothar I’s life was notable and should be studied so we do not make the same mistakes that he had done with his own life.



Bibliography

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“The Ordinance of Louis the Pius Division of the Empire of the Year 817.” The Avalon Project at Yale Law School. http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/medieval/verdun.htm. Accessed May 27th.

“Lothair I.” Love To Know Classic Encyclopedia. http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Lothair_I. Accessed on May 27th.