Charlemagne’s empire is split. His successors will attempt in vain to reunify it under one crown. The emperor is then more an honorary title than a power. Louis I (814-840) divides his empire among his sons; this separation in 840 will lead to eleven centuries of rivalry between the two banks of the Rhine.
Ivan Gobry describes for us the life and customs of the Carolingians, the power of the church with bishops meddling in politics. The treachery, the crime, eliminating an opponent even if it was one’s brother. Morality here obeys necessities, and a tribute, a vow often lasts only as long as it takes to pronounce it.
France is born in 840 with Charles II known as the Bald. At that time, people talked about Western Francia and Eastern Francia. The Carolingians ruled on both sides of the Rhine.
This book explains the power struggles, ambitions, marriages, the schemes of these kings who, until 987, will succeed each other on the throne of the Franks. Charles II will establish his authority by confronting his two brothers, Lothair the Elder and Louis the German, sometimes allying with one, sometimes with the other.
Ivan Gobry delivers to us an unknown page of French history, a period where writings were rare, only clerics could read and write, lords spent their time warring among themselves to expand their fief at the expense of their neighbor. Vassal homage was pledged which bound a lesser lord to a more powerful one. A balance of power in a feudal society led by the aristocracy, which was wary of the king and his power.
This will continue until the revolution when France, having abolished the orders, will finally experience better social harmony. The Middle Ages are revealed to us in all their brutality, far from the chansons de geste which were the idealized image of this period.
Thierry Jan
