In 843 was signed. Verdun section. The collapse of the Frankish Empire. Byzantium in the early Middle Ages

Frankish state in the VIII-IX centuries. Empire of Charlemagne The weakening of the central government and the constant strife of the representatives of the Merovingian house led to the fact that the prestige of royal power fell. The last Merovingians are called "lazy kings" because they did not

Testament of Charlemagne (806)

In February 806, Charlemagne made a will, in which he indicated that after his death it was necessary to divide the empire between his three sons: Louis, Pepin and Charles.

However, Pepin died in 810, and Charles died in 811. Shortly before his death, in 813, Charlemagne called to himself Louis, King of Aquitaine, his only surviving son from Hildegarde, and, having convened a solemn assembly of noble Franks of the whole kingdom, on September 11, 813, appointed him, by common consent, his co-ruler and heir, and then placed a crown on his head and ordered that he henceforth be called emperor.

Preamble.

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Charles, Most Serene Augustus, crowned by God, the great peacemaker emperor, ruling the Roman Empire, who, by the grace of God, is the king of the Franks, as well as the Lombards, to all the faithful of God's holy church and to us, now living and to future [generations]. We hope that it is known to everyone, and it is not unknown to any of you, that God's mercy, by the will of which, due to the tendency to death, generations are replaced by the birth of descendants, the greatness of his compassion and blessing bestowed on us by giving three sons, and also strengthened our will and hopes kingdom and lessened the worries that heirs tend to forget.

Thus we desire and ask that it be known to all that it pleases us, by the grace of God, to leave these same sons, both during our life and after our death, heirs of the empire that the Lord preserves and preserves, or of our kingdom, if divine holiness determines it. We have no desire, however, to hand over this kingdom to sons undivided and without any order, as a subject for clashes. But we divide the whole kingdom into three parts, assigning to each one that he should rule and which he will protect. Thus, each one is satisfied with his part [and] according to our prescriptions, will, with God's help, strive to protect the borders of his kingdom, which intersect with the borders of foreign peoples and protect peace and mutual understanding with his brother.

The divisions illumined by God, and also the ordering of our empire or kingdom, should take place in this way: we assigned to our dear son Louis all of Aquitaine and Vasconia, with the exception of Touraine, all that is to the west of here and Spain, the city of Nivernice on the Loire River with its district, the district of Avalense and Alsense, Cabilon, Matiscon, Lugdun, Saboia, Mariena, Tarentasia, Mount Cinisius, the valley of Segusia, and from there along the borders of the Italian mountains to the sea. All these regions with their cities and all that belongs to them south to Spain, that is, part of Burgundy and the Province and Septimania or Gothia.

Italy, which is also called Langobardia, and Bavaria, that which Tasillon owned, except for two villas called Ingolstadt and Lauterhofen, which belong to the Nordgau pagus, which we once gave to Tasillon as a beneficiary, then that part of Alamania, which is on the south coast Danube and from the very source of the Danube, the border goes to the Rhine River, between the borders of the Klettgau and Gegau pagi, and from there (goes) up the Rhine River towards the Alps, to a place called Enge. Everything that will be within these limits and lies to the south and east, together with the Khur region and the Durgau pag, belongs to our dear son Pepin.

That part of our kingdom that will lie between these borders, that is, France and Burgundy, with the exception of that part of it, which we give to Louis, and also Alamania, with the exception of the source, which we assigned to Pepin, Austrasia, Neustria, Thuringia, Saxony, Frisia and a part of Bavaria, which is called the Nordgau, we hand over to our dear son Charles, so that in this way Charles and Louis can make their way to Italy in order to help their brother, if the need arises: Charles through the valley of Augustana, which borders on his kingdom, and Louis through the valley of the Segusiana, Pepin would have had a similar exit and entrance through the Norian Alps and Hur.

By this (document) we affirm such an order that if Charles, who is the eldest by birth, dies before his other brothers, the part of the kingdom that he will own should be divided between Pepin and Louis, just as it was once divided between us and our brother Carloman, so that Pepin owns the part that our brother Carloman had, let Ludovic get the part that we owned under this section.

If, during the life of Charles and Louis, Pepin repays the debt of human death, let Charles and Louis divide between themselves the kingdom that he received, and let this division take place in the same way, namely, that on entering Italy through Augusta, Charles should receive Eborea, Vercelli, Papias and thence the border of his possessions followed the river PO from the borders of Regencia, and Reggio itself and Citta Nuova and Mutina, (coming up) to the borders of St. Peter. These cities, with their suburbs, territories, and counties that are related to them, and everything from there on the way to Rome, in the kingdom that Pepin received, lies to the left, along with the duchy of Spoleto. Karl will receive all this part we have indicated above. Whatever is in this kingdom to the right of the cities and counties named, on the way to Rome, namely, that part which consists of the Transpadanian region with the Duchy of Tuscany as far as the South Sea and the Province, shall be obtained by Louis for the increase of his kingdom.

If, however, before the aforementioned (brothers) who remain alive, Louis dies, then the part of Burgundy, which we annexed to his kingdom with Provence and Septimania or Gothia up to Spain, will receive Pepin, Charles (will receive) Aquitaine and Vasconia.

But if any of these three brothers beget a son, such as the people wish to choose, to keep as an inheritance the kingdom of his father, we desire that the uncles of this child agree that their brother's son should rule in that part kingdom, which was received by their brother, his father.

Then, by the authority of our will, we are pleased to establish and command among our named sons in the name of peace, which would always be preserved as we wish, so that none of them would invade the borders of the kingdom of his brother and would not seek to disorganize his kingdom or seize the frontier territory. , but let each of them support his brother and, in accordance with his conscience and opportunity, help him against his enemies both within the homeland and against neighboring peoples.

And let none of them accept the man of his brother who fled to him for some reason or because of guilt, let no one give bail for him.

We wish that every person, if he is guilty and needs bail, would hide in the kingdom of his master near holy places or with honest people and from there seek legal bail.

Likewise, we command that every free man who leaves his master against his will and moves from one kingdom to another, neither the king himself, nor allow his people to receive such a person or unlawfully detain him. This we affirm not only with respect to the free, but even with regard to the fugitive slaves, so that no contradictory situation remains.

In this connection, we are pleased that after our death the people of each of them should have benefices each in the kingdom of his master, and not in another, otherwise some incident might occur. An ancestral property may be legally held by any of them in any kingdom.

After the death of his master, every free man will have to command in any of these three kingdoms in which he wishes, and let him who has not yet been commanded to anyone do the same.

With regard to gifts and sales that may take place between parts, we order that none of the three brothers accept from the kingdom of another from any person as a gift or sale real estate, namely, land, vineyards, as well as forests and slaves, who already have huts, or other property that is included in the concept of inheritance, with the exception of gold, silver, precious stones, weapons and clothes, those who do not own huts, namely what merchants trade.

In the event that a woman becomes a widow within the parts and kingdoms and there are requests for marriage that are not rejected by law, it should be allowed to equally give and take in marriage and reunite neighboring peoples among themselves.

A woman who enters into such a marriage should keep her property in the kingdom from which she came, despite the fact that she will live in another because of the marriage connection.

As for the hostages who are handed over as a result of an agreement and placed by us in a remote place for supervision, we want the king in whose kingdom they are and whose power they exalt does not give them back to their homeland without the consent of his brother. But let them help each other in the future in keeping the hostages, if one brother humbly asks the other.

We order the same in relation to those who are thrown behind bars for their crimes.

If a lawsuit or an accusation, or a similar conflict arises nearby or in neighboring kingdoms, and the case cannot be decided and clarified by the help of a witness, then the will and sentence of the divine court must be considered as evidence in a difficult case, regardless of where and what kind. a martial art or field for investigation has been prepared.

If any person from one kingdom accuses a person from another kingdom of betraying his master's brother in the presence of the master, then in this case the latter is responsible for what this person said.

Among other things, we also order and enjoin that these three brothers together guard and protect the church of St. her from the enemies and administer their judgment as far as it would concern them and serve order. We also command that they administer justice and honor to other churches that are in their power, and appoint priests and rectors from the revered places that belong to this holy place, in whichever of these three kingdoms the possessions of these churches are located. .

If anyone, by chance, or because of circumstances, or agreement, or because of ignorance, should seize something, and this we do not want, then we order that they seek to bring him to obedience by another swift judgment, since as a result tightening can greatly increase the damage.

About our daughters, sisters of our sons. We order that after we part with this body, each of them could freely choose under the protection and protection of which [of them] she will be.

If any of them choose the monastic life, she should be respectfully allowed to live under the care of her brother, in whose kingdom she wishes to live.

But on the other hand, if a worthy person legally and honestly asks her to be his wife, and she herself is satisfied with the life of marriage, let her not be denied by her brothers, if both men are desirable and women are worthy of consent and reasonable, let permission be given.

As for our grandchildren, the children of our sons who have already been born or those who are yet to be born, it would be desirable for us to order that none of them, as a result of any accidents with any of our sons, in case they are accused, not could be killed, mutilated, blinded, robbed without trial or investigation.

But we want them to be respected among their fathers and uncles, and to obey them with all the humility that befits such a degree of kinship.

Finally, we must decide that to those things and provisions which hitherto have had anything to do with the benefit and benefit of those by our decrees and decrees, we would like to add (the following). Let (they) be preserved and observed by our gracious sons in the same way that we command that what is already contained and recorded in them be observed and preserved.

On the other hand, we have stated all this and decided to establish it in accordance with the order in such a way that while we live according to the will of God, our possession is the kingdom, which is guarded by God and the power in it, as if there were a former government and order and all royal and imperial prerogatives, and that we give orders to our gracious sons and our God-marked people and to all persons who represent the emperor and the king by their peoples as the children of the father.

The Verdun division of the once huge and powerful empire of Charlemagne led to the disappearance of the Frankish kingdom and the emergence on its territory of three states, approximately the same in size, ruled by his grandsons, the sons of Louis the Pious. The preparation of the treaty was carried out by 120 advisers, who, according to a contemporary, did not even have a clear idea of ​​​​the borders of this immense power. We will talk about the year in which the Verdun division of the Carolingian empire took place in this article.

The main reasons for the collapse of the state

Despite the fact that Charlemagne sought to build his power in the style of the Roman Empire, he did not succeed. Most likely because neither territorially, nor economically, and even more so militarily, the country of the Franks could not be compared with such a powerful state. In addition, the strengthening of the empire of Charles was largely hampered by national differences, since he managed to conquer a large number of different tribes and nationalities. It is known that the Romans solved all the problems associated with governance, according to the principle of "Divide and Conquer", but the king of the Franks either did not have time to put it into practice, or failed.

On the one hand, the Carolingian empire was constantly shaken by uprisings of local residents, who by any means tried to get rid of the hated conquerors, and on the other hand, the counts, who completely controlled the territories subordinate to them and increasingly tried to pursue their own policy, independent of the central government. The Frankish state under Charlemagne relied solely on its military strength. That is why, without having time to properly form, it almost immediately began to fall apart.

Signing an agreement

In 814, Charlemagne dies, and power passes to his heir, Louis the Pious. However, his quiet reign did not last long. Three years later, his sons - Lothar, Charles the Bald and Louis the German - demanded that their father divide the empire. Hoping to put an end to family strife, Louis distributed the available lands among his heirs, but he never achieved peace with such actions. His sons first unleashed a war against the emperor himself, and having emerged victorious from it, they began to conduct military operations against each other. So, he joined forces with Louis the German, after which they together went to war against Lothair.

The brothers were able to come to a general agreement only in 843 in the city of Verdun. Here the so-called Treaty of Verdun was signed, according to which the Carolingian empire was divided into three parts. The eldest of the brothers - Lothair - inherited Italy, Lorraine and Burgundy, and also retained the title of emperor. Louis of Germany got the eastern lands, while the western regions (now the territory of France) went to Charles the Bald. Thus, the Verdun partition marked the beginning of the formation of the three main Western European peoples - German, Italian and French.

Economic situation

Today, the borders of the division of the Frankish Empire under the Treaty of Verdun seem quite logical and natural. However, it can be said with certainty that at that time the brothers divided the state in no way caring about any national unity of its inhabitants. The ethnic community that began to form already in the new kingdoms also did not matter much to them. The main problem that the three kings had to face was the economy.

It is known that the regions of the Frankish state under Charlemagne, and then during the reign of his son and grandchildren, were developed extremely unevenly. When dividing the empire, no one took into account economic expediency. Then the main thing was to give each of the rulers the same amount of land.

Arab threat

As soon as the borders of the division of the Frankish Empire under the Treaty of Verdun were established, the Carolingian state ceased to exist. The new states that were formed as a result of this agreement turned out to be unprepared for the extremely difficult political situation that prevailed at that time. The fact is that new conquerors began to come close to the borders of the once mighty empire.

The most dangerous enemies have always been the Arabs. At one time they could not defeat Charlemagne on the mainland, so now they directed all their efforts to where the military power of the Carolingians was traditionally small, namely at sea. It is no secret that the emperor practically did not care about creating a good fleet, since he believed that his main lands were located far enough from the sea borders of his possessions. Karl did not think about him even after the failure at sea that befell him in the confrontation with Byzantium. Therefore, the Arabs almost immediately after the death of the emperor attacked the south of Italy, landing in Sicily, capturing it and setting up their base there, from which from time to time they attacked the Apennine peninsula without hindrance.

Further crushing

After the division of the Carolingian Empire, Louis the German began to rule the East-Frankish kingdom. He fought very successfully with his neighbors, subduing the obodrites, and also establishing suzerainty over the lands of Great Moravia. The king tried to restore the former unity of his grandfather's empire, but this venture was not crowned with success. After the death of his older brother Lothair, Louis the German fought for some time with the West-Frankish kingdom, until in 870 he signed the Treaty of Mersen, according to which part of Lorraine was added to his possessions.

At the end of his reign, he, like his father, Louis the Pious, yielded to the insistent demands of his own sons and already divided his state into three parts, giving the younger Lorraine and Swabia, the middle - Saxony, and the eldest - Bavaria.

clan wars

Even after the partition of Verdun, the newly formed kingdoms were too large to maintain reliable state ties, since they were all based either on relations of vassalage or on the personal connections of their rulers. By the middle of the 9th century, Charles the Bald was forced to conclude additional agreements not only with his own brothers, but also with large feudal lords. In addition, at the end of the century, the once-existing electoral principle of royal power was restored, and the so-called general assembly nominally operated, which in reality was only an assembly of members of the highest nobility.

Not much time has passed since the signing of the Treaty of Verdun, as the royal thrones have turned into weapons of clan wars between several warring feudal factions. Since 920, independent duchies and counties began to form, which later became politically independent territories.

The subsequent strengthening of feudal power

It is no secret that the partition of Verdun further reduced the role of the once powerful Carolingians. By the middle of the 10th century, among numerous feudal families and newly formed counties, a new powerful clan appeared, headed by Robert of Paris.

Also belonged to the lateral relatives of the Carolingians. However, due to unrest and civil strife that lasted for decades, as well as interference in the general imperial affairs of the German kings, stability came only after the adoption of a joint agreement by the feudal nobility regarding the future political structure of the country.

Dynasty fading

The coronation of the last representatives of the Carolingian family was made on the condition that they would govern the state only by listening to the advice of the princes, headed by the Frankish duke. The last member of this imperial dynasty, Louis V, died in 987. After that, the feudal assembly decided that the next king of the French western lands would be a representative of the Robertin clan, which was Hugh Capet.