Page:Cambridge Medieval History Volume 3.pdf/59

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16
Revolt of Louis the German

between the Loire and the Seine, and, to the north of the latter river, the Meaux country, with the Amiénois and Ponthieu as far as the sea. Louis of Bavaria saw his portion enlarged by the addition of Saxony and Thuringia and the greater part of the pagi which make up modern Belgium and the Netherlands. Charles, besides Alemannia, received Burgundy, Provence and Gothia with a slice of Francia, and in particular, the important province of Rheims. Nevertheless, as these arrangements had no validity until Louis the Pious should have disappeared from the scene, they made little or no change in the actual position of the three princes, especially as the Emperor expressly reserved to himself the power to give additional advantage to "any one of our three above-mentioned sons, who, desirous of pleasing in the first place God, and secondly ourselves, should distinguish himself by his obedience and zeal" by withdrawing somewhat "from the portion of that one of his brothers who shall have neglected to please us." Yet the sentences pronounced at Aix-la-Chapelle were to be of no lasting effect. At Ingelheim, in the beginning of May, several of the former partisans of Lothar were pardoned. Hilduin, in particular, regained his abbey of St Denis. On the other hand, Bernard, though like Judith he had purged himself by oath before the assembly at Thionville from the accusations made against him, had not been reinstated in his office at court. On the contrary, it would seem that Louis the Pious made endeavours to reconcile himself with Lothar, perhaps under the influence of Judith, who was ever ready to cherish the idea that her young son might find a protector in his eldest brother. The Emperor was, besides, in a fair way towards a breach with Pepin. The latter being summoned to the assembly at Thionville (autumn 831) had delayed under various pretexts to present himself, and when he did resolve to appear before the Emperor at Aix (end of 831) his father received him with so small a show of favour that Pepin either feared or pretended to fear for his safety, and at the end of December secretly betook himself again to Aquitaine, disregarding the prohibition, which had been laid upon him. Louis decided to take strong measures against him and called an assembly to meet at Orleans in 832, to which Lothar and Louis the German were both summoned. From Orleans an expedition was to be sent south of the Loire.

But at the beginning of 832, the Emperor learned that Louis the German, perhaps fearing to share the fate of Pepin, or instigated by some of the leaders of the revolt of 830, was in a state of rebellion, and at the head of his Bavarians, reinforced by a contingent of Slavs, had invaded Alemannia (the apanage of Charles) where many of the nobles had ranged themselves on his side. Relinquishing for the moment his Aquitanian project, Louis summoned the host of the Franks and Saxons to muster at Mayence. The leudes eagerly responded to his appeal, and Louis the German, who was encamped at Lorsch, was