Battle of Fontenay
The Battle of Fontenay, fought on June 25, 841, was a significant conflict during the Carolingian Civil Wars, arising from disputes over the imperial inheritance of Louis the Pious. This battle involved the armies of Charles the Bald and Louis the German, who united to confront their brother Lothair I, amid a context of familial rivalry and claims to power. After two days of failed negotiations, the battle commenced with Louis and Charles launching an attack on Lothair's forces. Despite a vigorous defense from Lothair's left flank, Charles's troops managed to break the imperial right wing, leading to a chaotic rout of Lothair's army. The aftermath was marked by considerable loss of life, which left a lasting impression on chroniclers of the time, highlighting the immense carnage and the scale of the conflict. Ultimately, the battle paved the way for the Treaty of Verdun in 843, which formalized the division of the Frankish Empire, affirming Charles's control over Aquitaine and establishing a shared sovereignty among the brothers. The Battle of Fontenay serves as a critical moment in the fragmentation of Carolingian power and the evolving political landscape of medieval Europe.
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Battle of Fontenay
Type of action: Ground battle in Carolingian Dynastic Civil Wars
Date: June 25, 841
Location: South of Sens, Yonne, France
Combatants: Levies of Charles the Bald and Louis the German vs. levy of Emperor Lothair
Principal commanders: Charles the Bald (823-877) and Louis the German (804?-876); Emperor Lothair I (795-855)
Result: Lothair’s defeat by his brothers
Details of the division of the patrimony left by Emperor Louis the Pious were contested in 840, and brothers Charles the Bald and Louis the German gathered armies to press their brother Lothair for a settlement. In June, 841, Louis and a small force joined Charles’s larger western Frankish and Burgundian army near Auxerre. On June 21, they confronted Lothair’s army, which withdrew to Fontenay. Chroniclers make it clear that the battle was to be a “judgment of God,” whose winner would be assured that his interests were in the right. Two days of fruitless negotiations were followed by battle on June 25. Louis’s men attacked the imperial center, commanded by Lothair himself. Lothair’s left—Aquitanians under Pépin II—held firm. The imperial right wing, however, succumbed to a vicious attack by Charles and Burgundian troops under command of Warin, count of Macon. Lothair’s line also broke, and men scattered, leaving a multitude of dead on the field. The extent of the carnage impressed every chronicler who described it. Nithard, who witnessed the battle, wrote, “The booty and slaughter were immense and truly astonishing.”
Significance
Lothair attempted to regroup for another trial by battle, but all had to accept that Charles, by divine judgment, would control the Aquitaine region, as formalized in the treaty of Verdun (843), and Lothair would have to share his sovereignty with his brothers.
Bibliography
Nelson, Janet. Charles the Bald. London: Longman, 1992.
Nithard. Carolingian Chronicles. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1970.
Riche, Pierre. The Carolingians. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1993.