answersLogoWhite

0

The custom among the Franks was not that the eldest son became king of all, but that the kingdom was divided among heirs. When Charlemagne became king, he was a co-ruler with his brother Carloman, who died after only a couple years leaving Charlemagne able to rule alone.

The problem with this was that when brothers inherited the throne they nearly always fought over which got what territory. And this was the case with the children of Louis the Pious, who was a son of Charlemagne, and who became emperor, and who was the only legitimate son to survive Charlemagne. There sons of Louis the Pious, named Lothair, Louis, Pepin, and Charles, and they fought a long series of wars with each other, starting long before their father died. Eventually, the empire was divided permanently at the Treaty of Verdun in 843, and became the Kingdom of France, and the empire that came to be known as the Holy Roman Empire.

This is a highly simplistic version of what happened. There is a link below to an article on the Carolingian Empire, which gives more details.

User Avatar

Wiki User

14y ago

What else can I help you with?