Treaty of Verdun

The three main divisions of 843.

The Treaty of Verdun (843) happened two generations after Charlemagne and divided his empire into three parts. When Charlemagne's son Louis the Pious died in 840, his oldest son Lothair I said that he ruled his younger brothers and their lands. But his brothers Louis the German and Charles the Bald won the Battle of Fontenoy (841).

Division of the empire

Each of the brothers already had one kingdom - Lothair in Italy, Louis the German in Bavaria, and Charles the Bald in Aquitaine.

• Lothair got the central part of the empire - what later became the Low Countries, Lorraine, Alsace, Burgundy, Provence, and Italy.

• Louis the German received East Francia. Louis became of all lands to the east of the Rhine river and to the north and east of Italy. This area became the Medieval Holy Roman Empire and parts of it later became modern Germany.

• Charles the Bald received West Francia, which later became modern France.