Kingdom of the West Franks Francia occidentalis (Latin) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 843–987 | |||||||||
 West Francia within Europe after the Treaty of Verdun in 843. | |||||||||
| Capital | Laon[1] | ||||||||
| Official languages | Medieval Latin | ||||||||
| Common languages | Old French Old Occitan Old Dutch (Old Low Franconian) | ||||||||
| Religion | Roman Catholicism | ||||||||
| Demonym(s) | West Frankish • West Frank | ||||||||
| Government | Absolute monarchy | ||||||||
| King | |||||||||
• 843–877 | Charles the Bald (first) | ||||||||
• 986–987 | Louis V of France | ||||||||
| Legislature | None (rule by decree) | ||||||||
| Historical era | Middle Ages | ||||||||
| August 843 | |||||||||
| August 870 | |||||||||
| August 911 | |||||||||
• Capetian dynasty established | June 987 | ||||||||
• Regnum Francie attested | June 1205 | ||||||||
| Currency | Denier | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Today part of | Andorra France Luxembourg Spain Belgium | ||||||||
In medieval historiography, West Francia (Medieval Latin: Francia occidentalis) or the Kingdom of the West Franks (Latin: regnum Francorum occidentalium) constitutes the initial stage of the Kingdom of France and extends from the year 843, from the Treaty of Verdun, to 987, the beginning of the Capetian dynasty. It was created from the division of the Carolingian Empire following the death of Louis the Pious, with its neighbor East Francia eventually evolving into the Kingdom of Germany.
West Francia extended further north and south than modern metropolitan France, but it did not extend as far east. It did not include such future French holdings as Lorraine, the County and Kingdom of Burgundy (the duchy was already a part of West Francia), Alsace and Provence in the east and southeast for example. It also did not include the Brittany peninsula in the west.
West Frankish kings were elected by the secular and ecclesiastic magnates, and for the half-century between 888 and 936 candidates from the Carolingian and Robertian houses were alternately chosen as monarchs.[2] By this time the power of the king became weaker and more nominal, as the regional dukes and nobles became more powerful in their semi-independent regions. The Robertians, after becoming counts of Paris and dukes of France, became kings themselves and established the Capetian dynasty after 987. Historians generally define this as the gradual transition toward the Kingdom of France.[3][4] By the 13th century, the term Regnum francorum had evolved into Regnum Francia ("kingdom of France"),[5] although the demonym of "Franks" continued to be attested as late as the 18th century.[6]
- ^ McKitterick, Rosamond; Reuter, Timothy; Abulafia, David (1995). The New Cambridge Medieval History: Volume 3, C.900-c.1024. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-36447-8.
- ^ Lewis 1965, 179–180.
- ^ Mark, Joshua J. "Kingdom of West Francia". World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2023-12-16.
- ^ Sewell, Elizabeth Missing (1876). Popular History of France: From the Earliest Period to the Death of Louis XIV. Longmans, Green, and Company. p. 21.
It is from this treaty of Verdun, A.D. 843, that historians date what may properly be called the kingdom of France.
- ^ Guenée, Bernard (1981). Politique et histoire au Moyen Age (in French). FeniXX réédition numérique. p. 158. ISBN 978-2-859-44048-0. OL 3068126M.
- ^ Potter, David (2008). Renaissance France at War. Boydell & Brewer Ltd. p. viii. ISBN 9781843834052.