The Chaotic Drama Between Charles The Bald And His Half-Siblings In The Frankish Empire Extended Even To His Half-Sister

Emperor Louis the Pious (r. 814-840) had a complicated family life. Louis’ first wife was Irmengardis, with whom he was married from 794 until her death in 818. She bore Louis a daughter and three sons, the former being Hildegard (b. 802) and the latter being Lothair (b. 795), Pippin (b. 797) and Louis “the German” (b. 804). The emperor started planning the succession for these sons as early as 817, when he made Lothair his co-emperor, and appointed Pippin as king of Aquitaine and Louis “the German” as king of Bavaria. The sons of the emperor were apparently satisfied, at least at that time, with the arrangement. Yet, one year after the death of Irmengardis, Louis the Pious remarried. His second wife was Judith and she bore him two children, Gisela (b. 821) and Charles “the Bald” (b. 823). Emperor Louis’ sons by Irmengardis never warmed up to Judith and they thought that she held too much influence over their father. Most of all, they were irritated at the birth of Charles, as any land granted to him would come at the expense of the other brothers’ kingdoms.

King Alfred The Great And His Chaotic First Year Of Rule

Nothing in the life of King Alfred the great was simple or easy, so it is fitting that he had an inaugural year that was fraught with trials and peril. In early 871, Alfred was the heir of his brother, King Æthelred, who had been in power since 866. Alfred was about eighteen years old when his brother became king, and by early 871 he was twenty-two or twenty-three years of age. King Æthelred seemed to cherish his brother’s advice and company—whenever Æthelred martialed his forces, Alfred was always by his side. Luckily for Wessex, this hands-on battlefield and leadership experience likely gave Alfred some confidence when the crown was unexpectedly thrust upon his head.

Guest Article: 6 Ancient Greek Gods You May Not Know

Greek mythology is very famous around the globe. While most people assume that the Greek Pantheon consisted of twelve gods, there were also many other gods and goddesses who played an important role in ancient Greece.

The Shakespearean Death of King Cynewulf

Upon the death of King Cuthred of Wessex around the year 756, the throne passed to Sigebert, a distant member of the royal family. As the new king was not a direct descendant of his predecessor, he was vulnerable to court intrigue. Unluckily for him, another distant kinsman of the late King Cuthred had his own ambitions for the crown, and the prospective usurper waited only a year to strike. In the end, corruption was Sigebert’s undoing—either his own corruption, or the corrupting influence of his rival. Sometime during the year 757, the officials of Wessex abruptly turned against Sigebert. The witan, a high advisor of the king, charged Sigebert with allegations of unrighteousness and corrupt behavior. A man named Cynewulf then claimed the throne, with the witan’s support, and his first order of action was to chase his rival into a forest, where the unfortunate King Sigebert was murdered.

King Cynewulf went on to rule for multiple decades. By Anglo-Saxon standards, he was a decent king. As a warrior, Cynewulf fought bravely and, as a Christian monarch, the monk-historians of medieval Britain seemed to have no complaint with the way he dealt with the church. The biggest blemish on Cynewulf’s rule was the battle he lost to King Offa of Mercia, the high king (or Bretwalda) of the time, at Bensington in 779. Overall, however, Cynewulf kept the strength of Wessex largely intact during his reign. Nevertheless, despite his successes, the death of his predecessor, Sigebert, would haunt Cynewulf to the end.

Guest Article: The Intriguing Personality Of Charles V Of The Holy Roman Empire

1.1 Introduction

Voltaire once pointed out, ‘’The Holy Roman Empire, was neither Holy, nor Roman, nor an Empire.’’ Well, in that case he was indeed right. Although, a very powerful man would do his best to fix these aspects in an attempt to create a universal empire. That man, Charles V, also known as Carolus Quintus, was, perhaps, the most powerful Holy Roman Emperor of them all.

Born in Ghent, Flanders in February 1500, which back then was an Imperial Habsburg territory, young Charles wouldn’t have any idea that one day he would be ruling one of the biggest empires of all times. In fact, Charles’ empire would not be surpassed in size until the advent of the Qing, Russian and British Empires.

Although the Spanish kingdoms of Castile and Aragon were united by the marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella in 1469, Charles reaffirmed and solidified the idea of a unified Spanish Kingdom by crushing any idea of separation. His devotion to keeping Spain united paid off, as the majority of his power came from this state in the Iberian Peninsula. He would later bequeath the Spanish Kingdom to his only living son, Philip II of Spain.