Charles II King of FRANKS, THE BALD

                   Younger son of Louis I; reigned with brothers Louis and Lothair; assigned
to western France in 843; as Charles II, Holy Roman Emperor 875-877.
Charles I (823-877) called THE BALD.   He was able to reign with his brothers
with the Treaty of Verdun in 843. He was the first to rule France as a
separate kingdom.
King of the Franks and emperor, was born at Frankfurt-am-Main in June 823
the son of the emperor Louis the Pious by a second marrage.  During the
later part of Louis' reign, a bitter conflict arose among his sons, occ-
assioned by the emperor's attempt to create a kingdom for Charles.  On
Louis' death in 840, Charles and Louis the German made war on Lothair, who
had succeeded as emperor.  By the Treaty of Verdun he abtained the Western
Frankishg kingdom, roughly modern France.  His reign was filled with almost
constant war againwst his brothers and their sons.  After the death of their
nephew Lothair in 869, Charles and Louis the German divided the middle
Kingdom between them in the Treaty of Mersen (870)  Five years later Charles
secured the imperial crown on the death of Louis II. During his reign Charles
was also occupied with rebellions among his subjects and with invasions
of the Norsemen.  He died while crossing Mont Cenis, Oct. 5 or 6, 877, as
he was returning to France from northern Italy.  The increase in the power
of the nobles, at the expense of the king, contributed to the rise of
feudalism.