State in Western Europe from 843 to 987; predecessor to the Kingdom of France
Kingdom of the West Franks
Francia occidentalis(Latin) Francie occidentale(French)
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
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
• Treaty of Verdun
August 843
• Treaty of Meerssen
August 870
• Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte
August 911
• Capetian dynasty established
June 987
• Regnum Francie attested
June 1205
Currency
Denier
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Francia
Carolingian Empire
Kingdom of France
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 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, which is, although arbitrary, generally defined as the gradual transition towards the Kingdom of France.[3][4] By the 13th century, the term Regnum francorum had evolved into Regnum Francie ("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.
In medieval historiography, WestFrancia (Medieval Latin: Francia occidentalis) or the Kingdom of the West Franks (Latin: regnum Francorum occidentalium)...
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successor states: WestFrancia (843–987), becoming the Kingdom of France, see List of wars involving the Kingdom of France; Middle Francia (843–855), splitting...
Robert I (c. 866 – 15 June 923) was the elected King of WestFrancia from 922 to 923. Before his election to the throne he was Count of Poitiers, Count...
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position to resist. In 924 Vikings made a fresh series of raids into WestFrancia. From the Loire Valley they threatened Hugh the Great, brother of Queen...
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and Germany west of the Rhine. It was named after King Lothair II, who received this territory as his share of the Kingdom of Middle Francia which his father...
846 – 10 April 879), was the king of Aquitaine and later the king of WestFrancia. He was the eldest son of Emperor Charles the Bald and Ermentrude of...
King of WestFrancia (precursor to France) from 879 until his death in 882. He succeeded his father Louis the Stammerer, and ruled over WestFrancia in tandem...
6 October 877), also known as Charles II, was a 9th-century king of WestFrancia (843–877), King of Italy (875–877) and emperor of the Carolingian Empire...
called Lothair II, III or IV, was the penultimate Carolingian king of WestFrancia, reigning from 10 September 954 until his death in 986. Lothair was born...
from 912 and the King of East Francia from 919 until his death in 936. As the first non-Frankish king of East Francia, he established the Ottonian dynasty...
powerful nobles serving under the Carolingian dynasty of Charlemagne in WestFrancia, which later became France. As their power increased, they came into...
of French monarchs from the 843 Treaty of Verdun, which gave rise to WestFrancia, until 1870, when the Third Republic was declared. Living wives of reigning...
known as Louis the Do-Nothing (French: Louis le Fainéant), was a king of WestFrancia from 979 (co-reigning first with his father Lothair until 986) to his...
reunited the kingdom of East Francia. Upon the death of his cousin Carloman II in 884, he inherited all of WestFrancia, thus reuniting the entire Carolingian...
called d'Outremer or Transmarinus ("From overseas"), reigned as King of WestFrancia from 936 to 954. A member of the Carolingian dynasty, he was the only...
descended from Charles the Bald, King of WestFrancia, son of Louis the Pious. The French branch ruled in WestFrancia, but their rule was interrupted by Charles...
Odo (French: Eudes; c. 857 – 1 January 898) was the elected King of WestFrancia from 888 to 898. He was the first king from the Robertian dynasty, the...
over time, the divisions of Francia (the lands of the Franks) started to become kingdoms that were more permanent. WestFrancia formed the heart of what...
Seine after the Siege of Chartres in 911. Charles the Simple, king of WestFrancia, granted them lands between the mouth of the Seine and what is now Rouen...
(French: Robert le Fort; c. 830 – 866) was the father of two kings of WestFrancia: Odo (or Eudes) and Robert I of France. His family is named after him...
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