[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":24},["ShallowReactive",2],{"zoom:p4ch23z4:en":3},{"period":4,"chapter":14,"zoom":17},{"id":5,"title":6,"titleEn":6,"titleEs":7,"range":8,"rangeEn":8,"rangeEs":8,"cover":9},"p4","Early Middle Ages","Alta Edad Media","476 → 987",{"fileName":10,"filePageUrl":11,"imageUrl":12,"sourceLabel":13},"François Louis Dejuinne 08265 baptême de CLovis.JPG","https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fran%C3%A7ois%20Louis%20Dejuinne%2008265%20bapt%C3%AAme%20de%20CLovis.JPG","/assets/p4-haut-moyen-age-cover.png","Wikimedia Commons",{"id":15,"title":16},"p4ch23","Lothair and Louis V: The End of the Carolingians (954–987)",{"id":18,"title":19,"chapterId":15,"html":20,"hasEn":21,"isFallback":22,"seoDescription":23},"p4ch23z4","976–977: Charles of Lorraine, Ardennes, and the Break with Otto II","\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Lotharingia\u003C/strong> remains a major stake: border zone, land of prestige, and bridge between the Frankish space and the Empire. In the mid‑970s, the question becomes explosive, mixing territorial rivalries, court factions, and dynastic conflict.\u003C/p>\n\u003Chr>\n\u003Ch2>🧭 Tutelage and the “pro‑understanding” line\u003C/h2>\n\u003Cp>Lothair is first governed through tutelary framing: the duke of the Franks and Ottonian entourage, notably \u003Cstrong>Bruno of Cologne\u003C/strong>, orient policy toward accommodation with East Francia. But the king then wants to rule alone, clashing with Lotharingian networks favourable to the Empire, especially the \u003Cstrong>House of Ardennes\u003C/strong>, influential in the Church and on the frontier.\u003C/p>\n\u003Chr>\n\u003Ch2>⚔️ 976: Mons and the Charles card\u003C/h2>\n\u003Cp>In \u003Cstrong>976\u003C/strong>, a crisis erupts when \u003Cstrong>Otto II\u003C/strong> deprives some counts of inheritance. \u003Cstrong>Charles\u003C/strong>, the king’s brother, joins a military operation with \u003Cstrong>Hugh Capet\u003C/strong> and allies to support the dispossessed; an indecisive battle takes place around \u003Cstrong>Mons\u003C/strong>. Lothair lets it happen or encourages it, but does not intervene directly. Charles hopes to use the episode to establish his position in Lotharingia.\u003C/p>\n\u003Chr>\n\u003Ch2>⛪ 977: accusation, council, and tipping point\u003C/h2>\n\u003Cp>In \u003Cstrong>977\u003C/strong>, Charles accuses Queen \u003Cstrong>Emma of Italy\u003C/strong> of infidelity with Bishop \u003Cstrong>Adalbéron of Laon\u003C/strong>. A council at \u003Cstrong>Fismes\u003C/strong> clears the accused for lack of proof. Charles, who fuels rumours, is expelled from the kingdom: a family quarrel becomes a political crisis, striking at the heart of royal legitimacy.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>The situation worsens when Otto II honours Charles by placing him at the head of \u003Cstrong>Lower Lotharingia\u003C/strong>: promoting the queen’s accuser is, for Lothair, an affront. The rupture opens the way to open confrontations at the end of the 970s.\u003C/p>\n\u003Chr>\n\u003Ch2>🧠 Key takeaways\u003C/h2>\n\u003Cul>\n\u003Cli>Lotharingia mixes frontier, prestige, and dynastic rivalry.\u003C/li>\n\u003Cli>976–977: the Mons crisis and the Fismes affair break the balance.\u003C/li>\n\u003Cli>Charles becomes a Carolingian alternative the Empire can instrumentalise.\u003C/li>\n\u003C/ul>\n",true,false,"Lotharingia remains a major stake: border zone, land of prestige, and bridge between the Frankish space and the Empire. In the mid‑970s, the question becomes",1778543124392]