Strasbourg, Oath of

Strasbourg, Oath of,

842, oath sworn by Charles the Bald (later Holy Roman Emperor Charles IICharles II
or Charles the Bald,
823–77, emperor of the West (875–77) and king of the West Franks (843–77); son of Emperor Louis I by a second marriage.
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) and Louis the GermanLouis the German,
c.804–876, king of the East Franks (817–76). When his father, Emperor of the West Louis I, partitioned the empire in 817, Louis received Bavaria and adjacent territories.
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 in solemnizing their alliance against their brother, Emperor Lothair ILothair I
, 795–855, emperor of the West (840–55), son and successor of Louis I. In 817 his father crowned him coemperor. He was recrowned (823) at Rome by the pope and issued (824) a constitution, proclaiming his right to confirm papal elections.
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. The chief political result of this alliance was the Treaty of Verdun (843; see Verdun, Treaty ofVerdun, Treaty of,
the partition of Charlemagne's empire among three sons of Louis I, emperor of the West. It was concluded in 843 at Verdun on the Meuse or, possibly, Verdun-sur-le-Doubs, Soâne-et-Loire dept., E France.
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). Each brother made his oath in the language of the other's followers, so that it might be understood. The version used by Louis is often considered the oldest known specimen of French.