East Francia
East Francia was a kingdom that emerged from Francia. Germany is the successor state.
Contents
Composition
The territories that constituted East Francia had previously been organized as tribal duchies. However, Charlemagne had thoroughly dissolved them as political entities.
In their place, stem duchies (stammesherzogtum) emerged. They were:
- Saxony
- Bavaria
- Swabia (a.k.a. Alemannia)
- Franconia
- Lotharingia (a.k.a. Lorraine)
History
Louis the Pious divided his kingdom, appointing Louis II (also known as Louis the German) as king of East Francia.
Louis further partitioned the kingdom into Saxony, Bavaria, and Alemania for his sons upon his death in 876. Charles the Fat, the youngest son and recipient of Alemania, happened to outlive his not just his brothers, but also his cousins in Italy and West Francia. As a result, Charles succeeded in briefly reuniting the Frankish Kingdom.
When Louis the Child died in 911, the dukes of Saxony, Bavaria, and Swabia intervened to bar Charles the Simple of West Francia from inheriting. They elected the duke of Franconia, Conrad I, to be king instead. Generally this is considered the creation of the kingdom of Germany, as a non-Carolingian had been crowned.