The Treaty of Verdun: Carving Up Charlemagne's Empire

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the Treaty of Verdun of 843, the agreement that split Charlemagne's vast Carolingian Empire into three kingdoms—the seeds of modern France, Germany, and Italy. They trace the events leading up to the treaty: the weakening of the empire under Louis the Pious, the bitter sibling rivalries between Lothair I, Louis the German, and Charles the Bald, and the pivotal Battle of Fontenoy in 841 where brothers shed each other's blood. Lucas explains how the treaty's division along linguistic and cultural lines inadvertently shaped national identities, with the West Frankish kingdom evolving into France and the East Frankish kingdom into Germany. They also discuss the Oaths of Strasbourg, sworn in both Romance and Germanic languages—the earliest written evidence of the linguistic divergence that still defines Europe today. A story of ambition, betrayal, and the fragile nature of imperial unity, this episode reveals the deep medieval roots of modern nation-states. #TreatyOfVerdun #CarolingianEmpire #Charlemagne #LouisThePious #LothairI #CharlesTheBald #LouisTheGerman #BattleOfFontenoy #OathsofStrasbourg #Francia #MedievalFrance #HistoryOfFrance #HistoryOfGermany #HistoryOfItaly #843AD #DividedKingdom #FexingoHistory #History #FrenchRevolution #NapoleonBonaparte Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo