Louis the Child

Louis the Child
Louis the Child as he appears on the Imperial Sword.
King of East Francia
Reign	899 – 20/24 September 911
Coronation	4 February 900, Forchheim
Predecessor	Arnulf of Carinthia
Successor	Conrad I
King of Lotharingia
Reign	900 – 20/24 September 911
Predecessor	Zwentibold
Successor	Charles III of France
Born	September/October 893 Ötting (Autingas), Bavaria
Died	20/24 September 911 (aged 17 or 18) possibly Frankfurt
Burial	monastery of Saint Emmeram in Regensburg
Spouse	unknown
House	Carolingian dynasty
Father	Arnulf of Carinthia
Mother	Ota

Louis the Child (893 – 20/24 September 911), sometimes called Louis III or Louis IV, was the king of East Francia from 899 until his death. He was also recognized as king of Lotharingia after 900. He was the last East Frankish ruler of the Carolingian dynasty. He succeeded his father, Arnulf, in East Francia and his elder illegitimate half-brother Zwentibold in Lotharingia. Louis became king when he was six and reigned until his death aged 17 or 18. During his reign the country was ravaged by Magyar raids.

He was born in September or October 893 in Altötting, Duchy of Bavaria, to king Arnulf of Carinthia and his wife, Ota. He had at least two brothers: his elder, illegitimate brother Zwentibold, who ruled Lotharingia, and another brother named Ratold, who briefly ruled the Kingdom of Italy.

Louis was crowned in Forchheim on 4 February 900. Due to his young age and weak personal constitution, the government was entirely in the hands of others - the nobles and bishops. The most influential of Louis's councillors were Hatto I and Solomon III, the bishop of Constance.

Louis succeeded his elder illegitimate half-brother Zwentibold in Lotharingia after 900 and maintained a separate chancery for both regions. He appointed an East Frankish duke, Gebhard to rule Lotharingia, which annoyed the Lotharingian nobility. The Lotharingian nobility did not participate in East Frankish assemblies.

During his reign, the Magyar army devastated Bavaria, the Duchy of Carinthia, and twice ravaged the Duchy of Saxony. In 904, Louis invited Kurszán, the kende of the Magyars, to negotiations. Het killed him and his delegation. In 907, the Magyars inflicted a heavy defeat on the Bavarians in the Battle of Pressburg, killing the Margrave Luitpold and many high nobles.

Louis the Child died at Frankfurt am Main on 20 or 24 September 911, aged seventeen or eighteen. He was buried in the monastery of Saint Emmeram's in Regensburg, where his father Arnulf also lay. His death brought an end to the eastern branch of the Carolingian dynasty. The dukes of East Francia elected Conrad of Franconia, son of Gebhard, as the king, while the nobles of Lotharingia elected the Carolingian Charles the Simple as their king.