Carloman of Bavaria

Carloman was born around 830, eldest son of Louis the German and a Bavarian count's daughter. His father set him to govern Carantania in 856 and command the southeastern frontier eight years later — border work that kept him far from the dynasty's center. When Louis the German died in 876, Carloman took Bavaria. King Louis II of Italy had named him successor, but Carloman's uncle Charles the Bald seized the kingdom in 875; Carloman didn't retake it until 877. Two years later, something broke inside him — perhaps a stroke — and in 879 he abdicated, splitting his lands between his younger brothe…