Louis the Stammerer

King of West Francia from 877 to 879

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Lived 846–879, aged 33

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Era
846–879
Aged 33

Summary

Updated 2026-06-08

A Carolingian king who ruled West Francia for eighteen months, physically frail and politically marginal, crowned twice yet never emperor—remembered now mostly for the nickname that stuck.

Biography

About

Born 1 November 846, eldest son of Emperor Charles the Bald and Ermentrude of Orléans, Louis inherited Aquitaine in 866 after his younger brother Charles the Child died. When his father died in 877, he took the throne of West Francia—minus Italy, minus the imperial title—and was crowned at Compiègne that October by Archbishop Hincmar. Pope John VIII crowned him again the following August at Troyes and may have dangled the imperial crown; Louis declined. Described as "a simple and sweet man, a lover of peace, justice, and religion," he left light marks: in 878 he handed Barcelona, Girona, and B…

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