CHARLES. 



C1IARLK8 L 





1704 wfc 



1 Madrid m 170S. 

 TW Dke at Berwick however 

 Charbe retired Into Vilinsla. 



j^B^^aJ ft^u) AWsB^nts^Mi in 



several yean more la U> 

 luly, Germany, aad the N< 

 171 Had 



kg .... 



themselves for Chari.*, 

 turned king of Spain. 



drove him away from the capital, and 

 The battle of Almansa. in April 1707. 

 of Philip. The war continued for 

 roviaoes of Spain, as well as in 

 , till 1714, when Chart-, who in 

 j his elder brother Joseph I.oa the imperial throne, 

 cave np his claims to the Spanish orown by the treaty of IUsU.it, 

 retaining howtvrr UM kingdom of Naples and the Island of Sardinia. 

 which test he afterwards unhanged for Sicily. In 1716 the Emperor 



Charles joined the Venetians in a war against the Turks, whom the 

 Prince Kofeno defeated at Peterwaradin, after which he took Belgrade 

 and a (real part of Servia, which, as well as Temeswar, were formally 

 ceded by UM Porte to Austria by the treaty of Pasearowita in 1718, 

 bat were afterwards lost again to Austria by the peace of Belgrade 



hum 



In 17*4 Charles issued UM Pragmatic Sanction, or fundamental law, 

 which regulate* the order of succession in the family of Austria. By 

 this law, in default of male issue, Charles's eldest daughter, Maria 

 Theresa, was called to the inheritance of the Austrian dominions, and 

 her children aad deaocodants after her. The Pragmatic Sanction was 

 guaranteed by all the German princes and several of the other powers 

 of Kwope, with UM exception of the French and Spanish Bourbons, 

 who were always jealous of the power of Austria. 



The death of Augustus II., king of Poland, in February 1733, was 

 the signal of a new war on the part of the Bourbons against Austria, 

 ostensibly on account of the Polish succession, which was disputed 

 between Augustus IIL and Stanislaus LeezinskL By the peace of 

 Visas* in November 1786 the emperor gave up Naples and Sicily to 

 Don Carlos, Infant* of Spain, while the succession of Tuscany, after 

 UM death of Gian Gastone, the last of the Medici, who was childless, 

 was secured to Maria Theresa of Austria and her hueband Francis of 

 Lorraine, who in 1739 took possesiion of that fine country. The 

 Tainan*: Charles died at Vienna, 20th of October 1740, and was suc- 

 ceeded in hi* hereditary dominions, and afterwards in the empire, by 

 his daughter Maria Theresa, after a long and memorable war known 

 by UM name of the war of the Austrian succession. [MARIA THERESA.] 

 Charles was the last male offspring of the house of Austria Hapsburg. 

 The present boute, though frequently called the house of Hapsburg, 

 is Auetzia-Lorraine, being the descendants of Maria Theresa and 

 Francis of Lorraine. 



CHARLK8, the name of several of the kings of France. Charle- 

 magne, especially by English writers, is commonly reckoned as 

 Charles L of Prance, and Charles le Chauve, as Charles II. ; but then 

 it is necessary, in order to bring the later monarchs into conformity 

 with UM admitted designation*, to reckon both Charles le Ores, 

 and Charles le Simple, as Charles III. There was doubtless much 

 confusion of title while the Carlovingun princes wore the crowns of 

 both France aad Germany, but it appears to be now the practice of 

 French writers to omit Charlemagne from their list of Charleses, and 

 commeaee with Charles le Chauve ; aad we shall do the same. 



> KLE8 L, Le Chanve (the Bald), the son of Louis le D<Sbon- 

 aaire, aad grandson of Charlemagne, was born at Krankfurt-on-the- 

 Maine, AJ>. 8tt: bis mother, Judith, was the second wife of Louis, 

 who had, before the birth of Charles, parted his dominions among 

 Us three sons Lothaire, whom he associated with himself in the 

 empire, aad Pepin aad Louis, to whom he gave respectively the king- 

 dome of AquiUtae sod Bavaria. The birth of Charles was regarded 

 by thess princes with jealousy, which was greatly increased when, by 

 a new partition of his dominions, Louis formed for Charles the king- 

 dom of Germany, comprehending Switzerland, Swabia, and the Orisons 

 (8xt.) In UM year 898 Charles was abut up hi a monastery, in the 

 i of Treves, by his brothers, who had successfully revolted 

 their father; but in a few yean (839), new partitions of the 

 , one previous to, aad another consequent upon the death of 

 Pepin, Idas; of Aquitaine, gave to him much larger dominions than 

 Us tret kingdom of Germany: the second partition assigned to 

 Usa all that part of Franc* which lies west of the Rh6ne and the 



BOOB after the death of Louis le Ddbonnaire (840), Charles, now 

 approaching manhood, was involved in hostilities with his brother 



... . 



xithaire (who had claimed the succession to the Imperial crown), and 

 rilb Us nephew Pepin, son of the deceased king of Aquitaine. He 

 itted himocif with bis brother, Louis of Bavaria, and these two gained 



the victory in a eaoguinary engagement at Fontenay, near Anxerra, 



over LotJmir* an/ ' 



the lose Uwy had 



cross the MM 



over LoUwire and Pepin (841) ; but the victors were so weakened by 

 the loss UMJT had sustained, that Charles thought It prudent 

 across the Moo. la the following year, Lothaire, renoun 

 claim to supremacy, made proposals of peace to his brothers, and tho 



, oosas o peace s roers, an o 



year 841 was signalised by the Anal partition of the empire of Charle- 

 magne. By this partition Charles obtained the acknowledged pos- 

 session of that part of France which lies to the west of the Meusc, 

 Sana*. and Rhone ; and of that part of Spain which lies between the 



dominions took hence the names of France de Lothaire, Lothoriugia, 

 and in later times Lorraine. 



Tbs following years of the reign of Charles (848 to 828) were 

 marked by the ravages of the Northmen, who took liouen (841), 

 Nantes and Saintea (843), Bordeaux (848 and 848), Paris (845 and 

 866), Tours (808), liluia (854), Orleans (856), and other plooes ; by the 

 sack of Marseille (848), by some Greek pirates ; and by the wars with 

 Nomo'noe' of Uretagne and Pepin of Aquitaine, each of whom Charles 

 was obliged to allow to remain in possession of a considerable portion 

 of his dominions, with the till* and power of king. In the war with 

 Pepin, Charles put to death Bernard, duke of Septimauia, his reputed 

 father. In 852 Pepin was however delivered up, by one of bis own 

 partisans, Sanche, marquis of Gaaoogue, to Charles, who shaved his head 

 and shut him up in a convent, from which he escaped to dispute again 

 with Charles the sovereignty of Aquitaine. Before his escape the people 

 of Aquitaine had offered their crown to Louis, son of Louis le Ger- 

 manique, who accepted their offer, and in 855 Charles conferred the 

 crown of this part of his dominions upon his second son, Charles, 

 who was yet in his minority. The unhappy country of Aquitaiue 

 was ravaged by the troops of these rival claimants, as well as by the 

 Northmen and Saracens, who came us their allies; and the people 

 themselves, disgusted by their degenerate princes when in prosperity, 

 but pitying them when reduced to adversity, shifted their allegiance 

 from one to another with great facility. Charles made little effort 

 to defend his kingdom from invasion, and incurred by his misconduct 

 the contempt of his subjects. 



In 858 the subjects of Charles called in his brother Louis le Gerxna- 

 nique, to whom they offered the orown. Charles was obliged to 

 abandon his kingdom, but he regained it the following year, and the 

 influence of the church brought the brothers to a reconciliation. The 

 following years of Charles's reign, though marked by the success of 

 some of his ambitious schemes, yet brought little advantage to his 

 people, who continued to suffer under the miseries of civil discord 

 and the ravages of the savage Northmen. Tho mighty fabric of 

 empire which Charlemagne had erected was hastening to decay 

 through the misgovernment of his weak and worthless successors, 

 and the kingly power was fast sinking, while the power of the great 

 feudal lords was rising on its ruin?. In 863 Charles hod to engage in 

 war with his sons Louis, whom he had created king of Neustria, and 

 Charles, king of Aquitaine who had both married without his consent, 

 and had been excited to revolt by the relations of their wives. They 

 were however obliged to submit, though they seem to have obtained 

 by their submission an increase of power and possessions. Charles of 

 Aquitaine died miserably (866), in consequence of a wound acci- 

 dentally received two years before. Pepin of Aquitaine hod fallen 

 again into the hands of Charles le Chauve, after having endeavoured 

 in vain to support himself against him by means of ttie Northmen ; 

 and having been condemned to death as a traitor by a diet of tho 

 French (804), ended his changeful life some years after in a dungeon, 

 to which he hod been consigned by a commutation of his sentence. 



In 866, Charles, disheartened by the successes of a party of North- 

 men who had ascended the Seine, concluded with them a most 

 disgraceful treaty, agreeing to pay them four thousand pounds weight 

 of silver, on condition that they should cease their depredations ; to 

 deliver up or make compensation for all the French whom they hod 

 reduced to slavery and who hod escaped, and to pay a certain sum for 

 every Northman who hod been killed by his subjects. Hut those who 

 infested the banks of the Loire do not seem to have been included in 

 this treaty ; with them therefore hostilities were continued, and in 

 one of the conflicts with them, Robert le Fort, count of Anjou, the 

 most celebrated of the French captains of his day, and the first of 

 that race of ' dukes of France ' which afterwards ascended the throne 

 in the person of Hugues Capet, lost his life. 



The emperor Lothaire, brother of Charles, had died in tho year 855, 

 and hit kingdom hod been divided between his three sous. Louis, who 

 took the title of emperor, hod Italy ; Lothaire, the younger, had the 

 provinces between the Rhine and the Meuse; and Charles those 

 between the Rhone and the Alps. Upon the death of this Charles in 

 863, his portion was divided between his two brothers. Charles le 

 Cbauve was anxious to seize a portion of tho spoil, but was obliged to 

 forego his purpose. In 869, Lotbaire the younger, who hail been 

 involved in a scries of disputes with the pope, arising from bis domestic 

 circumstances, died, and his dominions were shared between his uncles, 

 Louis le Germanique and Charles le Chauve, to the injury of the em- 

 peror Louis, his brother and rightful heir. Louis le Uermanique eub- 

 (jiiently restored his share of the spoil to the emperor; but Charles 

 was not so scrupulous, and retained what he had seized. 



In 875 the emperor Louis II. died without issue, and in him the 

 elder branch of the descendants of Louis le Dtfbonnoire became 

 extinct Louis le Germanique and Charles (both invited by the 

 powerful lords of Italy, who desired to counterbalance the power of 

 one by that of the other) hastened to take possession of their nephew's 

 dominions ; Charles going in person, and Louis sending his two sons, 

 Karlumum and Charles le Groa. These young princes however were 

 compelled or prevailed upon to withdraw, and Charles, by tho favour 

 of the pope, received the imperial crown at Rome on Christmas-Day 

 875, and was again crowned at Pontyon (between Chalons and Langres) 

 la 876. Charles's dominions then attained their greatest extent : he 



