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Germany: Copper engraving of Leopold I (1640-1705), 37th Holy Roman emperor, by Nicolas II de Larmessin (1632-1694), c. 1690. Leopold I was the second son of Emperor Ferdinand III, and became heir apparent after the death of his older brother, Ferdinand IV. He was elected Holy Roman Emperor in 1658 after his father's death, and by then had also already become Archduke of Austria and claimed the crowns of Germany, Croatia, Bohemia and Hungary.
Charles III (839-888), more commonly known as Charles the Fat, was the youngest son of Louis the German, King of East Francia, and great-grandson of Emperor Charlemagne. Following the division of East Francia among Louis' sons, Charles inherited Alamannia in 876, but soon inherited the Kingdom of Italy in 876 after his older brother Carloman of Bavaria abdicated.<br/><br/> Charles was eventually crowned as Holy Roman emperor in 881, and succeeded his brother Louis the Younger as king of Saxony and Bavaria a year later, reuniting the Kingdom of East Francia. He was forced to deal with the Great Heathen Army, a large force of Vikings that had been repelled from Britain by King Alfred the Great in 878, something he dealt with through assassination and bribery. After his cousin Carloman II died in 884, Charles also inherited all of West Francia, reuniting the Carolingian Empire under his reign.<br/><br/> Charles' reunited kingdom did not last long, as a coup in November 887 led by his nephew Arnulf of Carinthia eventually deposed him. He was forced to retire, and soon died of natural causes a year later in January 888, only weeks after his deposition. The Carolingian Empire soon fell apart after his death, split into five successor kingdoms.
Charles II (823-877), more commonly nicknamed Charles the Bald, was the son of Emperor Louis the Pious from his second wife. It was his mother's attempts to ensure Charles was included in Louis' succession plans that led to the multiple civil wars by Charles' half-brothers against his father.<br/><br/> When Charles' father died in 840, another civil war broke out between the emperor's sons, with Charles allying himself with his half-brother Louis the German against the new emperor, Lothair I. They defeated Lothair in 841, and cemented their alliance with the Oaths of Strasbourg and the Treaty of Verdun in 843, where he received the Kingdom of West Francia. His reign was peaceful for many years until 858, when Louis the German invaded West Francia, invited by disaffected nobles wanting to get rid of Charles. Louis the German was eventually repulsed, but other matters preoccupied Charles, such as unsuccessful attempts to seize the kingdoms of his nephews or the repeated rebellions and attacks by the Bretons and Vikings.<br/><br/> When Emperor Louis II died in 875, Charles became emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. Louis the German, furious he was not chosen, retaliated by invading and devastating Charles' lands, though he died a year later. While travelling back from Italy to defend his lands from his nephew Carloman, son of Louis the German, Charles fell ill and died in 877, with his son Louis the Stammerer (846-879) succeeding him as King of West Francia but not as emperor.
Lothair I (795-855), also known as Lothar I, was the eldest son of Emperor Louis the Pious and grew up in the court of his grandfather, Emperor Charlemagne. When Louis became sole emperor in 814, he sent Lothair to govern Bavaria in 815. Lothair was crowned as co-emperor and declared as principal heir in 817, and would be overlord to his younger brothers, Pippin of Aquitaine and Louis the German, as well as his cousin Bernard of Italy.<br/><br/> Lothair lost Bavaria to Louis the German, but he assumed the government of Italy in 822, having received the kingdom after his father had murdered Bernard. Strife and disagreement began to brew after his stepmother Judith began securing a kingdom for her son Charles, Lothair's half-brother, leading to Lothair plotting a rebellion alongside his true brothers against his father in 830, successfully deposing him. His father regianed the throne a year later however, and stripped Lothair of his imperial title and lands, giving them to Charles. A second rebellion in 833 saw Lothair regaining Italy and his imperial position.<br/><br/> When his father died in 840, Lothair ignored all previous plans for partitioning and claimed the whole of the Holy Roman Empire for himself, leading to another civil war which lasted around three years. Lothair was defeated by his brothers, and the Treaty of Verdun was signed in 843 which saw the empire divided between them once again. Lothair became seriously ill in 855 and renounced his throne to his three sons, entering the monastery of Prum and dying six days later.
Louis I (778-840), also known as Louis the Pious, Louis the Fair and Louis the Debonaire, was the sole surviving adult son of Emperor Charlemagne and Hildegard. Louis ruled from Aquitaine, charged by his father with defending the empire's southwestern frontier from the Muslims of Spain. He conquered Barcelona in 801 and asserted Frankish dominance over Pamplona and the Basques south of the Pyrenees in 812. He was named as co-emperor and King of the Franks by his father in 813, before becoming sole ruler in 814.<br/><br/> When he became sole emperor, he appointed his adult sons Lothair, Pepin and Louis to roles in his government, seeking to establish a suitable division of the realm among them. Several embarrassments and tragedies marred his first decade of rule however, including his brutal treatment of his nephew Bernard of Italy, for which he atoned in a public act of self-debasement. In the 830s, the Holy Roman Empire was beset by various civil wars between Louis' sons, made worse when he tried to include his son Charles by his second wife into his succession plans.<br/><br/> Louis was deposed from 833-834, but soon regained his throne and largely restored order to the empire. He died in 840, and three years of civil war followed his death. Ultimately, Louis is generally compared unfavourably to his legendary father, though his reign faced distinctly different problems.