Charlemagne was unusually close to his children and took them with him on campaigns rather than leaving them in the care of nobility where they might have been expected to receive their education. However, in the care of their mother and father, Louis and his siblings were taught to read and write. As they grew older, the boys were taught the skills that would be expected of them as princes and warriors such as learning to ride horses, the art of warfare such as handling weapons and going hunting, the favourite pastime of the nobility in the middle ages. The girls were predictably taught more domesticated skills such as cloth making. Death was a common thing in the 8th and 9th centuries and Einhard mentions the death of three of Louis' siblings. Two brothers Charles and Pepin, the latter of whom might have been expected great things due to him successfully leading a military campaign on behalf of his father against the Huns with very little loss on the Frankish side. Louis also lost a sister Hruodrud. Given there seems to have been a close bond between the children and their father, it's fair to say the losses would have been felt sorely. The death of these three siblings occurred before Charlemagne's death in 814. As i mentioned, death was common place throughout the Middle Ages and parents burying their children was not unusual though still a heavy blow even to one of the great warrior kings of the Age.
Unsurprisingly for someone nicknamed The Pious, Louis was a mild mannered man, described by William of Malmesbury as being "unmercifully persecuted " by his son Lothair inspired, according to William, by Louis' favouritism of Lothair's youngest brother, Charles. When Louis's father, Charlemagne died, Louis had been in Aquitaine when the message arrived to inform him he was now sole ruler. His succession went uncontested. An important early boost for Louis was the forming of an alliance with Byzantine emperor Leo V, who was still relatively new on the throne himself. It was perhaps this that encouraged Leo to seek a friendship with the Emperor in the West. Byzantine history is full to the brim of deposed Emperors and rulers meeting a violent end. Securing a treaty with Louis would bolster his position. It was an agreement that would be mutually beneficial as, although during the 14 year reign of Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor there had been several attempts from the Eastern Roman Empire to secure agreements, the relations between the East and Western empires would not be easy throughout their histories so Louis and Leo coming to terms early in their reigns would suit both.
Things continued to go well for Louis. He obliged in helping two deposed Danish kings and he received homage from nobility throughout his kingdom. His next port of call was Rome where a plot had been uncovered against the Pope who had done the righteous and merciful thing you might have expected of a pope and promptly slaughtered his enemies. Eventually the situation calmed down. The papacy in the 9th century was always volatile and a bit like the situation with the Byzantine emperors, popes were very often opposed, sometimes deposed and occasionally met a violent end. Quickly calming down matters in Rome was crucial for Louis and peace in his empire. In 816, Louis put down two further revolts, the first by the Slavs and the latter by the Basques. The latter had been frustrated by Louis' removal of their corrupt ruler but they were successfully dealt with by Louis' forces. Later that year, Louis met the new pope where they made an alliance. Again, Louis seems to have been fully aware of the importance of stability in Rome and making friendship with Pope Stephen was the wisest course of action.
In 817, Louis welcomed envoys to his court of the son of the Muslim ruler in Spain, seeking peace in the region and also that year, another envoy from Constantinople sought his advice on a dilemma for Leo V. Louis had a fortunate escape when he was walking on an arcade, along with many others, which collapsed, killing and injuring many with the Emperor coming away with only bumps and bruises. Then, following in the custom of his father, Louis crowned his oldest son Lothair co Emperor and started the beginning of his troubles. Lothair would have been around 22 at the time of his coronation. A prince of this age would have been, or expected to be, itching for power. As the time of Lothair being made co Emperor, his brothers Pepin and Louis were given Aquitaine and Bavaria respectively with Lothair their overlord. For the time being Louis continued to manage his kingdom. His nephew, the king of Italy, rose up in revolt which was swiftly put down and his son Pepin dealt with an uprising in Gascony.
A problem of a different kind befell the Franks when a huge and persistent rainfall led to floods and the failing of crops and vegetables, leading to widespread hunger and starvation. In 821, Lothair was married to the daughter of the Count of Tours before he was sent by his father to Worms. At this point, Lothair was still compliant to his father and, after dealing with matters in Italy, he went to meet the pope on behalf of Louis in 823. Before leaving Italy, Lothair established new laws which obviously gained the approval of his father who then sent a nobleman to enforce them. Matters would continue in much the same vain up until 830. Lothair seemed to be a loyal co ruler, carrying out his father's wishes while other rulers such as the Bulgar khan continued to seek alliances with Louis.
But in 830, matters would turn against Louis. Whether Lothair had been fully loyal and felt genuinely aggrieved or whether he now, at the age of about 35, felt he had an opportunity to seize full control is difficult to say but to me, Lothair seems to have manufactured an uprising to suit his own ends and it seems to have also suited two of his other brothers, Pepin and Louis who rose in revolt also. Their initial move was against their step mother and uncles who they forced into a convent and monastery respectively in Aquitaine, guarded by Pepin's men. Next, they took their father and brother prisoner albeit in kinder conditions with them even sending monks to keep Charles, at that time about 7 years old, company and possibly hoped he would then choose a religious life. That didn't come to fruition as he would go on to become Holy Roman Emperor too but he would have to continue his struggle even after the death of Louis the Pious. However, the deposition was not successful and the governance went to pot. Louis was quickly restored to oversee matters. Chastised, Lothair had seen his followers who helped him with his coup either executed or exiled and he was once more sent to Italy.
The situation kicked off again in 833 when Louis, through what can be considered pretty poor judgement in the circumstances, took Aquitaine off Pepin and gave it to Charles. Once more, he and his son found themselves captive. Again, Lothair lost control of matters and spent his time in sole power squabbling with his brothers and other members of his following. Louis and Charles were once more released and Lothair did a runner.
When Louis died in 840, he must have been a tired and weary man. He would have been around 62 at the time of his death, a good age for a man of his time. Louis had demonstrated good diplomatic skills and kept good control of his kingdom for over 15 years but to be deposed twice does show a weakness in his kingship. He had put down numerous revolts but seems to have had a weak spot when it came to his sons, Lothair in particular. Perhaps we can't be too hard on Louis as the headstrong Lothair would continue to quarrel with his brothers after he had become sole emperor.
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