Ludwig (Louis) II "the German" of East Francia (806-28 August 876) was the king of Bavaria from 817 to 843 (succeeding Louis of West Francia and preceding Carloman of Bavaria) and King of East Francia from 843 to 876 (succeeding Louis and preceding Carloman, Ludwig III of East Francia, and Charles III of West Francia).
Biography[]
Louis the German was born in 806, the son of King Louis the Pious and Ermengarde of Hesbaye. In 817 his father made him the king of Bavaria, and he ruled from Regensburg. Louis fought the Wends and Sorbs to the east, and in 827 he married Hemma of Altdorf, the sister of his stepmother Judith of Bavaria. When his brothers Lothaire of Italy and Pepin I of Aquitaine began their rebellions, he played a small role, but in 832 he subjugated Alemannia with an army of Slavs. Louis the Pious disinherited him, but to no avail; his sons captured and deposed him. Upon reinstatement, Louis the Pious reinstated his son as king of Bavaria in 836. In 843 he was made King of East Francia after the death of his father, following a civil war that included a victory by Louis and his half-brother Charles the Bald over Lothaire and Pepin II of Aquitaine. In 844 he killed the Obotrites' leader Gozzmovil and also sent Thachulf of Thuringia to fight the Bohemians, Moravians, and other tribes, although he could not stop Viking raids.
In 858 Louis decided to settle his rivalry with his brother Charles the Bald, ruler of West Francia, by invading his lands. Charles the Bald was so unpopular that he fled to Burgundy without an army, but treachery and desertion in Louis' army forced him to stop the invasion. In 855, when Lothaire of Italy died, Louis and Charles divided his empire, with Lothaire II of Lotharingia having his own lands, Lotharingia, in between East and West Francia. In 876, Louis died in Frankfurt while preparing for war against Charles the Bald.