s death in 840 the Empire became more firmly established.

Lothair I (840-855) succeeded to the imperial title, while Germany fell
to the lot of his brother Louis. Charles the Bald ruled over France.
Lothair's portion was limited to Lorraine, Burgundy, Switzerland, and
Italy. Civil strife broke out, but Louis retained the whole of Germany
with the provinces on the left bank of the Rhine. Louis II (856-875)
ascended the throne as Roman Emperor, but died without any male issue,
while Charles the Fat, who succeeded him, was removed from the throne by
order of the Church on account of his insanity.

With Charles ended the Carolingian dynasty. From the death of the
illustrious Charlemagne the race had gradually but surely declined.
After the removal of Charles the Fat there came a lapse of seventy-four
years. Conrad I (911-919) founded the Gascon dynasty of Germany, and
was succeeded by Henry the Fowler (919-936). His son, Otto I, called the
Great (936-973), was crowned Roman Emperor in 962. In 936 his elevation
to the Germanic kingdom was a popular one. A portion of Gaul to the west
of the Rhine along the banks of the Meuse and the Moselle was ceded to
the Germans. Otto's supremacy between the Rhine, the Rhone, and the Alps
was acquired and held for his successors. With the sword he propagated
Christianity, subdued Italy, and delivered the Pope from his enemies,
who, to show his appreciation, invested him with the imperial title,
which ever after belonged to the Germanic nation. The German Emperors,
however, still continued to exercise the right of electing the Pope,
thereby reducing the Roman Church to a level of servitude.

Toward the close of the Carolingian dynasty France and Germany had
become irrevocably detached; both nations suffered from internecine
wars. The Slavonians penetrated into the Empire, even to the banks of
the Rhine. Feudal princes began to make war upon each other, and, within
their respective districts, were virtual sovereigns.

At the partition of the domains of Charlemagne in A.D. 843 the
Rhine formed the boundary between Germany and the middle kingdom of
Lotharingia, but by 870 the latter had been absorbed by the larger
country. For a period verging upon eight hundred years it remained the
frontier of the German Empire. In the early Middle Ages the heritage of
the ancient Roman civilization rendered it the most cultured portion of
Germany. By the time of Otto I (died 973) both banks of the Rhine