# Battle of Fontenoy (841)

URL: https://history-france.com/timeline/841-battle-of-fontenoy
Location: Fontenoy-en-Puisaye
Categories: battle

Charles the Bald and Louis the German defeated their brother Lothair in a major Carolingian civil-war battle. Within the broader Frankish Kingdoms period, Merovingian and Carolingian rulers built large Frankish realms over former Roman Gaul. Conversion, aristocratic power, church institutions and imperial expansion laid foundations for medieval France. At this point in the timeline, the relevant governing authority is Carolingian civil war (Competing Carolingian rulers). Battle of Fontenoy mattered because it changed the military or territorial balance and influenced the political choices that followed. The event is positioned here so visitors can read it alongside changes in government, warfare, society, religion, culture and France’s wider international setting.

## Why it matters
Battle of Fontenoy mattered because it changed the military or territorial balance and influenced the political choices that followed.

Ruler at the time: [Carolingian civil war](https://history-france.com/rulers/carolingian-civil-war)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia topic lookup — Battle of Fontenoy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Search?search=Battle+of+Fontenoy&go=Go)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica topic lookup — Battle of Fontenoy](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=Battle+of+Fontenoy)
- [Wikipedia — Timeline of French history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_French_history)