Marches of Neustria

The marches of Neustria were creations of the Carolingian king of West Francia covering the ancient Merovingian kingdom of Neustria. Originally, there were two marches, one against the Bretons and one against the Norsemen created by Charles the Bald in 861. These two marches are often called the Breton March and Norman March respectively. They were ruled by officials appointed by the crown, known as wardens^{[disambiguation needed ]} or margraves (or "marquis" in French).

Breton march

There was a Breton march created under the Merovingians in the late seventh or early eighth century. It was centred on Le Mans and eventually went by the name of ducatus Cenomannicus or Duchy of Maine. The exact extent of this duchy is unknown and it cannot be identified with either the later Breton or Norman march. One of the most famous margraves was Roland, who died at the Battle of Roncesvalles in 778 and gave rise to a famous series of legends as exemplified in the eponymous Chanson de Roland.

The Carolingian recreation of a march against the Bretons was conferred first on Robert the Strong in 861. Robert was killed fighting the Vikings in 866, revealing how the boundaries of the marches did not affect the raiders with which the marcher margraves had to deal nor prevent the two margraves from cooperating in each other's territories against the common enemies of the Franks. Robert was succeeded by Hugh the Abbot.

Norman march

The first margrave against the Vikings was Adalard the Seneschal. His march extended over the county of Le Mans and he was immediately opposed by the Rorgonids, who controlled the city. They intrigued against him and his relatives, also powerful nobles in the region, until Charles revoked his grants to them and placed the Rorgonids at the head of the march, where they remained until 885. In that year, Charles the Fat succeeded to power in West Francia and named Henry of Franconia margrave.

United marches

In 886, both Hugh of the Breton march and Henry died. Charles replaced them with Odo and Berengar II respectively. Finally, in 911, Robert II, the Breton margrave, was granted the Norman march and the two entities became permanently united. Robert took the title of demarchus. In that same year, Charles the Simple, by the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte, granted the Viking leader Rollo the county of Rouen, the basis of the future Duchy of Normandy. Rollo later also took the title demarchus.

The Normans gradually expanded their territory and incorporated much of Neustria into it. When the margrave of Neustria became king in 987, the history of the march ended, to be replaced by the history of the various comital fiefs which were to rise in power within it.

List of margraves

Norman march 861 – 865 Adalard the Seneschal 861 – 865 Udo 861 – 865 Berengar I		Breton march 861 – 866 Robert I
865 – 878 Gosfrid 878 – 885 Ragenold 884 – 886 Henry of Franconia		866 – 886 Hugh the Abbot
886 – 896 Berengar II 896 – 911 unknown		886 – 888 Odo 888 – 911 Robert, united marches
United march 911 – 922 Robert 922 – 956 Hugh the Great 956 – 987 Hugh Capet

Sources

• Smith, Julia M. H. Province and Empire: Brittany and the Carolingians. Cambridge University Press: 1992.
• Guillotel, Hubert. "Une autre marche de Neustrie." Onomastique et Parenté dans l'Occident médiéval. Edited Christian Settipani and Katharine S. B. Keats-Rohan. 2000.