Altfrid - Diplomat

Diplomat

Altfrid, described in a letter from Bishop Hincmar of Reims as a clever and sober thinker and gifted with eloquence, was a close confidant of Ludwig the German, and from 860 took an influential role in the power struggles between the various parts of the disintegrating Frankish empire. In 860 Altfrid was present at the meeting between Ludwig the German and Charles the Bald in St. Castor's Basilica in Koblenz, where the two kings agreed a peace treaty. In the years that followed it is possible to trace a great deal of travelling on Altfrid's part: in 862 he was in Asselt, later in Compiègne and Savonnières, in 864 in Pitres, in 865 at the Synod of Thousey and in 867 in Metz. Altfrid had decisive influence on the form of the Treaty of Meerssen, which divided Lotharingia on 9 August 870 between West Francia and East Francia.