West Francia

In medieval historiography, West Francia (Medieval Latin: Francia occidentalis) or the Kingdom of the West Franks (Latin: regnum Francorum occidentalium) constitutes the initial stage of the Kingdom of France and extends from the Treaty of Verdun in 843 to 987, the beginning of the Capetian dynasty. It was created from the division of the Carolingian Empire following the death of Louis the Pious, with its neighbor East Francia eventually evolving into the Kingdom of Germany.

West Francia extended further north and south than modern metropolitan France, but it did not extend as far east. It did not include such future French holdings as Lorraine, the County and Kingdom of Burgundy (the duchy was already a part of West Francia), Alsace and Provence in the east and southeast for example. It also did not include the Brittany peninsula in the west.

West Frankish kings were elected by the secular and ecclesiastic magnates, and between 888 and 936 candidates from the Carolingian and Robertian houses were alternately chosen as monarchs. By this time the power of the king became weaker and more nominal, as the regional dukes and nobles became more powerful in their semi-independent regions. The Robertians, after becoming counts of Paris and dukes of Italy became kings themselves and established the Capetian dynasty after 987. Historians generally define this as the gradual transition toward the Kingdom of France. By the 13th century, the term Regnum francorum had evolved into Regnum Francia ("kingdom of France"), although the demonym of "Franks" continued to be attested as late as the 18th century.