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Around 800, under [[Charlemagne]], the [[Frankish Empire]] covered much of Europe. In much of this empire, an important unit of regional administration (corresponding roughly to a [[shire]] or [[county]] in England) was the ''[[Gau (country subdivision)|gau]]'' ([[Frankish language|Frankish]]) or ''[[pagus]]'' (Latin). A ''comes'' ([[count]]) ruled one or more ''gaue''. Because of the low volume of trade, the negative trade balance with the [[Byzantine Empire]] and the Muslim states and the disappearance of currency, the economy was more-or-less reduced to [[barter]]. The king's [[vassals]] could only be rewarded with land (''beneficium'' or, from the tenth century, ''feodum'') and [[usufruct]]. From this, [[feudalism]] developed. The vassals, who were generally appointed by the king, strove for a system of inheritance. This became more and more the rule, and in 877 it was legalised in the [[Capitulary of Quierzy]].
[[File:Rorik by H. W. Koekkoek.jpg|thumb|left|alt=A bearded older man, dressed for battle|Rorik of Dorestad in a 1912 illustration by [[Hermanus Willem Koekkoek]]]] ▼{{History Benelux states}}
Upon the death of a king, the Frankish kingdom was frequently divided among his heirs. This [[partible inheritance]] often caused internal strife, which made centralized government problematic. The [[Viking]] raids further undermined centralized government. At the end of the reign of Emperor [[Louis the Pious]], royal power had weakened because of the [[Floods in the Netherlands|flood of 838]] and infighting between the king's sons. After Louis died in 840 his son, Emperor [[Lothair I]] (king of [[Middle Francia]]), rewarded the Danish brothers [[Rorik of Dorestad|Rorik]] and Harald with [[Frisia]] — present-day [[Holland]] — in an attempt to resist Viking attacks.
UponWhen Lothair's deathdied in 855, the northern part of Middle Francia was awarded to his second son [[Lothair II]], and was called [[Lotharingia]] after him. The 880 [[Treaty of Ribemont]] in 880 added the Kingdom of Lotharingia —(which of whichincluded the [[Low Countries]] were part —) to [[East Francia]], which attempted to integrate it. However, there were no connections like there werethose between the four German [[Stem duchy|Stemstem Duchiesduchies]] of east Francia: the [[Duchy of Franconia|Franconia]], the [[Duchy of Saxony|Saxony]], the [[Duchy of Bavaria|Bavaria]] and the [[Duchy of Swabia|Swabia]]. Lotharingia tookhad a separate position with a large amount ofconsiderable self-determination.; Thisthis became clear when [[Louis the Child]], theEast Francia's last [[Carolingian of East Franciadynasty|Carolingian]], died in 911. WhileAlthough the Stemstem Duchiesduchies flocked to Duke [[Conrad I of Germany|Conrad I of Franconia]], Lotharingia chose forCarolingian theking Carolingianof [[CharlesWest the SimpleFrancia]], king of [[WestCharles Franciathe Simple]].
▲[[File:Rorik by H. W. Koekkoek.jpg|thumb|left|alt=A bearded older man, dressed for battle|Rorik of Dorestad in a 1912 illustration by [[Hermanus Willem Koekkoek]]]]
In Frisia, the situation was complex. The powerPower was in the hands of Rorik's successor, [[Godfrid, Duke of Frisia|Godfrid the Sea King]], who became embroiled in the high politics of the Frankish empire. Heand was allied with the children of the former Carolingian Lotharingian king [[Lothair II]]. Danish rule came to an endended in 885 with the murder of Godfrid at [[Spijk, Rijnwaarden|Herispijk]];, subsequentlyand all Danes who were present east of the coastal areas of [[West- Frisia]] were murderedkilled or driven out as a consequence of whatin must have been a complex, but highly successful conspiracy led by [[Henry of Franconia]], in which a coalition of Babenberg Franks, Hamaland Saxons and Teisterbant Frisians (in cooperation with the bishop of Cologne and the emperor) managed to outsmartoutsmarted Godfrid and histhe Danish partyDanes. The mainchief actorconspirator in thisthe murder was [[Everard Saxo]], the count of Hamaland. One of the peoplethose who managed to profitprofited most from the ensuing power vacuum was the Frisian [[Gerolf of Holland|Gerolf]], ''comes Fresonum'' (count of Frisia), whose roots lay infrom [[Westergo]], in the currentpresent-day province of [[Friesland]],. Gerolf, was aGodfrid's former envoy of Godfrid the Sea King to the emperor, demanding from the emperordemanded lands in the Mozelle[[Moselle]] valley, thisfrom inthe orderemperor to forceprovoke a war. After the demiseelimination of a large partsportion of the Danish population, Gerulf managed to somehow getcontolled a grip on large Frisian partspart of the later county of Holland. This ''fait accompli'' was recognised when Gerolf was given lands [[allodial|in full ownership]] on 4 August 889, fromby the East Frankish king [[Arnulf of Carinthia]], who pragmatically decided he needed some strong warlords in the delta arearegion to keep the Danes and other Vikings out. The lands in question included an area outside of Gerulf's county, in Teisterbant, includingwhich included [[Tiel]], [[Aalburg]] and [[Asch (Netherlands)|Asch]]. It also involved an area inside the county. This last possession consisted of a forest and a field somewhere between the mouth of the [[Oude Rijn (Utrecht and South Holland)|Old Rhine]] (and presumably [[Bennebroek]]), ''Suithardeshaga'', the border between the former Frankish counties of Rijnland and Kennemerland.
In 922, King [[Charles the Simple]] grantedgave the church ofin [[Egmond (municipality)|Egmond]] and all its possessions to Count [[Dirk I, Count of Holland|Dirk I of Holland]], asin thanks922 in gratitude for hisDirk's support in the [[Battle of Soissons (923)|Battle of Soissons]] to suppress a rebellion of his West Frankish vassals. The WesternWest Frankish king couldwas easilyable to do this, because the lands and churches he granted to Dirk laywere outside his jurisdiction.; Egmond was located just north of thepossessions possessionswhich Dirk had received from Gerulf, and was thus a good match. ShortlyHe after this hethen founded [[Egmond Abbey]], theHolland oldest monastery in Holland. Upon the deposition ofWhen Charles the Simple was deposed in 923, King [[Henry the Fowler]] of East Francia allied with Count [[Gilbert, Duke of Lorraine|Gilbert of Hainaut]], (son of Duke [[Reginar, Duke of Lorraine|Reginar of Lorraine]]) and re-conquered Lotharingia. By 925, the Lotharingian nobles finally accepted his rule, whereafterand Lotharingia (with the Frisian lands) were incorporated asbecame a fifth German [[stem duchy]]. However, Henry's power was limited by his vassal, [[Gilbert, Duke of Lorraine|Gilbert]], the (Duke of Lotharingia), whose power in turn was limited to his own counties.
===Imperial State===
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