Louis II (of Germany), called The German (c. 806-876), King of Germany (843-876), the third son of Holy Roman Emperor Louis I. An active participant in the civil wars that marked the last ten years of his father's reign, he became ruler of all Germany east of the Rhine by the Treaty of Verdun in 843. Even after that, however, he continued to fight his kinsmen, winning the eastern part of Lorraine in 870. An able ruler, Louis strengthened government in his lands and encouraged the development of vernacular literature.
