Verdun's treaty affected the Carolingian Empire by creating how many kingdoms?

• A. One
• B. Two
• C. Three
• D. Four

Answer: (C)

The key idea here is how inheritance and division reshaped Charlemagne’s empire. The Treaty of Verdun in 843 split the empire among Charlemagne’s grandsons, yielding three distinct realms: a western kingdom that would become France, an eastern kingdom that would become Germany, and a central or middle kingdom that stretched across parts of Central Europe from the Low Countries toward Italy. This triple division is why three kingdoms is the correct answer. It marks the moment when a single imperial realm gave way to a fragmented set of kingdoms, setting the stage for the future political map of western Europe.