In 866, Charles the Child died; Charles the Bald made his other son, Louis the Stammerer, the new king of Aquitaine. By then, the central state in the kingdom of France was losing its authority. Charles was unsuccessful at containing the Vikings and local populations relied on their counts, who became the chief authorities. As their power increased, they established local dynasties. Wars began between the central authorities and the counts and between counts, which weakened defenses against the Vikings. Western Europe, France in particular, entered a new dark age which would be more disastrous than that of the sixth and seventh centuries.