The Eastern Franks
Since the last Carolingian king had already died in 911, the numerous dukes decided to elect Conrad of Franconia as their new Frankish king. Conrad had a short life, however, and they then elected Henry the Fowler, formerly the duke of Saxony, to rule. Henry had trouble organizing everyone into one, unified kingdom, and therefore his hold of the empire was weak. Henry had a son who took over the throne. This king was named Otto I, perhaps the most famous Saxon king. In 955, he was successful in conquering the Magyars. He also promoted the spread of Christianity to the Slavs and Scandinavians. He organized the kingdom so that the sub rulers were bishops and abbots, therefore not allowing provincial rulers to become power-hungry. The bishops and abbots didn't have children either, so Otto I could replace them with people he chose. This made the position non-hereditary. He helped the Italians with their politics and in 962, was elected Roman emperor. The last Frankish king before Otto I to be crowned Roman king by the pope was Charlemagne. This did put stress on Otto I because he had 2 kingships, not just the German throne.
The Western Franks
The Carolingian kings were struggling with their control over the western Frankish kingdom because the counts decided to pursue their own wants and not the king's. When the Carolingian king died, they too did the same things as the eastern Franks and crowned Hugh Capet to be their king. These nobles were not thinking that by crowning him, they had established a new royal line. Many of the noblemen had property the size of Hugh's and were just as wealthy, but he did not care. Later on, when Hugh was going to fight in Spain, he asked if his son could be elected king in case he died, and it was allowed. This was the beginning of a dynasty that would last for many centuries. Though the Capetians would rule for a long time, the noblemen rarely helped, and when they did, it was mostly for personal gain.
Anglo-Saxon England
Because the Anglo-Saxons were constantly being attacked by the Vikings, they eventually grew closer together, all trying to achieve the same things. In 879, Alfred the Great defeated the Danish Vikings, and then made peace with them, allowing many of the attacks to stop. He also believed that education was very powerful. He had many great works translated into Old English, and also had many scholars visit his court. The rulers after Alfred took the rest of the Danish lands and then created a new monarchy. By 959, when King Edgar was ruling, the kingdom was very successful and was well established. The descendants of Alfred were always chosen to be the new kings, and the kings had assistants in each shire, or county. They helped govern the smaller sections of the kingdom and to conform to the king's wishes for the kingdom.