Pepin the Short (circa 714-68), mayor of the palace of Austrasia and kingof the Franks (751-68), the son of the Frankish ruler Charles Martel, andthe grandson of Pepin of Herstal. He was mayor of the palace during thereign of Childeric III (reigned about 743-52), the last of theMerovingian dynasty. In 751, Pepin deposed Childeric and thus became thefirst king of the Carolingian dynasty. He was crowned by Pope Stephen II(III) in 754. When the pope was threatened by the Lombards of northernItaly, Pepin led an army that defeated them (754-55). He ceded to thepope territory that included Ravenna and other cities. This grant, calledthe Donation of Pepin, laid the foundation for the Papal States. Pepinenlarged his own kingdom by capturing Aquitaine, or Aquitania, insouthwestern France. He was succeeded by his sons Carloman andCharlemagne as joint kings.
Father: d'Heristal, Pepin II of Austrasia, Duke of Austrasia
Mother: , Elphide (Chalpaida)Married to , Chrotrud
Child 1: , Jerome
Child 2: , Carloman
Child 3: , Pepin III "The Short" of the Franks, King of Franks, b. 715Married 725 to , Sunnichild
Child 4: , Grifo
Child 5: , Chiltrud
Charles Martel (circa 688-741), Carolingian ruler of the Frankish kingdomof Austrasia (in present northeastern France and southwestern Germany).Charles, whose surname means "the hammer," was the son of Pepin ofHerstal and the grandfather of Charlemagne. Pepin was mayor of the palaceunder the last kings of the Merovingian dynasty. When he died in 714,Charles, an illegitimate son, was imprisoned by his father's widow, buthe escaped in 715 and was proclaimed mayor of the palace by theAustrasians. A war between Austrasia and the Frankish kingdom of Neustria(now part of France) followed, and at the end of it Charles became theundisputed ruler of all the Franks. Although he was engaged in warsagainst the Alamanni, Bavarians, and Saxons, his greatest achievementswere against the Muslims from Spain, who invaded France in 732. Charlesdefeated them near Poitiers in a great battle in which the Muslim leader,Abd-ar-Rahman, the emir of Spain, was killed. The progress of Islam,which had filled all Christendom with alarm, was thus checked for a time.Charles drove the Muslims out of the Rhône valley in 739, when they hadagain advanced into France as far as Lyon, leaving them nothing of theirpossessions north of the Pyrenees beyond the Aude River. Charles died inQuierzy, on the Oise River, leaving the kingdom divided between his twosons, Carloman and Pepin the Short.Carolingians
{kair-oh-lin'-jee-uhnz}
The Carolingians, a family of Ripuarian FRANKS that took its name fromCHARLES MARTEL, the grandfather of CHARLEMAGNE, were the most importantdynasty in early medieval Europe. They had their origins in the union ofthe family of Arnulf, bishop of Metz, with that of Pepin of Landen (d.c.640), hereditary mayor of the palace in AUSTRASIA, during the early 7thcentury.
As mayors of the palace, the Carolingians were de facto rulers of theFrankish territories under the later MEROVINGIAN kings. An attempt toseize the kingship in the mid-7th century failed, but in the next 100years Pepin of Heristal (d. 714) and his illegitimate son, Charles Martel(d. 742), restored the family's fortunes. Charles's son PEPIN THE SHORTdeposed Childeric III, the last of the Merovingian monarchs; with papalsupport, he became king of the Franks in 751.
Pepin had two sons, Carloman and Charles (Charlemagne), who succeeded himjointly in 768. The former died in 771, leaving Charlemagne in control ofthe entire realm. He more than doubled its size and obtained the titlesof king of the Lombards (774) and emperor (800). Charlemagne's solesurviving son, LOUIS I, inherited (814) his lands and titles but also hisproblems--Viking invasions, Muslim raids, and greedy nobles. Thesituation worsened because Louis had three heirs: LOTHAIR I, LOUIS THEGERMAN, and CHARLES II (Charles the Bald).
When Louis died in 840, the civil wars that had begun during his reigncontinued, resulting in the division of the empire into three kingdoms bythe Treaty of Verdun (843; see VERDUN, TREATY OF). The kingdoms wereredivided by the Treaty of Mersen (870). After interruptions,Carolingian rule in what is now France came to an end in 987; in what isnow Germany, it ended in 911.
Father: , Anchises (Ansegisel)
Mother: , Doda (St. Begga)Married to , Plectrud
Child 1: , Drogo of Champagne, Duke of Champagne
Child 2: , Grimoald II of Austrasia, Mayor of AustrasiaMarried to , Elphide (Chalpaida)
Child 3: Martel, Charles, "The Hammer" of Franks, King of Franks, b. 676
Child 4: , ChildebrandPepin of Herstal (635?-714), Carolingian mayor of the palace, whoreunited the Frankish realms in the late Merovingian period. A grandsonof Pepin the Elder, he succeeded to his position in the kingdom ofAustrasia around 680. In 687 he extended Carolingian rule to the otherFrankish kingdoms, Neustria and Burgundy, but retained members of theMerovingian dynasty as figurehead monarchs in all three. Two years laterhe extended his control over the Frisians, a pagan people living on theNorth Sea coast. Pepin's death was followed by a civil war and thesuccession of his illegitimate son Charles Martel.
Father: , Anchises (Ansegisel)
Mother: , Doda (St. Begga)Married to , Plectrud
Child 1: , Drogo of Champagne, Duke of Champagne
Child 2: , Grimoald II of Austrasia, Mayor of AustrasiaMarried to , Elphide (Chalpaida)
Child 3: Martel, Charles, "The Hammer" of Franks, King of Franks, b. 676
Child 4: , ChildebrandPepin of Herstal (635?-714), Carolingian mayor of the palace, whoreunited the Frankish realms in the late Merovingian period. A grandsonof Pepin the Elder, he succeeded to his position in the kingdom ofAustrasia around 680. In 687 he extended Carolingian rule to the otherFrankish kingdoms, Neustria and Burgundy, but retained members of theMerovingian dynasty as figurehead monarchs in all three. Two years laterhe extended his control over the Frisians, a pagan people living on theNorth Sea coast. Pepin's death was followed by a civil war and thesuccession of his illegitimate son Charles Martel.
Anchises (Ansegisel)
Died: 629, while hunting.
Notes:
Some sources say 640. The Calendar of Saints says 692.Father: , Arnold (St. Arnulf) of Metz, Bishop of Metz
Married to , Doda (St. Begga)
Child 1: d'Heristal, Pepin II of Austrasia, Duke of Austrasia
Doda (St. Begga)
Died: 693, Ardenne
Notes:
The Calendar of the Saints says after her husband was killed hunting she
decided to make a pilgrimage to Rome. On returning home she founded seven
churches at Ardenne of the Meuse. She also set up an abbey at the sameplace
where she died. 17 Dec is her feast day.Father: , Pepin I the Old of Austrasia, Mayor of Austrasia
Mother: , Itta
Married to , Anchises (Ansegisel)
Child 1: d'Heristal, Pepin II of Austrasia, Duke of Austrasia
Anchises (Ansegisel)
Died: 629, while hunting.
Notes:
Some sources say 640. The Calendar of Saints says 692.Father: , Arnold (St. Arnulf) of Metz, Bishop of Metz
Married to , Doda (St. Begga)
Child 1: d'Heristal, Pepin II of Austrasia, Duke of Austrasia
