1.
Dynasty
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A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a feudal or monarchical system but sometimes also appearing in elective republics. The dynastic family or lineage may be known as a house, historians periodize the histories of many sovereign states, such as Ancient Egypt, the Carolingian Empire and Imperial China, using a framework of successive dynasties. As such, the dynasty may be used to delimit the era during which the family reigned and to describe events, trends. The word dynasty itself is often dropped from such adjectival references, until the 19th century, it was taken for granted that a legitimate function of a monarch was to aggrandize his dynasty, that is, to increase the territory, wealth, and power of his family members. The longest-surviving dynasty in the world is the Imperial House of Japan, dynasties throughout the world have traditionally been reckoned patrilineally, such as under the Frankish Salic law. Succession through a daughter when permitted was considered to establish a new dynasty in her husbands ruling house, however, some states in Africa, determined descent matrilineally, while rulers have at other times adopted the name of their mothers dynasty when coming into her inheritance. It is also extended to unrelated people such as poets of the same school or various rosters of a single sports team. The word dynasty derives via Latin dynastia from Greek dynastéia, where it referred to power, dominion and it was the abstract noun of dynástēs, the agent noun of dynamis, power or ability, from dýnamai, to be able. A ruler in a dynasty is referred to as a dynast. For example, following his abdication, Edward VIII of the United Kingdom ceased to be a member of the House of Windsor. A dynastic marriage is one that complies with monarchical house law restrictions, the marriage of Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange, to Máxima Zorreguieta in 2002 was dynastic, for example, and their eldest child is expected to inherit the Dutch crown eventually. But the marriage of his younger brother Prince Friso to Mabel Wisse Smit in 2003 lacked government support, thus Friso forfeited his place in the order of succession, lost his title as a Prince of the Netherlands, and left his children without dynastic rights. In historical and monarchist references to formerly reigning families, a dynast is a member who would have had succession rights, were the monarchys rules still in force. Even since abolition of the Austrian monarchy, Max and his descendants have not been considered the rightful pretenders by Austrian monarchists, nor have they claimed that position. The term dynast is sometimes used only to refer to descendants of a realms monarchs. The term can therefore describe overlapping but distinct sets of people, yet he is not a male-line member of the royal family, and is therefore not a dynast of the House of Windsor. Thus, in 1999 he requested and obtained permission from Elizabeth II to marry the Roman Catholic Princess Caroline of Monaco. Yet a clause of the English Act of Settlement 1701 remained in effect at that time and that exclusion, too, ceased to apply on 26 March 2015, with retroactive effect for those who had been dynasts prior to triggering it by marriage to a Catholic
2.
Carolingian Empire
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The Carolingian Empire was a large empire in western and central Europe during the early Middle Ages. It was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty, which had ruled as kings of the Franks since 751 and as kings of the Lombards of Italy from 774. In 800, the Frankish king Charlemagne was crowned emperor in Rome by Pope Leo III in an effort to revive the Roman Empire in the west during a vacancy in the throne of the eastern Roman Empire. The unity of the empire and the right of the Carolingians continued to be acknowledged. In 884, Charles the Fat reunited all the kingdoms for the last time, but he died in 888 and the empire immediately split up. With the only remaining male of the dynasty a child, the nobility elected regional kings from outside the dynasty or, in the case of the eastern kingdom. The size of the empire at its inception was around 1,112,000 square kilometres, in southern Italy, the Carolingians claims to authority were disputed by the Byzantines and the vestiges of the Lombard kingdom in the Principality of Benevento. Use of the term Carolingian Empire is a modern convention, the language of official acts in the empire was Latin. The empire was referred to variously as universum regnum, Romanorum sive Francorum imperium, Romanum imperium or even imperium christianum. Only the remaining Saxon realms, which he conquered, Lombardy. Further, Martel cemented his place in history with his defense of Christian Europe against a Muslim army at the Battle of Tours in 732, the Iberian Saracens had incorporated Berber lighthorse cavalry with the heavy Arab cavalry to create a formidable army that had almost never been defeated. Christian European forces, meanwhile, lacked the powerful tool of the stirrup, in this victory, Charles earned the surname Martel. Edward Gibbon, the historian of Rome and its aftermath, called Charles Martel the paramount prince of his age, Pepin III accepted the nomination as king by Pope Zachary in about 751. Charlemagnes rule began in 768 at Pepins death and he proceeded to take control over the kingdom following his brother Carlomans death, as the two brothers co-inherited their fathers kingdom. Charlemagne was crowned Roman Emperor in the year 800, the Carolingian Empire during the reign of Charlemagne covered most of Western Europe, as the Roman Empire once had. Prior to the death of Charlemagne, the Empire was divided among members of the Carolingian dynasty. These included King Charles the Younger, son of Charlemagne, who received Neustria, King Louis the Pious, who received Aquitaine, and King Pepin, Pepin died with an illegitimate son, Bernard, in 810, and Charles died without heirs in 811. Although Bernard succeeded Pepin as King of Italy, Louis was made co-Emperor in 813, Louis the Pious often had to struggle to maintain control of the Empire
3.
Holy Roman Empire
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The Holy Roman Empire was a multi-ethnic complex of territories in central Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806. On 25 December 800, Pope Leo III crowned the Frankish king Charlemagne as Emperor, reviving the title in Western Europe, more than three centuries after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The title was revived in 962 when Otto I was crowned emperor, fashioning himself as the successor of Charlemagne, some historians refer to the coronation of Charlemagne as the origin of the empire, while others prefer the coronation of Otto I as its beginning. Scholars generally concur, however, in relating an evolution of the institutions and principles constituting the empire, the office of Holy Roman Emperor was traditionally elective, although frequently controlled by dynasties. Emperor Francis II dissolved the empire on 6 August 1806, after the creation of the Confederation of the Rhine by Napoleon, before 1157, the realm was merely referred to as the Roman Empire. In a decree following the 1512 Diet of Cologne, the name was changed to Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, by the end of the 18th century, the term Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation had fallen out of official use. As Roman power in Gaul declined during the 5th century, local Germanic tribes assumed control, by the middle of the 8th century, however, the Merovingians had been reduced to figureheads, and the Carolingians, led by Charles Martel, had become the de facto rulers. In 751, Martel’s son Pepin became King of the Franks, the Carolingians would maintain a close alliance with the Papacy. In 768 Pepin’s son Charlemagne became King of the Franks and began an expansion of the realm. He eventually incorporated the territories of present-day France, Germany, northern Italy, on Christmas Day of 800, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne emperor, restoring the title in the west for the first time in over three centuries. After the death of Charles the Fat in 888, however, the Carolingian Empire broke apart, according to Regino of Prüm, the parts of the realm spewed forth kinglets, and each part elected a kinglet from its own bowels. After the death of Charles the Fat, those crowned emperor by the pope controlled only territories in Italy, the last such emperor was Berengar I of Italy, who died in 924. Around 900, autonomous stem duchies reemerged in East Francia, on his deathbed, Conrad yielded the crown to his main rival, Henry the Fowler of Saxony, who was elected king at the Diet of Fritzlar in 919. Henry reached a truce with the raiding Magyars, and in 933 he won a first victory against them in the Battle of Riade, Henry died in 936, but his descendants, the Liudolfing dynasty, would continue to rule the Eastern kingdom for roughly a century. Upon Henry the Fowlers death, Otto, his son and designated successor, was elected King in Aachen in 936 and he overcame a series of revolts from an elder brother and from several dukes. After that, the managed to control the appointment of dukes. In 951, Otto came to the aid of Adelaide, the queen of Italy, defeating her enemies, marrying her. In 955, Otto won a victory over the Magyars in the Battle of Lechfeld
4.
Francia
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The kingdom was founded by Clovis I, crowned first King of the Franks in 496. The tradition of dividing patrimonies among brothers meant that the Frankish realm was ruled, nominally, even so, sometimes the term was used as well to encompass Neustria north of the Loire and west of the Seine. Most Frankish Kings were buried in the Basilica of Saint Denis, modern France is still named Francia in Spanish and Italian. The Franks emerged in the 3rd century as a confederation of smaller Germanic tribes, such as the Sicambri, Bructeri, Ampsivarii, Chamavi and Chattuarii, in the area north and east of the Rhine. Some of these peoples, such as the Sicambri and Salians, already had lands in the Roman Empire, in 357 the Salian king entered the Roman Empire and made a permanent foothold there by a treaty granted by Julian the Apostate, who forced back the Chamavi to Hamaland. As Frankish territory expanded, the meaning of Francia expanded with it, after the fall of Arbogastes, his son Arigius succeeded in establishing a hereditary countship at Trier and after the fall of the usurper Constantine III some Franks supported the usurper Jovinus. Jovinus was dead by 413, but the Romans found it difficult to manage the Franks within their borders. The Frankish king Theudemer was executed by the sword, in c, around 428 the Salian king Chlodio, whose kingdom included Toxandria and the civitatus Tungrorum, launched an attack on Roman territory and extended his realm as far as Camaracum and the Somme. The kingdom of Chlodio changed the borders and the meaning of the word Francia permanently, Francia was no longer barbaricum trans Rhenum, but a landed political power on both sides of the river, deeply involved in Roman politics. Chlodios family, the Merovingians, extended Francia even further south, the core territory of the Frankish kingdom later came to be known as Austrasia. Chlodios successors are obscure figures, but what can be certain is that Childeric I, possibly his grandson, Clovis converted to Christianity and put himself on good terms with the powerful Church and with his Gallo-Roman subjects. In a thirty-year reign Clovis defeated the Roman general Syagrius and conquered the Roman exclave of Soissons, defeated the Alemanni, Clovis defeated the Visigoths and conquered their entire kingdom with its capital at Toulouse, and conquered the Bretons and made them vassals of Francia. He conquered most or all of the neighbouring Frankish tribes along the Rhine, by the end of his life, Clovis ruled all of Gaul save the Gothic province of Septimania and the Burgundian kingdom in the southeast. The Merovingians were a hereditary monarchy, the Frankish kings adhered to the practice of partible inheritance, dividing their lands among their sons. Cloviss sons made their capitals near the Frankish heartland in northeastern Gaul, Theuderic I made his capital at Reims, Chlodomer at Orléans, Childebert I at Paris, and Chlothar I at Soissons. During their reigns, the Thuringii, Burgundes, and Saxons and Frisians were incorporated into the Frankish kingdom, the fraternal kings showed only intermittent signs of friendship and were often in rivalry. Theuderic died in 534, but his adult son Theudebert I was capable of defending his inheritance, which formed the largest of the Frankish subkingdoms and the kernel of the later kingdom of Austrasia. Theudebert interfered in the Gothic War on the side of the Gepids and Lombards against the Ostrogoths, receiving the provinces of Rhaetia, Noricum, and part of Venetia
5.
Kingdom of the Lombards
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The king was traditionally elected by the highest-ranking aristocrats, the dukes, as several attempts to establish a hereditary dynasty failed. The kingdom was subdivided into a number of duchies, ruled by semi-autonomous dukes. The capital of the kingdom and the center of its life was Pavia in the modern northern Italian region of Lombardy. The Lombard invasion of Italy was opposed by the Byzantine Empire, because of this division, the southern duchies were considerably more autonomous than the smaller northern duchies. Over time, the Lombards gradually adopted Roman titles, names, by the time Paul the Deacon was writing in the late 8th century, the Lombardic language, dress and hairstyles had all disappeared. Initially the Lombards were Arianist Christians, at odds with the Papacy both religiously and politically, however, by the end of the 7th century, their conversion to Catholicism was all but complete. Nevertheless, their conflict with the Papacy continued and was responsible for their loss of power in the face of the Franks. Charlemagne, the king of the Franks, adopted the title King of the Lombards, although he never managed to control of Benevento. The only evidence for their use at the level comes from the Duchy of Benevento. The existence of seal rings testifies to the tenacity of Roman traditions of government, in the 6th century Byzantine Emperor Justinian attempted to reassert imperial authority in the territories of the Western Roman Empire. Problems were further exacerbated by widespread famine and a plague pandemic. In the spring of 568 the Lombards, led by King Alboin, moved from Pannonia, the Lombard arrival broke the political unity of the Italian Peninsula for the first time since the Roman conquest. The peninsula was now torn between territories ruled by the Lombards and the Byzantines, with boundaries that changed over time, the territories which remained under Byzantine control were called Romania in northeastern Italy and had its stronghold in the Exarchate of Ravenna. Arriving in Italy, King Alboin gave control of the Eastern Alps to one of his most trusted lieutenants, Gisulf, the duchy, established in the Roman town of Forum Iulii, constantly fought with the Slavic population across the Gorizia border. Justified by its military needs, the Duchy of Friuli thus had greater autonomy compared to other duchies of Langobardia Maior until the reign of Liutprand. Over time, other Lombard Duchies were created in cities of the kingdom. This was dictated primarily by military needs as Dukes were primarily military commanders, tasked to secure control of territory. However, the collection of duchies also contributed to political fragmentation
6.
Duchy of Bavaria
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The Duchy of Bavaria was, from the sixth through the eighth century, a frontier region in the southeastern part of the Merovingian kingdom and was ruled by dukes under Frankish lordship. In the late ninth century a new duchy was created from this area and it was one of the stem duchies of the Kingdom of Germany and the Holy Roman Empire. Between 1070 and 1180 the Emperor was opposed by Bavaria, especially by the House of Welf, in the final conflict between the Duke Henry the Lion and the Hohenstaufen emperor Frederick I, Frederick I triumphed and deprived Henry of his fiefs. Bavaria then passed over to the House of Wittelsbach, which held it until 1918, the origins of the older Bavarian duchy can be traced to the year 551/555. In his Getica, the chronicler Jordanes writes, That area of the Swabians has the Bavarii in the east, until the end of the first duchy, all rulers descended from the family of the Agilolfings. The first documented duke was Garibald I, a scion of the Frankish Agilolfings, at around 743, the Bavarian duke Odilo vassalised the Slavic princes of Carantania, who had asked him for protection against the invading Avars. The residence of the largely independent Agilolfing dukes was then Regensburg, in the adjacent Alamannic lands west of the Lech river, Augsburg was a bishops seat. When Boniface established the Diocese of Passau in 739, he could build on local Early Christian traditions. In the south, Saint Rupert had founded in 696 the Diocese of Salzburg, probably after he had baptized Duke Theodo of Bavaria at his court in Regensburg, becoming the Apostle of Bavaria. In 798 Pope Leo III created the Bavarian ecclesiastical province with Salzburg as metropolitan seat and Regensburg, Passau, Freising, in the west, the Carolingian mayor of the palace Carloman had suppressed the last Alamannic revolt at the 746 Blood court at Cannstatt. The last tribal stem duchy to be incorporated was Bavaria in 788, the conquest of the Lombard Kingdom by Charlemagne entailed the fall of Tassilo, who was deposed in 788. Bavaria was then administrated by Frankish prefects, from 825 Louis the German styled himself King of Bavaria in the territory that was to become the centre of his power. Carlomans natural son Arnulf of Carinthia, raised in the former Carantanian lands, secured possession of the March of Carinthia upon his fathers death in 880, Carinthia and Bavaria were the bases of his power, with Regensburg as the seat of his government. Due mainly to the support of the Bavarians, Arnulf could take the field against Charles in 887, in 899 Bavaria passed to Louis the Child, during whose reign continuous Hungarian ravages occurred. During the reign of Louis the Child, Luitpold, Count of Scheyern, the German king Conrad I unsuccessfully attacked Arnulf when the latter refused to acknowledge his royal supremacy. The Carolingian reign in East Francia ended in 911 when Arnulfs son, King Louis the Child, the discontinuation of the central authority led to a new strengthening of the German stem duchies. At the same time, East Francia was exposed to the threat from Hungarian invasions. In 907 the army of Luitpold, Margrave of Bavaria suffered a defeat at the Battle of Pressburg
7.
Duchy of Bohemia
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The Duchy of Bohemia, also referred to as the Czech Duchy, was a monarchy and a principality in Central Europe during the Early and High Middle Ages. It was formed around 870 by Czechs as part of the Great Moravian realm, the Bohemian lands separated from disintegrating Moravia after Duke Spytihněv swore fidelity to the East Frankish king Arnulf in 895. In 973 the Diocese of Prague was founded through the joint efforts of Duke Boleslaus II, late Duke Wenceslaus I of Bohemia, killed by his younger brother Boleslaus in 935, became the lands patron saint. The Duchy of Bohemia was raised to a hereditary Kingdom of Bohemia, the Přemyslids remained in power throughout the High Middle Ages, until the extinction of the male line with the death of King Wenceslaus III in 1306. The lands encompassed by the Bohemian Forest, the Ore Mountains, the Sudetes, in the 7th century the local Czech people were part of the union led by the Frankish merchant Samo. Bohemia as a term, probably derived from the Celtic Boii tribes. In 805 Emperor Charlemagne prepared to conquer the lands, invading Bohemia in 805, however the Czech forces shirked from open battle and retired into the deep forests to launch guerilla attacks. After forty days the emperor had to withdraw his forces for the lack of supplies, when the Frankish forces returned the next year burning and plundering the Bohemian lands, the local tribes finally had to submit and became dependent on the Carolingian Empire. While the Frankish realm disintegrated in the mid 9th century, Bohemia came in the reach of the Great Moravian state set up about 830, in 874 the Mojmir duke Svatopluk I reached an agreement with the East Frankish king Louis the German and confirmed his Bohemian dominion. With the fragmentation of Great Moravia under the pressure of the Magyar incursions around 900 and he and his younger brother Vratislaus then ruled over Central Bohemia around Prague. They were able to protect their realm from the Magyar forces which crushed an East Frankish army in the 907 Battle of Pressburg during the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin. Wenceslaus maintained his authority by submitting to King Henry in 929. Assuming the Bohemian throne in 935, Duke Boleslaus conquered the adjacent lands of Moravia and Silesia and he offered opposition to Henrys successor King Otto I, stopped paying the tribute, attacked an ally of the Saxons in northwest Bohemia and in 936 moved into Thuringia. Overwhelming marauding Hungarians had the benefits for Germans and Czechs. Less obvious is what Boleslav wanted to gain with his participation in the war against the Obotrite tribes in far north, probably Boleslav wanted to ensure that German neighbors did not interfere with his expansion of Bohemia to the east. Significantly, the Bishopric of Prague, founded in 973 during the reign of Duke Boleslaus II, was subordinated to the Archbishopric of Mainz, in 1002 Duke Vladivoj was enfeoffed with the Duchy of Bohemia from the hands of King Henry II of Germany. With this act, what had been a sovereign duchy became part of the Holy Roman Empire. After Vladivoj died the year, the Polish duke Bolesław I Chrobry invaded Bohemia and Moravia
8.
Franks
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Some Franks raided Roman territory, while other Frankish tribes joined the Roman troops of Gaul. In later times, Franks became the rulers of the northern part of Roman Gaul. The Salian Franks lived on Roman-held soil between the Rhine, Scheldt, Meuse, and Somme rivers in what is now Northern France, Belgium, the kingdom was acknowledged by the Romans after 357 CE. Following the collapse of Rome in the West, the Frankish tribes were united under the Merovingians, who succeeded in conquering most of Gaul in the 6th century, which greatly increased their power. The Merovingian dynasty, descendants of the Salians, founded one of the Germanic monarchies that would absorb large parts of the Western Roman Empire, the Frankish state consolidated its hold over the majority of western Europe by the end of the 8th century, developing into the Carolingian Empire. This empire would gradually evolve into the state of France and the Holy Roman Empire, in the Middle Ages, the term Frank was used in the east as a synonym for western European, as the Franks were then rulers of most of Western Europe. The Franks in the east kept their Germanic language and became part of the Germans, Dutch, Flemings, the Franconian languages, which are called Frankisch in Dutch or Fränkisch in German, originated at least partly in the Old Frankish language of the Franks. Nowadays, the German and Dutch names for France are Frankreich and Frankrijk, respectively, the name Franci was originally socio-political. To the Romans, Celts, and Suebi, the Franks must have seemed alike, they looked the same and spoke the same language, so that Franci became the name by which the people were known. Within a few centuries it had eclipsed the names of the tribes, though the older names have survived in some place-names, such as Hesse. Following the precedents of Edward Gibbon and Jacob Grimm, the name of the Franks has been linked with the word frank in English and it has been suggested that the meaning of free was adopted because, after the conquest of Gaul, only Franks were free of taxation. It is traditionally assumed that Frank comes from the Germanic word for javelin, there is also another theory that suggests that Frank comes from the Latin word francisca meaning. Words in other Germanic languages meaning fierce, bold or insolent, eumenius addressed the Franks in the matter of the execution of Frankish prisoners in the circus at Trier by Constantine I in 306 and certain other measures, Ubi nunc est illa ferocia. Feroces was used often to describe the Franks, contemporary definitions of Frankish ethnicity vary both by period and point of view. According to their law and their custom, writing in 2009, Professor Christopher Wickham pointed out that the word Frankish quickly ceased to have an exclusive ethnic connotation. North of the River Loire everyone seems to have considered a Frank by the mid-7th century at the latest. Two early sources describe the origin of the Franks are a 7th-century work known as the Chronicle of Fredegar. Neither of these works are accepted by historians as trustworthy, compared with Gregory of Tourss Historia Francorum, the chronicle describes Priam as a Frankish king whose people migrated to Macedonia after the fall of Troy
9.
Lombards
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The Lombards or Longobards were a Germanic people who ruled large parts of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774. In the 1st century AD, they formed part of the Suebi, the Lombard king Audoin defeated the Gepid leader Thurisind in 551 or 552, his successor Alboin eventually destroyed the Gepids at the Battle of Asfeld in 567. The Lombards were joined by numerous Saxons, Heruls, Gepids, Bulgars, Thuringians, and Ostrogoths, by late 569 they had conquered all north of Italy and the principal cities north of the Po River except Pavia, which fell in 572. At the same time, they occupied areas in central Italy and they established a Lombard Kingdom in north and central Italy, later named Regnum Italicum, which reached its zenith under the 8th-century ruler Liutprand. In 774, the Kingdom was conquered by the Frankish King Charlemagne, however, Lombard nobles continued to rule southern parts of the Italian peninsula, well into the 11th century when they were conquered by the Normans and added to their County of Sicily. In this period, the part of Italy still under Longobardic domination was known by the name Langbarðaland in the Norse runestones. Their legacy is apparent in the regional name Lombardy. The fullest account of Lombard origins, history, and practices is the Historia Langobardorum of Paul the Deacon, pauls chief source for Lombard origins, however, is the 7th-century Origo Gentis Langobardorum. The Origo Gentis Langobardorum tells the story of a tribe called the Winnili dwelling in southern Scandinavia. The Winnili were split into three groups and one part left their land to seek foreign fields. The reason for the exodus was probably overpopulation, the departing people were led by the brothers Ybor and Aio and their mother Gambara and arrived in the lands of Scoringa, perhaps the Baltic coast or the Bardengau on the banks of the Elbe. Scoringa was ruled by the Vandals and their chieftains, the brothers Ambri and Assi, the Winnili were young and brave and refused to pay tribute, saying It is better to maintain liberty by arms than to stain it by the payment of tribute. The Vandals prepared for war and consulted Godan, who answered that he would give the victory to those whom he would see first at sunrise. The Winnili were fewer in number and Gambara sought help from Frea, at sunrise, Frea turned her husbands bed so that he was facing east, and woke him. So Godan spotted the Winnili first and asked, Who are these long-beards. and Frea replied, My lord, thou hast given them the name, from that moment onwards, the Winnili were known as the Longbeards. When Paul the Deacon wrote the Historia between 787 and 796 he was a Catholic monk and devoted Christian and he thought the pagan stories of his people silly and laughable. Paul explained that the name Langobard came from the length of their beards, a modern theory suggests that the name Langobard comes from Langbarðr, a name of Odin. Priester states that when the Winnili changed their name to Lombards, they changed their old agricultural fertility cult to a cult of Odin
10.
Charles Martel
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Charles Martel was a Frankish statesman and military leader who as Duke and Prince of the Franks and Mayor of the Palace, was de facto ruler of Francia from 718 until his death. After work to establish a unity in Gaul, Charles attention was called to foreign conflicts, apart from the military endeavours, Charles is considered to be a founding figure of the European Middle Ages. Moreover, Charles—a great patron of Saint Boniface—made the first attempt at reconciliation between the Franks and the Papacy. Pope Gregory III, whose realm was being menaced by the Lombards, wished Charles to become the defender of the Holy See and offered him the Roman consulship and he divided Francia between his sons Carloman and Pepin. The latter became the first of the Carolingians, Charles grandson, Charlemagne, extended the Frankish realms to include much of the West, and became the first Emperor in the West since the fall of Rome. Charles The Hammer Martel was the son of Pepin of Herstal and he had a brother named Childebrand, who later became the Frankish dux of Burgundy. In older historiography, it was common to describe Charles as illegitimate and this is still widely repeated in popular culture today. But, polygamy was a legitimate Frankish practice at the time and it is likely that the interpretation of illegitimacy is an idea derived of Pepins first wifes desire to see her progeny as heirs to Pepins power. After the reign of Dagobert I the Merovingians effectively ceded power to the Pippinids and they controlled the royal treasury, dispensed patronage, and granted land and privileges in the name of the figurehead king. Charles father, Pepin, was the member of the family to rule the Franks. Pepin was able to all the Frankish realms by conquering Neustria. He was the first to call himself Duke and Prince of the Franks, in December 714, Pepin of Herstal died. Prior to his death, he had, at his wife Plectrudes urging, designated Theudoald, his grandson by their late son Grimoald and this was immediately opposed by the nobles because Theudoald was a child of only eight years of age. To prevent Charles using this unrest to his own advantage, Plectrude had him imprisoned in Cologne and this prevented an uprising on his behalf in Austrasia, but not in Neustria. The Austrasians were not to be supporting a woman and a young child. Before the end of the year, Charles Martel had escaped from prison and that year, Dagobert III, a Merovingian, died and the Neustrians proclaimed Chilperic II, the cloistered son of Childeric II, as king. In 716, Chilperic and Ragenfrid together led an army into Austrasia, the Neustrians allied with another invading force under Radbod, King of the Frisians and met Charles in battle near Cologne, which was still held by Plectrude. Charles had little time to gather men, or prepare, the king and his mayor besieged Plectrude at Cologne, where she bought them off with a substantial portion of Pepins treasure
11.
Adelaide, Countess of Vermandois
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Adelaide of Vermandois was suo jure Countess of Vermandois and Valois and the last member of the Carolingian dynasty. Adelaide was the daughter of Herbert IV, Count of Vermandois and her brother was Eudes, Count of Vermandois, married to Hedwig. Later became Lord of Saint-Simon by marriage, Adelaide first married Hugh Magnus, son of the Capetian King Henry I of France and younger brother of Philip I of France. By this marriage she had one daughter, Margaret, who first married Charles I, Count of Flanders and second Hugh II, in 1102, Adelaide was succeeded by her son, Ralph I. Adelaide died in 1120 or 1124 and the Carolingian dynasty died out with her
12.
Holy Roman Emperor
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The Holy Roman Emperor was the ruler of the Holy Roman Empire. From an autocracy in Carolingian times the title evolved into an elected monarchy chosen by the Prince-electors, until the Reformation the Emperor elect was required to be crowned by the Pope before assuming the imperial title. The title was held in conjunction with the rule of the Kingdom of Germany, in theory, the Holy Roman Emperor was primus inter pares among the other Catholic monarchs, in practice, a Holy Roman Emperor was only as strong as his army and alliances made him. Various royal houses of Europe, at different times, effectively became hereditary holders of the title, after the Reformation many of the subject states and most of those in Germany were Protestant while the Emperor continued to be Catholic. The Holy Roman Empire was dissolved by the last Emperor as a result of the collapse of the polity during the Napoleonic wars, from the time of Constantine I the Roman emperors had, with very few exceptions, taken on a role as promoters and defenders of Christianity. In the west, the title of Emperor was revived in 800, as the power of the papacy grew during the Middle Ages, popes and emperors came into conflict over church administration. The best-known and most bitter conflict was known as the Investiture Controversy. After Charlemagne was crowned Emperor of the Romans by Pope Leo III, no pope appointed an emperor again until the coronation of Otto the Great in 962. Under Otto and his successors, much of the former Carolingian kingdom of Eastern Francia fell within the boundaries of the Holy Roman Empire, the various German princes elected one of their peers as King of the Germans, after which he would be crowned as emperor by the Pope. After Charles Vs coronation, all succeeding emperors were called elected Emperor due to the lack of papal coronation, the term sacrum in connection with the medieval Roman Empire was first used in 1157 under Frederick I Barbarossa. Charles V was the last Holy Roman Emperor to be crowned by the Pope, the final Holy Roman Emperor-elect, Francis II, abdicated in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars that saw the Empires final dissolution. The standard designation of the Holy Roman Emperor was August Emperor of the Romans, the word Holy had never been used as part of that title in official documents. In German-language historiography, the term Römisch-deutscher Kaiser is used to distinguish the title from that of Roman Emperor on one hand, the English term Holy Roman Emperor is a modern shorthand for emperor of the Holy Roman Empire not corresponding to the historical style or title. Successions to the kingship were controlled by a variety of complicated factors, elections meant the kingship of Germany was only partially hereditary, unlike the kingship of France, although sovereignty frequently remained in a dynasty until there were no more male successors. The Electoral council was set at seven princes by the Golden Bull of 1356, another elector was added in 1690, and the whole college was reshuffled in 1803, a mere three years before the dissolution of the Empire. After 1438, the Kings remained in the house of Habsburg and Habsburg-Lorraine, with the exception of Charles VII. Maximilian I and his successors no longer travelled to Rome to be crowned as Emperor by the Pope, Maximilian therefore named himself Elected Roman Emperor in 1508 with papal approval. This title was in use by all his uncrowned successors, of his successors only Charles V, the immediate one, received a papal coronation
13.
King of the Franks
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The Franks were originally led by dukes and reguli. The Salian Merovingians rose to dominance among the Franks and conquered most of Roman Gaul and they also conquered the Gaulish territory of the Visigothic Kingdom in 507. The sons of Clovis conquered the Burgundians and Alamanni and they acquired Provence and made the Bavarii and Thuringii their clients. The Merovingians were later replaced by a new dynasty called the Carolingians in the 8th century, by the end of the 9th century, the Carolingians themselves were replaced throughout much of their realm by other dynasties. The idea of a King of the Franks or Rex Francorum gradually disappeared over the 12th and 13th centuries. A timeline of Frankish rulers is difficult since the realm was, according to old Germanic practice, frequently divided among the sons of a leader upon his death and this list of early rulers is incomplete, as our sources leave open many gaps. He took his seat at Paris, which along with Soissons, Reims, Metz, upon his death, the kingdom was split among his four sons, Chlothar I eventually inherited all of the Frankish kingdoms after the deaths of his brothers or their successors. After his own death, the kingdom was again split among his four sons, Chlothar II defeated Brunhilda and her grandson. However, in 623, in order to appease particularistic forces and also to secure the borders and his son and successor, Dagobert I, emulated this move by appointing a sub-king for Aquitaine, with a seat at Toulouse, in 629 and Austrasia in 634. Theuderic III was recognized as king of all the Franks in 679, from then on, the kingdom of the Franks can be treated as a unity again for all but a very brief period of civil war. This is the period of the kings who were increasingly overshadowed by their mayors of the palace. The Carolingians were initially mayors of the palace under the Merovingian kings, first in Austrasia and later in Neustria, between 715 and 716, the descendants of Pippin disputed the succession. The Carolingians displaced the Merovingians as the ruling dynasty, however, following the emperors death in 840, the empire was plunged into a civil war that lasted three years. The Frankish kingdom was divided by the Treaty of Verdun in 843. Charles was confirmed in Aquitaine, where Pepin Is son Pepin II was opposing him, and granted West Francia, louis the German was confirmed in Bavaria and granted East Francia, the lands east of Lothairs kingdom
14.
King of the Lombards
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The Kings of the Lombards or reges Langobardorum were the monarchs of the Lombard people from the early 6th century until the Lombardic identity became lost in the 9th and 10th centuries. After 568, the Lombard kings sometimes styled themselves Kings of Italy, after 774, they were not Lombards, but Franks. The Iron Crown of Lombardy was used for the coronation of the Lombard kings, the primary sources for the Lombard kings before the Frankish conquest are the anonymous 7th-century Origo Gentis Langobardorum and the 8th-century Historia Langobardorum of Paul the Deacon. The earliest kings listed in the Origo are almost certainly legendary and they purportedly reigned during the Migration Period. The first ruler attested independently of Lombard tradition is Tato, the last ruling descendant of Lethuc was Walthari, whose son was in turn displaced by Audoin of the family of the Gausi. Lethuc, ruled for some 40 years
15.
King of Italy
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King of Italy was the title given to the ruler of the Kingdom of Italy after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The first to take the title was Odoacer, a military leader, in the late 5th century. With the Frankish conquest of Italy in the 8th century, the Carolingians assumed the title, the last Emperor to claim the title was Charles V in the 16th century. During this period, the holders of the title were crowned with the Iron Crown of Lombardy, although Napoleon I used the title from 1805 to 1814, it was not until the Unification of Italy in the 1860s that a Kingdom of Italy was restored. From 1861 the House of Savoy held the title as monarchs of the peninsula until the last King of Italy, Umberto II. After the deposition of the last Western Emperor in 476, Heruli leader Odoacer was appointed Dux Italiae by the reigning Byzantine Emperor Zeno. Later, the Germanic foederati, the Scirians and the Heruli, as well as a segment of the Italic Roman army. In 493, the Ostrogothic king Theoderic the Great killed Odoacer, Ostrogothic rule ended when Italy was reconquered by the Byzantine Empire in 552. In the 8th century, estrangement between the Italians and the Byzantines allowed the Lombards to capture the remaining Roman enclaves in northern Italy. However, in 774, they were defeated by the Franks under Charlemagne, after the death of Charles III the Fat in 887, Italy fell into instability and a number of kings attempted to establish themselves as independent Italian monarchs. During this period, known as the Feudal Anarchy, the title Rex Italicorum was introduced, after the breakup of the Frankish empire, Otto I added Italy to the Holy Roman Empire and continued the use of the title Rex Italicorum. The last to use this title was Henry II, subsequent emperors used the title king of Italy until Charles V. At first they were crowned in Pavia, later Milan, in 1805, Napoleon I was crowned with the Iron Crown of Lombardy at the Milan Cathedral. The next year, Holy Roman Emperor Francis II abdicated his imperial title, from the deposition of Napoleon I until the Italian Unification, there was no Italian monarch claiming the overarching title. The Risorgimento successfully established a dynasty, the House of Savoy, over the peninsula, uniting the kingdoms of Sardinia. The monarchy was superseded by the Italian Republic, after a referendum was held on 2 June 1946 after the World War II. The Italian monarchy formally ended on 12 June of that year, Guy of Spoleto opponent of Berengar, ruled most of Italy but was deposed by Arnulf. Lambert of Spoleto subking of his father Guy before 894, reduced to Spoleto 894–895, Arnulf of Carinthia Ratold In 896, Arnulf and Ratold lost control of Italy, which was divided between Berengar and Lambert, Berengar I seized Lamberts portion upon the latters death in 898
16.
King of East Francia
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This is a list of monarchs who ruled over the German territories of central Europe from the division of the Frankish Empire in 843, until the collapse of the German Empire in 1918. The Kingdom of Germany started out as the section of the Frankish kingdom. The rulers of the area thus called themselves rex Francorum, king of the Franks. The kings reacted by using the title rex Romanorum, King of the Romans. This title remained until the end of the Empire in 1806, the Kingdom of Germany was never entirely hereditary, rather, ancestry was only one of the factors that determined the succession of kings. The king was elected by the leading nobility in the realm. Gradually the election became the privilege of a group of princes called electors, in the Middle Ages, the king did not assume the title Emperor until crowned by the pope. Moving to Italy, he was usually first crowned with the Iron Crown of Lombardy, after which he assumed the title of rex Italiae, after this he would ride on to Rome and be crowned emperor by the pope. See Coronation of the Holy Roman Emperor for more details, maximilian I was the first king to bear the title of Elected Emperor. After the failure in 1508 of his attempt to march to Rome and be crowned by the pope and his successor Charles V also assumed that title after his coronation in 1520 until he was crowned emperor by the pope in 1530. From Ferdinand I onwards, all emperors were Elected Emperor, although they were referred to as emperors. At the same time, chosen successors of the held the title of king of the Romans. See King of the Romans for more details, rival kings, anti-kings, and junior co-regents are italicized. The title King of the Romans, used under the Holy Roman Empire, is considered equivalent to King of Germany, a king was chosen by the German electors and would then proceed to Rome to be crowned emperor by the pope
17.
Duchy of Aquitaine
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It originated in the 7th century as a duchy of Francia, ultimately a recreation of the Roman provinces of Aquitania Prima and Secunda. It reappeared as a duchy, and in the High Middle Ages and their claims in France triggered the Hundred Years War, in which the kingdom of France emerged victorious in the 1450s, with many incorporated areas coming to be ruled directly by the French kings. Gallia Aquitania fell under Visigothic rule in the 5th century and it was conquered by the Franks under Clovis I in 507, as a result of the Battle of Vouillé. During the 6th and early 7th century, it was direct rule of Frankish kings. Under Chlothar II, Aquitaine was again part of Francia. This subkingdom, consisting of Gascony and the fringe of Aquitaine proper, is conventionally known as Aquitaine. Charibert campaigned successfully against the Basques, but after his death in 632, the duchy of Aquitaine as a quasi-independent realm within the Frankish empire established itself during the second half of the 7th century, certainly by 700 under Odo the Great. The first duke is on record under the name of Felix, as his successor Lupus, he probably owed allegiance to the Frankish kings. Odo succeeded Lupus in 700 and signed a treaty with Charles Martel. He inflicted on the Moors a crushing defeat at the Battle of Toulouse in 721, however, Charles Martel coveted the southern realm, crossed the Loire in 731 and looted much of Aquitaine. Odo engaged the Franks in battle, but lost and came out weakened, soon after this battle, in 732, the Moors raided Vasconia and Aquitaine as far north as Poitiers and defeated Odo twice near Bordeaux. Odo saw no option but to invoke the aid of Charles Martel, Odo was succeeded by his son Hunald, who reverted to former independence, so defying the Frankish Mayor of the Palace Charles Martels authority. The Carolingian leader attacked Hunald twice in 735 and 736, but was unable to subdue the duke. Eventually, Hunald retired to a monastery, leaving both the kingdom and the conflict to Waifer, or Guaifer. For some years Waifer strenuously carried on a struggle with the Franks. As a consequence, male-preference primogeniture was the succession law for the nobility. The autonomous and troublesome duchy of Aquitaine was conquered by the Franks in 769, in order to avoid a new demonstration of Aquitain particularism, Charlemagne decided to organize the land within his kingdom. In 781, he made his son, Louis then 3 years of age
18.
King of Burgundy
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The following is a list of the kings of the two Kingdoms of Burgundy, and a number of related political entities devolving from Carolingian machinations over family relations. The Burgundians had left Bornholm c.300 and settled near the Vistula, jordanes relates that in this area they were thoroughly defeated by the Gepids in the 4th century and then moved to the Rhineland. Gebicca Gundomar I, son of Gebicca Giselher, son of Gebicca Gunther, Burgundy was divided between the brothers Charles the Bald, who received the smaller part, west of the river Saône. This entity was officially called regnum burgundiae, but since the King of France delegated administrations to dukes, the territory became known as the Duchy of Burgundy or Bourgogne. Lothair I received the part, east of the river Saône. The Burgundian territories were divided between, Lothair II, who received the parts, and Charles of Provence, who received the southern parts including Provence, Lyon. His realm was called the regnum provinciae, for the kings of Provence before its union with the rest of Burgundy, see the list of dukes, kings, counts, and margraves of Provence. Lothar II, 855–869 Lothar subsumed his portion of Burgundy into the Kingdom of Lotharingia and at his brother Charles death, when Lothar II died in 869, his realm was divided between his uncles Charles the Bald and Louis the German in the Treaty of Mersen. At first, he tried to reunite the realm of Lothar II, Rudolf I Rudolf II In 933 Rudolph ceded his claims to the Kingdom of Italy to Hugh of Arles and in return gained the Kingdom of Provence, thus reuniting the two territories. Conrad I Rudolph III In 1032 the Kingdom of Burgundy was incorporated into the Holy Roman Empire as a third kingdom, after the early death of Emperor Henry III, his widow Agnes of Poitou acted as Regent for his young son Henry IV. She made Rudolf von Rheinfelden duke of Swabia and also conferred on him the powers over Burgundy. However, when Rudolf was elected anti-king, Roman king Henry IV in 1079 stripped him of his powers and delegated them to the Prince-bishops of Lausanne and Sitten. Lacking a proper title, the Zähringer called themselves dukes and rectors of Burgundy, the royal chancellory however consistently avoided this term and the effective power of the rector was restricted to the possessions of the Zähringer east of the Jura. Any attempts to enforce the Zähringers claims and to royal authority into the western and southern parts of the kingdom failed. After these failures, Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa, gained a hold of the western districts in 1156 by marrying Beatrice. This success permanently confined the Zähringer between Jura and Alps, where they used their powers to expand their possessions. In 1218, Berthold V, Duke of Zähringen died without issue and this appointment was only of momentary importance and after Henry had been elected King of Germany in April 1220, the title disappeared for good. Also, the decline of power inside the kingdom of Burgundy remained irreversible
19.
Duke of Bavaria
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The following is a list of rulers during the history of Bavaria. Bavaria was ruled by dukes and kings, partitioned and reunited. Since 1949, Bavaria has been a state in the Federal Republic of Germany. The first duke we know of, and likely the first, was Gariwald, or Garibald I and this was the beginning of a series of Agilolfing dukes that was to last until 788. Carolingian dynasty The Kings of the Franks now assumed complete control, placing Bavaria under the rule of non-hereditary governors and they were not Dukes but rather Kings of Bavaria. The Emperor Louis the Pious divided control of the Empire among his sons, the Frankish rulers controlled Bavaria as part of their possessions. Luitpolding dynasty Luitpold, founder of the Luitpolding dynasty, was not a Duke of Bavaria, Frankish power had waned in the region due to Hungarian attacks, allowing the local rulers greater independence. Luitpolds son, Arnulf, claimed the title of Duke in 911, ottonian dynasty Salian dynasty From 947 until the 11th century, the kings of Germany repeatedly transferred Bavaria into different hands, never allowing any one family to establish itself. Bavaria was ruled by a series of short-lasting, mostly unrelated dynasties, houses of Welf and Babenberg In 1070, Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor deposed duke Otto, granting the duchy instead to Welf I, Duke of Bavaria, a member of the Italo-Bavarian family of Este. Welf I subsequently quarreled with King Henry and was deprived of his duchy for nineteen years, during which it was directly administered by the German crown. Welf I recovered the duchy in 1096, and was succeeded by his sons Welf II and Henry IX — the latter was succeeded by his son Henry X, Bavaria remained in the possession of various branches of the family until the First World War. In 1253, on Otto IIs death, Bavaria was divided between his sons, Henry became Duke of Lower Bavaria, and Louis of Upper Bavaria. From this point until the beginning of the 16th century, the territories were divided between brothers, making the Dukes difficult to list. In Lower Bavaria, Henry XIII was succeeded by his three sons, Otto III, Louis III, and Stephen I ruling jointly, Otto IIIs successor in the joint dukedom was his son Henry XV. Stephens successors were his sons Otto IV and Henry XIV, Henry XIVs son was John I. In Upper Bavaria, Louis II was succeeded by his sons Rudolf I, the latter was elected King of Germany in 1314. After John Is death in 1340, Louis IV unified the Bavarian duchy, the dukes of Upper Bavaria served also as Counts Palatinate of the Rhine. In 1329 Louis IV released the Palatinate of the Rhine including the Bavarian Upper Palatinate to the sons of Rudolf I, the Upper Palatinate would be reunited with Bavaria in 1623, the Lower Palatinate in 1777
20.
Count of Vermandois
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The Count of Vermandois was the ruler of the county of Vermandois. Beretrude daughter of previous and wife of Clotaire II, added Vermandois to the royal domain, Bernard, son of Charles Martel, abbot of St Quentin de Monte. Jerome brother of previous, count of Vermandois and abbot of St Quentin de Monte, fulrad son of previous, abbot of St Quentin de Monte. Guntard count of Vermandois and then abbot of St Quentin de Monte, Hugh, son of Charlemagne, abbot of St Quentin de Monte. Adelard son of Gisla, granddaughter of Charlemagne, count of Vermandois, baldwin Iron Arm abbot of St Quentin de Monte. Teutricius and then abbot of St Quentin de Monte or Theodoric Nibelung, Count of Vermandois, pepin I of Vermandois, son of Bernard, King of Italy Herbert I of Vermandois, also count of Senlis, son of previous. Herbert II, Count of Vermandois by marriage, lord of Péronne and St Quentin de Monte, albert I the Pious, Count of Vermandois, lord of Péronne and St Quentin de Monte, son of previous. In 964 he founded the monastery of St Quentin de Insula near Augusta Veruomanduorum, Herbert III, Count of Vermandois, son of previous. Albert II, Count of Vermandois, son of previous, otto, Count of Vermandois, brother of previous. Herbert IV, son of previous, Count of Vermandois and by marriage of Valois, odo I the Insane, Count of Vermandois and of Valois, son of previous, he was disinherited by the council of Barons of France and then he was lord of Saint-Simon by marriage. Adelaide, Countess of Vermandois and of Valois, sister of previous, Hugh the Great, Count of Vermandois and of Valois, by marriage, son of Henry I and Anne of Kiev. Ralph I the Valiant, also known as Le Borgne, Count of Vermandois and of Valois, Ralph II, Count of Vermandois and of Valois, son of Raoul I and of Petronilla of Aquitaine. Elisabeth, Countess of Vermandois and of Valois, daughter of Ralph I and of Petronilla of Aquitaine, Philip of Alsace, Count of Vermandois and of Valois by marriage, Count of Flanders. Louis de Bourbon, comte de Vermandois, illegitimate son of Louis XIV, Vermandois Anselme, Histoire Genealogique de la Maison royale de France,1726. M. Fouquier-Cholet, Histoire des Comtes héréditaires du Vermandois, Saint-Quentin,1832, Louis Moreri, Le Gran Dictionnaire Historique, Paris, 1743–1749
21.
Counts and dukes of Valois
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The Valois, originally pagus valensis, was a region in the valley of the Oise river in Picardy in the north of France. It was a fief in West Francia and subsequently the Kingdom of France until its counts furnished a line of kings, House of Valois, the medieval county and duchy of Valois was located in northern France in northeastern Île-de-France. Pepin I or Pepin, Count of Vermandois and Valois, son of Bernard, Pepin II or son of previous, count of Vermandois and Valois. Pepin III son of previous, count of Valois, Adela daughter of previous, countess of Valois, wife of Waleran II, count of Vexin and Amiens. Herbert IV, Count of Vermandois and also count of Valois by marriage with Adela or Alix, daughter of Raoul II count of Vexin and Valois. Eudes I the Insane, Count of Vermandois and of Valois, son of previous, he was disinheredited by the council of Barons of France, adelaide sister of previous, countess of Vermandois and Valois, wife of Hugh Magnus. Hugh I the Great, Count of Vermandois and of Valois, son of Henry I, Raoul I the Valiant, also known as Le Borgne, Count of Vermandois and of Valois, son of previous. Hugh II, Count of Vermandois and of Valois, son of Raoul I, Raoul II, Count of Vermandois and of Valois, son of Raoul I and of Petronilla of Aquitaine. Histoire des comtes héréditaires de Vermandois, Saint-Quentin,1832, moreri, Louis, Le Grand Dictionnaire Historique, Paris, 1743–1749. Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Valois, Counts and Dukes of
22.
Palace of Aachen
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The Palace of Aachen was a group of buildings with residential, political and religious purposes chosen by Charlemagne to be the centre of power of the Carolingian Empire. The palace was located at the north of the current city of Aachen, most of the Carolingian palace was built in the 790s but the works went on until Charlemagnes death in 814. The plans, drawn by Odo of Metz, were part with the programme of renovation of the kingdom decided by the ruler, in ancient times, the Romans chose the site of Aachen for its thermal springs and its forward position towards Germania. The site, called Aquae Granni, was equipped with 50 acres of thermae that remained in use from the 1st to the 4th century, the Roman city grew in connection with the thermae according to a classical grid plan similar to that of Roman legions camps. A palace was used to accommodate the governor of the province or the Emperor, in the 4th century, the city and the palace were destroyed during the Barbarian invasions. Clovis made Paris the capital of the Frankish Kingdom, and Aachen Palace was abandoned until the advent of the Carolingian dynasty, the Pippinid Mayors of the Palace carried out some restoration works, but it was at the time only one residence among others. The Frankish court was itinerant and the rulers moved according to the circumstances, around 765, Pepin the Short had a palace erected over the remains of the old Roman building, he had the thermae restored and removed its pagan idols. As soon as he came to power in 768, Charlemagne spent time in Aachen as well as in other villas in Austrasia, in the 790s, he decided to settle down in order to govern his kingdom, then his empire more efficiently. The site of Aachen was chosen by Charlemagne after careful consideration in a key moment of his reign, since his advent as King of the Franks, Charlemagne had led numerous military expeditions that had both filled his treasury and enlarged his realm, most notably towards the East. He conquered pagan Saxony in 772–780, but this area resisted, Charlemagne ended the Germanic custom of an itinerant court moving from place to place and established a real capital. As he was ageing, he decreased the frequency of military expeditions and, after 806, from then, Charlemagne left the administration of the Southern regions to his son Louis, named King of Aquitaine, which enabled him to reside in the North. Besides, settling down in Aachen enabled Charlemagne to control from closer the operations in Saxony, Charlemagne also considered other advantages of the place, surrounded with forest abounding in game, he intended to abandon himself to hunting in the area. The ageing emperor could also benefit from Aachens hot springs, the scholars of the Carolingian era presented Charlemagne as the New Constantine, in this context, he needed a capital and a palace worthy of the name. He left Rome to the Pope, the rivalry with the Byzantine Empire led Charlemagne to build a magnificent palace. The fire that destroyed his palace in Worms in 793 also encouraged him to such a plan. Historians know almost nothing about the architect of the Palace of Aachen and his name appears in the works of Eginhard, Charlemagnes biographer. He is supposed to have been a cleric, familiar with liberal arts. He had probably read Vitruvius treatise on architecture, De Architectura, the decision to build the palace was taken in the late 780s or the early 790s, before Charlemagne held the title of emperor
23.
Charles the Bald
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Charles the Bald was the King of West Francia, King of Italy and Holy Roman Emperor. After a series of wars during the reign of his father, Louis the Pious. He was a grandson of Charlemagne and the youngest son of Louis the Pious by his second wife and he was born on 13 June 823 in Frankfurt, when his elder brothers were already adults and had been assigned their own regna, or subkingdoms, by their father. The attempts made by Louis the Pious to assign Charles a subkingdom, first Alemannia, at a diet in Aachen in 837, Louis the Pious bade the nobles do homage to Charles as his heir. Pepin of Aquitaine died in 838, whereupon Charles at last received that kingdom, which angered Pepins heirs, the death of the emperor in 840 led to the outbreak of war between his sons. In the following year, the two confirmed their alliance by the celebrated Oaths of Strasbourg. The war was brought to an end by the Treaty of Verdun in August 843, Louis received the eastern part of the Carolingian Empire, known then as East Francia and later as Germany. Lothair retained the title and the Kingdom of Italy. He also received the regions from Flanders through the Rhineland. The first years of Charless reign, up to the death of Lothair I in 855, were comparatively peaceful, during these years the three brothers continued the system of confraternal government, meeting repeatedly with one another, at Koblenz, at Meerssen, and at Attigny. In 858, Louis the German, invited by disaffected nobles eager to oust Charles, Charles was so unpopular that he was unable to summon an army, and he fled to Burgundy. He was saved only by the support of the bishops, who refused to crown Louis the German king, and by the fidelity of the Welfs, in 860, he in his turn tried to seize the kingdom of his nephew, Charles of Provence, but was repulsed. On the death of his nephew Lothair II in 869, Charles tried to seize Lothairs dominions, besides these family disputes, Charles had to struggle against repeated rebellions in Aquitaine and against the Bretons. Led by their chiefs Nomenoë and Erispoë, who defeated the king at the Battle of Ballon and the Battle of Jengland, the Bretons were successful in obtaining a de facto independence. Charles also fought against the Vikings, who devastated the country of the north, the valleys of the Seine and Loire, at the Vikings successful siege and sack of Paris in 845 and several times thereafter Charles was forced to purchase their retreat at a heavy price. By the same edict, he ordered fortified bridges to be put up at all rivers to block the Viking incursions, two of these bridges at Paris saved the city during its siege of 885–886. In 875, after the death of the Emperor Louis II, Charles the Bald, supported by Pope John VIII, traveled to Italy, receiving the crown at Pavia. Louis the German, also a candidate for the succession of Louis II, revenged himself by invading and devastating Charles dominions, and Charles had to return hastily to West Francia
24.
House of Capet
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The House of Capet or the Direct Capetians, also called the House of France, or simply the Capets, ruled the Kingdom of France from 987 to 1328. It was the most senior line of the Capetian dynasty – itself a derivative dynasty from the Robertians, historians in the 19th century came to apply the name Capetian to both the ruling house of France and to the wider-spread male-line descendants of Hugh Capet. It was not a contemporary practice and they were sometimes called the third race of kings, the Merovingians being the first, and the Carolingians being the second. The name is derived from the nickname of Hugh, the first Capetian King, the direct succession of French kings, father to son, from 987 to 1316, of thirteen generations in almost 330 years, was unparallelled in recorded history. The direct line of the House of Capet came to an end in 1328, with the death of Charles IV, the throne passed to the House of Valois, descended from a younger brother of Philip IV. He then proceeded to make it hereditary in his family, by securing the election and coronation of his son, Robert II, the throne thus passed securely to Robert on his fathers death, who followed the same custom – as did many of his early successors. Louis VIII – the eldest son and heir of Philip Augustus – married Blanche of Castile, a granddaughter of Aliénor of Aquitaine and Henry II of England. In her name, he claimed the crown of England, invading at the invitation of the English Barons and these lands were added to the French crown, further empowering the Capetian family. Louis IX – Saint Louis – succeeded Louis VIII as a child, unable to rule for several years, the government of the realm was undertaken by his mother, at the death of Louis IX, France under the Capetians stood as the pre-eminent power in Western Europe. Unfortunately for the Capetians, the proved a failure. Philip IV had married Jeanne, the heiress of Navarre and Champagne, by this marriage, he added these domains to the French crown. More importantly to French history, he summoned the first Estates General – in 1302 – and in 1295 established the so-called Auld Alliance with the Scots and it was Philip IV who presided over the beginning of his Houses end. The first quarter of the century saw each of Philips sons reign in rapid succession, Louis X, Philip V, accordingly, Louis – unwilling to release his wife and return to their marriage – needed to remarry. He arranged a marriage with his cousin, Clementia of Hungary and this proved the case, but the boy – King John I, known as the Posthumous – died after only 5 days, leaving a succession crisis. Eventually, it was decided based on several reasons that Joan was ineligible to inherit the throne, which passed to the Count of Poitiers. Marie died in 1324, giving birth to a stillborn son, the last of the direct Capetians were the daughters of Philip IVs three sons, and Philip IVs daughter, Isabella. Since they were female, they could not transmit their Capetian status to their descendants, the wife of Edward II of England, Isabella overthrew her husband in favour of her son and her co-hort, only for Edward III to execute Mortimer and have Isabella removed from power. Joan, the daughter of Louis X, succeeded on the death of Charles IV to the throne of Navarre, she now being – questions of paternity aside – the unquestioned heiress
25.
Pepin of Landen
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Pepin I of Landen, also called the Elder or the Old, was the Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia under the Merovingian king Dagobert I from 623 to 629. He was also the mayor for Sigebert III from 639 until his death, pepins father is named Carloman by the Chronicle of Fredegar, the chief source for his life. His byname comes from his birthplace, Landen, modern Belgium. However, according to Godefroid Kurth, it was only in the century that the chroniclers of Brabant began to associate him with that locality. He is sometimes called Pepin I and his other nicknames come from his position at the head of the called the Pippinids after him. He was lord of a part of Brabant, and governor of Austrasia. King of that country was defeated by Theodoric II, king of Burgundy, chief among these leading men were Warnachar II, Rado, Arnulf, and Pepin. The latter two were described by Fredegar as the two most powerful barons of Austrasia and they made agreement with Chlothar at Andernach. Arnulf, his friend, was appointed adviser to the new king alongside him. Pepin was praised by his contemporaries for his government and wise counsel. Sigeberts share of the inheritance was amicably surrendered, partly because of the friendship between Pepin and the Burgundian mayor of the palace, Aega. Pepin and Arnulfs successor as chief counselor to the king, Cunibert, Bishop of Cologne, received the treasure at Compiègne and he was so popular in Austrasia that, though he was never canonized, he was listed as a saint in some martyrologies. His feast day was 21 February, the Fourth Book of the Chronicle of Fredegar with its Continuations
26.
Childebert the Adopted
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Childebert III the Adopted was a Frankish king. Childebert was a son of the Mayor of the Palace Grimoald the Elder and he was thus a grandson of Pepin of Landen. He was adopted by King Sigebert III and Queen Chimnechild, when Sigebert III died in 656, Grimoald had Sigebert’s biological son Dagobert II shorn of hair and sent him to an Irish monastery and then proclaimed Childebert king of Austrasia. Grimoald, Childebert and Ansegisel were finally seized and turned over to the king of Neustria, Clovis II, there are two differing accounts of his death, however. Either Clovis and his mayor of the palace, Erchinoald, captured and executed him in 657 or Chlothar III annexed Austrasia in 661, deposing the young usurper, the family reappeared in politics with the rise of Ansegisel’s son, Pepin of Herstal
27.
Arnulf of Metz
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Saint Arnulf of Metz was a Frankish bishop of Metz and advisor to the Merovingian court of Austrasia, who retired to the Abbey of Remiremont. In French he is known as Arnoul or Arnoulf, in English he is also known as Arnold. Shortly after 800, most likely in Metz, a genealogy of the Carolingians was compiled, modelled in style after the genealogy of Jesus in the New Testament. According to this source, Arnulfs father was a certain Arnoald, who in turn was the son of a nobilissimus Ansbertus and Blithilt and this claim of royal Merovingian descent is not confirmed by the contemporary reference in the Vita Sancti Arnulfi. However, under Salic Law, no children of Blithilde would be recognized as heirs to the dynasty. Therefore, the connection may or may not have been noted in relevant documentation, J. Depoin in Grand Figures Monacales Du Temps Merovingiens. David Humiston Kelley then proposed that Arnoaldus was likely an ancestor of the Carolingians through a daughter Itta, christian Settipani carefully revisited and expanded upon the work of Depoin and Kelley. Kelly considered Settipanis proposed connection between the Carolingians and Arnoald and regarded it as probable, Arnulf was born to an important Frankish family near Nancy in Lorraine around 582. The family owned vast domains between the Mosel and Meuse rivers, as an adolescent, he was called to the Merovingian court of king Theudebert II of Austrasia where he was educated by Gondulf of Provence. Arnulf was later sent to serve as dux at the Schelde, Arnulf gave distinguished service at the Austrasian court under Theudebert II. He distinguished himself both as a commander and in the civil administration, at one time he had under his care six distinct provinces. Arnulf was married ca 596 to a noblewoman whom later sources give the name of Dode or Doda, chlodulf of Metz was their oldest son, but more important is his second son Ansegisel, who married Begga daughter of Pepin I, Pippin of Landen. Arnulf is thus the grandfather of Pepin of Herstal, great-grandfather of Charles Martel. After his wife took the veil as a nun in a convent at Treves, Arnulf saw it as a sign of God and became a priest and bishop afterwards. The rule of Austrasia came into the hands of Brunhilda, the grandmother of Theudebert, in 613 Arnulf joined his politics with Pippin of Landen and led the opposition of Frankish nobles against Queen Brunhilda. The revolt led to her overthrow, torture, and eventual execution, and he and his friend Romaricus, likewise an officer of the court, planned to make a pilgrimage to the Abbey of Lérins. Chlothachar, who appreciated Arnulfs administrative skills, offered him the vacant see of Metz, Arnulf continued to serve the kings steward and courtier. Chlothachar later made his son Dagobert I king of Austrasia, which he ruled with the help of his adviser Arnulf, Pippin of Landen, became the Mayor of the Palace
28.
Pepin of Herstal
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Pepin II, commonly known as Pepin of Herstal, was a Frankish statesman and military leader who de facto ruled Francia as the Mayor of the Palace from 680 until his death. He took the title Duke and Prince of the Franks upon his conquest of all the Frankish realms, the son of the powerful Frankish statesman, Ansegisel, Pepin worked to establish his family, the Pippinids, as the strongest in Francia. He was able to realise his dreams by becoming Mayor of the Palace in Austrasia in 680, Pepin subsequently embarked on several wars to expand his power. He united all the Frankish realms by the conquests of Neustria, in foreign conflicts, Pepin increased the power of the Franks by his subjugation of the Alemanni, the Frisians, and the Franconians. He also began the process of evangelisation in Germany, Pepins statesmanship was notable for the further diminution of Merovingian royal authority, and for the acceptance of the undisputed right to rule for his family. Therefore, Pepin was able to name as heir his grandson Theudoald, but this was not accepted by his powerful son Charles Martel, leading to a civil war after his death in which the latter emerged victorious. Pepin, sometimes called Pepin II and Pepin the Middle, was the grandson and namesake of Pepin I the Elder through the marriage of Pepin Is daughter Begga to Ansegisel and he was also the grandfather of Pepin the Short and great-grandfather of Charlemagne. That marriage united the two houses of the Pippinids and the Arnulfings which created what would be called the Carolingian dynasty, Pepin II was probably born in Herstal, modern Belgium, whence his byname. As mayor of Austrasia, Pepin and Martin, the duke of Laon, fought the Neustrian mayor Ebroin, who had designs on all Francia. Ebroin defeated the Austrasians at Lucofao and came close to uniting all the Franks under his rule, however, he was assassinated in 681, Pepin immediately made peace with his successor, Waratton. However, Warattons successor, Berthar, and the Neustrian king Theuderic III, the king and his mayor were decisively defeated at the Battle of Tertry in the Vermandois in 687. Berthar and Theuderic withdrew themselves to Paris, where Pepin followed, Pepin was created mayor in all three Frankish kingdoms and began calling himself Duke and Prince of the Franks. In the ensuing quarrels, Berthar killed his mother-in-law Ansfled and fled and his wife Anstrude married Pepins eldest son Drogo, Duke of Champagne, and Pepins place in Neustria was secured. Over the next years, Pepin subdued the Alemanni, Frisians. He also began the evangelisation of Germania, in 695, he placed Drogo in the Burgundian mayorship and his other son, Grimoald, in the Neustrian one. Around 670, Pepin had married Plectrude, who had inherited substantial estates in the Moselle region and she was the mother of Drogo of Champagne and Grimoald II, both of whom died before their father. However, Pepin also had a mistress named Alpaida who bore him two sons, Charles Martel and Childebrand. Just before Pepins death, Plectrude convinced him to disinherit the sons he had with his second wife Alpaida in favour of his grandson, Theudoald, Pepin died suddenly at an old age on 16 December 714, at Jupille
29.
Drogo of Champagne
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Drogo, son of Pepin the Middle and Plectrude, was the duke of Champagne by appointment of his father in 690 and duke of Burgundy from the death of Nordebert in 697. He was the mayor of the palace of Burgundy from 695 and he married Anstrude, the daughter of Ansflede and Waratton, the former mayor of the palace of Neustria and Burgundy, and also the widow of the mayor of the palace Berthar. They had four sons, Hugh, Arnulf, Godfrey, drogo predeceased his father and left the duchy of Champagne to his second-eldest son Arnulf, as the first born Hugh had entered a monastery. Drogo is buried in Metz in Saint-Pierre-aux-Nonnains, roman dAmat and R. Limousin-Lamothe, edd
30.
Carloman (mayor of the palace)
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Carloman was the eldest son of Charles Martel, majordomo or mayor of the palace and duke of the Franks, and his wife Chrotrud of Treves. On Charless death, Carloman and his brother Pepin the Short succeeded to their fathers legal positions, Carloman in Austrasia, and Pepin in Neustria. He was a member of the later called the Carolingians. After the death of his father, power was not initially divided to include Grifo, another of Charless sons and this was per Charles wishes, though Grifo demanded a portion of the realm from his brothers, who refused him. Unlike most medieval instances of fraternal power sharing, Carloman and Pepin for seven years seemed at least willing to work together, certainly, Carloman joined Pepin against Hunald of Aquitaines rising in 742 and again in 745. Carloman was instrumental in convening the Concilium Germanicum in 742, the first major synod of the Catholic Church to be held in the regions of the Frankish kingdom. His father had frequently confiscated church property to reward his followers, by 742 the Carolingians were wealthy enough to pay their military retainers and support the Church. For Carloman, a religious man, it was a duty of love. Both saw the necessity of strengthening the ties between their house and the Church, Carloman donated the land for one of Bonifaces most important foundations, the monastery of Fulda. Despite his piety, Carloman could be ruthless towards real or perceived opponents and these actions strengthened Carlomans position, and that of the family as a whole, especially in terms of their rivalries with other leading barbarian families such as the Bavarian Agilolfings. On 15 August 747, Carloman renounced his position as majordomo and withdrew to a monastic life, Carloman founded a monastery on Monte Soratte and then went to Monte Cassino. All sources from the period indicate that he believed his calling was the Church and he withdrew to Monte Cassino and spent most of the remainder of his life there, presumably in meditation and prayer. His son, Drogo, demanded from Pepin the Short his fathers share of the family patrimony, seven years after Carlomans retirement and on the eve of his death, he once more stepped briefly on the public stage. In 754, Pope Stephen II had begged Pepin, now king, to come to his aid against the king of the Lombards, Carloman left Monte Cassino to visit his brother to ask him not to march on Italy. Pippin was unmoved, and imprisoned Carloman in Vienne, where he died on 17 August and he was buried in Monte Cassino. The Long Shadow of the Merovingians in, Charlemagne, Empire and Society, ed. Joanna Story
31.
Pepin the Short
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Pepin the Short was the King of the Franks from 751 until his death. He was the first of the Carolingians to become king, the younger son of the Frankish prince Charles Martel and his wife Rotrude, Pepins upbringing was distinguished by the ecclesiastical education he had received from the monks of St. Denis. Succeeding his father as the Mayor of the Palace in 741, Pepin ruled in Neustria, Burgundy, and Provence, while his brother Carloman established himself in Austrasia, Alemannia and Thuringia. The brothers were active in suppressing revolts led by the Bavarians, Aquitanians, Saxons, in 743, they ended the Frankish interregnum by choosing Childeric III, who was to be the last Merovingian monarch, as figurehead king of the Franks. After Carloman, who was a pious man, retired to religious life in 747. He suppressed a revolt led by his half-brother Grifo, and succeeded in becoming the master of all Francia. Giving up pretense, Pepin then forced Childeric into a monastery and had himself proclaimed king of the Franks with support of Pope Zachary in 751. The decision was not supported by all members of the Carolingian family and Pepin had to put down a revolt led by Carlomans son, Drogo, as King, Pepin embarked on an ambitious program to expand his power. He reformed the legislation of the Franks and continued the reforms of Boniface. Pepin also intervened in favour of the Papacy of Stephen II against the Lombards in Italy and he was able to secure several cities, which he then gave to the Pope as part of the Donation of Pepin. This formed the basis for the Papal States in the Middle Ages. The Byzantines, keen to make good relations with the power of the Frankish empire. Pepin was, however, troubled by the revolts of the Saxons. He campaigned tirelessly in Germany, but the final subjugation of tribes was left to his successors. Pepin died in 768 and was succeeded by his sons Charlemagne, although unquestionably one of the most powerful and successful rulers of his time, Pepins reign is largely overshadowed by that of his more famous son. Pepins father Charles Martel died in 741, Grifo, Charless son by his second wife, Swanahild, demanded a share in the inheritance, but he was imprisoned in a monastery by his two half-brothers. In the Frankish realm the unity of the kingdom was connected with the person of the king. So Carloman, to secure this unity, raised the Merovingian Childeric to the throne, then in 747 Carloman either resolved to or was pressured into entering a monastery
32.
Carloman I
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Carloman I, also Karlmann was king of the Franks from 768 until his death in 771. He was the surviving son of Pepin the Short and Bertrada of Laon and was a younger brother of Charlemagne. Little is known of him, except such as touches upon his famous father and brother. Carloman and Charlemagne each inherited a half of the Kingdom of the Franks upon Pepins death, Carlomans reign proved short and troublesome. The brothers shared possession of Aquitaine, which broke into rebellion upon the death of Pepin the Short, the two quarreled at Moncontour, near Poitiers, and Carloman withdrew. This, it had suggested, was an attempt to undermine Charlemagnes power. Charlemagne crushed the rebels, whilst Carlomans behaviour had damaged his own standing amongst the Franks, relations between the two then degenerated further, requiring the mediation of their mother, Bertrada, who appears to have favoured Charlemagne, with whom she would live out her widowhood. In 770, his mother Bertrada began a series of diplomatic offensive to encircle Carloman and these maneuvers had been favorable to the Franks in general, but posed serious threats to Carlomans position. Carlomans position was rescued, however, by Charlemagnes sudden repudiation of his Lombard wife, Desiderius, outraged and humiliated, appears to have made an alliance with Carloman in opposition to Charlemagne and the Papacy, which took the opportunity to declare itself against the Lombards. Carloman died on 4 December 771, at the Villa of Samoussy, at the time of his death, he and his brother Charlemagne were close to outright war, which Charlemagnes biographer Einhard attributes to the miscounsel of Carlomans advisors. Carloman was buried in Reims, but he was reburied in the Basilique Saint-Denis in the 13th century, Carloman had married a beautiful Frankish woman, Gerberga, who according to Pope Stephen III was chosen for him, together with Charlemagnes concubine, Himiltrude, by Pepin the Short. With Gerberga he had two sons, the older of whom was named Pepin after his grandfather, marking him according to Carolingian tradition as the heir of Carloman, and of Pepin the Short. Despite their difficult relationship, and the events following Carlomans death and this had, perhaps, been a public gesture to honour the memory of the boys uncle, and to quell any rumours about Charlemagnes treatment of his nephews. If so, it was away in 781, when Charlemagne had his son renamed as Pepin. He had several children with Gerberga, Pepin, Prince of the Franks unknown son Kunigunde or Auberge Ida, m. Eckbert II, count of Mersebourg Charles, Illegitimate Carloman, Illegitimate
33.
Charlemagne
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Charlemagne or Charles the Great, numbered Charles I, was the King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774 and Emperor of the Romans from 800. He united much of Europe during the early Middle Ages and he was the first recognised emperor in western Europe since the fall of the Western Roman Empire three centuries earlier. The expanded Frankish state which Charlemagne founded was called the Carolingian Empire, Charlemagne was the oldest son of Pepin the Short and Bertrada of Laon. He became king in 768 following his fathers death, initially as co-ruler with his brother Carloman I, carlomans sudden death in 771 in unexplained circumstances left Charlemagne as the undisputed ruler of the Frankish Kingdom. He continued his fathers policy towards the papacy and became its protector, removing the Lombards from power in northern Italy and he campaigned against the Saxons to his east, Christianising them upon penalty of death and leading to events such as the Massacre of Verden. Charlemagne reached the height of his power in 800 when he was crowned Emperor of the Romans by Pope Leo III on Christmas Day at Old St. Peters Basilica. Charlemagne has been called the Father of Europe, as he united most of Western Europe for the first time since the Roman Empire and his rule spurred the Carolingian Renaissance, a period of energetic cultural and intellectual activity within the Western Church. All Holy Roman Emperors considered their kingdoms to be descendants of Charlemagnes empire, up to the last Emperor Francis II and these and other machinations led to the eventual split of Rome and Constantinople in the Great Schism of 1054. Charlemagne died in 814, having ruled as emperor for thirteen years and he was laid to rest in his imperial capital of Aachen in what is today Germany. He married at least four times and had three sons, but only his son Louis the Pious survived to succeed him. By the 6th century, the western Germanic Franks had been Christianised, Francia, ruled by the Merovingians, was the most powerful of the kingdoms that succeeded the Western Roman Empire. Following the Battle of Tertry the Merovingians declined into powerlessness, for which they have dubbed the rois fainéants. Almost all government powers were exercised by their chief officer, the mayor of the palace, in 687, Pepin of Herstal, mayor of the palace of Austrasia, ended the strife between various kings and their mayors with his victory at Tertry. He became the governor of the entire Frankish kingdom. Pepin was the grandson of two important figures of the Austrasian Kingdom, Saint Arnulf of Metz and Pepin of Landen, Pepin of Herstal was eventually succeeded by his illegitimate son Charles, later known as Charles Martel. After 737, Charles governed the Franks in lieu of a king, Charles was succeeded in 741 by his sons Carloman and Pepin the Short, the father of Charlemagne. In 743, the brothers placed Childeric III on the throne to curb separatism in the periphery and he was the last Merovingian king. Carloman resigned office in 746, preferring to enter the church as a monk, Pepin brought the question of the kingship before Pope Zachary, asking whether it was logical for a king to have no royal power
34.
Pepin the Hunchback
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Pepin, or Pippin, the Hunchback was the eldest son of Charlemagne. Born to the Frankish noblewoman Himiltrude, Pepin probably developed kyphosis after birth and he lived with his fathers court even after Charlemagne dismissed his mother and took another wife, Hildegard. Around 781, Pepins half brother Carloman was rechristened as Pepin of Italy—a step that may have signaled Charlemagnes decision to disinherit the elder Pepin, for a variety of possible reasons. In 792, Pepin the Hunchback revolted against his father with a group of leading Frankish nobles, Charlemagne commuted Pepins death sentence, having him tonsured and exiled to the monastery of Prüm instead. Since his death in 811, Pepin has been the subject of works of historical fiction. The circumstances of Pepins birth remain unclear to modern scholars, especially regarding the legitimacy of his mothers union to Charles, most Carolingian-era sources dismiss Charless first union as illegitimate. The contemporary historian Einhard writes merely that Pepin was born to a concubine, although it is possible that Pepin was born to a now-forgotten concubine, Einhard is probably referring to Himiltrude—the first child-bearing partner of Charlemagne, about whom little is now known. These writers may have maligned Charless union to Himiltrude after the fact, after Charles ignored Stephenss advice and married the Lombard princess Desiderata, the story of Himiltrude might have been altered and forgotten. Or, perhaps, Charless resentment over a deformed son led him to divorce Himiltrude once an opportune, yet another possibility is that, when Pepins hunchback became evident, stories needed to change to accommodate a different heir. What we do know fairly certainly is that Charles fathered a son with a woman named Himiltrude, the nature of Pepins birth is further illuminated by an understanding of his name and the customs of naming present during this time. Carolingian aristocrats frequently named newborn children after successful ancestors and this tradition was more than a mere homage to dead relatives—it seems that the Carolingians saw naming customs as a way to help children assume the historical roles of their eponymous ancestors. Charlemagnes dynasty was dominated by the name Pepin, it had been Charless fathers name, in fact, Charless brother and political rival Carloman named his firstborn Pepin before Charles was even married. Charles, then, was inclined to name his first son Pepin—announcing his own dynastic ambitions. However, Notker the Stammerer, writing long after Pepins death, suggests that it was Himiltrude, and not Charles, Pepin apparently continued to live at his fathers court even after Charlemagne dismissed Pepins mother Himiltrude to marry Desiderata, the daughter of the Lombard king, around 770. Only after Charlemagnes marriage to Hildegard, and the birth of new male heirs like Charles the Younger and Carloman, in either 780 or 781, Charles had the young Carloman baptized by Pope Hadrian in Rome, renaming him Pepin. Charles had added another, more fit Pepin to his lineage—an apparent snub that many historians have interpreted as the beginning of Pepin the Hunchbacks disinheritance. Charlemagne was extremely conscious of the notions of succession and inheritance during his lifetime and this quirk scandalized later contemporary historians and probably reflects Charless reluctance to leave problematic heirs that could interfere with a peaceful succession after his death. Even after Carloman was rechristened Pepin, Charlemagne maintained the older Pepin at his court, right alongside Charles the Younger, one of Charlemagnes sons by Hildegard
35.
Louis the Pious
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Louis the Pious, also called the Fair, and the Debonaire, was the King of Aquitaine from 781. He was also King of the Franks and co-Emperor with his father, Charlemagne, during his reign in Aquitaine, Louis was charged with the defence of the empires southwestern frontier. He conquered Barcelona from the Muslims in 801 and asserted Frankish authority over Pamplona, as emperor he included his adult sons, Lothair, Pepin, and Louis, in the government and sought to establish a suitable division of the realm among them. In the 830s his empire was torn by war between his sons, only exacerbated by Louiss attempts to include his son Charles by his second wife in the succession plans. Though his reign ended on a note, with order largely restored to his empire. Louis is generally compared unfavourably to his father, though the problems he faced were of a different sort. He was the son of Charlemagne by his wife Hildegard. His grandfather was King Pepin the Younger, Louis was crowned King of Aquitaine as a child in 781 and sent there with regents and a court. Charlemagne wanted his son Louis to grow up in the area where he was to reign, Charlemagnes intention was to see all his sons brought up as natives of their given territories, wearing the national costume of the region and ruling by the local customs. Thus were the children sent to their respective realms at so young an age, each kingdom had its importance in keeping some frontier, Louiss was the Spanish March. In 797, Barcelona, the greatest city of the Marca, fell to the Franks when Zeid, its governor, rebelled against Córdoba and, failing, the Umayyad authority recaptured it in 799. Louis campaigned in the Italian Mezzogiorno against the Beneventans at least once, Louis was one of Charlemagnes three legitimate sons to survive infancy. He had a brother, Lothair who died during infancy. According to Frankish custom, Louis had expected to share his inheritance with his brothers, Charles the Younger, King of Neustria, to Louiss kingdom of Aquitaine, he added Septimania, Provence, and part of Burgundy. However, Charlemagnes other legitimate sons died – Pepin in 810 and Charles in 811 –, on his fathers death in 814, he inherited the entire Frankish kingdom and all its possessions. While at his villa of Doué-la-Fontaine, Anjou, Louis received news of his fathers death and he rushed to Aachen and crowned himself emperor to shouts of Vivat Imperator Ludovicus by the attending nobles. From start of his reign, his coinage imitated his father Charlemagnes portrait and he quickly sent all of his unmarried sisters to nunneries, to avoid any possible entanglements from overly powerful brothers-in-laws. Sparing his illegitimate half-brothers, he forced his fathers cousins, Adalard and Wala to be tonsured, placing them in Noirmoutier and Corbie, respectively and his chief counsellors were Bernard, margrave of Septimania, and Ebbo, Archbishop of Reims
36.
Pepin I of Aquitaine
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Pepin I or Pepin I of Aquitaine was King of Aquitaine and Duke of Maine. Pepin was the son of Emperor Louis the Pious and his first wife. When his father assigned to each of his sons a kingdom in August 817, he received Aquitaine, ermoldus Nigellus was his court poet and accompanied him on a campaign into Brittany in 824. Pepin rebelled in 830 at the insistence of his brother Lothairs advisor Wala and he took an army of Gascons with him and marched all the way to Paris, with the support of the Neustrians. His father marched back from a campaign in Brittany all the way to Compiègne, in 832, Pepin rebelled again and his brother Louis the German soon followed. Louis the Pious was in Aquitaine to subdue any revolt, but was drawn off by the Bavarian insurrection of the younger Louis, Pepin took Limoges and other Imperial territories. The next year, Lothair joined the rebellion and, with the assistance of Ebbo, archbishop of Reims, Lothairs later behaviour alienated Pepin, and the latter was at his fathers side when Louis the Pious was reinstated on 1 March 834. Pepin was restored to his former status, Pepin died scarcely four years later and was buried in the Church of St. Radegonde in Poitiers. In 822, Pepin had married Ingeltrude, daughter of Theodobert, count of Madrie, both were minors when Pepin died, so Louis the Pious awarded Aquitaine to his own youngest son, Pepins half-brother Charles the Bald. The Aquitainians, however, elected Pepins son as Pepin II and his brother Charles also briefly claimed the kingdom. Pippin I and the Kingdom of Aquitaine, Charlemagnes Heir, New Perspectives on the Reign of Louis the Pious, edd. Reprinted in Law, Culture and Regionalism in Early Medieval Spain
Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Carolingians". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
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