Carolingian dynasty

The Carolingian dynasty takes its name from Carolus, the Latinised name of multiple Frankish kings including Charlemagne and Charles Martel. The name originates from a common Germanic word, rendered in Old High German as Karl or Kerl, meaning , , or . ==History==

Origins Pippin I and Arnulf of Metz (613–645) The Carolingian line first began with two important rival Frankish families, the Pippinids and Arnulfings, whose destinies became intermingled in the early 7th century. Both men came from noble backgrounds on the western borders of the Austrasia territory between the Meuse and Moselle rivers, north of Liège. The first two figures, Pippin I of Landen and Arnulf of Metz, from whom historians have taken the family names, both first appeared in the fourth book of the Continuations of Fredegar as advisers to Chlotar II of Neustria, who 'incited' revolt against King Theuderic II and Brunhild of Austrasia in 613. Through shared interests, Pippin and Arnulf allied their families through the marriage of Pippin's daughter Begga and Arnulf's son Ansegisel. This is a position he would hold until his retirement in 629 after Chlotar's death, when he left for a small ecclesiastical community near Habendum; he was later buried at the monastery of Remiremont after his death . the Liber Historia Francorum (LHF) and selected charter evidence. Other contemporary sources like the Continuations fail to mention the event and Carolingian sources like Annales Mettenses Priores (AMP) ignore the event and even deny Grimoald's existence. Pippin II (676–714) Very little is known about Pippin's early life, but a controversial story from AMP suggests that Pippin reclaimed power in Austrasia by killing a legendary 'Gundoin' as revenge for the assassination of his father Ansegisel. This story is regarded as slightly fantastical by Paul Fouracre, who argues the AMP, a pro-Carolingian source potentially written by Giselle (Charlemagne's sister) in 805 at Chelles, is that Pippin's role primes him perfectly for his future and demonstrates his family to be 'natural leaders of Austrasia.' The Neustrians, with Ebroin dead, installed Waratto as mayor, and he looked for peace with the Austrasians. Despite an exchange of hostages, Warrato's son Gistemar attacked Pippin at Namur and displaced his father. Pippin was politically dominating and had the power to elect the next two Merovingian kings after Theuderic II died in 691; he installed King Clovis IV (691–695), Childebert III (695–711) and Dagobert III (711–715). Despite his weaknesses, Charles' recent success had made him a greater political entity; as such, Chilperic and Raganfred could not win a decisive victory against him. So, in 718 they too sent embassies and won the support of Duke Eudo of Aquitaine who, at their request, mustered 'a Gascon army' to face Charles. In response, Charles brought an army to the eastern Neustrian borders and faced Duke Eudo in battle at Soissons. the Breviary of Erchanbert, the Alemanni 'refused to obey the duces of the Franks because they were no longer able to serve the Merovingian kings. Therefore, each of them kept to himself.' However, before he could make any major movements, Aquitaine was invaded by Umayyad warlord Abd al-Rahman I. Following Abd al-Rahman's ascension in Spain in 731, another local Berber lord Munuza revolted, set himself up at Cerdanya and forged defensive alliances with the Franks and Aquitainians through a marriage to Eudo's daughter. Abd ar-Rahman then besieged Cerdanya and forced Munuza into retreat into France, at which point he continued his advance into Aquitaine, moving as far as Tours before he was met by Charles Martel. Carolingian sources attest that Duke Eudo begged Charles for assistance, but Ian N. Wood claims these embassies have been invented by later pro-Carolingian annalists. Eudo was a main protagonist in the Battle of Toulouse (721), which famously stopped Muslim lord Al-Samh ibn Malik al-Khawlani's advances in Narbonne and gained Eudo praise in the Liber Pontificalis. Charles met the Muslim force at the famous Battle of Poitiers (732) and came out victorious. This moment cemented Charles Martel in historical records and gained him international praise. Bede, writing at the same time in Jarrow, England, recorded the event in his Ecclesiastical History of the English People, and his victory gained Charles Martel the admiration of seminal historian Edward Gibbon who considered him the Christian saviour of Europe. Although his victory was considered famous, in reality his victory was far less impactful, and Charles would not gain much control in Aquitaine until Eudo's death in 735. The victory may have given the Carolingians relative local support that potentially allowed Charles to assert dominance over Eudo's son and successor Hunald of Aquitaine, but records of continued hostilities in 736 only further cemented that relations were strained. The region, at least in the Northern areas, had remained controlled and allied with Frankish interest. Influential nobility like Savaric of Auxerre, who had maintained near-autonomy and led military forces against Burgundian towns like Orléans, Nevers and Troyes, even dying whilst besieging Lyon, were the key to Charles' support. As such, Charles made multiple attempts to both gain the faction's support and remove their authority. When Savaric died during Charles' early reign, he agreed to support Savaric's nephew Bishop Eucherius of Orléans' claim to the bishopric. However, once Charles had established a powerful basis by 737, he exiled Eucherius, with the help of a man called Chrodobert, to the monastery of St Trond. In 739, he used his power in Burgundy and Aquitaine to lead an attack with his brother Childebrand I against Arab invaders and Duke Maurontus, who had been claiming independence and allying himself with Muslim emir Abd ar-Rahman. It is likely due to Childebrand's sponsorship of the manuscript that his involvement is so extensively recorded in the Continuations. According to the manuscript, Childebrand and Charles noticed the Arab army, with Maurontus' welcome, entering Avignon and quickly moved against the alliance. They besieged the city and claimed victory; the Franks then made the decision to invade Septimania, taking Narbonne and flanking the Arab army. The Franks then fought off a support army sent from Spain under Omar-ibn Chaled at the River Berre. From there the Franks then pursued the retreating Arabs and ravaged the cities of Nîmes, Agde and Béziers before returning to Francia. Later that year, Charles and Childebrand returned to Provence, likely collecting more forces, and then forcing the rebellious Maurontus into 'impenetrable rocky fastnesses out to sea.' At this time, Charles then assumed control of the region and, judging from Charter evidence, appointed Abbo of Provence as patricius (Patrician) in the region. Ruling Francia Charles also ruled the Frankish realm, although the majority of his policies were centred upon his conquests and his military ventures. In 19th century historiography, historians like Heinrich Brunner even centred their arguments around Charles' necessity for military resources, in particular the development of mounted warrior or cavalry that would peak in the High Middle Ages. However, in modern historiography, historians like Pierre Riche and Paul Fouracre have discredited his ideas as too simplistic and have aimed to depict more realistic fragments of development that may or not have been interdependent. This was the period in which the Carolingians first began to establish themselves as fully independent from the Merovingian royalty. Vassalage and Church Charles Martel has become notorious in historiography for his role in the development of the concept of feudalism. The debates are rooted in the arguments of historians like François-Louis Ganshof, who viewed Charles' reign as the birth of the 'feudal' relationship between power and property. This results from the increased use of precaria or temporary land grants by the Carolingians, who allocated and spread their power to their subordinates. Ganshof's arguments connect these ties to a military-tenure relationship; however, this is never represented in primary material, and instead is only implied, and likely derived from, an understanding of 'feudalism' in the High Middle Ages. Recent historians like Paul Fouracre have criticised Ganshof's review for being too simplistic, and in reality, even though these systems of vassalage did exist between lord and populace, they were not as standardised as older historiography has suggested. For example, Fouracre has drawn particular attention to the incentives that drew lords and warriors into the Carolingian armies, arguing that the primary draw was 'booty' and treasure gained from conquest rather than 'feudal' obligation. ensured that Carolingian loyalties and systems was maintained across the kingdoms. The Carolingians were also far more strict with their land rights and tenure than their Merovingian predecessors, carefully distributing their new land to new families temporarily, but maintaining their control. Merovingians kings weakened themselves by allocating too much of their royal domains to supporting factions; the Carolingians themselves seemingly became increasingly powerful due to their generosity. By giving away their land, the Merovingians allowed themselves to become figureheads and the 'do nothing kings' that Einhard prefaced in the Vita Karoli Magni. Due to his vast military conquests, Charles often reallocated existing land settlements, including Church property, to new tenants. Ecclesiastical property and monasteries in the late Merovingian and Carolingian period were political centres and often closely related to the royal court; as such they often became involved in political matters, which often overlapped with Charles' reallocation of land. This 'secularisation' of Church property caused serious tension between the Carolingian church and state, and often gave Charles a negative depiction in ecclastical sources. The reallocation of church land was not new by Charles' reign; Ian Wood has managed to identify the practice going back to the reigns of Dagobert I (629–639) and Clovis II (639–657). The majority of the sources that depict Charles' involvement in Church land rights come from the 9th century, and are therefore less reliable, but two supposedly contemporary sources also identify this issue. The first, a letter sent by missionary Saint Boniface to Anglo-Saxon king Æthelbald of Mercia, called Charles' a 'destroyer of many monasteries, and embezzler of Church revenues for his own use...', condemning him for his use of Church property. This is supported by the second source, the Continuations, which related that, in 733 in Burgundy, Charles split the Lyonnais between his followers, this likely including Church land. Further chronicles like the Gesta episcoporum Autissiodorensium and the Gesta Sanctorum Patrum Fontanellensis Coenobii recorded monasteries losing substantial land. The monastery at Auxerre was reduced to a hundred mansus by Pippin III's reign, and at the Abbey of Saint Wandrille under Abbot Teutsind, who was appointed by Charles in 735/6, the Church's local property was reduced to a third its size. Regardless, it is apparent that Charles' expansion of control consumed plenty of reallocated properties, many of which were ecclesiastical domains. Interregnum, death and divisions When King Theuderic IV died in 737, Charles did not install a Merovingian successor. Unlike his Carolingian predecessors, Charles was strong enough by the end of his reign to not rely on Merovingian loyalties. He had created his own power bloc through the vassals he installed in Frankish heartlands and peripheral states. Therefore, until his death, Charles ruled as Princeps or First Man/First Citizen, officially gaining the title with his uncontested leadership with the acquisition of Provence in 737. This meant that the issue of kingship remained ever present for his successors who would have to work further to establish themselves as royal. When Charles died in 741, he was buried at St Denis in Paris. He made secure succession plans, likely learning from his father, that ensured Francia was effectively divided between his sons, Carloman and Pippin as maior palatii. According to the Continuations, the eldest son, Carloman, was given control of the eastern kingdoms in Austrasia, Alammania and Thuringia, while Pippin was given the western kingdoms in Burgundy, Neustria and Provence. Charlemagne The greatest Carolingian monarch was Charlemagne, Pepin's son. Charlemagne was crowned Emperor by Pope Leo III at Rome in 800. His empire, ostensibly a continuation of the Western Roman Empire, is referred to historiographically as the Carolingian Empire. The Carolingian rulers did not give up the traditional Frankish (and Merovingian) practice of dividing inheritances among heirs, though the concept of the indivisibility of the Empire was also accepted. The Carolingians had the practice of making their sons minor kings in the various regions (regna) of the Empire, which they would inherit on the death of their father, which Charlemagne and his son Louis the Pious both did for their sons. Following the death of the Emperor Louis the Pious in 840, his surviving adult sons, Lothair I and Louis the German, along with their adolescent brother Charles the Bald, fought a three-year civil war ending only with the Treaty of Verdun in 843, which divided the empire into three regna while according imperial status and a nominal lordship to Lothair who, at 48, was the eldest. The Carolingians differed markedly from the Merovingians in that they disallowed inheritance to illegitimate offspring, possibly in an effort to prevent infighting among heirs and assure a limit to the division of the realm. In the late ninth century, however, the lack of suitable adults among the Carolingians necessitated the rise of Arnulf of Carinthia as the king of East Francia, a bastard child of a legitimate Carolingian king, Carloman of Bavaria, himself a son of the First King of the Eastern division of the Frankish kingdom, Louis the German. ==Weakening and disappearance of the dynasty==

Disappearance of Middle Francia Lothair was the first of the three brothers to die, leaving the empire at the mercy of the other two. Finally, after many twists and turns, his domain was gradually attached to East Francia, with the Scheldt marking the border between West and East Francia. The king of East Francia, at the same time, also recovered the title of emperor. Decline After Charlemagne's death the dynasty slowly crumbled. His kingdom was split into three, each being ruled over by one of his grandsons. Only the kingdoms of the eastern and western portions survived, becoming the predecessors of modern Germany and France. The Carolingians were displaced in most of the regna of the Empire by 888. They ruled in East Francia until 911 and held the throne of West Francia intermittently until 987. Carolingian cadet branches continued to rule in Vermandois and Lower Lorraine after the last king died in 987, but they never sought the royal or imperial thrones and made peace with the new ruling families. One chronicler of Sens dates the end of Carolingian rule with the coronation of Robert II of France as junior co-ruler with his father, Hugh Capet, thus beginning the Capetian dynasty. Scandinavian invasions The term Vikings generally designated all the peoples from present-day Scandinavia. In the Carolingian period, they were first known as Normans ("men of the north", origin of the name Normandy) and later as Vikings. They sold amber, animal skins, and metals, and bought honey, wine, and everything they could not produce in their lands. They were present, in small groups, in most coastal towns of the Frankish Empire. Around 800, the Vikings became aware of a new means of enrichment. Since they were not Christians, they did not have to respect the abbeys, which contained, with minimal defensive structure (a wall and sometimes a few guards), considerable treasure, consisting of chasses, reliquaries, precious metal objects for use in worship. These objects were particularly sought after in this period of weak monetary circulation, when metal was important not only for its value but also for the prestige associated with it. Consequently, from 800 to about 850, the Vikings continued their trading practices, while also attempting raids on isolated monastic establishments whenever the opportunity arose. The first establishment to suffer was the monastery of Lindisfarne, on the British coast, attacked by the Vikings in 793. After this first attack, Viking pressure increased: they sailed up rivers aboard their shallow-draft ships, improperly called “drakkars”, and plundered the treasures of the abbeys before returning to Scandinavia. For the moment, these were only brief expeditions: the Normans plundered, carried off goods, and left, most often after burning the place. These attacks nevertheless terrified the population by their speed, violence, and also because they struck churches which, since the establishment of Christianity, had never been attacked. In 841, the Normans attacked the Abbey of Jumièges and the city of Rouen; the monks had to flee from the danger of raids, carrying with them the relics of their saints. The Île de Noirmoutier was also repeatedly targeted by the Normans, to the point that the monks abandoned their monastery and settled about twenty-five km south of Nantes, at Déas, which became Saint-Philbert-de-Grand-Lieu. In 843, Nantes was taken and part of the population massacred. In the second third of the 9th century, most of the towns located along rivers were visited by the Normans. At the end of the 9th century, the phenomenon grew in importance. These were now much more organized bands, who had decided in advance their routes and knew where to go. The expeditions were also more numerous, sometimes a hundred boats, compared to a small dozen at most at the beginning of the century. Finally, they no longer contented themselves with plundering and leaving. More and more often, they carried away the population to be sold as slaves and settled in conquered territories where they sometimes spent the winter. The Vikings ravaged Europe but also the Iberian Peninsula, then Muslim, and North Africa, without anyone being able to stop them. As it was impossible to control the entire territory and their strength lay in the speed of their fleets and the brutality of their expeditions, it was difficult to predict where they would attack. When they did not attack, the Vikings demanded the payment of heavy tributes. The quarrels among the sons of Louis the Pious hardly improved the situation. Lothair and his brother Louis took little interest in the problem, which fell almost entirely to Charles, the youngest son, who inherited all the coastal territories. Charles, who would be nicknamed the Bald, tried to build additional fortifications. He asked the leaders of the aristocracy to defend the threatened regions. Robert the Strong (ancestor of the Capetians) was placed by the king at the head of a western march; he died fighting the Vikings in 866. Count Odo defended Paris against an attack coming up the Seine in 885. These great lords acquired immense prestige in the struggle against the Scandinavian invader, prestige that contributed to the weakening of royal power. Military successes were now attributed to the marquises and counts. The inability of the Carolingians to resolve the Scandinavian problem was evident: in 911, by the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte, King Charles the Simple ceded the Lower Seine to the Viking chief Rollo. He entrusted him with the defense of the estuary and the river downstream of Paris. This decision was at the origin of the creation of the Duchy of Normandy. The Carolingians were forced to cede territories and deliver tributes to counter the Scandinavian threat. They were also absorbed by family quarrels. The climate of insecurity therefore accelerated the disintegration of Carolingian power. ==Genealogy==

Complete male-line family tree Male, male-line, legitimate, members of the house who either lived to adulthood, or who held a title as a child, are included. Heads of the house are in bold. • Arnulf of Metz, c. 582–645 • Chlodulf of Metz, c. 605–697 • Ansegisel, c. 602/610 - 662/679 • Pepin of Herstal, c. 635–714 • Drogo of Champagne, c. 675–708 • Arnulf of Champagne, fl. 707-723 • Hugh of Rouen, d. 730 • Gotfrid • Pippin • Grimoald the Younger, d. 714 • Childebrand I, c. 678 - 743/751 • Charles Martel, c. 688–741 • Carloman, 706/716 - 754 • Drogo, b. c. 730 • Pepin the Short, c. 714–768 • Charlemagne, 748–814 • Pepin the Hunchback, 768/769 - 811 • Charles the Younger, c. 772–811 • Pepin of Italy, 777-810 • Louis the Pious, 778–840 • Lothair I, 795–855 • Louis II of Italy, 825–875 • Lothair II, 835–869 • Charles of Provence, 845–863 • Pepin I of Aquitaine, 797-838 • Pepin II of Aquitaine, 823–864 • Charles (archbishop of Mainz), 825/830 - 863 • Louis the German, c. 806/810 - 876 • Carloman of Bavaria, c. 830–880 • Louis the Younger, 830/835 - 882 • Charles the Fat, 839–888 • Charles the Bald, 823–877 • Louis the Stammerer, 846–879 • Louis III of France, 863/865 - 882 • Carloman II, c. 866–884 • Charles the Simple, 879–929 • Louis IV of France, 920/921 - 954 • Lothair of France, 941–986 • Louis V of France, 966/967 - 987 • Charles, Duke of Lower Lorraine, 953 - 992/995 • Otto, Duke of Lower Lorraine, c. 970–1012 • Louis of Lower Lorraine, 975/980 - 1023 • Charles the Child, 847/848 - 866 • Lothair the Lame, c. 848–865 • Carloman, 848 - c. 877 • Carloman I, 751–771 • Grifo, c. 726–753 == Grand strategy ==

, 12th century The historian Bernard Bachrach argues that the rise of the Carolingians to power is best understood using the theory of a Carolingian grand strategy. A grand strategy is a long term military and political strategy that lasts for longer than a typical campaigning season, and can span long periods of time. The Carolingians followed a set course of action that discounts the idea of a random rise in power and can be considered as a grand strategy. Another major part of the grand strategy of the early Carolingians encompassed their political alliance with the aristocracy. This political relationship gave the Carolingians authority and power in the Frankish kingdom. Beginning with Pippin II, the Carolingians set out to put the ("kingdom of the Franks") back together, after its fragmentation after the death of Dagobert I, a Merovingian king. After an early failed attempt in to usurp the throne from the Merovingians, the early Carolingians began to slowly gain power and influence as they consolidated military power as mayors of the palace. In order to do this, the Carolingians used a combination of Late Roman military organization along with the incremental changes that occurred between the fifth and eighth centuries. Because of the defensive strategy the Romans had implemented during the Late Empire, the population had become militarized and were thus available for military use. The existence of the remaining Roman infrastructure that could be used for military purposes, such as roads, strongholds and fortified cities meant that the reformed strategies of the Late Romans would still be relevant. Civilian men who lived either in or near a walled city or strong point were required to learn how to fight and defend the areas in which they lived. These men were rarely used in the course of Carolingian grand strategy because they were used for defensive purposes, and the Carolingians were for the most part on the offensive most of the time. Another class of civilians were required to serve in the military which included going on campaigns. Depending on one's wealth, one would be required to render different sorts of service, and "the richer the man was, the greater was his military obligation for service". For example, if rich, one might be required as a knight. Or one might be required to provide a number of fighting men. In addition to those who owed military service for the lands they had, there were also professional soldiers who fought for the Carolingians. If the holder of a certain amount of land was ineligible for military service (women, old men, sickly men or cowards) they would still owe military service. Instead of going themselves, they would hire a soldier to fight in their place. Institutions, such as monasteries or churches were also required to send soldiers to fight based on the wealth and the amount of lands they held. In fact, the use of ecclesiastical institutions for their resources for the military was a tradition that the Carolingians continued and greatly benefitted from. It was "highly unlikely that armies of many more than a hundred thousand effectives with their support systems could be supplied in the field in a single theatre of operation." Because of this, each landholder would not be required to mobilize all of his men each year for the campaigning season, but instead, the Carolingians would decide which kinds of troops were needed from each landholder, and what they should bring with them. In some cases, sending men to fight could be substituted for different types of war machines. In order to send effective fighting men, many institutions would have well trained soldiers that were skilled in fighting as heavily armored troops. These men would be trained, armored, and given the things they needed in order to fight as heavy troops at the expense of the household or institution for whom they fought. These armed retinues served almost as private armies, "which were supported at the expense of the great magnates, [and] were of considerable importance to early Carolingian military organization and warfare." The Carolingians themselves supported their own military household and they were the most important "core of the standing army in the" . It was by utilizing the organization of the military in an effective manner that contributed to the success of the Carolingians in their grand strategy. This strategy consisted of strictly adhering to the reconstruction of the regnum Francorum under their authority. Bernard Bachrach gives three principles for Carolingian long-term strategy that spanned generations of Carolingian rulers: The first principle… was to move cautiously outward from the Carolingian base in Austrasia. Its second principle was to engage in a single region at a time until the conquest had been accomplished. The third principle was to avoid becoming involved beyond the frontiers of the regnum Francorum or to do so when absolutely necessary and then not for the purpose of conquest". This is important to the development of medieval history because without such a military organization and without a grand strategy, the Carolingians would not have successfully become kings of the Franks, as legitimized by the bishop of Rome. Furthermore, it was ultimately because of their efforts and infrastructure that Charlemagne was able to become such a powerful king and be crowned Emperor of the Romans in 800. Without the efforts of his predecessors, he would not have been as successful as he was and the revival of the Roman Empire in the West was likely to have not occurred. ==See also==