Pepin the Short

Pepin's father Charles Martel died in 741. He divided the rule of the Frankish kingdom between Pepin and his elder brother, Carloman, his surviving sons by his first wife: Carloman became Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia, Pepin became Mayor of the Palace of Neustria. Grifo, Charles's son by his second wife, Swanahild (also known as Swanhilde), demanded a share in the inheritance, but he was besieged in Laon, forced to surrender and imprisoned in a monastery by his two half-brothers. In the Frankish realm, the kingdom's unity was essentially connected with the king's person. So Carloman, to secure this unity, raised the Merovingian Childeric to the throne (743). Then, in 747, Carloman resolved to enter a monastery after years of consideration. This left Francia in the hands of Pepin as sole mayor of the palace and dux et princeps Francorum. At the time of Carloman's retirement, Grifo escaped his imprisonment and fled to Duke Odilo of Bavaria, who was married to Hiltrude, Pepin's sister. Pepin put down the renewed revolt led by his half-brother and successfully restored the kingdom's boundaries. Under the reorganization of Francia by Charles Martel, the dux et princeps Francorum was the commander of the kingdom's armies, in addition to his administrative duties as mayor of the palace. ==First Carolingian king == As mayor of the palace, Pepin was formally subject to the decisions of Childeric III, who had only the title of king, with no power. Since Pepin had control over the magnates and had the power of a king, he now addressed to Pope Zachary a suggestive question: :In regard to the kings of the Franks who no longer possess the royal power: is this state of things proper? Hard pressed by the Lombards, Pope Zachary welcomed this move by the Franks to end an intolerable condition and lay the constitutional foundations for exercising royal power. The Pope replied that such a state of things is not proper. Under these circumstances, the wielder of actual power should be called King. After this decision, Childeric III was deposed and confined to a monastery. He was the last of the Merovingians. Pepin was then elected King of the Franks by an assembly of Frankish nobles, with a large portion of his army on hand. The earliest account of his election and anointing is the Clausula de Pippino, written around 767. Meanwhile, Grifo continued his rebellion but was eventually killed in the battle of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne in 753. Pepin was assisted by his friend Vergilius of Salzburg, an Irish monk who probably used a copy of the "Collectio canonum Hibernensis" (an Irish collection of canon law) to advise him to receive royal unction to assist his recognition as king. Anointed a first time in 751 in Soissons, Pepin added to his power after Pope Stephen II traveled to Paris to anoint him a second time in a lavish ceremony at the Basilica of St Denis in 754, bestowing upon him the additional title of Patricius Romanorum (Patrician of the Romans). This was the first recorded crowning of a civil ruler by a Pope. As life expectancies were short in those days, and Pepin wanted family continuity, the Pope also anointed Pepin's sons, Charles (eventually known as Charlemagne), who was 12, and Carloman, who was 3. The significance of the anointment ceremony is visible in that the Pope newly adopted it and was unheard of in Rome. This, together with granting the title of Patrician of the Romans, which was connected to the role of (protector of oppressed citizens), meant that Pepin was now designated as the defender of the Church. ==Expansion of the Frankish realm==

after the Frankish conquest of Septimania in 759. The new king headed south in a military expedition down the Rhône Valley. He received the submission of eastern Septimania (i.e., Nîmes, Maguelone, Béziers, and Agde) after securing count Ansemund's allegiance. Then, the Frankish king went on to conquer the city of Narbonne, which had passed briefly to the Emirate of Córdoba, with the final victory by the Christian Franks in 759. Eventually, Pepin chased the Muslim Arabs and Berbers away from Septimania and conquered Narbonne in 759, after which the city became part of the Frankish Viscounty of Narbonne. Septimania became a march of the Carolingian Empire and then West Francia down to the 13th century, though it was culturally and politically autonomous from the northern France-based central royal government. By the end of the 9th century, the region was renamed as Gothia or Marca Gothica ("Gothic March"). The region was under the influence of the people from the count territories of Toulouse, Provence, and ancient County of Barcelona. It was part of the wider cultural and linguistic region comprising the southern third of France known as Occitania. However, Aquitaine remained under Waiofar's Gascon-Aquitanian rule and beyond Frankish reach. Duke Waiofar appears to have confiscated Church lands, maybe distributing them among his troops. In 760, after conquering the Roussillon from the defeated Muslims and denouncing Waiofar's actions, Pepin moved his troops over to Toulouse and Albi, ravaged with fire and sword most of Aquitaine, and, in retaliation, counts loyal to Waiofar ravaged Burgundy. Pepin, in turn, besieged the Aquitanian-held towns and strongholds of Bourbon, Clermont, Chantelle, Bourges and Thouars, defended by Waiofar's Gascon troops, who were overcome, captured and deported into northern France with their children and wives. In 763, Pepin advanced further into the heart of Waiofar's domains and captured major strongholds (Poitiers, Limoges, Angoulême, etc.), after which Waiofar counterattacked and war became bitter. Pepin opted to spread terror, burning villas, destroying vineyards, and depopulating monasteries. By 765, the brutal tactics seemed to pay off for the Franks, who destroyed resistance in central Aquitaine and devastated the whole region. The city of Toulouse was conquered by Pepin in 767, as was Waiofar's capital of Bordeaux. As a result, Aquitanian nobles and Gascons from beyond the Garonne also saw no option but to accept a pro-Frankish peace treaty (Fronsac, c. 768). Waiofar escaped but was assassinated by his frustrated followers in 768. ==Legacy==

Pepin died on campaign in 768 at the age of 54. He was interred in the Basilica of Saint Denis in modern-day Metropolitan Paris. His wife Bertrada was also interred there in 783. Charlemagne rebuilt the Basilica in honor of his parents and placed markers at the entrance. The Frankish realm was divided according to the Salic law between his two sons: Charlemagne and Carloman I. Historical opinion often seems to regard him as the lesser son and lesser father of two greater men, though a great man in his own right. He continued building up the heavy cavalry his father had begun. He maintained the standing army that his father had found necessary to protect the realm and form the core of its whole army in wartime. He not only contained the Spanish Muslims as his father had, but drove them out of what is now France and, as important, he managed to subdue the Aquitanians and the Gascons after three generations of on-off clashes, opening the gate to central and southern Gaul and Muslim Spain. He continued his father's expansion of the Frankish church (missionary work in Germany and Scandinavia) and the institutional infrastructure (feudalism) that would prove the backbone of medieval Europe. His rule was historically significant and greatly beneficial to the Franks as a people. Pepin's assumption of the crown and the title of Patrician of Rome were harbingers of his son's imperial coronation. He made the Carolingians the ruling dynasty of the Franks and the foremost power of Europe. ==Family==

Pepin married Leutberga from the Danube region. They had five children. She was repudiated sometime after the birth of Charlemagne, and her children were sent to convents. In 744, Pepin married Bertrada, daughter of Caribert of Laon. They are known to have had seven children, at least three of whom survived to adulthood: • Charles (Charlemagne) (2 April 747 – 28 January 814) • Carloman (751 – 4 December 771) • Pepin (756–762) • Gisela (757–810) • Bertha, died young • Adelheid, died young, buried in Metz • Rothaid, died young, buried in Metz Charles commissioned Paul the Deacon to compose poetic epitaphs for his sister Rothaid and Adelheid, and , respectively. ==Notes==