Antenor was the

Patrician of Provence The land of Provence has a history quite separate from that of any of the larger nations of Europe. Its independent existence has its origins in the frontier nature of the dukedom in Merovingian Gaul. In this position, influenced and affected by ...

in the last years of the 7th and first years of the 8th century. He was independent of

Arnulfing The Pippinids and the Arnulfings were two Frankish aristocratic families from Austrasia during the Merovingian period. They dominated the office of mayor of the palace after 687 and eventually supplanted the Merovingians as kings in 751, founding ...

authority and the representative of the

Merovingian The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gauli ...

sovereign in

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...

at a time when Arnulfing power was eclipsing the royal. Antenor's influence in Provence was based on his land-holding and on his control of ecclesiastical and secular appointments. He had a large section of followers, but also detractors and opponents both within and without his duchy. In

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

, Antenor confiscated property from the abbey of

Saint-Victor de Marseille Saint Victor of Marseilles (died c. 290) was an Egyptian Christian martyr. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church. Life Saint Victor is said to have been a Roman army officer in Marseille, who publicly de ...

and ordered the documents recording the abbey's claims to these lands to be burnt, thus demonstrating a common tactic of the age amongst statesmen: confiscation of ecclesiastic land to pay followers. In 697, he was present at the court of

Childebert III Childebert III (or IV), called the Just (french: le Juste) (c.678/679 – 23 April 711), was the son of Theuderic III and Clotilda (or Doda) and sole king of the Franks (694–711). He was seemingly but a puppet of the mayor of the palace, P ...

when that king refused to grant

Drogo of Champagne Drogo (c.675 – 708) was a Frankish nobleman, the eldest son of Pippin of Heristal and Plectrudis. He was the duke of Champagne from the early 690s. Drogo was born shortly after his parents' marriage, which probably took place in 675 or just after ...

the properties he desired in virtue of his wife's familial connections. His presence at such a court may have been related to his opposition to

Pepin of Heristal Pepin II (c. 635 – 16 December 714), 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 Fr ...

and his family.Geary, Patrick J. ''Before France and Germany''. Oxford University Press: 1988, P. 205.

Notes

Sources

*Geary, Patrick J. ''Before France and Germany''. Oxford University Press: 1988. 7th-century births 8th-century deaths 8th-century Frankish nobility {{France-noble-stub