Arnulf ( fl. 707–723) was the oldest son of Drogo, Duke of Champagne, and succeeded his father as duke in 707. His mother was Adaltrudis and his parents were married around 690. He was named after Bishop

Arnulf of Metz Arnulf of Metz ( 582 – 645) was a Frankish bishop of Metz and advisor to the Merovingian court of Austrasia. He later retired to the Abbey of Remiremont. In French he is also known as Arnoul or Arnoulf. In English he is known as Arnold. G ...

, his great-great-grandfather. He is the first known Arnulf in his family, the

Pippinids 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 ...

, after the bishop. In a charter of June 715, Arnulf, described as a ''

dux ''Dux'' (; plural: ''ducēs'') is Latin for "leader" (from the noun ''dux, ducis'', "leader, general") and later for duke and its variant forms (doge, duce, etc.). During the Roman Republic and for the first centuries of the Roman Empire, ''dux' ...

'' (duke), and his brothers

Hugh Hugh may refer to: *Hugh (given name) Noblemen and clergy French * Hugh the Great (died 956), Duke of the Franks * Hugh Magnus of France (1007–1025), co-King of France under his father, Robert II * Hugh, Duke of Alsace (died 895), modern-day ...

, Gotfrid and Pippin, granted land to the church of Saint Arnulf at

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand E ...

, in honour of their father, who was buried there. In 716,; , gives the year as 716 or 717. Arnulf granted an inheritance he owned at

Bollendorf Bollendorf is a German municipality in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, located on the left bank of the Sauer river, opposite the Luxembourgish town of Bollendorf-Pont Bollendorf-Pont (, ) is a village in the commune of Berdorf, in easte ...

to the

Abbey of Echternach The Abbey of Echternach is a Benedictine monastery in the town of Echternach, in eastern Luxembourg. The Abbey was founded in the 7th century by St Willibrord, the patron saint of Luxembourg. For three hundred years, it benefited from the pat ...

, perhaps as an honorarium for the baptism of Arnulf's infant cousin,

Pippin the Short the Short (french: Pépin le Bref; – 24 September 768), also called the Younger (german: Pippin der Jüngere), was King of the Franks from 751 until his death in 768. He was the first Carolingian to become king. The younger was the son of ...

, which took place at Easter that year. This charter may reflect a reconciliation of sorts between two branches of the Pippinid family: the elder, represented by Arnulf, eldest son of the eldest son of

Pippin of Heristal Pepin II (c. 635 – 16 December 714), commonly known as Pepin of Herstal, was a Franks, 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 ...

and

Plectrudis Plectrude ( la, Plectrudis; german: Plektrud, Plechtrudis) (died 718) was the consort of Pepin of Herstal, the mayor of the palace and duke of the Franks, from about 670. She was the daughter of Hugobert, seneschal of Clovis IV, and Irmina of ...

, and the younger, represented by his uncle,

Charles Martel Charles Martel ( – 22 October 741) was a Frankish political and military leader who, as Duke and Prince of the Franks and Mayor of the Palace, was the de facto ruler of Francia from 718 until his death. He was a son of the Frankish statesma ...

, Pippin's son by

Alpaida Alpaida (also Alpaïde, Alpaide, Alphaida, Alpoïde, Elphide, Elfide, Chalpaida; 654 – c. 714) was a Frankish noblewoman who hailed from the Liège area. She became the wife of Pippin of Herstal (635 or 640 – 16 December 714) and mother to t ...

and father of Pippin the Short. The reconciliation did not last, for two years later Charles was repeating Arnulf's gift to Echternach as if he had taken control of the property in question. In 723, the ''

Annales Nazariani Annals are a concise form of historical writing which record events chronologically, year by year. The equivalent word in Latin and French is ''annales'', which is used untranslated in English in various contexts. List of works with titles contai ...

'' record that, at Charles' command, "two sons of Drogo were bound, Arnold rnulfand another who died", either Gotfrid or Pippin. The same basic, perfunctory account is found in the ''

Annales Petaviani The ''Annales Petaviani'' (''AP'') is one of the so-called "minor annals group", three related ''Reichsannalen'', year-by-year histories of the Carolingian empire composed in Latin.The others are the '' Annales sancti Amandi'', '' Annales laubacens ...

'', '' Annales Laureshamenses'' and ''

Annales Alamannici The ''Annales Almannici'', which are also referred to as the ''Annals of St. Gall'', provide one of the earliest records of Medieval Europe available. The core text of the ''Annales Alamannici'' covers the years 709 through to 799. Spread over se ...

''. Arnulf's ultimate fate is unknown.

References

Sources

* * * * * {{refend Pippinids 8th-century Frankish nobility