Francia at the death of Pepin of Heristal, 714

The Battle of Vincy (or Vinchy, now

Les Rues-des-Vignes Les Rues-des-Vignes (; called ''Vinchy'' in the Middle Ages) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Vinchy was the site of a famous battle of the then-rising Charles Martel in spring 717. See also *Communes of the Nord departm ...

) was a battle of the Frankish civil war of 715–18 fought near Cambrai, in the modern ''

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety ...

'' of Nord. It was a contest between

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 statesm ...

and the Austrasians on one side and the king of the Franks,

Chilperic II Chilperic II (c. 672 – 13 February 721), known as Daniel prior to his coronation, was the youngest son of Childeric II and his half-cousin wife, Bilichild. He reigned as king of Neustria from 715 and sole king of the Franks from 718 until hi ...

, and his mayor of the palace,

Ragenfrid Ragenfrid (also Ragenfred, Raganfrid, or Ragamfred) (died 731) was the mayor of the palace of Neustria and Burgundy from 715, when he filled the vacuum in Neustria caused by the death of Pepin of Heristal, until 718, when Charles Martel finall ...

, on the other. After the

Battle of Amblève The Battle of Amblève took place in 716 near Amel. The mayor of the palace of Austrasia, Charles Martel, defeated his Neustrian and Frisian rivals who were led by King Chilperic II, his mayor Ragenfrid, and Redbad, King of the Frisians. I ...

in 716, King Chilperic and Ragenfrid returned defeated to

Neustria Neustria was the western part of the Kingdom of the Franks. Neustria included the land between the Loire and the Silva Carbonaria, approximately the north of present-day France, with Paris, Orléans, Tours, Soissons as its main cities. It late ...

. Instead of following them at once, Charles again used tactics he would use all his remaining life, in a successful military career. He took time to rally more men and prepare, before descending in full force. By the following spring, Martel had attracted enough support to confront the Neustrians.Costambeys, Marios, Innes, Matthew, and MacLean, Simon. ''The Carolingian World'', Cambridge University Press, 2011
/ref> He chose where to provoke them to battle, and, at a place and time of his choosing. Charles eventually followed them and dealt them a serious blow at Vincy on 21 March 717. He pursued the fleeing king and mayor to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. On this success, he proclaimed

Clotaire IV Chlothar IV (died 718) was the king of Austrasia from 717 until his death. He was a member of the Merovingian dynasty, and was installed by Charles Martel, a contender for the office of mayor of the palace, in opposition to Chilperic II, whose ru ...

king of Austrasia in opposition to Chilperic and deposed the

bishop of Rheims The Archdiocese of Reims (traditionally spelt "Rheims" in English) ( la, Archidiœcesis Remensis; French: ''Archidiocèse de Reims'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastic territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. Erected as a diocese ar ...

Rigobert Rigobert (died c. 743) was a Benedictine monk and later abbot of the Abbaye Saint-Pierre d'Orbais who subsequently succeeded Saint Rieul as bishop of Reims in 698. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church. Rigobert baptized Charles Ma ...

, replacing him with one

Milo Milo may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Milo'' (magazine), a strength sports magazine *'' Milo: Sticky Notes and Brain Freeze'', a 2011 children's novel by Alan Silberberg * ''Milo'' (video game), a first-person adventure-puzzle computer ga ...

. The defeated Chilperic II, and his mayor of the palace, Ragenfrid, were essentially broken after this battle.

Notes

Sources

* Oman, Charles. ''The Dark Ages, 476–918''. London: Rivingtons, 1914. {{coord, 50, 05, 43, N, 3, 14, 25, E, display=title Vincy Vincy Aisne Vincy Vincy 717