Childebrand I (678 – 743 or 751) was a Frankish

duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are r ...

(''dux''),

illegitimate Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as '' ...

son of

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 ...

and

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 ...

, and brother of

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 ...

. He was born in Autun, where he later died. He married Emma of

Austrasia Austrasia was a territory which formed the north-eastern section of the Merovingian Kingdom of the Franks during the 6th to 8th centuries. It was centred on the Meuse, Middle Rhine and the Moselle rivers, and was the original territory of the ...

and was given

Burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The ...

by his father, becoming a

. He distinguished himself in the expulsion of the

Saracens upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia ...

from

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

alongside his brother when he captured

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 Fra ...

, one of the largest cities still in

Umayyad The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the ...

hands. He was the patron of the

continuator A continuator, in literature, is a writer who creates a new work based on someone else's prior text, such as a novel or novel fragment. The new work may complete the older work (as with the numerous continuations of Jane Austen's unfinished nov ...

of the '' Chronicle of Fredegar'', as was his son Nibelung I. Some scholars believe that Childebrand was actually the half-brother of Charles Martel, related through his father. Childebran describes Charles Martel as 'germanus' meaning same mother, different father. Most accounts have Childebran's birth as 670 and the older half-brother of Charles Martel, with his father being named Fulcoald, who was the second son of Childebert, born in 602 to Theuderic II, King of Austrasia. Childebran's mother, Alpais, was the daughter of Childebert's first son, also named Childebran. Peppin and Alpais may have had another son, a younger brother of Charles Martel who was named Childebran as well. Childebran I acknowledged one son, Nivelon I, whose descendents bore the names of Fulcoald, Childebran, and Nivelon. William of Gellone and Raoul I(Robertian) are the only male descendents of Childebran I to become kings. His date of death is also contentious, as some sources place his death at 743 while others claim he lived until 751.

References

Notes

* 678 births 751 deaths 8th-century Frankish nobility Frankish warriors Pippinids People from Autun 7th-century Frankish nobility {{europe-noble-stub