Drogo (c.675 – 708) was a
Frankish
Frankish may refer to:
* Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture
** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages
* Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany
* East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...
nobleman, 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 ...
. He was the duke of
Champagne
Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...
from the early 690s.
Drogo was born shortly after his parents' marriage, which probably took place in 675 or just after. In the early 680s, Pippin arranged the marriage of Drogo with Anstrudis (or Adaltrudis), the daughter of
Waratto
Waratto (died 686) was the mayor of the palace of Neustria and Burgundy on two occasions, owing to the deposition he experienced at the hands of his own faithless son. His first term lasted from 680 or 681 (the death of Ebroin) to 682, when hi ...
, the mayor of the palace in
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 later ...
, and his wife Ansfledis. The marriage took place toward the end of the decade or in the early 690s. Drogo and Anstrudis had four sons:
Arnulf
Arnulf is a masculine German given name.
It is composed of the Germanic elements ''arn'' "eagle" and ''ulf'' "wolf".
The ''-ulf, -olf'' suffix was an extremely frequent element in Germanic onomastics and from an early time was perceived as a mere ...
, who succeeded him as duke of Champagne;
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 ...
, who entered the church and rose to become an archbishop; Gotfrid; and Pippin.
The marriage of Drogo and Anstrudis increased his father Pippin's influence in Neustria. Waratto's family properties were located mainly in the vicinity of
Rouen
Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of ...
. Drogo, however, was made duke in Champagne, a frontier region between Neustria and Austrasia. His power in Champagne was enhanced through his control of the
monastery of Montier-en-Der and possibly the
monastery of Hautvillers.
The ''
Liber Historiae Francorum
''Liber Historiae Francorum'' ( en, link=no, "The Book of the History of the Franks") is a chronicle written anonymously during the 8th century. The first sections served as a secondary source for early Franks in the time of Marcomer, giving a ...
'', a history of the Franks written in Neustria in 727, portrays the Austrasian Drogo as sympathetic to the Neustrians because of his marital connections. He did, however, fall foul of the
abbey of Saint-Denis
The Basilica of Saint-Denis (french: Basilique royale de Saint-Denis, links=no, now formally known as the ) is a large former medieval abbey church and present cathedral in the commune of Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of Paris. The building ...
, which sued him in the king's court in a property dispute. King
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 ...
ruled in Saint-Denis's favour. Drogo also lost a lawsuit over the villa of
Noisy-sur-Oise
Noisy-sur-Oise (, literally ''Noisy on Oise'') is a commune in the Val-d'Oise department and Île-de-France region of France.
See also
*Communes of the Val-d'Oise department
The following is a list of the 184 communes of the Val-d'Oise de ...
with the monastery of
Tussonval in 697.
Drogo predeceased his father, dying in 707, according to the ''
Gesta abbatum Fontanellensium
The ''Gesta abbatum Fontanellensium'' (Deeds of the Abbots of Fontenelle), also called the ''Gesta sanctorum patrum Fontanellensis coenobii'' (Deeds of the Holy Fathers of the Monastery of Fontenelle), is an anonymous Latin chronicle of the Abbey o ...
'', or in 708, according to most of the annals. He was buried in 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 ...
, to which his four sons made a grant of land in his honour in June 715. The ''
Annales Mettenses The ''Annals of Metz'' ( la, Annales Mettenses) are a set of Latin Carolingian annals covering the period of Frankish history from the victory of Pepin II in the Battle of Tertry (687) to the time of writing (c. 806). Although the annals do cover ...
'' record that Grimoald succeeded Drogo in all his offices, but in fact his son Arnulf succeeded him as duke. The death of Drogo was perceived by later generations as a pivotal event in the history of the
Carolingian dynasty
The Carolingian dynasty (; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charlemagne, grandson of mayor Charles Martel and a descendant of the Arnulfing and Pippin ...
. Several of the
imperial annals written in the late eighth century begin their year-by-year accounts with 708. These include the ''
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 ...
'', ''
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 ...
'' and ''
Annales Laureshamenses''.
References
Sources
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{{Authority control
670s births
708 deaths
Pippinids
7th-century Frankish nobility