The Carolingian dynasty (; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a
Frankish noble family named after
Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Em ...
, grandson of
mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...
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 state ...
and a descendant of the
Arnulfing and Pippinid clans of the 7th century AD. The dynasty consolidated its power in the 8th century, eventually making the offices of
mayor of the palace and ''
dux et princeps Francorum'' hereditary, and becoming the ''de facto'' rulers of the Franks as the real powers behind the Merovingian throne. In 751 the
Merovingian dynasty which had ruled the
Germanic Franks
The Franks ( la, Franci or ) were a group of Germanic peoples whose name was first mentioned in 3rd-century Roman sources, and associated with tribes between the Lower Rhine and the Ems River, on the edge of the Roman Empire.H. Schutz: Tools, ...
was overthrown with the consent of the
Papacy
The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
and the aristocracy, and
Pepin the Short, son of Martel, was crowned
King of the Franks. The Carolingian dynasty reached its peak in 800 with the crowning of
Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Em ...
as the first
Emperor of the Romans in the West in over three centuries. His death in 814 began an extended period of fragmentation of the
Carolingian Empire
The Carolingian Empire (800–888) was a large Frankish-dominated empire in western and central Europe during the Early Middle Ages. It was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty, which had ruled as kings of the Franks since 751 and as kings of the ...
and decline that would eventually lead to the evolution of the
Kingdom of France
The Kingdom of France ( fro, Reaume de France; frm, Royaulme de France; french: link=yes, Royaume de France) is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the medieval and early modern period ...
and the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars.
From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...
.
Name
The Carolingian dynasty takes its name from ''Carolus'', the Latinised name 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 state ...
, ''de facto'' ruler of Francia from 718 until his death. The name "Carolingian" (
Medieval Latin
Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin
Classical Latin is the form of Literary Latin recognized as a Literary language, literary standard language, standard by writers of the late Roman Republic and early Roman Empire. It was used f ...
''karolingi'', an altered form of an unattested
Old High German
Old High German (OHG; german: Althochdeutsch (Ahd.)) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally covering the period from around 750 to 1050.
There is no standardised or supra-regional form of German at this period, and Old High ...
word ''karling'' or ''kerling'', meaning "descendant of Charles" cf.
MHG ''kerlinc'') means "the family of Charles."
History
Origins
Pippin I & Arnulf of Metz (613–645)
The Carolingian line began first with two important rival Frankish families, the
Pippinids and
Arnulfings, whose destinies became intermingled in the early 7th century. Both men came from noble backgrounds on the western borders of the
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 th ...
territory between the
Meuse
The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a ...
and
Moselle
The Moselle ( , ; german: Mosel ; lb, Musel ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a bank (geography), left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it jo ...
rivers, north of
Liège.
The first two figures
Pippin I of Landen and
Arnulf of Metz, from whom historians have taken the family names, both first appeared in the fourth book of the ''
Continuations of Fredegar'' as advisers to
Chlotar II of Neustria, who ‘incited’ revolt against King
Theuderic II and
Brunhild of Austrasia in 613.
Through shared interests, Pippin and Arnulf allied their families through the marriage of Pippin's daughter
Begga and Arnulf's son
Ansegisel.
As repayment for their help in the Austrasian conquest, Chlotar rewarded both men with important positions of power in Austrasia. However, Arnulf was the first to gain. He was bestowed the bishopric of Metz in 614, entrusting him with the management of the Austrasian capital and the education of Chlotar's young son, the future
Dagobert I.
This is a position he would hold until his retirement in 629 after Chlotar's death, when he left for a small ecclesiastical community near Habendum; he was later buried at the monastery of
Remiremont after his death c. 645.
Pippin I (624–640)
Pippin was not immediately rewarded, but eventually was given the position of ''maior palatti'' or '
mayor of the palace' of Austrasia in 624. This reward was incredibly important, as it secured Pippin a position of prime importance with the Merovingian royal court. The mayor of the palace would essentially act as the mediator between the King and the magnates of the region; as Paul Fouracre summarises, they were 'regarded as the most important non-royal person in the kingdom.'
The reason why Pippin was not rewarded sooner is not certain, but two mayors, Rado (613 – c. 617) and Chucus (c. 617 – c. 624), are believed to have preceded him and were potentially political rivals connected to the fellow Austrasian 'Gundoinings' noble family.
Once elected, Pippin served faithfully under Chlotar until the latter's death in 629, and solidified the Pippinids' position of power within Austrasia by supporting Chlotar's son Dagobert, who became King of Austrasia in 623.
Pippin, with support from Arnulf and other Austrasian magnates, even used the opportunity to support the killing of an important political rival
Chrodoald, an
Agilolfing lord.
Following King Dagobert I's ascent to the throne in c. 629, he returned Frankish politics back to Paris in
Neustria, from whence it had been removed by Chlotar in 613. As a result, Pippin lost his position as mayor and the support of the Austrasian magnates, who were seemingly irritated by his inability to persuade the King to return the political centre to Austrasia.
Instead, Dagobert turned to the Pippinids' political rival family, the
Gundoinings, whose connections in
Adalgesil,
Cunibert, archbishop of Cologne, Otto and
Radulf (who would later revolt in 642)
once again removed the Pippinid and Arnulfing influence in the Austrasia assemblies.
Pippin did not reappear in the historical record until Dagobert's death in 638,
when he had seemingly been reinstated as mayor of Austrasia and began to support the new young King
Sigebert III. According to the ''Continuations'', Pippin made arrangements with his rival, Archbishop
Cunibert, to get Austrasian support for the 10-year-old King Sigibert III, who ruled Austrasia whilst his brother
Clovis II ruled over Neustria and
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 ...
. Soon after securing his position once again, he unexpectedly died in 640.
Grimoald (640–656)
Following Pippin's sudden death, the Pippinid family worked swiftly to secure their position. Pippin's daughter
Gertrude and wife
Itta founded and entered the
Nivelles Abbey, and his only son
Grimoald worked to secure his father's position of ''maior palatii.'' The position was not hereditary and therefore passed to another Austrasian noble, Otto, the tutor of Sigebert III.
According to the ''Continuations'', Grimoald began to work with his father's accomplice Cunibert to remove Otto from office. He finally succeeded in c. 641, when
Leuthar, Duke of the Alamans killed Otto under Grimoald's and, we must assume, Cunibert's orders.
Grimoald then became mayor of Austrasia. His power at this time was extensive, with properties in
Utrecht
Utrecht ( , , ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Nethe ...
,
Nijmegen,
Tongeren and
Maastricht
Maastricht ( , , ; li, Mestreech ; french: Maestricht ; es, Mastrique ) is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital and largest city of the province of Limburg. Maastricht is located on both sides of the ...
; he was even called 'ruler of the realm' by
Desiderius of Cahors
Saint Didier, also known as Desiderius ( AD – November 15, traditionally 655), was a Merovingian-era royal official of aristocratic Gallo-Roman extraction.
He succeeded his own brother, Rusticus of Cahors, as bishop of Cahors and governed the ...
in 643.
This could not have been done if Grimoald had not secured Sigibert III's support. The Pippinids already gained royal patronage from Pippin I's support, but this was further bolstered by Grimoald's role in Duke Radulf of Thuringia's rebellion. Just prior to Otto's assassination, in c. 640 Radulf revolted against the Merovingians and made himself King of Thuringia. Sigibert, with an Austrasian army including Grimoald and Duke
Adalgisel, went on campaign and after a brief victory against
Fara, son of the assassinated
Agilofing lord Chrodoald, the Austrasians met Radulf on the
River Unstrut
The Unstrut () is a river in Germany and a left tributary of the Saale.
The Unstrut originates in northern Thuringia near Dingelstädt (west of Kefferhausen in the Eichsfeld area) and its catchment area is the whole of the Thuringian Basin. I ...
where he had set up a stronghold. What followed was a disorganized battle spread over several days, in which the Austrasian lords disagreed on tactics. Grimoald and Adalgesil strengthened their position by defending Sigibert's interests, but could not establish an unanimous agreement. During their final assault, the 'men of
Mainz
Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-west, with Ma ...
' betrayed the Austrasians and joined with Radulf. This penultimate battle killed many important Austras