Carolingian dynastyThe Carolingian dynasty ( ; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charles Martel and his grandson Charlemagne, descendants of the Arnulfing and Pippinid clans of the 7th century AD.
Arnulf of MetzArnulf of Metz (c. 582 – c. 645) was a Frankishbishop 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. GenealogyThe Vita Sancti Arnulfi (c. 657), written shortly after Arnulf's death, states that he was of Frankish ancestry, from "sufficiently elevated and noble parentage, and very rich in worldly goods".
AnsegiselAnsegisel (c. 602 or 610 – murdered before 679 or 662) was the younger son of Saint Arnulf, bishop of Metz. LifeHe served King Sigebert III of Austrasia (634–656) as domesticus. He was killed sometime before 679, slain in a feud by his enemy . Through his son Pepin, Ansegisel's descendants would eventually become Frankish kings and rule over the Carolingian Empire. Marriage and issueHe was married to Begga, the daughter of Pepin the Elder, sometime after 639.
Mayor of the palaceMerovingian-dynasty term for the manager of the King's household Francia in 714 Under the Merovingian dynasty, the mayor of the palace or majordomo, (Latin: maior palatii or maior domus) was the manager of the household of the Frankish king. He was the head of the Merovingian administrative ladder and orchestrated the operation of the entire court. He was appointed by the king from among the magnates, the most powerful families.
AustrasiaAustrasia was a historical region and the northeastern realm within the core of the Frankish State during the Early Middle Ages, centering on the regions between Meuse, Moselle, Middle Rhine and the Main rivers. It included the original Frankish-ruled territories within what had been the northernmost part of Roman Gaul. It also stretched beyond the old Roman borders on the Rhine into Frankish areas which had never been formally under Roman rule.
Pepin of HerstalPepin II (c. 635 – 16December 714), commonly known as Pepin of Herstal, was a Frankish statesman and military leader who was the de facto ruler of Francia as the Mayor of the Palace from 680 until his death. He took the title Duke and Prince of the Franks upon his conquest of all the Frankish realms. The son of the powerful Frankish statesman Ansegisel, Pepin worked to establish his family, the Pippinids, as the strongest in Francia.
BeggaSaint Begga (also Begue, Beghe, Begge) (615 – 17 December 693) was the daughter of Pepin of Landen, mayor of the palace of Austrasia, and his wife Itta. She is also the grandmother of Charles Martel, who is the grandfather of Charlemagne. LifeThe daughter of Pepin of Landen and his wife, Itta, Begga was the older sister of St Gertrude of Nivelles. She married Ansegisel, son of Arnulf, Bishop of Metz, and was the mother of Pepin of Heristal and possibly Duke Martin.Leading nameA leading name (German Leitname, plural Leitnamen) is a given name that is used repeatedly over several generations in a lineage or broader kin group. Usually the entire name is used again and again, but sometimes a root of a name may be reused in several different forms. A leading name could function as a sort of "moral property", where only those of the lineage had a right to use it and it was expected that nobody else would do so.
FranksThe Franks (Latin: Franci) were a Western European people who began in the third century as a group of Germanic tribes near the Lower Rhine River, but gradually became a multilingual, Catholic Christian people, who controlled a large territory both inside and outside the former Roman Empire.
Merovingian dynastyThe Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from around the middle of the 5th century until Pepin the Short in 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gallo-Romans under their rule. They conquered most of Gaul, defeating the Visigoths (507) and the Burgundians (534), and also extended their rule into Raetia (537).
Annals of MetzThe Annals of Metz (Latin: Annales Mettenses) are a set of LatinCarolingian 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). Sections covering events after 806 are not original writings but were borrowed from other texts and appended to the original annals in the 9th and 12th centuries.Pepin of LandenPepin I (also Peppin, Pipin, or Pippin) of Landen (c. 580 – 21 February 640), also called the Elder or the Old, was the Mayor of the palace of Austrasia under the Merovingian King Dagobert I from 623 to 629. He was also the Mayor for Sigebert III from 639 until his death.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.