Pepin, Mayor of AUSTRASIA, **

                   Victor over the Saracens at Tours, Poitiers.

Carolingian ruler of the Frankish kingdom of Austrasia (in presentnortheastern France and southwestern Germany). Charles, whose surnamemeans the hammer, was the son of Pepin of Herstal and the grandfather ofCharlemagne. Pepin was mayor of the palace under the last kings of theMerovingian dynasty. When he died in 714, Charles, an illegitimate son,was imprisoned by his father's widow, but he escaped in 715 and wasproclaimed mayor of the palace by the Austrasians. A war betweenAustrasia and the Frankish kingdom of Neustria (now part of France)followed, and at the end of it Charles became the undisputed ruler of allthe Franks. Although he was engaged in wars against the Alamanni,Bavarians, and Saxons, his greatest achievements were against the Muslimsfrom Spain, who invaded France in 732. Charles defeated them nearPoitiers in a great battle in which the Muslim leader, Abd-ar-Rahman, theemir of Spain, was killed. The progress of Islam, which had filled allChristendom with alarm, was thus checked for a time. Charles drove theMuslims out of the Rhone valley in 739, when they had again advanced intoFrance as far as Lyon, leaving them nothing of their possessions north ofthe Pyrenees beyond the Aude River. Charles died in Quierzy, on the OiseRiver, leaving the kingdom divided between his two sons, Carloman (circa715-54) and Pepin the Short.

SOURCES:
Charles Martel (Andre Roux: Scrolls, 191.)

(Paul, Nouveau Larousse Universel.)

(Rosamond, Frankish kingdom under Carolingians.)

(Stuart, Royalty for Commoners, Page 129, Line 171-43.)

(Andre Castelot, Histoire de La France, Tome 1, Pages 271 - 273, 369).

Born: in 686 in Chateau de Franchemont, Belgium, son of Pepin IId'Heristal and Aupais=Alpaide N? , The Chateau de Franchemont is near Spaand also Verviers, which may have encompassed Heristal. During World WarII, the resistance used the tunnels under the castle to hide people andsupplies from the German hordes.

Married before 715: Rotrude=Chrotrud, Duchesse d'Austrasie , daughter ofSaint Lievin=Leutwinus, Bishop de Treves and N. d'Istrie. Note - between715 and 741: Toward the end of 715, Charles escaped from the prison hisstep-grandmother had locked him in, and rallies the Austrasians. InMarch, 716, however, in his first conflict with the Frisons who wereedging their way up the Rhine, Charles is routed. A few weeks later, heis able to beat the Neustrians on the Ambeve River, near Malmedy. on 21March 717, he is victorious over the Neustrians again, this time atVincy, near Cambrai and he forces Chilperic II and his Mayor of thePalace, Rainfroi to flee to Paris. In 714, Charles takes the title Mayorof the Palace of Neustria, and gives the Neustrians a new King, ClotaireIV, son of Thierry III [who had died in 691] . The same year, his armiesravage Saxe all the way to the Weser River. In early 719, Clotaire IVdied, and Rainfroi and Chilperic II obtain the assistance of Eudes, Dukeof Aquitaine in a campaign against Charles. Charles defeats both armies;however, since Clotaire IV is dead, Charles recognizes Chilperic, but hebecomes the Major Domus of both Neustria and Austrasia. When Chilperic IIdied in 721, Charles pulled Thierry IV, young adolescent son of DagobertIII, out of the Monastery of Chelles. from 722 to 724, the arabs mountsuccessful offensives and pillage Autun.  Charles, worried aboutmaintaining the Franc authority, Charles Martel mounts a frightfullysuccesful campaign in Bavaria against the Allemanians and the Frisons,and he destroys their temples. Theutbald, Duke of the Allemanians isessentially powerless. In Gaule, toward the end of the decade, Charlesturns his attention to Eudes, Duke of Aquitaine, who had maintained tooindependent an attitude.  Aquitaine is ravaged in the process. In 730,Eudes allies himself with an Emir of northern Spain, Othmann benAbi-Nessa and the arabs agin a foothold in southern France. By 732, a newemir, Adb-el-Rahman invades from Pampelona, cross the Pyrenees nearRoncevaux, take and pillage Bordeaux, burning all the churches. In theSummer, they take Poitiers and destroy the basilica ofSaint-Hilaire-hors-les-murs. On Saturday 17 October 732, Charles Martel'sarmies take the great Roman way linking Chatellerault to Poitiers and at20 km North of Poitiers, at Moussais-la-Bataille, it encounters thearabs. They would observe each other for 7 days before the Battle ofPoitiers would take place.

The Battle of Poitiers: One Chronicler, Fredegaire described the actionas follows: "Duke Eudes, being viewed with derision throughout his lands,called against Prince Charles and the nation of the Francs, that mostperfidious race of the Sarrasins [that is not accurate as Eudes had firstallied himself with an Emir, but then called upon Charles for aid whenevents turned on him] . The Sarrasins, led by their King, Abd-el-Rahmancross Gerona [another error as they set out from Pampelona and crossedthe pyrenees at Roncevaux] . After having burned the churches, andcrushed the population, they arrive in Poitiers. When they burn theBasilica and destroy the residence of Saint Martin, Prince Charles putinto action an audacious plan and the order of Battle is given. With theaid of Jesus Christ, our Lord, our valorous Prince destroys their tentsand flies into combat to crush them..."

A less glorious account is given by a monk of the Abbey of Moissac:

"The King of Spain, Abd-el-Rahman, having crossed the Pyrenees with hislarge army from Pampelona, laid siege to Bordeaux. Then Eudes, Prince ofAquitaine, leading his large assembled army fought against the Sarrasinson the banks of the Garonne. But, from the beginning, the Sarrasins werevictorious. Eudes, having to flee, recruited the assistance of Charles,Prince of the Francs. Then Charles led his armies and combat ensued inthe suburbs of Poitiers [the actual battle took place 20 km North ofPoitiers] . The Sarrasins having been beaten by the Francs, and theirKing, Abd-el-Rahman killed, fled in a most disorderly manner back toSpain. As to Charles, he returned triumphantly to France with thebounty..."

The Moslems have named that field of Battle: Balad-al-Shouhada -- Placeof the Martyrs of the Faith.  This victory gave Charles Martelextraordinary prestige, and it is there that he is said to have crushedthe arabs "like a hammer". He then occupied the Bourgogne (Burgundy) andpacified the Languedoc, and Provence, thus establishing a significantFrench Monarchy. He exiled the family of Eucharic of Orleans, whocontrolled the bishopric of Auxerre, to Hesbaye, and installed his ownman, Aimar to the Holy See. Married before 726: Sunnichild de Baviere.Buried: in Oct 741 in Saint Denis, Seine, Ile-de-France, France. Died: on22 Oct 741 in Kiersy=Quierzy, Aisne, France, Upon Charles Martel's death,his two sons divide the Kingdom in accordance with his wishes. Carlomangets Austrasia, Allemania and Thuringia; Pepin gets Neustria, Burgundyand Provence. The rest, very little, went to Grifon, a bastard child ofCharles by Swannhilde, grand-daughter of the Duke of the Bavarians.