Gilbert Malet

M, b. say 1130, d. 1194
  • Last Edited: 5 Aug 2000
  • (Child) Birth*: say 1130
  • (Groom) Marriage*: Bride=Alice Picot
  • (Deceased) Death*: 1194

Family: Alice Picot b. s 1130

Alice Picot

F, b. say 1130
  • Last Edited: 5 Aug 2000
  • Married Name: Malet
  • (Child) Birth*: say 1130
  • (Bride) Marriage*: Groom=Gilbert Malet

Family: Gilbert Malet b. s 1130, d. 1194

William Malet

M, b. say 1100, d. 1169
  • Last Edited: 5 Aug 2000
  • (Child) Birth*: say 1100
  • (Groom) Marriage*: Bride=Maud Mortimer
  • (Deceased) Death*: 1169

Family: Maud Mortimer b. s 1100

Maud Mortimer

F, b. say 1100
  • Last Edited: 5 Aug 2000
  • Married Name: Malet
  • (Child) Birth*: say 1100
  • (Bride) Marriage*: Groom=William Malet

Family: William Malet b. s 1100, d. 1169

Robert Malet

M, b. say 1070
  • Last Edited: 5 Aug 2000
  • (Child) Birth*: say 1070
  • (Groom) Marriage*:

Family:

Gilbert Malet

M, b. say 1045
  • Last Edited: 5 Aug 2000

Family: (?) de Correole b. s 1047

(?) de Correole

F, b. say 1047
  • Last Edited: 14 Sep 2002
  • (Bride) Marriage*: Groom=Gilbert Malet
  • (Child) Birth*: say 1047

Family: Gilbert Malet b. s 1045

William Malet

M, b. say 1020, d. 1072
  • Last Edited: 5 Oct 2000
  • (Child) Birth*: say 1020
  • (Groom) Marriage*: say 1044; Bride=Hesila Elisa Crispin
  • (Deceased) Death*: 1072

Family: Hesila Elisa Crispin b. s 1022

Hesila Elisa Crispin

F, b. say 1022
  • Last Edited: 5 Aug 2000
  • (Child) Birth*: say 1022
  • (Bride) Marriage*: say 1044; Groom=William Malet
  • Married Name: say 1044; Malet

Family: William Malet b. s 1020, d. 1072

Gilbert Crispin

M, b. say 986
  • Last Edited: 4 Oct 2000
  • (Child) Birth*: say 986; France
  • (Groom) Marriage*: say 1012; Bride=Gunmore d'Ainon
  • Biography*: Gilbert CRISPIN (d. c. 1117), English cleric, biblical exegete, and proponent of the thought of St. Anselm of Canterbury. Of noble birth, Gilbert was educated and later became a monk at the monastery of Bec, in Normandy, where Anselm was abbot. Gilbert served as abbot of Westminster from c. 1085 until his death. Gilbert's exegesis was deeply influenced by his friendship with Anselm and his acquaintance with a Jew from Mainz. His skillful writings include Disputatio Iudaei et Christiani, in which a dialogue on the Christian faith is carried out between Gilbert and his Jewish acquaintance. Other historical and doctrinal works are De Simoniacis, De Spiritu Sancto, and Disputatio Christiani cum gentilli. Source: "Gilbert CRISPIN" Britannica Online. [Accessed 15 February 1998].

Family: Gunmore d'Ainon b. s 988

Gunmore d'Ainon

F, b. say 988
  • Last Edited: 2 Oct 2000
  • (Child) Birth*: say 988; France
  • (Bride) Marriage*: say 1012; Groom=Gilbert Crispin
  • Married Name: say 1012; Crispin

Family: Gilbert Crispin b. s 986

Crispin de Bec

M, b. say 940
  • Last Edited: 14 Sep 2002

Family: Haloise de Guines b. s 942

Haloise de Guines

F, b. say 942
  • Last Edited: 14 Sep 2002
  • Married Name: de Bec
  • (Bride) Marriage*: Groom=Crispin de Bec
  • (Child) Birth*: say 942

Family: Crispin de Bec b. s 940

Count Sigfred (?)

M, b. say 922
  • Last Edited: 14 Sep 2002
  • (Child) Birth*: say 922
  • (Groom) Marriage*: Bride=Elstrude (?)

Family: Elstrude (?) b. s 924

Elstrude (?)

F, b. say 924
  • Last Edited: 4 Oct 2000

Family: Count Sigfred (?) b. s 922

King Arnulf (?) the Great

M, b. say 900, d. 27 March 965
  • Last Edited: 14 Sep 2002
  • (Child) Birth*: say 900
  • (Groom) Marriage*: Bride=Alice (?) of Vermandois
  • (Deceased) Death*: 27 March 965
  • Biography*: Arnulf I, byname ARNULF THE GREAT, or THE ELDER, French ARNOUL LE GRAND, or LE VIEUX, Dutch ARNULF DE GROTE, or DE OUDE (b. c. 900--d. March 27, 965), count of Flanders (918-958, 962-965) and son of Baldwin II. On his father's death in 918, the inherited lands were divided between Arnulf and his brother Adolf, but the latter survived only a short time, and Arnulf succeeded to the whole inheritance. His reign was filled with warfare against the Norsemen, and he took an active part in the struggles in Lorraine between the emperor Otto I and Hugh Capet. In 958 Arnulf placed the government in the hands of his son Baldwin ( Baldwin III), and the young man, though his reign was a very short one, did a great deal for the commercial and industrial progress of the country, establishing the first weavers and fullers at Ghent and instituting yearly fairs at Ypres, Bruges, and other places. On Baldwin III's death in 962 the old count, Arnulf I, resumed control and spent the few remaining years of his life in securing the succession of his grandson Arnulf II the Younger (reigned 965-988). Source: "Arnulf I" Britannica Online. [Accessed 10 February 1998].

Family: Alice (?) of Vermandois b. s 902

King Baldwin (?) the Bald, Count of Flanders

M, b. circa 863
  • Last Edited: 29 Jun 2004
  • (Child) Birth*: circa 8631
  • (Groom) Marriage*: after 893; Bride=Elfrida (?)1
  • Biography*: Baldwin II, byname BALDWIN THE BALD, French BAUDOUIN LE CHAUVE, Dutch BOUDEWIJN DE KALE (d. 918), second ruler of Flanders, who, from his stronghold at Bruges, maintained, as his father Baldwin I before him, a vigorous defense of his lands against the incursions of the Norsemen. On his mother's side a descendant of Charlemagne, he strengthened the dynastic importance of his family by marrying Aelfthryth, daughter of Alfred the Great, of Wessex, Eng. Source: "Baldwin II" Britannica Online. [Accessed 10 February 1998].

Family: Elfrida (?) b. s 868, d. 7 Jun 929

Citations

  1. [S287] Directory of Royal Genealogical Data, http://www3.dcs.hull.ac.uk/public/genealogy/royal/.

King Baldwin (?) Iron-Arm of Flanders

M, b. say 840
  • Last Edited: 31 Jan 2004
  • (Child) Birth*: say 840
  • (Groom) Marriage*: 862; Bride=Princess Judith (?)1
  • Biography*: Baldwin I, byname BALDWIN IRON-ARM, French BAUDOUIN BRAS-DE-FER, Dutch BOUDEWIJN DE IJZERE ARM (d. 879), the first ruler of Flanders. A daring warrior under Charles II the Bald of France, he fell in love with the King's daughter Judith, the youthful widow of two English kings, married her (862), and fled with his bride to Lorraine. Charles, though at first angry, was at last conciliated, and made his son-in-law margrave (Marchio Flandriae) of Flanders (864), which he held as a hereditary fief. The Norsemen were at this time continually devastating the coastlands, and Baldwin was entrusted with this outlying borderland in order to defend it. He was the first of a line of strong rulers, who early in the 10th century exchanged the title of margrave for that of count. Source: "Baldwin I" Britannica Online. [Accessed 10 February 1998].

Family: Princess Judith (?) b. s 843

Citations

  1. [S287] Directory of Royal Genealogical Data, http://www3.dcs.hull.ac.uk/public/genealogy/royal/.

Princess Judith (?)

F, b. say 843
  • Last Edited: 31 Jan 2004

Family: King Baldwin (?) Iron-Arm of Flanders b. s 840

Citations

  1. [S287] Directory of Royal Genealogical Data, http://www3.dcs.hull.ac.uk/public/genealogy/royal/.

Bertha (?)

F, b. say 716
  • Last Edited: 5 Oct 2000

Family: King Pepin (?) the Short b. c 714, d. 24 Sep 768

Hildegard (?)

F, b. 758, d. 30 April 783
  • Last Edited: 5 Oct 2000

Family: Charlemagne (?) Emperor of The West b. 2 Apr 742, d. 28 Jan 813

Begga (?)

F, b. say 605, d. before 675
  • Last Edited: 7 Jan 2002
  • (Child) Birth*: say 605
  • (Bride) Marriage*: Groom=Ansegisel (?)
  • (Deceased) Death*: before 675

Family: Ansegisel (?) b. s 605

King Pepin (?) the Short

M, b. circa 714, d. 24 September 768
  • Last Edited: 14 Sep 2002
  • (Child) Birth*: circa 714
  • (Groom) Marriage*: Bride=Bertha (?)
  • (Deceased) Death*: 24 September 768; Saint-Denis, Neustria, France
  • Biography*: Pepin III, byname PEPIN THE SHORT, French PÉPIN LE BREF, German PIPPIN DER KURZE (b. c. 714--d. Sept. 24, 768, Saint-Denis, Neustria [now in France]), the first king of the Frankish Carolingian dynasty and the father of Charlemagne. A son of Charles Martel, Pepin became sole de facto ruler of the Franks in 747 and then, on the deposition of Childeric III in 751, king of the Franks. He was the first Frankish king to be anointed--first by St. Boniface and later (754) by Pope Stephen II. For years the Merovingian kings had been unable to prevent power from slipping from their hands into those of the counts and other magnates. The kings were gradually eclipsed by the mayors of the palace, whose status developed from that of officer of the household to regent or viceroy. Among the mayors, a rich family descended from Pepin of Landen (Pepin I) held a position of especial importance. When Charles Martel, the scion of that family, died in 741, he left two sons: the elder, Carloman, mayor of Austrasia, Alemannia, and Thuringia, and Pepin III, mayor of Neustria, Burgundy, and Provence. No king had ruled over all the Franks since 737, but to maintain the fiction of Merovingian sovereignty, the two mayors gave the crown to Childeric III in 743. Charles had had a third son, however-- Grifo, who had been born to him by a Bavarian woman of high rank, probably his mistress. In 741, when his two brothers were declared mayors of the Franks, Grifo rebelled. He led a number of revolts in subsequent years and was several times imprisoned. In 753 he was killed amid the Alpine passes on his way to join the Lombards, at this time enemies of the Franks as well as of the papacy. Numerous other rebellions broke out. In 742 men of the Aquitaine and Alemannia were in revolt; in 743 Odilo, duke of Bavaria, led his men into battle; in 744 the Saxons rebelled, in 745 Aquitaine, and in 746 Alemannia, both the latter for the second time. In 747, when Carloman decided to enter monastic life at Rome, a step he had been considering for years, Pepin became sole ruler of the Franks. But Pepin was ambitious to govern his people as king, not merely as mayor. Like his father, he had courage and resolution; unlike his father, he had a strong desire to unite the papacy with the Frankish realm. In 750 he sent two envoys to Pope Zacharias with a letter asking: "Is it wise to have kings who hold no power of control?" The pope answered: "It is better to have a king able to govern. By apostolic authority I bid that you be crowned King of the Franks." Childeric III was deposed and sent to a monastery, and Pepin was anointed as king at Soissons in November 751 by Archbishop Boniface and other prelates. The pope was in need of aid. Aistulf, king of the Lombards, had seized Ravenna with its lands, known as the exarchate. Soon, Lombard troops marched south, surrounded Rome, and prepared to lay siege to its walls. So matters stood when in 752 Zacharias died and Stephen II became pope. In November 753 Pope Stephen made his way over the stormy mountain passes to Frankish territory. He remained in France until the summer of 754, staying at the abbey of Saint-Denis, Paris. There he himself anointed Pepin and his sons, Charles and Carloman, as king and heirs of the crown. The pope returned to Italy accompanied by Pepin and his army. A fierce battle was fought in the Alps against Aistulf and the Lombards. The Lombard king fled back to his capital, Pavia; Pepin and his men plundered the land around Pavia until Aistulf promised to restore to papal possession Ravenna and all the Roman properties claimed by the pope. Aistulf broke his word. Again and again Pope Stephen wrote to Pepin of his difficulties. In 756 the Frankish king once more entered Italy. Aistulf was once more constrained to make promises, but the same year he died--of a fall from his horse--and in April 757 a new king, Desiderius, became ruler of the Lombards. That year Stephen II also died, and Paul I was elected pope. He, too, constantly wrote to Pepin asking for help. But the King of the Franks had other concerns. He had to put down revolts in Saxony in 748 and 753 and a rising in Bavaria in 749. He was continually marching against rebellious Aquitaine. In 768 Pepin died at Saint-Denis, on his way back from one of his Aquitainian expeditions. Pepin is remembered not only as the first of the Carolingians but also as a strong supporter of the Roman Church. The papal claims to territory in Italy originated with Pepin's campaigns against Aistulf and the latter's pledge to return the Roman territories. His letters also show him calling for archbishoprics in Frankish territory, promoting synods of clergy and layfolk, and as deeply interested in theology. Source: "Pepin III" Britannica Online. [Accessed 10 February 1998].

Family: Bertha (?) b. s 716

Elfrida (?)

F, b. say 868, d. 7 June 929
  • Last Edited: 31 Jan 2004

Family: King Baldwin (?) the Bald, Count of Flanders b. c 863

Citations

  1. [S287] Directory of Royal Genealogical Data, http://www3.dcs.hull.ac.uk/public/genealogy/royal/.

Alice (?) of Vermandois

F, b. say 902
  • Last Edited: 27 Dec 2003

Family: King Arnulf (?) the Great b. s 900, d. 27 Mar 965

Saint Arnulf (?) of Metz

M, b. say 580, d. circa 18 July 640
  • Last Edited: 14 Sep 2002
  • (Child) Birth*: say 580; Nancy, France
  • (Groom) Marriage*: Bride=Doda (?)
  • (Deceased) Death*: circa 18 July 640; Remiremont, France
  • Biography*: Arnulf OF METZ, SAINT, French SAINT ARNOUL DE METZ (b. c. 580, near Nancy [France]--d. July 18, 640?, Remiremont; feast day August 16 or 19), bishop of Metz and, with Pepin I, the earliest known ancestor of Charlemagne. A Frankish noble, Arnulf gave distinguished service at the Austrasian court under Theudebert II (595-612). In 613, however, with Pepin, he led the aristocratic opposition to Brunhild that led to her downfall and to the reunification of Frankish lands under Chlotar II. About the same year, he became bishop. From 623, again with Pepin, now mayor of the Austrasian palace, Arnulf was adviser to Dagobert I, before retiring (629?) to become a hermit. Arnulf's son Ansegisel married Pepin's daughter Begga; the son of this marriage, Pepin II, was Charlemagne's great-grandfather. Source: "Arnulf OF METZ, SAINT" Britannica Online. [Accessed 10 February 1998].
    .
    The following is from from saints.catholic.org/images/20pix.gif
    .
    St. Arnulf d.c. 640 Feastday: July 18
    .
    Bishop and member of the court of the Frankish king Theodebert II of
    Austrasia, sometimes called Arnuiph or Arnulf of Metz. A noble, Arnulf
    married Doda, and their son was Ansegisel. Ansegisel married Beggia, the daughter of Pepin of Landen, starting the Carolingian dynasty of France. Doda became a nun, and Arnulf made plans to enter a monastery but was named the bishop of Nletz around 616. He continued his court services, making Clotaire of Neustria the king of Austrasia. He also served as counselor to Dagobert, King Clotaire's son. In 626, Arnulf retired to a hermitage at Remiremont, France.

Family: Doda (?) b. s 580

Charles (?) the Bald, Emperor of the West

M, b. 13 June 823, d. 6 October 877
  • Last Edited: 14 Sep 2002
  • (Child) Birth*: 13 June 823
  • (Groom) Marriage*: 843; Bride=Ermentrude (?)
  • (Deceased) Death*: 6 October 877
  • Biography*: Charles II, byname CHARLES THE BALD, French CHARLES LE CHAUVE, German KARL DER KAHLE (b. June 13, 823--d. Oct. 6, 877, Brides-les-Bain, Fr.), king of France (i.e., Francis Occidentalis, the West Frankish kingdom) from 843 to 877 and Western emperor from 875 to 877. (He is reckoned as Charles II both of the Holy Roman Empire and of France.) Son of the emperor Louis I the Pious and his second wife, Judith, Charles was the unwitting cause of violent discord when, in 829, he was granted lands by his father; Louis's action precipitated a series of civil wars, lasting until 838, in which the three sons of his first marriage, Lothair I, Louis (the German), and Pepin, strove to maintain or to increase the rights that they had been guaranteed by the succession settlement of 817, the Ordinatio imperii. Pepin died in 838, but after the death of Louis I in 840 the civil war resumed and continued until Louis the German joined with Charles to force Lothair to accept the Treaty of Verdun in 843, by which Charles received all the lands west of a line roughly following the Scheldt, the Meuse, the Saône, the eastern mountains of the Massif Central, and the lower reaches of the Rhône, and Louis the German and Lothair received respectively the lands of the East Franks (Germany) and the middle kingdom, lying between the other two. Until 864 Charles's political situation was precarious because few vassals were loyal to him. His lands suffered from raids by Northmen, who left only after receiving bribes; he was defeated by the Bretons and, in 858, faced an invasion by Louis the German. Yet he succeeded in gaining control of Aquitaine after the capture of Pepin's son in 864; and, by the Treaty of Meersen (870) with Louis the German, he received western Lorraine. When Lothair's son, the emperor Louis II, died in 875, Charles went to Italy and was crowned emperor on December 25 by Pope John VIII. In 876, after the death of Louis the German, Charles invaded Louis's possessions but was defeated at Andernach by Louis's son, Louis the Younger. Charles's death in the next year occurred when another son of Louis the German, Carloman, was marching against him and when his own major vassals were in revolt. During Charles's reign some of the splendours of the Carolingian renaissance were revived, and his close collaboration with the church enhanced his prestige and authority. Source: "Charles II" Britannica Online. [Accessed 10 February 1998].

Family: Ermentrude (?) b. s 822

Ermentrude (?)

F, b. say 822
  • Last Edited: 5 Oct 2000

Family: Charles (?) the Bald, Emperor of the West b. 13 Jun 823, d. 6 Oct 877

Louis (?) the Pious, Emperor of the West

M, b. 778, d. 20 June 840
  • Last Edited: 5 Oct 2000
  • (Child) Birth*: 778; Chasseneuil, near Poitiers, Aquitaine
  • (Groom) Marriage*: Bride=Judith (?)
  • (Deceased) Death*: 20 June 840; Petersaue, Germany
  • Biography*: Louis I, byname LOUIS THE PIOUS, or THE DEBONAIR, French LOUIS LE PIEUX, or LE DÉBONNAIRE, German LUDWIG DER FROMME (b. 778, Chasseneuil, near Poitiers, Aquitaine--d. June 20, 840, Petersaue, Ger.), son of the Frankish ruler Charlemagne; he was crowned as co-emperor in 813 and became emperor in 814 on his father's death. Twice deprived of his authority by his sons (Lothair, Pepin, Louis, and Charles), he recovered it each time (830 and 834), but at his death the Carolingian empire was in disarray. Louis was the fifth child of Charlemagne's second wife, Hildegard the Swabian. From 781 until 814 Louis ruled Aquitaine with some success, though largely through counsellors. When Charlemagne died at Aachen in 814 and was succeeded by Louis, by then his only surviving legitimate son, Louis was well experienced in warfare; he was 36, married to Irmengard of Hesbaye, and was the father of three young sons, Lothair, Pepin, and Louis (Louis the German); he had inherited vast lands, which seemed to be under reasonable control; there was no other claimant to the throne; and on Sept. 11, 813, shortly before his father's death, Louis had been crowned in Aachen as heir and co-emperor. Louis' first task was to carry out the terms of Charlemagne's will. According to the Frankish chronicler Einhard, Louis did this with great scrupulousness, although other contemporary sources tell a different story. Louis next began to allocate parts of the empire to the various members of his family, and here began the difficulties and disasters that were to beset him for the remainder of his life. In August 814 he made Lothair and Pepin nominal kings of Bavaria and Aquitaine. He also confirmed Bernard, the son of his dead brother Pepin, as king of Italy, which position Charlemagne had allowed him to inherit in 813. But when Bernard revolted in 817, Louis had him blinded, and he died as a result of it. Louis sent his sisters and half sisters to nunneries and later put his three illegitimate half brothers--Drogo, Hugo, and Theodoric--into monasteries. At the assembly of Aachen in July 817, he confirmed Pepin in the possession of Aquitaine and gave Bavaria to Louis the German; Lothair he made his co-emperor and heir. Charlemagne had been in his 70s and within a few months of death before naming his heir, and for Louis to give such premature expectations to a youth of 22 was to ask for trouble. Moreover, Louis did not anticipate that he would become father of another child: the empress Irmengard died in 818; and four months later Louis married Judith of Bavaria, who, in June 823, bore him a son, Charles (Charles the Bald), to whom the Emperor gave Alemannia in 829. Backed by his two brothers, Lothair rose in revolt and deposed his father. The assembly of Nijmegen in October 830, however, restored Louis to the throne; and, the following February, at the assembly of Aachen, in a second partition, Lothair was given Italy. In 832 Louis took Aquitaine away from Pepin and gave it to Charles. The three brothers revolted a second time, with the support of Pope Gregory IV, and at a meeting near Sigolsheim, in Alsace, once more deposed their father. In March 834 Louis was again restored to the throne and made peace with Pepin and with Louis the German. Later in 834, Lothair rose again, but alone, and had to retreat into Italy. Encouraged by his success, Louis made over more territories to his son Charles at the assemblies of Aachen and Nijmegen (837-838)--a move the three brothers accepted but with bad grace. In 839 Louis the German revolted but was driven back into Bavaria. Meanwhile, Pepin had died (December 838), and, at the assembly of Worms (May 30, 839), a fourth partition was made, the empire being divided between Lothair and Charles, with Bavaria left in the hands of Louis the German. Toward the end of 839 Louis the German marched his troops for the last time against his father, who once more drove him back. The Emperor called an assembly at Worms on July 1, 840. Before it could meet, however, Louis the Pious died at Petersaue, an island in the Rhine near Ingelheim. He was 62 and had ruled for nearly 27 years. He was buried in the Church of St. Arnulf in Metz by Bishop Drogo, his half brother. The empire he had inherited in peace, Louis left in disarray. He had engaged in no serious external conflict, although the Danes and others had continued to make inroads into the empire. From 829 his four sons had been a constant source of disruption; the quarrels among Lothair, Louis the German, and Charles the Bald were to continue for decades after his death. In many ways Louis seems to have been an estimable person. He was presumably given the epithet the Pious because of his devoutness, his liberality to the church, his interest in ecclesiastical affairs, and the good education he had received. Contemporary historians vary little in their judgment: the Astronomer of Limousin stresses his continued courage in the face of adversity; Thegan, bishop of Trier, gives a long and admiring description of his person, his talents, his Christian charity, his devoutness, and his skill as a hunter; and the poem of Ermoldus Nigellus is full of adulation. Like his father, Charlemagne, Louis the Pious is depicted in several of the chansons de geste of the 12th century, notably the Chanson de Guillaume, the Couronnement de Louis, and the Charroi de Nîmes: he appears as a kindly ruler but a weak and vacillating one. Source: "Louis I" Britannica Online. [Accessed 10 February 1998].

Family: Judith (?) b. s 780

Judith (?)

F, b. say 780
  • Last Edited: 5 Oct 2000

Family: Louis (?) the Pious, Emperor of the West b. 778, d. 20 Jun 840

Mayor Charles Martel

M, b. 688, d. 22 October 741
  • Last Edited: 14 Sep 2002
  • (Child) Birth*: 688
  • (Groom) Marriage*:
  • (Deceased) Death*: 22 October 741; Quierzy-sur-Oise, France
  • Biography*: Charles MARTEL, Latin CAROLUS MARTELLUS, German KARL MARTELL (b. c. 688--d. Oct. 22, 741, Quierzy-sur-Oise, France), mayor of the palace of Austrasia (the eastern part of the Frankish kingdom) from 715 to 741. He reunited and ruled the entire Frankish realm and stemmed the Muslim invasion at Poitiers in 732. His byname, Martel, means "the hammer." Charles was the illegitimate son of Pepin of Herstal, the mayor of the palace of Austrasia. By this period the Merovingian kings of the Frankish realm were rulers in name only. The burden of rule lay upon the mayors of the palace, who governed Austrasia, the eastern part of the Frankish kingdom, and Neustria, its western portion. Neustria bitterly resented its conquest and annexation in 687 by Pepin, who, acting in the name of the king, had reorganized and reunified the Frankish realm. The assassination of Pepin's only surviving legitimate son in 714 was followed a few months later by the death of Pepin himself. Pepin left as heirs three grandsons, and until they came of age, Plectrude, Pepin's widow, was to hold power. As an illegitimate son, Charles Martel was entirely neglected in the will. But he was young, strong, and determined, and an intense struggle for power at once broke out in the Frankish kingdom. Both Charles and Plectrude faced rebellion throughout the Frankish kingdom when Pepin's will was made known. The king, Chilperic II, was in the power of Ragenfrid, mayor of the palace of Neustria, who joined forces with the Frisians in Holland in order to eliminate Charles. Plectrude imprisoned Charles and tried to govern in the name of her grandchildren, but Charles escaped, gathered an army, and defeated the Neustrians in battles at Amblève near Liège (716) and at Vincy near Cambrai (717). His success made resistance by Plectrude and the Austrasians useless; they submitted, and by 719 Charles alone governed the Franks as mayor. Assured of Austrasia, Charles now attacked Neustria itself, finally subduing it in 724. This freed Charles to deal with hostile elements elsewhere. He attacked Aquitaine, whose ruler, Eudes (Odo), had been an ally of Ragenfrid, but Charles did not gain effective control of southern France until late in his reign. He also conducted long campaigns, some as late as the 730s, against the Frisians, Saxons, and Bavarians, whose brigandage endangered the eastern frontiers of his kingdom. In order to consolidate his military gains, Charles supported St. Boniface and other missionaries in their efforts to convert the German tribes on the eastern frontier to Christianity. Ever since their arrival in Spain from Africa in 711, the Muslims had raided Frankish territory, threatening Gaul and on one occasion (725) reaching Burgundy and sacking Autun. In 732 'Abd ar-Rahman, the governor of Córdoba, marched into Bordeaux and defeated Eudes. The Muslims then proceeded north across Aquitaine to the city of Poitiers. Eudes appealed to Charles for assistance, and Charles' cavalry managed to turn back the Muslim onslaught at the Battle of Poitiers. The battle itself may have been only a series of small engagements, but after it there were no more great Muslim invasions of Frankish territory. In 733 Charles began his campaigns to force Burgundy to yield to his rule. In 735 word arrived that Eudes was dead, and Charles marched rapidly across the Loire River in order to make his power felt around Bordeaux. By 739 he had completely subdued the petty chieftains of Burgundy, and he continued to fend off Muslim advances into Gaul during the decade. Charles' health began to fail in the late 730s, and in 741 he retired to his palace at Quierzy-sur-Oise, where he died soon after. Before his death he divided the Merovingian kingdom between his two legitimate sons, Pepin and Carloman. He continued to maintain the fiction of Merovingian rule, refraining from transferring the royal title to his own dynasty. Source: "Charles MARTEL" Britannica Online. [Accessed 10 February 1998].

Family:

Ansegisel (?)

M, b. say 605
  • Last Edited: 5 Oct 2000
  • (Child) Birth*: say 605
  • (Groom) Marriage*: Bride=Begga (?)

Family: Begga (?) b. s 605, d. b 675