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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepin_of_HeristalMayor of the Palace
died Dec. 16, 714, Jupille, near Liège [now in Belgium]
Also spelled Pepin , byname Pippin of Herstal , French Pépin d'Héristal ruler of the Franks (687–714), the first of the great Carolingian mayors of the palace.
The son of Begga and Ansegisel, who were, respectively, the daughter of Pippin I and the son of Bishop Arnulf of Metz, Pippin established himself as mayor of the palace in Austrasia after the death of Dagobert II in 679 and defended its autonomy against Theuderic…
Pepin (also
Pippin,
Pipin, or
Peppin)
of Herstal (c. 635 –
16 December 714) was the
Mayor of the Palace of
Austrasia from 680 to his death and of
Neustria and
Burgundy from 687 to 695. He was also the first mayor of the palace to "reign" as
Duke and Prince of the Franks and he by far overshadowed the
Merovingian rois fainéants.
Pepin, sometimes called
Pepin II and
Pepin the Middle was the grandson and namesake of
Pepin I the Elder by the marriage of Pepin I's daughter
Begga and
Ansegisel, son of
Arnulf of Metz. That marriage united the two houses of the
Pippinids and the
Arnulfings which created what would be called the
Carolingian dynasty. Pepin II was probably born in
Herstal (Héristal), modern
Belgium (where his centre of power lay), whence his byname (sometimes "of Heristal").
As mayor of Austrasia, Pepin and
Martin, the duke of
Laon, fought the Neustrian mayor
Ebroin, who had designs on all
Francia. Ebroin defeated the Austrasians at Lucofao (
Bois-du-Fay, near
Laon) and came close to uniting all the Franks under his rule; however, he was assassinated in 681, the victim of a combined attack by his numerous enemies. Pepin immediately made peace with his successor,
Waratton.
However, Waratton's successor,
Berthar, and the Neustrian king
Theuderic III, who, since 679, was nominal king of all the Franks, made war on Austrasia. The king and his mayor were decisively defeated at the
Battle of Tertry (Textrice) in the
Vermandois in 687. Berthar and Theuderic withdrew themselves to
Paris, where Pepin followed and eventually forced on them a peace treaty with the condition that Berthar leave his office. Pepin was created mayor in all three Frankish kingdoms (Austrasia, Neustria, and Burgundy) and began calling himself
Duke and Prince of the Franks (dux et princeps Francorum). In the ensuing quarrels, Berthar killed his mother-in-law Ansfled and fled. His wife Anstrude married Pepin's eldest son
Drogo,
Duke of Champagne, and Pepin's place in Neustria was secured.
Over the next several years, Pepin subdued the
Alemanni,
Frisians, and
Franconians, bringing them within the Frankish sphere of influence. He also began the evangelisation of
Germany. In 695, he placed Drogo in the Burgundian mayorship and his other son,
Grimoald, in the Neustrian one.
Around 670, Pepin had married
Plectrude, who had inherited substantial estates in the
Moselle region. She was the mother of
Drogo of Champagne and Grimoald, both of whom died before their father. However, Pepin also had a mistress named
Alpaida (or Chalpaida) who bore him two more sons:
Charles and
Childebrand. Just before Pepin's death, Plectrude convinced him to disinherit his bastards in favour of his grandson,
Theudoald, the son of Grimoald, who was still young (and amenable to Plectrude's control). Pepin died suddenly at an old age on 16 December 714, at
Jupille (in modern Belgium). His legitimate grandchildren claimed themselves to be Pepin's true successors and, with the help of Plectrude, tried to maintain the position of mayor of the palace after Pepin's death. However, Charles had gained favor among the Austrasians, primarily for his military prowess and ability to keep them well supplied with booty from his conquests. Despite the efforts of Plectrude to silence her rival's child by imprisoning him, he became the sole mayor of the palace --and de facto ruler of Francia-- after a civil war which lasted for more than three years after Pepin's death.