The Eighth Century and All That
The life and times of Pepin le Bref
(Sorry for the delay – I’ve been learning the WordPress editor that was introduced during my hiatus)
I bet you thought my first post after a four-year absence would be a blockbuster. Did I discover Pepin’s personal diary while rummaging through a ruined church in Budapest? Found an early Roland manuscript that explains what “AOI” is all about? Oh no, my friends, something much better:
A chair! Well, actually, a stool.
After the utter devastation wrought by Pepin’s full-on assault the previous year, in 763 the king was ready to consolidate his gains, both in land and morale, and press home the final blows to break the last Aquitanian resistance.
He decided to hold the annual Frankish Mayfield in the border city of Nevers.1.RFA, 763, p.44. Just a few years ago Nevers had been a frontier town on the Burgundian side of the Loire, the last stop before crossing over to ‘enemy’ territory. Now the town was considered central enough and safe enough a place for the king to hold the Frankish annual assembly there. Waifar, wherever he was, must have gritted his teeth to see the insolence and confidence of Pepin. But that was nothing to what Pepin unleashed next.
When we last left Grifo, he had just gained his freedom after being imprisoned by his half-brother Pepin after the death of their father, Charles Martel. Pepin, in charge of the whole kingdom under the nominal rule of the last Merovingian king, Childeric III, had evidently decided to give his half-brother, now years wiser, a second chance. Perhaps Pepin had visited Grifo during his imprisonment, and in their talks together the younger man had convinced the older of his readiness to serve the man and the kingdom.
Pepin assigned Grifo twelve counties in western Neustria, with a capital at Le Mans. This was no mere sinecure, a backwater outpost of no value. Grifo’s lands would act as a bulwark to the Bretons to the west and the Aquitanians to the south. If need arose this duchy could be a springboard to invade either region. All in all a fine collection of lands, of strategic and political import, and the source of a lot of revenue.1.Bachrach, Early Carolingian Warfare, p.43. But as the Royal Frankish Annals note, “Grifo… did not want to be under the thumb of his brother Pepin, although he held an honorable place.”2.RFA, 747.
Grifo, son of Charles Martel, is one of the more enigmatic figures of the eighth century. Depending on how you read the sources, he was either a world class trouble maker and usurper who deserved a bad end, or a good son criminally hounded out of his lawful inheritance. Let’s take a look at the various versions.
Charles Martel invaded the province of Bavaria in 725, as part of a successful campaign in the east. “When he had subjugated this land he returned home with treasure, and also with a certain [Pilctrude] and her niece [Swanahild].”1.Fredegar Continuations, ch. 12.2.As with all of the names we encounter, there are several spellings floating around. Pilctrude is also spelled Beletrudis and Pilitrude. Swanahild is also spelled Sunnichildis. I have gone with the most common usage. These were not just a couple of women he found along the way. Pilctrude was the wife of the Bavarian duke Grimoald, and the wife of his dead brother. I cannot imagine a more flagrant taunt than to take your enemy’s wife. It is not clear, however, that he took her for his own, so to speak.