Who is this Pepin?

Besides having a blog named after him, who was Pepin le Bref?

As with others from the period, we have to clear away some naming confusion. Due to differences in source material and translations, his name is variously rendered Pepin, Pipin, and Pippin. I chose Pepin simply because Tolkien used Pippin (his was a deliberate selection, perhaps because hobbits are short). The nickname “le Bref” is usually translated as “the Short,” but I think it could mean other things, such as short-tempered (as we’ll see), of few words, short haired,^1.Unlike the “long-haired” Merovingian kings. or something else. But there’s no way to know one way or another.

Pepin is usually considered a middling figure, sandwiched between the legendary Charles Martel, and the timeless Charlemagne. While there is no dispute with the stature history has afforded Charles the Great, his grandfather’s claim to fame has come under greater scrutiny. Personally I see Martel and Pepin as great figures in an age when only the strongest and most resolute rulers could stay on top, which Pepin did for for twenty-five years.

Pepin was born sometime around 714 to Charles Martel and his first wife Rotrude. Pepin was the younger son, coming after his brother Carloman. He received an education at the hands of priests, like any other son of nobility. He is noted (but not Carloman, oddly) as being sent to Liutprand, king of the Lombards, “that the latter should take his hair according to custom. And the king, cutting his hair, became a father to him and him back to his father enriched with many royal gifts.”^2.Paul the Deacon, History of the Lombards, ch. LIII, p. 296.

At some point he married a woman named Bertrada of Laon. There is confusion as to whether or not they were married when their first son Charles was born, perhaps in 742. The future emperor may have been illegitimate.

Other than that he made no mark on history until the death of his father in 741. In keeping with Frankish tradition Martel divided the kingdom between his sons. Rashly, however, probably goaded on by his second wife^3.Or concubine – the Franks weren’t too picky about such things. Swanahild, he included his third and youngest son Grifo in the mix. Pepin and Carloman would have none of that, and quickly imprisoned their half-brother in a monastery.

The brothers could ill-afford any distractions, as the death of the powerful Martel triggered rebellions all around the kingdom. The sons received particular lands in a divided inheritance, and each was responsible for their own areas. Pepin and Carloman cooperated at times to put down particular revolts, where the foe was too large for either of them individually.

Aquitaine was the first province to rebel, in 742. However the brothers banded together to defeat Duke Chunoald, and destroyed the fortresses of Bourges and Loches. Later that year they crossed the Rhine to defeat the Alamans, who “gave hostages, promised to observe their conquerors’ laws, presented gifts, begged for terms and submitted to Frankish overlordship.”^4.Fredegar, ch. 25, p. 98. Pepin would have no more luck with the promises and hostages of conquered peoples than his father or his son.

Pepin and Carloman were busy for the next few years putting down revolts across the realm. Their brother-in-law Odilio of Bavaria tested the brothers’ will in 743, but the Franks “fell upon the unsuspecting Bavarians. In the ensuing fight Duke Odilo’s army was slaughtered; and he himself had difficulty in slinking away with a handful of men beyond the river Inn.”^5.Fredegar, ch. 26, p. 99.

During this time Pepin and Carloman evidently felt the need to shore up domestic support for their joint rule. We really don’t have much evidence for this, aside from the fact that they brought a Merovingian king onto the throne, which had been vacant for years. Did the common folk demand a king? Were allies of the Merovingian family insisting on a king in return for support against the rebels? Excellent questions. Let’s move on.

In 744 “Theudebald [of Alamannia], son of Duke Godafred, chose this moment to revolt. Pippin with the pick of his forces winkled him out from his Alpine fastness and put him to ignominious flight and so brought the duchy to heel before returning triumphant.”^6.Fredegar, ch. 27, p. 100. Both brothers brought “the Gascons” under control in 745, after some provocations. And on and on.

During this time Carloman developed deeper feelings of piety than his brother, and perhaps deeper than the demands of a ruler could abide. He wanted to focus more on church reform and missionary work than on strengthening the kingdom, but he could not ignore the perils of external enemies. The tension within himself must have been terrible, with terrible consequences. In 746 he convened the infamous Blood Court of Cannstatt. I believe that this must have been the last straw, the event that forced him to choose what life he would live. In 747 Carloman retired from public life and joined a monastery.

Carloman’s departure from the stage (although he would make one more appearance, as we shall see) opened the door for Pepin to make his mark on history.

The most notable achievement of Pepin’s reign was the final usurpation of the Merovingian kings, ending a line that had endured for more than two hundred years. While it was his father Martel who had gone so far as to rule without even a figurehead king, thus demonstrating the impotence of the Merovingian family, Pepin turned de facto command into a de jure kingship.

There is no record of Pepin’s thoughts before he removed Childeric III from the throne. Was the idea of a Carolingian king something his father had discussed with him? Was Pepin’s decision to take the kingship part of the reason Carloman retired? How much political horse-trading did he have to engage in before he secured the support of the noble families? More excellent questions.

I’ve covered Pepin’s palace coup in some detail already. In a nutshell, he realized that Pope Stephen II was seriously menaced by the Lombard kings. As the Eastern Empire weakened, emperor in Constantinople was not able to support the Bishop of Rome as vigorously as in the past. Stephen saw which the way the wind was blowing, and requested aid from the more vigorous kingdom north of the Alps. Pepin took this opportunity to extract a promise from the pope, by asking the pontiff a famous question: who should wear the crown – he to whom it was given, or he who actually wielded power? In 751 Stephen gave his blessing for Pepin to depose Childeric, and be crowned King of the Franks.

Sometime after 752 Pepin apparently wanted to divorce Bertrada. We know this because in 770 Pope Stephen III wrote to Pepin’s sons, then co-kings, to warn them against marrying any of the hated Lombard women. Stephen reminded the brothers that his predecessor, Stephen II, who held the papacy from 752 – 757, had told Pepin “that he should in no wise presume to cast aside your lady mother.”^7.Caroline Code, letter 3, King, Translated Sources, p. 272. Apparently Pepin wanted to marry someone named Angla, who was already married to someone named Theodrad.^8.Wemple, Women in Frankish Society, note 11, p. 240.

Pepin and Pope Stephen worked together for years to ensure the mutual support of each other’s regimes. In 754 the pope came north, the first pope to ever cross the Alps, and spent the winter and spring with the Frankish king. As Stephen traveled through Francia, Pepin sent his son Charles to great the pontiff, although it’s not clear how old the boy was at the time. Stephen personally anointed Pepin and his family during this visit.

Also during this visit brother Carloman makes a final appearance. No doubt urged by Aistulf, in whose jurisdiction Carloman’s monastery lay, the elder brother made his trip north, to ask his brother not to crush his patron. Pepin was unmoved, and consigned Carloman to a local monastery, “where some days later God called him and he departed this life.”^9.Book of the Popes, ch. 30, p. 65. A total coincidence, I’m sure.

In the spring of 755 Pepin and the pope returned to Italy, where Pepin crushed the Lombard King Aistulf’s army, and then “was moved as an act of grace to grant him his life and crown.”^10.Fredegar, ch. 37, p. 106. We’ll come back to this decision in a minute.

After that Stephen went back to Rome, no doubt feeling much more secure. It had been quite a twelve months! Pepin had succeeded in removing a centuries-old royal heritage, and substituted his own family on the throne. He had expanded his realm into northern Italy. And, though it may not have been realized at the time, he had helped to permanently enhance the role and power of the pope.

Pepin was probably about forty years old by this time. No judgement on you, dear reader.

Over the next few years Pepin continued to pressure the Lombards. In 756 Aistulf “wickedly broke the oath of fidelity he had sworn” and attacked Rome. On this report Pepin “was consumed with anger, and in fury once more summoned the entire Frankish army.” Much destruction rained down on Aistulf. Nonetheless Aistulf again asked for, and was granted, a second chance when Pepin “acceded to his nobles’ wishes.”^11.Fredegar, ch. 37, p. 106.

Here Pepin was engaged in some domestic political appeasement. As we saw above, there was some kind of long-standing relationship between the Lombard and Frankish kings and magnates. Some of his leading men must have had links, familial or economic, with the Lombard regime. Einhard notes that when Pepin first proposed the Lombard campaign, “some of the chief Franks, whom he regularly consulted, were so opposed to this plan that they openly stated that they would abandon the king and return home.”^12.Einhard, Life of Charles, ch. 6, p. 19. Pepin had been upsetting a lot of apple carts recently, and perhaps he had to allow Aistulf multiple chances to placate some of his own constituents.

Living well is the best revenge, of course, and Pepin had his the next year, when Aistulf was thrown from his horse while hunting and killed, “as he had richly deserved, [he] lost both life and crown in a painful death.” The Lombards then “took the advice of their nobles and chose Desiderius to be their king,” with “King Pippin assenting.”^13.Fredegar, ch. 39, p. 108. Certainly it appears that Pepin had some kind of veto power over their choice.

Sometime around 758 Pepin continued to expand his reach in the eastern Mediterranean when he and Emperor Constantine exchanged embassies and gifts. However, “this mutual amity that they embarked upon was not predestined to success.” Which is another story.

While these momentous events transpired there was plenty of action to fill in the cracks. Half-brother Grifo was killed, and the Saxons revolted again and were punished. Pepin got involved in an always contentious topic, and “forbade the sale of both Christian and pagan slaves.”^14.Riche, Daily Life, p. 117.

After all of his exertions the realm and other dependent kingdoms must have been quiet. In 760, “when there had been no war for two years,” Pepin insisted on the repatriation of church properties in Aquitaine. Basically he wanted Duke Waifar to stop collecting taxes from the churches. He had thrown down the gauntlet with classic causus belli, and the Aquitanians did not disappoint. Now he had a real war on his hands. I covered the Aquitaine war in an nine-part series that starts here, so you can enjoy that in all of its scorched-earth glory.

I don’t know if Pepin knew the war would be as long and vicious as it turned out to be, but in the end it surely killed him. In 768 Pepin “was troubled with a kind of fever and fell ill.” He kept up the duties of state until “he realised that recovery was impossible.” He then divided up the kingdom between his sons Charles and Carloman (yes, the same name as Pepin’s brother), and died on September 24, 768. “He had reigned twenty-five years.”^15.Fredegar, ch. 53, p. 120.

There is frustratingly little of Pepin the man in those terse annals entries. No doubt he possessed vast energy and drive, like his father and his son. His anger is mentioned several times, so you can be sure that many felt his heat. He continued to support the expansion of the church in Germany, although he was not as devoted as his brother. But Pepin had no Einhard to record his life and person. Even today, there is no biography of Pepin in English, despite his clear importance to Carolingian history.

I’ve thought about writing a small book about him. What do you think?