CHARLES MARTEL, "THE HAMMER"
676-741
Born: Heristal, Liège, Walloon, Belgium
Died: France Buried Basilica St Denis in, Paris, Ile-de-France, France
676-741
Born: Heristal, Liège, Walloon, Belgium
Died: France Buried Basilica St Denis in, Paris, Ile-de-France, France
<p><strong>Charles "The Hammer" Martel</strong> (Latin: <span><em>Carolus Martellus</em></span>, English: <span><em>Charles "the Hammer"</em></span>) (ca. 688 – 22 October 741) was proclaimed Mayor of the Palace and ruled the Franks in the name of a titular King. Late in his reign he proclaimed himself Duke of the Franks (the last four years of his reign he did not even bother with the <em>façade</em> of a King) and by any name was <em>de facto</em> ruler of the Frankish Realms. In 739 he was offered an office of Roman consul by the Pope, which he rejected <sup>[1]</sup> possibly not to conflict with Theodatus Ursus who already occupied the office by appointment of the Byzantine emperor Leo III the Isaurian. He expanded his rule over all three of the Frankish kingdoms: Austrasia, Neustria and Burgundy. Martel was born in Herstal, in present-day Belgium, the illegitimate son of Pippin the Middle and his concubine Alpaida (or Chalpaida).<sup>[2]</sup> He was described by Louis Gustave and Charles Strauss in their book <em>"Moslem and Frank; or, Charles Martel and the rescue of Europe</em>" as a tall, powerfully built man, who was more agile than his size would lead men to believe.</p><p>He is best remembered for winning the Battle of Tours in 732, which has traditionally been characterized as an event that halted the Islamic expansionism in Europe that had conquered Iberia.<sup>[3]</sup> "Charles's victory has often been regarded as decisive for world history, since it preserved western Europe from Muslim conquest and Islamization."<sup>[4]</sup></p><p>In addition to being the leader of the army that prevailed at Tours, Charles Martel was a truly giant figure of the Middle Ages. A brilliant general, he is considered the forefather of western heavy cavalry, chivalry, founder of the Carolingian Empire (which was named after him), and a catalyst for the feudal system, which would see Europe through the Middle Ages. Although some recent scholars have suggested he was more of a beneficiary of the feudal system than a knowing agent for social change, others continue to see him as the primary catalyst for the feudal system.<sup>[5]</sup></p>
<p>The <strong>Carolingian dynasty</strong> (known variously as the <em>Carlovingians</em>, <em>Carolings</em>, or <em>Karlings</em>) was a Frankish noble family with its origins in the Arnulfing and Pippinid clans of the 7th century. The name "Carolingian", Medieval Latin <em>karolingi</em>, an altered form of an unattested Old High German *<em>karling, kerling</em> (meaning "descendant of Charles", cf. MHG <em>kerlinc</em>),<sup>[1]</sup> derives from the latinised name of Charles Martel: <em>Carolus</em>.<sup>[2]</sup> The family consolidated its power in the late 7th century, eventually making the offices of mayor of the palace and <em>dux et princeps Francorum</em> hereditary and becoming the <em>de facto</em> rulers of the Franks as the real powers behind the throne. By 751, the Merovingian dynasty which until then had ruled the Franks by right was deprived of this right with the consent of the Papacy and the aristocracy and a Carolingian, Pepin the Short, was crowned King of the Franks.</p> <p>Traditional historiography has seen the Carolingian assumption of kingship as the product of a long rise to power, punctuated even by a premature attempt to seize the throne through Childebert the Adopted. This picture, however, is not commonly accepted today. Rather, the coronation of 751 is seen typically as a product of the aspirations of one man, Pepin, and of the Church, which was always looking for powerful secular protectors and for the extension of its temporal influence.</p> <p>The greatest Carolingian monarch was Charlemagne, who was crowned Emperor by Pope Leo III at Rome in 800. His empire, ostensibly a continuation of the Roman Empire, is referred to historiographically as the Carolingian Empire. The traditional Frankish (and Merovingian) practice of dividing inheritances among heirs was not given up by the Carolingian emperors, though the concept of the indivisibility of the Empire was also accepted. The Carolingians had the practice of making their sons (sub-)kings in the various regions (<em>regna</em>) of the Empire, <em>regna</em> which they would inherit on the death of their father. Following the death of Louis the Pious, the surviving adult Carolingians fought a three-year civil war ending only in the Treaty of Verdun, which divided the empire into three <em>regna</em> while according imperial status and a nominal lordship to Lothair I. The Carolingians differed markedly from the Merovingians in that they disallowed inheritance to illegimate offspring, possibly in an effort to prevent infighting among heirs and assure a limit to the division of the realm. In the late ninth century, however, the lack of suitable adults among the Carolingians, necessitated the rise of Arnulf of Carinthia, a bastard child of a legitimate Carolingian king.</p> <p>The Carolingians were displaced in most of the <em>regna</em> of the Empire in 888. They ruled on in East Francia until 911 and they held the throne of West Francia intermittently until 987. Though they asserted their prerogative to rule, their hereditary, God-given right, and their usual alliance with the Church, they were unable to stem the principle of electoral monarchy and their propagandism failed them in the long run. Carolingian cadet branches continued to rule in Vermandois and Lower Lorraine after the last king died in 987, but they never sought thrones of principalities and made peace with the new ruling families.</p>
<span>Family and children</span><p>Charles Martel married twice:</p><p>His first wife was <font color="#002bb8">Rotrude of Treves</font>, (690-724) (daughter of <font color="#002bb8">Leudwinus</font>, Bishop of <font color="#002bb8">Trier</font>). They had the following children:</p><ul><li><font color="#002bb8">Hiltrud</font> (d. 754), married <font color="#002bb8">Odilo I</font>, <font color="#002bb8">Duke of Bavaria</font> </li><li><font color="#002bb8">Carloman</font> </li><li>Landrade (Landres), married <font color="#ba0000">Sigrand, Count of Hesbania</font> </li><li>Auda, Aldana, or Alane, married <font color="#002bb8">Thierry IV, Count of Autun and Toulouse</font> </li><li><font color="#002bb8">Pepin the Short</font> </li></ul><p>His second wife was <font color="#002bb8">Swanhild</font>. They had the following child:</p><ul><li><font color="#002bb8">Grifo</font> </li></ul><p>Charles Martel also had a mistress, <font color="#002bb8">Ruodhaid</font>. They had the following children:</p><ul><li><font color="#002bb8">Bernard</font> (b. before 732-787) </li><li><font color="#ba0000">Hieronymus</font> </li><li><font color="#002bb8">Remigius</font>, <font color="#002bb8">archbishop of Rouen</font> (d. 771) </li><li><font color="#002bb8">Ian</font> (d. 783) </li></ul><p> </p>