Age of Charles Martel, The

222 Pages·2000·11.848 MB·English

by  Paul Fouracre

THE AGE OF CHARLES MARTEL
THE MEDIEVAL WORLD
Editor: Ekmd Bates
John Moorhead Ambrose
John Moorhead Justinian
Janet Nelson Charles the Bald
Paul Foumcre The Age of Charles Martel
Rickard Abeh Alfred the Great
M.h\ Lawson Cnut
HR. Lojn The English Church, 940-1154
Malcolm Barber The Cathars
James A* Bnmdage Medieval Canon Law
John Hudson The Formation of die English
Common Law
Lindy Grant Abbot Suger of St-Denis
David Crouch William Marshal
Ralph K Turner The Reign of Richard Llanheart
Ralph V. Turner King John
Jim Bradbury Philip Augustus
Jane Sayers Innocent III
CM. Lawrence The Friars
David Abulafia The Western Mediterranean
Kingdoms 1200-1500
Jean Dunbabin Charles I of Anjou
Jennifer C. Ward English Noblewomen in the
Later Middle Ages
Michael Hicks Bastard Feudalism
THE AGE OF
CHARLES MARTEL
PAUL FOURACRE
Routledge
Taylor &. Francis Group
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First published 2000 by Pearson Education Limited
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ISBN 13: 978-0-582-06476-8 (pbk)
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Typeset by 35 in 11/13pt Baskerville MT
To my family.
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CONTENTS
Editor’s Preface............................................................................................................................ix
Preface............................................................................................................................................xi
Abbreviations...............................................................................................................................xiii
Introduction...............................................................................................................................1
1. The Merovingian Background.....................................................................................12
2. The Rise of the Pippinids...............................................................................................33
Beginnings.................................................................................................................................33
Obscurity.............................................................................................................................. . .38
Family.........................................................................................................................................41
Land and power......................................................................................................................45
Consolidation............................................................................................................................48
External enemies......................................................................................................................50
The young Charles Martel..................................................................................................55
3. Crisis, Survival and Victory, 715-724 ...................................................................57
Crisis...........................................................................................................................................58
Survival......................................................................................................................................64
Victory........................................................................................................................................75
4. Charles Martel and the Periphery: Relations with Aquitaine,
Burgundy, Provence, and the Regions East of the R hine........................79
Aquitaine....................................................................................................................................81
Burgundy and Provence........................................................................................................89
Southern Germany.................................................................................................................99
Central and northern Germany.........................................................................................110
Conclusions.............................................................................................................................118
5. Francia under the Hamm er.........................................................................................121
Charles Martel and the Church.......................................................................................122
Missionaries.............................................................................................................................126
Precaria.......................................................................................................................................137
Military organisation.............................................................................................................145
Vassals.......................................................................................................................................150
VII
CONTENTS
6. Mayor Without a King and King Without a Mayor.........................155
Conclusion: The Age of Charles Martel................................................175
Bibliography...............................................................................................185
Genealogies.................................................................................................196
Maps.........................................................................................................199
Index..........................................................................................................202
VIII
EDITOR'S PREFACE
Charles Martel (c. 688-741) is a figure of well-night heroic proportions in
much twentieth-century historiography. At the heart of this reputation are
the famous victory over an Islamic army at the battle of Poitiers in 732 or
733 and his contribution to the eventual establishment of his Carolingian
descendants as the ruling family over the Frankish lands. He can be por­
trayed not only as saving Christendom in what is often seen as one of the
decisive battles of world history, but as preparing the ground for the enorm­
ously important reign of his even better known grandson, Charlemagne.
Since achievements on this scale would appear to demand special explana­
tions, Charles has been identified not only as a great warrior, but as some­
one who prepared the way for the final deposition of the Merovingian kings
in 7 51 by his son Pippin and who revolutionised the military organisation of
the Frankish state. His patronage of missionary activities amongst the pagans
to the east is seen as making the Carolingians into the papacy’s favourite fam­
ily, thereby explaining papal support for Pippin’s removal of the Merovingians.
Paul Fouracre’s new treatment of Charles and his times examines critic­
ally each element of this reputation and places Charles securely within the
social, political and cultural setting of the eighth century. In order to do
this, the book supplies a panoramic appraisal of power, kingship and aristo­
cratic values, which leads to a reassessment of most aspects of Charles’s
career. The great warrior remains at the centre of the picture, but the long­
term goals and innovative policies frequently attributed to him are for the
most part rejected in favour of an analysis which sees him as an extremely
able embodiment of the norms and values of contemporary politics. Thus,
for example, while Charles’s attitudes were certainly motivated by a family-
centred drive to keep the Carolingians at the heart of the politics of the
Frankish world, his success in regaining his father’s position as mayor of the
palace to the Merovingian kings was based on immediate personal concerns
over status and power. The brief period at the end of his life when he did
not install a new Merovingian king was an episode which his sons speedily
brought to an end and which did not therefore lead inexorably to the
disappearance of the Merovingians. Even the victory at Poitiers was one
event in a broader struggle against Islamic attacks and should not be seen
IX