Who were the

Carolingians?
Franks
• Barbarians
• Christian
• Combining
Germanic heritage
with Roman legacy
Franks
• Settled Gaul
• Established several
kingdoms
• Converted to
Christianity (496)
Baptism of Clovis
• Clovis (c.466-511)
• Converted to
Catholicism (496)
Merovingian kings
• Clovis’s descendants
• Ruled Franks until
751
• Called Merovingian
after Merovech
Europe, 600
Mayor of the Palace
• Royal official
• Managed royal household
• Advised king
• Could also represent king
• & lead royal army
• Office changed over time
• Became more & more important
• Became hereditary
• Result
• King’s power weakened
• Mayor’s power grew
Pippinids
• Pepin of Heristal
• Mayor of palace (680-714)
• Made the office hereditary

• Charles Martel
• Mayor of palace (718-741)
• “Hammer of the Franks” after Battle of Tours (732)
• Real power in Frankish kingdom

• Pepin the Short

• Mayor of palace (741-751)
Pope Gregory III

• Lombard expansion
(from 568)
• Byzantine
preoccupation
• Pope turned to
Franks for military
aid (739)

Europe, 700
Gregory’s appeal (739)
• To whom does Gregory address his appeal?
• Why?
• What does he offer in return for help?
• What do we learn from this document?
• Author?
• Audience?
• Aim?
• Relation to events?
• Perspective?
• Is is a sound source? For what?
• What are its limitations?
Pepin’s elevation
• Source: Royal Frankish Annals
• What is an annal?
• Written at court, but no single author
• Begun during Pepin the Short’s lifetime, continued for 3 generations
• What are they reliable for?
• Limitations?
• Analysis
• Bishop Burchard and chaplain Fulrad “were sent to Pope Zacharias”
(12)
• Who sent them?
• Mission: to ask the pope “whether it was good that … there were kings
in Francia who had no royal power” (12)
• Who had power in Francia?
• Why ask this?
• Why ask the pope?
• Zacharias’s answer: “it was better for him who [really] had the royal
power to be called king” (12)
Pepin’s elevation
• 751
• last Merovingian king (Childeric III) deposed, shorn, sent to a
monastery
• Pepin the Short anointed king
• Questions:
• Was Childeric a “false” king (RFA, 12)?
• Why cut his hair & send him to a monastery?
• Is Pepin a legitimate replacement? Why?
• What makes a king?
Frankish notions of kingship

• Sacred kingship
• King chosen by God
• Royal power is holy,
royal person is sacred

• Problems for Pepin:

• Is it ok to depose the
king?
• How can he legitimate
Clovis is anointed king his claim to the throne?
Alliance with papacy
• Pepin & the pope worked together to their mutual interest
• 739 – Pope Gregory III appeals to Charles Martel for aid
• 750 – Pepin the Short asks pope whether it is “good” to have a
king without power
• 751 – Pepin takes the throne
• 754 –
• Pope Stephen II appeals to Pepin for aid against Lombards
• Stephen recognizes Pepin’s claim to be king of the Franks
• Pepin defeats Lombards in northern Italy
• Pepin recognizes pope’s authority over central Italy & creates
Papal States
Coronation of Pepin, 754
• Pope Stephen
crowned Pepin
himself, in Paris
Coronation of Pepin, 754
• Pope Stephen
crowned Pepin
himself, in Paris
• Is this helpful for
Pepin?
Coronation of Pepin, 754
• Pope Stephen
crowned Pepin
himself, in Paris
• Is this helpful for
Pepin?
• Implications
• Sacred kingship
• Tie to papacy
Coronation of Pepin, 754
• Pope Stephen
crowned Pepin
himself, in Paris
• Is this helpful for
Pepin?
• Implications
• Sacred kingship
• Tie to papacy
• New royal dynasty:
the Carolingians
Who were the Carolingians?
• Royal family who ruled Franks from 751
• Descendants of Charles Martel & Pepin the Short
• But called after the greatest of them – Charlemagne
Who were the Carolingians?
• The subjects of this royal family
• Franks
• All the other peoples who lived in the Frankish kingdom
• All the other peoples the Carolingian rulers would conquer
Carolingian groups
• Different ethnicities
• Franks
• Other groups (Bavarians, Saxons, Bretons, Gascons, Lombards,
etc.)
• Different languages
• Latin
• Germanic
• Romance
• Different occupations & status
• Those who worked the land
• Those who fought
• Those who prayed
Carolingian culture
• Dual heritage
• Roman
• Barbarian
• Christian
• But not always equally devout or knowledgable
• Ambitious for greatness
• But many challenges
Conclusions
• Challenges kings faced
• Establishing legitimate authority
• Maintaining power & loyalty

• Carolingian dynasty
• Supplanted Merovingians
• Sought legitimate authority, not just power
• Formed alliance with pope

• Carolingian society & culture

• Diverse groups
• Successful ruler would unite them
• And put them on par with great civilizations
• But how?
Conclusions
• Challenges kings faced
• Establishing legitimate authority
• Maintaining power & loyalty

• Carolingian dynasty
• Supplanted Merovingians
• Sought legitimate authority, not just power
• Formed alliance with pope

• Carolingian society & culture

• Diverse groups
• Successful ruler would unite them
• And put them on par with great civilizations
• But how?
• Charlemagne
Questions for Einhard’s Life of
Charlemagne
• Einhard
• What was his relation to Charlemagne?
• Is he a reliable source?
• Why did he write (and for whom)?

• Portrait of Charlemagne
• What (according to Einhard) was so great about Charlemagne?
• What (if any) failures or weaknesses did he have?
• What (according to Einhard) was his legacy?

• Evidence
• How reliable is Einhard’s evidence about Charlemagne?
• What questions can we answer with that evidence?
• What are the limitations of this evidence?
• What can we not answer with it?
• What questions does Einhard’s Life raise?