General Notes

BIOGRAPHY: Born about 688; died at Quierzy on the Oise, 21 October, 741.
He was the natural son of Pepin of Herstal and a woman named Alpaïde or Ch
alpaïde. Pepin, who in 714, had outlived his two legitimate sons, Drogon a
nd Grimoald, and to Theodoald, a son of the latter and then only six yea
rs old, fell the burdensome inheritance of the French monarchy. Charles, w
ho was then twenty-six, was not excluded from the succession on accou
nt of his birth, Theodoald himself being the son of a concubine, but throu
gh the influence of Plectrude, Theodoald's grandmother, who wished the pow
er invested in her own descendants exclusively. To prevent any oppositi
on from Charles she had him cast into prison and, having established herse
lf at Cologne, assumed the guardianship of her grandson. But the differe
nt nations whom the strong hand of Pepin of Herstal had held in subjection
s, shook off the yoke of oppression as soon as they saw that it was wi
th a woman they had to deal. Neustria gave the signal for revolt (715), Th
eodoald was beaten in the forest of Cuise and, led by Raginfrid, may
or of the palace, the enemy advanced as far as the Meuse. The Frisians fl
ew to arms and, headed by their duke, Ratbod, destroyed the Christian miss
ion and entered into a confederacy with the Neustrians. The Saxons came a
nd devastated the country of the Hattuarians, and even in Austrasia the
re was a certain faction that chafed under the government of a woman and c
hild. At this juncture Charles escaped from prison and put himself at t
he head of the national party of Austrasia. At first he was unfortunat
e. He was defeated by Ratbod near Cologne in 716, and the Neustrians forc
ed Plectrude to acknowledge as king Chilperic, the son of Childeric II, ha
ving taken this Merovingian from the seclusion of the cloister, where he l
ived the name of Daniel. But Charles was quick to take revenge. He surpris
ed and conquered the Neustrians at Amblève near Malmédy (716), defeated th
em a second time at Vincy near Cambrai (21 March, 717), and pursued th
em as far as Paris. Then retracing his steps, he came to Cologne and compe
lled Plectrude to surrender her power and turn over to him the wealth of h
is father, Pepin. In order to give his recently acquired authority a sembl
ance of legitimacy, he proclaimed the Merovingian Clotaire IV King of Aust
rasia, reserving for himself the title of Mayor of the Palace. It was abo
ut this time that Charles banished Rigobert, the Bishop of Reims, who h
ad opposed him, appointing in his stead the warlike and unpriestly Milo
n, who was already Archbishop of Trier.
BIOGRAPHY: The ensuing years were full of strife. Eager to chastise the Sa
xons who had invaded Austrasia, Charles in the year 718 laid waste their c
ountry to the banks of the Weser. In 719 Ratbod died, and Charles seized W
estern Friesland without any great resistance on the part of the Frisian
s, who had taken possession of it on the death of Pepin. The Neustrians, a
lways a menace, had joined forces with the people of Aquitaine, but Charl
es hacked their army to pieces at Soissons. After this defeat they realiz
ed the necessity of surrendering, and the death of King Clotaire IV, wh
om Charles had placed on the throne but two years previously, facilitat
ed reconciliation of the two great fractions of the Frankish Empire. Charl
es acknowledged Chilperic as head of the entire monarchy, while on their s
ide, the Neustrians and Aquitainians endorsed the authority of Charles; bu
t, when Chilperic died, the following year (720) Charles appointed as h
is successor the son of Dagobert III, Thierry IV, who was still a minor, a
nd who occupied the throne from 720 to 737. A second expedition against t
he Saxons in 720 and the definitive submission of Raginfrid, who had be
en left the county of Angers (724), re-established the Frankish Monarc
hy as it had been under Pepin of Herstal, and closed the first series of C