Alpais, Abbess of St. Peter's, Rheims

Notes:

Name:
Her name was also spelt Aupals.

Family/Spouse: Bègue, Count of Paris. Bègue (son of Girard, Count of Paris and Rotrude) died in 816. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Leuthard, Count of Paris and Fezensac
2. Engeltron
3. Lisiard, Count of Fezensac
4. Eberhard, Count of Paris
5. Engeltrude

Other Events and Attributes:

• Reign: From 767 to 814; King of the Franks (Carolingian dynasty)
• Land/House: 768
• Reign: From 800 to 814; Holy Roman Emperor

Notes:

Death: Weis (1982) gives his death place as Aix la Chapelle.

Name:


More is known about Charlemagne than most medieval rulers because of a biography written by Einhard, a friend of his son Louis the Pious. This biography describes Charlemagne as more than six feet tall, with piercing eyes, fair hair, a thick neck, and a potbelly. He was strong, fond of exercise, and had an alert mind and a forceful personality. Charlemagne could read and speak Latin, the language of educated people of the time. However, he never learned to write it.

Land/House:
When Pépin the Short died in 768, the Frankish lands were divided according to ancient Frankinsh law and tradition between Pépin's sons Carloman and Charles. During the next three years until Carloman's death in 771, relations between the two brothers were sometimes strained. In 774, Charles "the Great" or Karolus Magnus, more widely known as Charlemagne, conquered Lombardy and confirmed his father's donation of the Papal States. Charlemagne added Bavaria to his realm, and eventually defeated the Saxons and forced them to convert to Christianity. Charlemagne also waged war in Spain. He was returning from an expedition there in 778 when a mountain people called the Basques ambushed and wiped out his rear guard. This incident became the subject of the famous epic poem The Song of Roland, however, the ambushers were the Moors.

Reign:
On 25 December 800, he was crowed Emperor of the Romans by Pope Leo III in Rome.

Charlemagne married Himiltrude in 798 (Not married). [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• History: birth to death

Notes:

History:
She was a concubine of Charlemagne.

Other Events and Attributes:

• Title(s): 741
• Crowned: 751
• Reign: From 751 to 768; King of the Franks (Carolingian dynasty)
• Military: 753

Notes:

Name:


Pépin served as Mayor of the Palace.

Title(s):
Following the death of their father Charles Martel in 741, Pépin the Short along with his older brother Carloman imprisoned their half brother Grifo and took control of the Frankish Empire as joint Mayors of the Palace. Pépin ruled in Neustria, Burgundy and Provence and Carloman ruled in Austrasia. In order to legitimize their rule, the brothers revived the kingship by raising Childeric III to the throne in 743. Pépin and Carloman continued to hold the real power. That same year, Pépin and Carloman conquered their brother-in-law Duke Odilo of Bavaria. However, discord in Bavaria continued; and it was not until 757 that Odilo's son (Pépin's nephew) Duke Tassilo III of Bavaria and the magnates of Bavaria were finally forced to acknowledge themselves as vassals of Pépin the Short.

Crowned:
In 747, Carloman withdrew from politics. With the support of the church and the Pope, Pépin had himself declared King of the Franks in 751. The former king, Childeric III, retired to a monastery.

Military:
In the winter of 753-754 after the Lombards forced Pope Stephen to leave Rome, the Pope visited Pépin the Short. The next summer, Pope Stephen anointed Pépin and his two sons Charlemagne and Carloman, and declared that the Franks were never to elect a king who was not of the sacred lineage of Pépin the Short. In return for Pope Stephen's support, Pépin the Short took his army to Italy and defeated the Lombards. Pépin's gift of a wide strip of land in central Italy to the Pope became known as the "Donation of Pépin". This land, called the Papal States, remained under the control of the popes until the unification of Italy in the 19th century.

Pépin married Bertha "Broadfoot" about 740. Bertha (daughter of Caribert, Count of Laon and Bertrada) was born about 720 in Laon, Hauts-de-France, France; died on 12 Jul 783. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Name:
Bertha was known as Queen Goose-Foot or Goose-Footed Bertha, and is the original Mother Goose.

Other Events and Attributes:

• Miscellaneous: 714
• Military: 732
• Miscellaneous: say 735

Notes:

Miscellaneous:
When Pépin of Heristal died in 714, Charles Martel had to overcome opposition from the family of Pépin's first wife Pletrude. By 718, Charles had triumphed, gaining not only his father's office of Mayor of the Palace, but also his father's fortune. He then vanquished other Frankish leaders to greatly extend his realm. The Merovingian kings Childperic II (reigned 715-721) and Theuderic IV (reigned 721-737) were mere figureheads, and the Mayor of the Palace possessed supreme authority. Following the death of King Theuderic IV in 737, Charles Martel ruled alone as Mayor of the Palace. Although the throne was vacant, Charles did not attempt to claim it.

Military:
Charles' most spectacular victory came in 732 when he triumphed over an invading Islamic army from Spain at the Battle of Poitiers, also called the Battle of Tours, and is regarded as one of the most decisive battles in the history of the world. The fighting began near Tours, France, and ended near Poitiers. Charles was later called Martel, meaning "the Hammer", because of his victory over the Muslims.

Miscellaneous:
In order to maintain his power, Charles had to engage in continual struggles with various princes, both secular and ecclesiastical. Following his victory at Poitiers in 732, he attacked some unruly bishops including Eucherius of Orléans. Because of this, his memory suffered. During the ninth century, his tomb at the abbey of St. Denis is said to had been opened by the abbot, and a hideous dragon supposedly emerged from a blackened, charred and otherwise barren coffin; thus demonstrating Charles Martel's damnation for despoiling the Church of its property. Later historians at St. Denis said he had taken Church lands only temporarily and had intended eventually to reimburse and further enrich the Church.

Charles married Rotrou of Allemania on Yes, date unknown. Rotrou (daughter of Saint Liévin, Count and Bishop of Trèves and daughter of Rutpert) died in 724. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• General Information: She was also known as Chrotrude of Allemania.

Other Events and Attributes:

• Living: Between 720 and 747

Caribert married Bertrada. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]