The Dynasty Of The Royal Stewards


(638--768.)



The Steward of the Royal Household. --His Government of the Royal

Lehen. --His Position and Opportunities. --Pippin of Landen.

--His Sway in Germany. --Gradual Transfer of Power. --Grimoald,

Steward of France. --Pippin of Heristall. --His Successes.

--Cooperation with the Church of Rome. --Quarrels between his

Heirs. --Karl defeats his Rivals. --Becomes sole Steward of the<
r />
Empire. --He favors Christian Missions. --The Labors of Winfried

(Bishop Bonifacius). --Invasion of the Saracens. --The Great Battle

of Poitiers. --Karl is surnamed Martel, the Hammer. --His Wars and

Marches. --His Death and Character. --Pippin the Short. --He

subdues the German Dukes. --Assists Pope Zacharias. --Is anointed

King. --Death of Bonifacius. --Pippin defeats the Lombards. --Gives

the Pope Temporal Power. --His Death.





[Sidenote: 638.]



We have mentioned Pippin of Landen as the Royal Steward of Clotar II.

His office gave birth to the new power which grew up beside the

Merovingian rule and finally suppressed it. In the chronicles of the

time the officer is called the Majordomus of the King,--a word which

is best translated by "Steward of the Royal Household"; but in reality,

it embraced much more extended and important powers than the title would

imply. In their conquests, the Franks--as we have already

stated--usually claimed at least one-third of the territory which fell

into their hands. A part of this was portioned out among the chief men

and the soldiers; a part was set aside as the king's share, and still

another part became the common property of the people. The latter,

therefore, fell into the habit of electing a Steward to guard and

superintend this property in their interest; and, as the kings became

involved in their family feuds, the charge of the royal estates was

intrusted to the hands of the same steward.



The latter estates soon became, by conquest, so extensive and important,

that the king gave the use of many of them for a term of years, or for

life, to private individuals in return for military services. This was

called the Lehen (lien, or loan) system, to distinguish it from the

Allod (allotment), whereby a part of the conquered lands were divided

by lot, and became the free property of those to whom they fell. The

Lehen gave rise to a new class, whose fortunes were immediately

dependent on the favor of the king, and who consequently, when they

appeared at the national assemblies, voted on his side. Such a "loaned"

estate was also called feod, whence the term "feudal system," which,

gradually modified by time, grew from this basis. The importance of the

Royal Steward in the kingdom is thus explained. The office, at first,

had probably a mere business character. After Chlodwig's time, the civil

wars by which the estates of the king and the people became subject to

constant change, gave the steward a political power, which increased

with each generation. He stood between the monarch and his subjects,

with the best opportunity for acquiring an ascendency over the minds of

both. At first, he was only elected for a year, and his reelection

depended on the honesty and ability with which he had discharged his

duties. During the convulsions of the dynasty, he, in common with king

and nobles, gained what rights the people lost: he began to retain his

office for a longer time, then for life, and finally demanded that it

should be hereditary in his family.



[Sidenote: 638. THE "LEHEN" SYSTEM.]



The Royal Stewards of Burgundy and Germany played an important part in

the last struggle between Clotar II. and Brunhilde. When the successful

king, in 622, found that the increasing difference of language and

habits between the eastern and western portions of his realm required a

separation of the government, and made his young son, Dagobert, ruler

over the German half, he was compelled to recognize Pippin of Landen as

his Steward, and to trust Dagobert entirely to his hands. The dividing

line between "Austria" and "Neustria" was drawn along the chain of the

Vosges, through the forest of Ardennes, and terminated near the mouth of

the Schelde,--almost the same line which divides the German and French

languages, at this day.



Pippin was a Frank, born in the Netherlands, a man of energy and

intelligence, but of little principle. He had, nevertheless, shrewdness

enough to see the necessity of maintaining the unity and peace of the

kingdom, and he endeavored, in conjunction with Bishop Arnulf of Metz,

to make a good king of Dagobert. They made him, indeed, amiable and

well-meaning, but they could not overcome the instability of his

character. After Clotar II.'s death, in 628, Dagobert passed the

remaining ten years of his life in France, under the control of others,

and the actual government of Germany was exercised by Pippin.



[Sidenote: 670.]



The period of transition between the power of the kings, gradually

sinking, and the power of the Stewards, steadily rising, lasted about

fifty years. The latter power, however, was not allowed to increase

without frequent struggles, partly from the jealousy of the nobility and

priesthood, partly from the Resistance of the people to the extinction

of their remaining rights. But, after the devastation left behind by the

fratricidal wars of the Merovingians, all parties felt the necessity of

a strong and well-regulated government, and the long experience of the

Stewards gave them the advantage.



Grimoald, the son and successor of Pippin in the stewardship of Germany,

made an attempt to usurp the royal power, but failed. This event, and

the interference of a Steward of France with the rights of the dynasty,

led the Franks, in 670--when the whole kingdom was again united under

Childeric II.--to decree that the Stewards should be elected annually by

the people, as in the beginning. But when Childeric II., like the most

of his predecessors, was murdered, the deposed Steward of France

regained his power, forced the people to accept him, and attempted to

extend his government over Germany. In spite of a fierce resistance,

headed by Pippin of Heristall, the grandson of Pippin of Landen, he

partly maintained his authority until the year 681, when he was murdered

in turn.



Pippin of Heristall was also the grandson of Arnulf, Bishop of Metz,

whose son, Anchises, had married Begga, the daughter of Pippin of

Landen. He was thus of Roman blood by his father's, and Frank by his

mother's side. As soon as his authority was secured, as Royal Steward of

Germany, he invaded France, and a desperate struggle for the stewardship

of the whole kingdom ensued. It was ended in 687 by a battle near St.

Quentin, in which Pippin was victorious. He used his success with a

moderation very rare in those days: he did honor to the Frank king,

Theuderich III., who had fallen into his hands, spared the lives and

possessions of all who had fought against him, on their promise not to

take up arms against his authority, and even continued many of the chief

officials of the Franks in their former places.



[Sidenote: 687. PIPPIN OF HERISTALL.]



From this date the Merovingian monarch became a shadow. Pippin paid him

all external signs of allegiance, kept up the ceremonies of his Court,

supplied him with ample revenues, and governed the kingdom in his name;

but the actual power was concentrated in his own hands. France,

Switzerland and the greater part of Germany were subjected to his

government, although there were still elements of discontent within the

realm, and of trouble outside of its borders. The dependent dukedoms of

Aquitaine, Burgundy, Alemannia, Bavaria and Thuringia were restless

under the yoke; the Saxons and Frisians on the north were hostile and

defiant, and the Slavonic races all along the eastern frontier had not

yet given up their invasions.



Pippin, like the French rulers after him, down to the present day,

perceived the advantage of having the Church on his side. Moreover, he

was the grandson of a Bishop, which circumstance--although it did not

prevent him from taking two wives--enabled him better to understand the

power of the ecclesiastical system of Rome. In the early part of the

seventh century, several Christian missionaries, principally Irish, had

begun their labors among the Alemanni and the Bavarians, but the greater

part of these people, with all the Thuringians, Saxons and Frisians,

were still worshippers of the old pagan gods. Pippin saw that the latter

must be taught submission, and accustomed to authority through the

Church, and, with his aid, all the southern part of Germany became

Christian in a few years. Force was employed, as well as persuasion;

but, at that time, the end was considered to sanction any means.



Pippin's rule (we can not call it reign) was characterized by the

greatest activity, patience and prudence. From year to year the kingdom

of the Franks became better organized and stronger in all its features

of government. Brittany, Burgundy and Aquitaine were kept quiet; the

northern part of Holland was conquered, and immediately given into

charge of a band of Anglo-Saxon monks; and Germany, although restless

and dissatisfied, was held more firmly than ever. Pippin of Heristall,

while he was simply called a Royal Steward, exercised a wider power

than any monarch of his time.



[Sidenote: 714.]



When he died, in the year 714, the kingdom was for a while convulsed by

feuds which threatened to repeat the bloody annals of the Merovingians.

His heirs were Theudowald, his grandson by his wife Plektrude, and Karl

and Hildebrand, his sons by his wife Alpheid. He chose the former as his

successor, and Plektrude, in order to suppress any opposition to this

arrangement, imprisoned her step-son Karl. But the Burgundians

immediately revolted, elected one of their chiefs, Raginfried, to the

office of Royal Steward, and defeated the Franks in a battle in which

Theudowald was slain. Karl, having escaped from prison, put himself at

the head of affairs, supported by a majority of the German Franks. He

was a man of strong personal influence, and inspired his followers with

enthusiasm and faith; but his chances seemed very desperate. His

step-mother, Plektrude, opposed him: the Burgundians and French Franks,

led by Raginfried, were marching against him, and Radbod, Duke of

Friesland, invaded the territory which he was bound by his office to

defend.



Karl had the choice of three enemies, and he took the one which seemed

most dangerous. He attacked Radbod, but was forced to fall back, and

this repulse emboldened the Saxons to make a foray into the land of the

Hessians, as the old Germanic tribe of the Chatti were now called.

Radbod advanced to Cologne, which was held by Plektrude and her

followers: at the same time Raginfried approached from the west, and the

city was thus besieged by two separate armies, hostile to each other,

yet both having the same end in view. Between the two, Karl managed to

escape, and retreated to the forest of Ardennes, where he set about

reconstructing his shattered army.



Cologne was too strong to be assailed, and Plektrude, who possessed

large treasures, soon succeeded in buying off Radbod and Raginfried. The

latter, on his return to France, came into collision with Karl, who,

though repelled at first, finally drove him in confusion to the walls of

Paris. Karl then suddenly wheeled about and marched against Cologne,

which fell into his hands: Plektrude, leaving her wealth as his booty,

fled to Bavaria. This victory secured to Karl the stewardship over

Germany, but a king was wanting, to make the forms of royalty complete.

The direct Merovingian line had run out, and Raginfried had been

obliged to take a monk, an offshoot of the family, and place him on the

throne, under the name of Chilperic II. Karl, after a little search,

discovered another Merovingian, whom he installed in the German half of

the kingdom, as Clotar III. That done, he attacked the invading Saxons,

defeated and drove them beyond the Weser river.



[Sidenote: 719. KARL, STEWARD OF THE EMPIRE.]



He was now free to meet the rebellious Franks of France, who in the

meantime had strengthened themselves by offering to Duke Eudo of

Aquitaine the acknowledgment of his independent sovereignty in return

for his support. A decisive battle was fought in the year 719, and Karl

was again victorious. The nominal king, Chilperic II., Raginfried and

Duke Eudo fled into the south of France. Karl began negotiations with

the latter for the delivery of the fugitive king; but just at this time

his own puppet, Clotar III., happened to die, and, as there was no other

Merovingian left, the pretence upon which his stewardship was based

obliged him to recognize Chilperic II. Raginfried resigned his office,

and Karl was at last nominal Steward, and actual monarch, of the kingdom

of the Franks.



His first movement was to deliver Germany from its invaders, and

reestablish the dependency of its native Dukes. The death of the fierce

Radbod enabled him to reconquer West Friesland: the Saxons were then

driven back and firmly held within their original boundaries, and

finally the Alemanni and Bavarians were compelled to make a formal

acknowledgment of the Frank rule. As regards Thuringia, which seems to

have remained a Dukedom, the chronicles of the time give us little

information. It is probable, however, that the invasions of the Saxons

on the north and the Slavonic tribes on the east gave the people of

Central Germany no opportunity to resist the authority of the Franks.

The work of conversion, encouraged by Pippin of Heristall as a political

measure, was still continued by the zeal of the Irish and Anglo-Saxon

missionaries, and in the beginning of the eighth century it received a

powerful impulse from a new apostle, a man of singular ability and

courage.



He was a Saxon of England, born in Devonshire in the year 680, and

Winfried by name. Educated in a monastery, at a time when the struggle

between Christianity and the old Germanic faith was at its height, he

resolved to devote his life to missionary labors. He first went to

Friesland, during the reign of Radbod, and spent three years in a vain

attempt to convert the people. Then he visited Rome, offered his

services to the Pope, and was commissioned to undertake the work of

christianizing Central Germany. On reaching the field of his labors, he

manifested such zeal and intelligence that he soon became the leader and

director of the missionary enterprise. It is related that at Geismar, in

the land of the Hessians, he cut down with his own hands an aged

oak-tree, sacred to the god Thor. This and other similar acts inspired

the people with such awe that they began to believe that their old gods

were either dead or helpless, and they submissively accepted the new

faith without understanding its character, or following it otherwise

than in observing the external forms of worship.



[Sidenote: 725.]



On a second visit to Rome, Winfried was appointed by the Pope Archbishop

of Mayence, and ordered to take, thenceforth, the name of Bonifacius

(Benefactor), by which he is known in history. He was confirmed in this

office by Karl, to whom he had rendered valuable political services by

the conversion of the Thuringians, and who had a genuine respect for his

lofty and unselfish character. The spot where he built the first

Christian church in Central Germany, about twelve miles from Gotha, at

the foot of the Thuringian Mountains, is now marked by a colossal

candle-stick of granite, surmounted by a golden flame.



After Karl had been for several years actively employed in regulating

the affairs of his great realm, and especially, with the aid of Bishop

Bonifacius, in establishing an authority in Germany equal to that he

possessed in France, he had every prospect of a powerful and peaceful

rule. But suddenly a new danger threatened not only the Franks, but all

Europe. The Saracens, crossing from Africa, defeated the Visigoths and

slew Roderick, their king, in the year 711. Gradually possessing

themselves of all Spain, they next collected a tremendous army, and in

731, under the command of Abderrahman, Viceroy of the Caliph of

Damascus, set out for the conquest of France. Thus the new Christian

faith of Europe, still engaged in quelling the last strength of the

ancient paganism, was suddenly called upon to meet the newer faith of

Mohammed, which had determined to subdue the world.



[Sidenote: 732. THE BATTLE OF POITIERS.]



Not only France, but the Eastern Empire, Italy and England looked to

Karl, in this emergency. The Saracens crossed the Pyrenees with 350,000

warriors, accompanied by their wives and children, as if they were sure

of victory and meant to possess the land. Karl called the military

strength of the whole broad kingdom into the field, collected an army

nearly equal in numbers, and finally, in October, 732, the two hosts

stood face to face, near the city of Poitiers. It was a struggle almost

as grand, and as fraught with important consequences to the world, as

that of Aetius and Attila, nearly 300 years before. Six days were spent

in preparations, and on the seventh the battle began. The Saracens

attacked with that daring and impetuosity which had gained them so many

victories; but, as the old chronicle says, "the Franks, with their

strong hearts and powerful bodies, stood like a wall, and hewed down the

Arabs with iron hands." When night fell, 200,000 dead and wounded lay

upon the field. Karl made preparations for resuming the battle on the

following morning, but he found no enemy. The Saracens had retired

during the night, leaving their camps and stores behind them, and their

leader, Abderrahman, among the slain. This was the first great check the

cause of Islam received, after a series of victories more wonderful than

those of Rome. From that day the people bestowed upon Karl the surname

of Martel, the Hammer, and as Charles Martel he is best known in

history.



He was not able to follow up his advantage immediately, for the

possibility of his defeat by the Saracens had emboldened his enemies at

home and abroad, to rise against his authority. The Frisians, under

Poppo, their new Duke, made another invasion; the Saxons followed their

example; the Burgundians attempted a rebellion, and the sons of Duke

Eudo of Aquitaine, imitating the example of their ancestors, the

Merovingian kings, began to quarrel about the succession. While Karl

Martel (as we must now call him) was engaged in suppressing all these

troubles, the Saracens, with the aid of the malcontent Burgundians,

occupied all the territory bordering the Mediterranean, on both sides of

the Rhone. He was not free to march against them until 737, when he made

his appearance with a large army, retook Avignon, Arles and Nismes, and

left them in possession only of Narbonne, which was too strongly

fortified to be taken by assault.



Karl Martel was recalled to the opposite end of the kingdom by a fresh

invasion of the Saxons. When this had been repelled, and the northern

frontier in Germany strengthened against the hostile race, the

Burgundian nobles in Provence sought a fresh alliance with the Saracens,

and compelled him to return instantly from the Weser to the shores of

the Mediterranean. He suppressed the rebellion, but was obliged to leave

the Saracens in possession of a part of the coast, between the Rhone and

the Pyrenees. During his stay in the south of France, the Pope, Gregory

II., entreated him to come to Italy and relieve Rome from the oppression

of Luitprand, king of the Longobards. He did not accept the invitation,

but it appears that, as mediator, he assisted in concluding a treaty

between the Pope and king, which arranged their differences for a time.



[Sidenote: 741.]



Worn out by his life of marches and battles, Karl Martel became

prematurely old, and died in 741, at the age of fifty, after a reign of

twenty-seven years. He inherited the activity, the ability, and also the

easy principles of his father, Pippin of Heristall. But his authority

was greatly increased, and he used it to lessen the remnant of their

original freedom which the people still retained. The free Germanic

Franks were accustomed to meet every year, in the month of March (as on

the Champ de Mars, or March-field, at Paris), and discuss all national

matters. In Chlodwig's time the royal dependents were added to the free

citizens and allowed an equal voice, which threw an additional power

into the hands of the monarch. Karl Martel convoked the national

assembly, declared war or made peace, without asking the people's

consent; while, by adding the priesthood and the nobles, with their

dependents, to the number of those entitled to vote, he broke down the

ancient power of the state and laid the foundation of a more absolute

system.



Shortly before his death, Karl Martel summoned a council of the princes

and nobles of his realm, and obtained their consent that his eldest son,

Karloman, should succeed him as Royal Steward of Germany, and his second

son, Pippin, surnamed the Short, as Royal Steward of France and

Burgundy. The Merovingian throne had already been vacant for four years,

but the monarch had become so insignificant that this circumstance was

scarcely noticed. On his death-bed, however, Karl Martel was persuaded

by Swanhilde, one of his wives, to bequeath a part of his dominions to

her son, Grifo. This gave rise to great discontent among the people, and

furnished the subject Dukes of Bavaria, Alemannia and Aquitaine with

another opportunity for endeavoring to regain their lost independence.



[Sidenote: 752. PIPPIN THE SHORT MADE KING.]



Karloman and Pippin, in order to strengthen their cause, sought for a

descendant of the Merovingian line, and, having found him, they

proclaimed him king, under the name of Childeric III. This step secured

to them the allegiance of the Franks, but the conflict with the

refractory Dukedoms lasted several years. Battles were fought on the

Loire, on the Lech, in Bavaria, and then again on the Saxon frontier:

finally Aquitaine was subdued, Alemannia lost its Duke and became a

Frank province, and Bavaria agreed to a truce. In this struggle,

Karloman and Pippin received important support from Bonifacius, a part

of whose aim it was to bring all the Christian communities to

acknowledge the Pope of Rome as the sole head of the Church. They gave

him their support in return, and thus the Franks were drawn into closer

relations with the ecclesiastical power.



In the year 747, Karloman resigned his power, went to Rome, and was made

a monk by Pope Zacharias. Soon afterwards Grifo, the son of Karl Martel

and Swanhilde, made a second attempt to conquer his rights, with the aid

of the Saxons. Pippin the Short allied himself with the Wends, a

Slavonic race settled in Prussia, and ravaged the Saxon land, forcing a

part of the inhabitants, at the point of the sword, to be baptized as

Christians. Grifo fled to Bavaria, where the Duke, Tassilo, espoused his

cause, but Pippin the Short followed close upon his heels with so strong

a force that resistance was no longer possible. A treaty was made

whereby Grifo was consigned to private life, the hereditary rights of

the Bavarian Dukes recognized by the Franks, and the sovereignty of the

Franks accepted by the Bavarians.



Pippin the Short had found, through his own experience as well as that

of his ancestors, that the pretence of a Merovingian king only worked

confusion in the realm of the Franks, since it furnished to the

subordinate races and principalities a constant pretext for revolt.

When, therefore, Pope Zacharias found himself threatened by Aistulf, the

successor of Luitprand as king of the Longobards, and sent an embassy to

Pippin the Short appealing for his assistance, the latter returned to

him this question: "Does the kingdom belong to him who exercises the

power, without the name, or to him who bears the name, without

possessing the power?" The answer was what he expected: a general

assembly was called together in 752, Pippin was anointed King by the

Archbishop Bonifacius, then lifted on a shield according to the ancient

custom and accepted by the nobles and people. The shadowy Merovingian

king, Childeric III., was shorn of his long hair, the sign of royalty,

and sent into a monastery, where he disappeared from the world. Pippin

now possessed sole and unlimited sway over the kingdom of the Franks,

and named himself "King by the Grace of God,"--an example which has been

followed by most monarchs, down to our day. On the other hand, the

decision of Zacharias was a great step gained by the Papal power, which

thenceforth began to exalt its prerogatives over those of the rulers of

nations.



[Sidenote: 755.]



Pippin's first duty, as king, was to repel a new invasion of the Saxons.

His power was so much increased by his title that he was able, at once,

to lead against them such a force that they were compelled to pay a

tribute of 300 horses annually, and to allow Christian missionaries to

reside among them. The latter condition was undoubtedly the suggestion

of Bonifacius, who determined to carry the cross to the North Sea, and

complete the conversion of Germany. He himself undertook a mission to

Friesland, where he had failed as a young monk, and there, in 755, at

the age of seventy-five, he was slain by the fierce pagans. He died like

a martyr; refusing to defend himself, and was enrolled among the number

of Saints.



In the year 754, Pope Stephen II., the successor of Zacharias, appeared

in France as a personal supplicant for the aid of King Pippin. Aistulf,

the Longobard king, who had driven the Byzantines out of the Exarchy of

Ravenna, was marching against Rome, which still nominally belonged to

the Eastern Empire. To make his entreaty more acceptable, the Pope

bestowed on Pippin the title of "Patrician of Rome," and solemnly

crowned both him and his young sons, Karl and Karloman, in the chapel of

St. Denis, near Paris. At the same time he issued a ban of

excommunication against all persons who should support a monarch

belonging to any other than the reigning dynasty.



Pippin first endeavored to negotiate with Aistulf, but, failing therein,

he marched into Italy, defeated the Longobards in several battles, and

besieged the king in Pavia, his capital. Aistulf was compelled to

promise that he would give up the Exarchy and leave the Pope in peace;

but no sooner had Pippin returned to France than he violated all his

promises. On the renewed appeals of the Pope, Pippin came to Italy a

second time, again defeated the Longobards, and forced Aistulf not only

to fulfil his former promises, but also to pay the expenses of the

second war. He remained in Italy until the conditions were fulfilled,

and his son Karl (Charlemagne), then fourteen years old, spent some time

in Rome.



[Sidenote: 768. DEATH OF PIPPIN.]



The Byzantine Emperor demanded that the cities of the Exarchy should be

given back to him, but Pippin transferred them to the Pope, who already

exercised a temporal power in Rome. They were held by the latter, for

some time afterwards, in the name of the Eastern Empire. The worldly

sovereignty of the Popes grew gradually from this basis, but was not yet

recognized, or even claimed. Pippin, nevertheless, greatly strengthened

the influence of the Church by gifts of land, by increasing the

privileges of the priesthood, and by allowing the ecclesiastical synods,

in many cases, to interfere in matters of civil government.



The only other events of his reign were another expedition against the

unsubdued Saxons, and the expulsion of the Saracens from the territory

they held between Narbonne and the Pyrenees. He died in 768, King

instead of Royal Steward, leaving to his sons, Karl and Karloman, a

greater, stronger and better organized dominion than Europe had seen

since the downfall of the Roman Empire.



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