Pippin of Landen
Encyclopedia
- For the count of Vermandois, see Pepin, Count of VermandoisPepin, Count of VermandoisPepin was the first count of Vermandois, lord of Senlis, Péronne, and Saint Quentin. He was the son of King Bernard of Italy and Cunigunda.Pepin first appears in 834 as a count to the north of the Seine and then appears as same again in 840...
.
Pepin (also Peppin, Pipin, or Pippin) of Landen (c. 580 – 27 February 640), also called the Elder or the Old, was the Mayor of the Palace
Mayor of the Palace
Mayor of the Palace was an early medieval title and office, also called majordomo, from the Latin title maior domus , used most notably in the Frankish kingdoms in the 7th and 8th centuries....
of Austrasia
Austrasia
Austrasia formed the northeastern portion of the Kingdom of the Merovingian Franks, comprising parts of the territory of present-day eastern France, western Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Metz served as its capital, although some Austrasian kings ruled from Rheims, Trier, and...
under the Merovingian king Dagobert I
Dagobert I
Dagobert I was the king of Austrasia , king of all the Franks , and king of Neustria and Burgundy . He was the last Merovingian dynast to wield any real royal power...
from 623 to 629. He was also the mayor for Sigebert III
Sigebert III
Sigebert III was the king of Austrasia from 634 to his death; probably on 1 February 656, or maybe as late as 660. He was the eldest son of Dagobert I....
from 639 until his own death.
Pepin's father is named Carloman by the Chronicle of Fredegar
Chronicle of Fredegar
The Chronicle of Fredegar is a chronicle that is a primary source of events in Frankish Gaul from 584 to around 641. Later authors continued the history to the coronation of Charlemagne and his brother Carloman on 9 October 768....
, the chief source for his life. His byname comes from his probable birthplace: Landen
Landen
Landen is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. The municipality comprises the city of Landen proper and the towns of Attenhoven, Eliksem, Ezemaal, Laar, Neerlanden, Neerwinden, Overwinden, Rumsdorp, Waasmont, Walsbets, Walshoutem, Wange and Wezeren. On January 1, 2006...
, modern Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. He is sometimes called Pepin I and his other nicknames (Elder and Old) come from his position at the head of the family called the Pippinids after him. Through the marriage of his daughter Begga
Begga
Saint Begga was the daughter of Pepin of Landen, mayor of the palace of Austrasia, and his wife Itta. On the death of her husband, she took the veil, founded seven churches, and built a convent at Andenne on the Meuse River where she spent the rest of her days as abbess...
to Ansegisel
Ansegisel
Ansegisel was the son of Saint Arnulf, bishop of Metz and his wife Saint Doda. He served King Sigbert III of Austrasia as a duke and domesticus...
, a son of Arnulf of Metz
Arnulf of Metz
Saint Arnulf of Metz was a Frankish bishop of Metz and advisor to the Merovingian court of Austrasia, who retired to the Abbey of Remiremont....
, the clans of the Pippinids and the Arnulfings were united, giving rise to a family which would eventually rule the Franks
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
as the Carolingians.
In 613, several leading magnates of Austrasia and Burgundy
Kingdom of Burgundy
Burgundy is a historic region in Western Europe that has existed as a political entity in a number of forms with very different boundaries. Two of these entities - the first around the 6th century, the second around the 11th century - have been called the Kingdom of Burgundy; a third was very...
abandoned Brunhilda, the great-grandmother and regent of their king, Sigebert II
Sigebert II
Sigebert II was king of Burgundy and Austrasia . Bastard son of Theuderic II, he succeeded his father in 613; but the mayor of the palace of Austrasia, Warnachar, feared that at his young age he would fall under the influence of his great-grandmother Brunhilda.Brunhilda had brought him before a...
, and turned to Chlothar II of Neustria
Neustria
The territory of Neustria or Neustrasia, meaning "new [western] land", originated in 511, made up of the regions from Aquitaine to the English Channel, approximating most of the north of present-day France, with Paris and Soissons as its main cities...
for support, promising not to rise in defense of the queen-regent and recognizing Chlothar as rightful regent and guardian of the young king. Chief among these leading men were Warnachar II
Warnachar II
Warnachar was the mayor of the palace of Burgundy and briefly Austrasia . He began his career as the regent during Theuderic II's minority . In 612, when Theuderic became king of Austrasia, he became mayor of the palace...
, Rado
Rado (mayor of the palace)
Rado was the mayor of the palace of Burgundy from 613 to 617.He, along with Warnachar, Pepin of Landen, and Saint Arnulf, abandoned the cause of the queen Brunhilda and the young king Sigebert II and joined with Clotaire II, promising not to rise in defence of the queen-regent and recognising...
, Arnulf
Arnulf of Metz
Saint Arnulf of Metz was a Frankish bishop of Metz and advisor to the Merovingian court of Austrasia, who retired to the Abbey of Remiremont....
, and Pepin. The latter two were described by Fredegar as the "two most powerful barons of Austrasia" and they made some agreement with Chlothar at Andernach
Andernach
Andernach is a town in the district of Mayen-Koblenz, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, of currently about 30,000 inhabitants. It is situated towards the end of the Neuwied basin on the left bank of the Rhine between the former tiny fishing village of Fornich in the north and the mouth of the...
. However, while Rado was confirmed as mayor in Austrasia and Warnachar in Burgundy, Pepin did not receive his reward until 623, when he was appointed mayor in Austrasia after Chlothar made his young son Dagobert king there. Arnulf, his lifelong friend, was appointed adviser to the new king alongside him.
Pepin was praised by his contemporaries for his good government and wise counsel. Though some enemies tried to turn the king against him, their plots were foiled and Pepin remained on good terms with the king until 629, when, for reasons unknown, he retired (or was retired) to his estates, where he remained for the next decade, until Dagobert's death.
On his death, Pepin came out of retirement to take on the mayoralty in Austrasia for the heir Sigebert III and to oversee the distribution of the treasury between Sigebert and his brother, Clovis II
Clovis II
Clovis II succeeded his father Dagobert I in 639 as King of Neustria and Burgundy. His brother Sigebert III had been King of Austrasia since 634. He was initially under the regency of his mother Nanthild until her death in her early thirties in 642...
, and his stepmother Nanthild
Nanthild
Nanthild , also known as Nantéchilde, Nanthechilde, Nanthildis, Nanthilde, or Nantechildis, was a Frankish queen consort and regent, the third of many consorts of Dagobert I, king of the Franks ....
, who was ruling on Clovis' behalf in Neustria and Burgundy. Sigebert's share of the inheritance was amicably surrendered, partly because of the friendship between Pepin and the Burgundian mayor of the palace, Aega
Aega (mayor of the palace)
Aega was the mayor of the palace and regent, alongside the queen mother Nanthild, of Neustria and Burgundy from 639, on the death of Dagobert I, to his death in 641, during the reign of the minor Clovis II. He was a hardened opponent of the local Burgundian nobility...
. Pepin and Arnulf's successor as chief counselor to the king, Cunibert, Bishop of Cologne
Cunibert, Bishop of Cologne
Saint Cunibert, Cunipert, or Kunibert was the ninth Bishop of Cologne from 627 to his death. Contemporary sources only mention him between 627 and 643....
, received the treasure at Compiègne
Compiègne
Compiègne is a city in northern France. It is designated municipally as a commune within the département of Oise.The city is located along the Oise River...
and brought it back to Metz
Metz
Metz is a city in the northeast of France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers.Metz is the capital of the Lorraine region and prefecture of the Moselle department. Located near the tripoint along the junction of France, Germany, and Luxembourg, Metz forms a central place...
. Not long after, both Pepin and Aega died. He was so popular in Austrasia that, though he was never canonized, he was listed as a saint in some martyrologies
Martyrology
A martyrology is a catalogue or list of martyrs , arranged in the calendar order of their anniversaries or feasts. Local martyrologies record exclusively the custom of a particular Church. Local lists were enriched by names borrowed from neighbouring churches...
. His feast day
Calendar of saints
The calendar of saints is a traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the feast day of said saint...
was 21 February.
He left two daughters and two sons by his equally famous wife, Itta
Itta
Saint Itta was the wife of Pepin of Landen, mayor of the palace of Austrasia. Her brother was Saint Modoald, bishop of Trier. Her sister was abbess Saint Severa...
:
- BeggaBeggaSaint Begga was the daughter of Pepin of Landen, mayor of the palace of Austrasia, and his wife Itta. On the death of her husband, she took the veil, founded seven churches, and built a convent at Andenne on the Meuse River where she spent the rest of her days as abbess...
, married the aforementioned AnsegiselAnsegiselAnsegisel was the son of Saint Arnulf, bishop of Metz and his wife Saint Doda. He served King Sigbert III of Austrasia as a duke and domesticus...
and later canonized - GertrudeGertrude of NivellesSaint Gertrude of Nivelles was abbess of the Benedictine monastery of Nivelles, in present-day Belgium.She was a daughter of Pepin I of Landen and Saint Itta, and a younger sister of Saint Begga, Abbess of Andenne, Saint Bavo and Grimoald I.One day, when she was about ten years of age, her father...
, entered the convent of NivellesNivellesNivelles is a Walloon city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. The Nivelles municipality includes the old communes of Baulers, Bornival, Thines, and Monstreux....
founded by her mother, also later canonized - GrimoaldGrimoald the ElderGrimoald I , called the Elder , was the Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia from 643 to 656. He was the son of Pepin of Landen and Itta....
, later mayor of the palace like his father - BavoSaint BavoSaint Bavo of Ghent is a Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox saint.-Life:Bavo was born near Liège, Belgium, to a Frankish noble family that gave him the name Allowin...
(or Allowin), became a hermit and later canonized
Sources
- Oman, CharlesCharles OmanSir Charles William Chadwick Oman was a British military historian of the early 20th century. His reconstructions of medieval battles from the fragmentary and distorted accounts left by chroniclers were pioneering...
. The Dark Ages 476–918. London: Rivingtons, 1914. - Wallace-Hadrill, J. M.John Michael Wallace-HadrillJohn Michael Wallace-Hadrill CBE was Professor of Mediaeval History at the University of Manchester , a Senior Research Fellow of Merton College in the University of Oxford , Chichele Professor of Modern History, University of Oxford and a Fellow, All Souls College, Oxford...
, translator. The Fourth Book of the Chronicle of Fredegar with its Continuations. Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1960.