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Pippin the YoungerPippin's name can be very confusing. Historically, historians have vacillated between preference for Pepin, derived from the French ''Pépin'', and the German Pippin. His nickname is often misunderstood. He is most commonly called '''the Short''', though this is a mistranslation. He was not short. His nickname '''the Younger''' refers to the fact that he was the younger of the two Arnulfing Pippins who ruled as mayors of the palace. (or '''Pepin'''; French , ''Pépin le Bref''; German , ''Pippin der Kleine, Pippin der Kurze,'' or ''Pippin der Jüngere'') ( 714 – September 24 , 768 ), often known under the mistranslation '''Pippin the Short''' or the ordinal '''Pippin III''', was the King Of The Franks from 751 to 768 . He was born in 714 in Jupille , close to the city of Liège , in what is today Belgium , where the Carolingian dynasty originated. That territory was then a part of the kingdom of Austrasia . His father was Charles Martel , Mayor Of The Palace and duke of the Franks, and his mother was Chrotrud ( 690 - 724 ). ASSUMPTION OF POWER On the death of Pippin's father, Charles Martel, in 741 , power was passed down to Charles' legitimate sons, Pippin and Carloman as Mayors Of The Palaces of Neustria and Austrasia respectively. Power may also have been intended for Charles' illegitimate son, Grifo , but he was imprisoned in a Monastery by his two half-brothers. Carloman, who by all evidence was a deeply pious man, retired to a monastery in 747 . This left Francia in the hands of Pippin as sole Mayor Of The Palace and ''dux et princeps Francorum'', a title originated by his grandfather and namesake Pippin Of Heristal . Under the reorganization of Francia by Charles Martel the ''dux et princeps Francorum'' were the commanders of the armies of the Kingdom, in addition to their administrative duties as mayor of the palace, and specifically commander of the standing guard which Martel had begun maintaining year-around since Toulouse in 721. Upon their assumption, Pippin and Carloman, who had not proved themselves in battle in defense of the realm as their father had, installed the Merovingian Childeric III as king, even though Martel had left the throne vacant since the death of Theuderic IV . Childeric had the title of king, but he was a puppet. As time passed, and his brother bowed out of the picture, Pippin became discontent with the presence of any royal power but himself. At the time of Carloman's retirement, Grifo escaped his imprisonment and fled to Duke Odilo Of Bavaria , who was married to Hiltrude, Pippin's sister. Odilo was forced by Pippin to acknowledge Frankish overlordship, but died soon after ( January 18 748 ). Pippin invaded Bavaria and installed Tassilo III as duke under Frankish overlordship. FIRST CAROLINGIAN KING Since Pippin had control over the magnates and actually had the power of the king, he decided it was time to do what his father had never bothered to do: make the Carolingian name royal in law as well as fact. Pippin asked depended on the Frankish armies for his independence, and had depended on them for protection from the Lombards since the days of Charles Martel, and Pippin, as his father had, controlled those armies, the Pope's answer was determined well in advance. The Pope agreed that the ''de facto'' power was more important than the ''de jure'' power. Thus, Pippin, having obtained the support of the Papacy , discouraged opposition to his house. He was elected King of the Franks by an assembly of Frankish leading-men (it must be noted he had a large portion of his army on hand, in the event that the nobility inclined not to honor the Papal Bull) and anointed at Soissons , perhaps by Boniface, Archbishop Of Mainz . Meanwhile, Grifo continued his rebellion, but was eventually killed in the battle of Saint-Jean De Maurienne in 753 . EXPANSION OF THE FRANKISH REALM He added to that power after Pope Stephen II traveled all the way to Paris to anoint Pippin in a lavish ceremony at Saint Denis Basilica , bestowing upon him the additional title of ''patricius Romanorum'' ( Patrician of the Romans). As life expectancies were short in those days, and Pippin wanted family continuity, the Pope also anointed Pippin's sons, Charles (eventually known as ''Charlemagne'') and Carloman . Pippin's first major act was to go to war against the Lombard king . He was preparing for war against them when his health began to fail, and thus, this final task was left for his son, the great Charlemagne. LEGACY Pippin died at Saint Denis in 768 and is interred there in the basilica with his wife Bertrada . Historical opinion often seems to regard him as the lesser son and lesser father of two greater men, though a great man in his own right. He continued to build up the Heavy Cavalry which his father had begun. He maintained the standing army that his father had found necessary to protect the realm and form the core of its full army in wartime. He not only maintained his father's policy of containing the Moors , he drove them over and across the Pyrenees with the capture of Narbonne. He continued his father's expansion of the Frankish church ( Missionary work in Germany and Scandinavia ) and the infrastructure ( Feudalism ) that would prove the backbone of medieval Europe. His rule, while not as great as either his father's or son's, was historically important and of great benefit to the Franks as a people. It can certainly be argued that Pippin's assumption of the crown, and the title of Patrician of Rome , were harbingers of his son's imperial coronation which is usually seen as the founding of the Holy Roman Empire . He certainly made the Carolingians ''de jure'' what his father had made them ''de facto''—the ruling dynasty of the Franks and the foremost power of Europe. While not known as a great general, he was undefeated during his lifetime. FAMILY In 740 , Pippin married Bertrada of Laon. Of their children, two sons and a daughter survived to adulthood.Some sources give Redburga as a sister of Charlemagne, though others make her his sister-in-law.
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