Pepin

PEPIN, the name of several distinguished members of the Carlovingian family; the first of whom in order was PEPIN LE'VrEux or PEPIN DE LANDEN, the founder of the family. He was of a Brabant family, and took his designation from Landen (now in Liege, Belgium). Rebelling with others of the great lords of Austrasia against the rule of Brunehaut. who was regent for the youthful king, he offered the crown to Clotaire II., king of Neustria, who, in reward of his services, created Pepin moire du palais of Austrasia, an office which he continued to hold during the two following reigns, and died in 639. His administration was directed to the preservation of the power and in tegrity of the A ustrasian kingdom, and though, b7 opposing the various schemes of cen tralization proposed by the king, he fell under the royal displeasure, his conduct gained for him favor and influence with the Austrasian chiefs; his power and wealth were greatly increased, and a broad and firm path to political supremacy laid for his descend ants. His son, Grimoald, who succeeded him as moire du palais, incautiously attempt( d to gather the fruits of his father's schemes before they were quite ripe, and accordingly suffered for his folly. Both he and his son Childelbert were strangled in prison (656) by order of Clovis II. Pepin "the Old" left by his daughter a grandson, PEPIN LE Gums or PFnIN D'IIEntsrm„ who was elected by the Anstrasian nobility as their chief, to pro tect Austrasia against the machinations of Elroin, the able moire of Neustria. His first step was to rid himself of the 'Merovingian king, who nominally ruled over Austrasia; which was by obtaining the condemnation of the unfortunate monarch, Dago bert 1I., by a council of bishops, and lien putting Min to death. From this time the Merovingian rule in Austrasia ceased. Pepin now sole ruler, hut his ambition did not stop here; lie had resolved on the ruin e? the Merovingian monarchs, and according ly levied a large army for the invasion of Nenstria. Droll], on his side, was equally re solved to humble the territorial aristocracy. and support the throne; and advancing into Austrasia, his army came in sight of Pepin's at Loixi. In the battle (6S0) which ensued, Pepin's army was totally defeated. his brother and co-ruler, Martin, was taken prisoner and put to death, and he himself narrowly escaped. Luckily for him, however, Elroin was soon afterward assassinated, and his successor, Warato, signed a treaty of pence. The incapacity and tyranny of Warato and his successor, Berthaire, discontented the Neus .rian nobles, who wewi over to Pepin, and by this accession of power enabled lam to 1-c anine the offensive. Nenstria was immediately invaded, and a bloody hurt decisive bat tle at Testry ((i87) freed Pepin of his opponent Berthaire, who was left dead on the field, and placed Nenstria at his feet. Full of moderation in the midst of triumph, and satis fied that he could not place on the throne a more obedient slave than Thierry III., the then king of Neustria, Pepin caused him to be also proclaimed king of Austrasia, but reserved for himself the sovereign power. wielding the scepter though declining the 4i yowl]. From this time lie ruled the whole of France (Austrasia in his own right by his election as duke, and Neustria as maire do palcu's) with energy, and undisturbed by any internal commotion, during the lives of three other " faineant " kings, till his death in 714. He had made several campaigns (689-70S) against the Frisians, but that valiant and independent race was not thoroughly subdued for some time afterward. Pepin had two legitimate sons who died before him, and an illegitimate son, Charles, subsequently known as Charles Martel (q.v.), who succeeded to his power. The third who bore this name was PEPIN Lt; BREF, the younger son of Charles Martel, who, on the death of father in 741, received Neustria and Burgundy; Austrasia, Thuringia, and Subia 'being the heritage of his elder brother Carloman. Aquitaine was nominally a part of Pepin's dominions, though, as it was really independent under its own duke, he made several attempts to subdue it; but the duke was quite able to hold his own against both Pepin on the one hand and the Arabs (from Spain) on the other. The farce of govern ing the country in the name and as the chief minister of the Merovingian sovereign was still kept up, though Pepin was eagerly longing for an opportunity to assume the crown; but the present time was inopportune, as no sooner was the restraint of Charles Martel's iron hand removed by death, than revolts broke out in all quarters among the Franks, Germans, Bavarians, and Gaseous. The country by the united exertions of Pepin and

Carloman, was restored to tranquillity about 745. Those princes who had excited the in surrection were mostly deposed, and otherwise punished. and the duke of Aquitaine was compelled to acknowledge at least the nominal sovereignty of Pepin. In 747 Carloman bade adieu to power, and retired into a convent, leaving his government to his sons, who were immediately dispossessed by Pepin. After crushing a rebellion of Saxons and Bavarians, Pepin began to carry out his favorite project of dispossessing the Merovingian dynasty of even the semblance of anthority, and of originating in person a new royal. dynasty. To gain his point he flattered the clergy, then the most influential body in France; and as they had been despoiled by Charles Martel for the behoof of his warriors. a moderate degree of kihdness and generosity on the part of Pepin contrasted him so favorably with his father, that the clergy at once became his partisans. So did the pope, who felt the importance of the aid of the powerful Frankish chief against the Lombards, who were then masters oFItaly, and released the Franks from their oath of fidelity to Childerie, the Merovingian monarch. On learning this Pepin at once •caused himself to be elected king by the assembly of estates at Soissons, and was conse crated by the bishop of Mayence (Mar. 752). Childerie retired to a convent, where he died in 755. Pepin was the first Frankish monarch whose election received the sanction of the pope, and who was consecrated to his high dignity; and these solemn ceremonies put the crown to a great extent at the mercy of the clergy, who from this time took a political rank in the state. The practice, too, followed by Pepin and his predecessors in office, of gaining partisans by granting particular fiefs to various chiefs, greatly strengthened the feudal system, and proportionally weakened the royal power. This effect, however, did not show itself till after the subsequent reign of Cha•lamagne, on account of the personal genius of these two rulers. Pepin was soon called upon to aid tile pope against the Lombards, and marching into Italy at the head of a huge army, he compelled Astulf, the Lombard Icing, to retire from the siege of Rome, and restore several cities which had previously belonged to the Greeks; these were now handed over to the pope. He had hardly returned to France, when he was anew summoned (755) to Italy, the Lombards having broken their engagements. This time he took Ray culla. Emilia, the Pcntapolis, and the duchy of Rome from the Lombards, reuniting them to the Holy See. After the settlement of affairs in Italy, the turbulent nations on his eastern frontier demanded his attention. The Saxons and other German tribes were defeated (757), their country cruelly ravaged, a heavy tribute exacted, and numbers of captives and hostages taken. Resolved to unite the whole of Gaul under his authority, he eagerly accepted the invitation of the Visigoths of Septimania to aid them against the Arabs, who had taken possession of the country; and after a war of many years' dura` tion, Narbonne, the last of the Arab strongholds, was taken, and the country, freed of these invaders, at once acknowledged Pepin's authority. The remaining years of his reign were occupied in reducing the independent monarchy of Aquitaine, which was not accomplished till, after nine years (760-68) of desolating warfare. Pepin obtained the assassination of his opponent, duke Waifre, whose partisans then laid down their arms, surrendering to the Frankish monarch the vast provinces which stretch from the Loire to the ocean and the Pyrenees. Shortly after this conquest, Pepin died of dropsy, Sept.' 768. He was a most active, enterprising, and in general fortunate prince; he established the unity of the Gallic nation, and protected it as far as could be done by invading and ravaging the territories of the neighboring nations, though he also introduced those elements of weakness into its constitution which reduced the authority of his successors to such a deplorable state. The others of this name, though important personages at the time, make little figure in history.