Pepin the Short: From Real Power to the Crown (741–768)
p4741 à 768
When Charles Martel dies in 741, power in the Frankish kingdom does not return to a Merovingian king: it passes to his sons.
For decades, real authority has belonged to the mayors of the palace, while Merovingian kings play only a symbolic role. The Merovingian dynasty still exists, but power now lies with the Pippinids.
The man who will transform this situation — de facto power — into legal and dynastic power is Pepin the Short.
At first, Pepin does not rule alone. He shares authority with his brother Carloman. Together, they stabilise the kingdom, reorganise the Frankish Church, and reinstall a Merovingian king to maintain appearances. But within a few years, they prepare a decisive transformation: taking the crown for their own family.
🧭 741: inheriting power without a throne
Map of the Frankish realms in 741 — Source: Wikimedia Commons
After Charles Martel’s death, the kingdom is already governed by the Pippinids.
Authority is shared between his two sons:
- Carloman, who dominates Austrasia, Alamannia, and Bavaria
- Pepin, who controls Neustria, Burgundy, and Provence
Since 737, there has been no active Merovingian king. The two brothers therefore rule as mayors of the palace, without immediately restoring the monarchy.
They still face major challenges:
- maintaining authority over great aristocratic families
- containing revolts in Germania and Aquitaine
- stabilising borders
🔍 Zoom – 741: the split between Carloman and Pepin
🪞 743: the return of a Merovingian king (without power)
In 743, Carloman and Pepin decide to restore a royal figure. They place Childeric III, the last representative of the Merovingian line, on the throne.
Childeric III — Source: Wikimedia Commons
This is not a return to traditional monarchy: it is a pragmatic political choice.
The presence of a king allows them to:
- maintain symbolic continuity with the old dynasty
- reassure regional aristocracies attached to traditional forms of power
- give a legitimate façade to decisions made by the mayors of the palace
In reality, nothing changes:
- political decisions are made by Pepin and Carloman
- the Frankish army is commanded by them
- administration depends on their network of counts and loyal men
Childeric III does not govern: he reigns only in appearance.
Later chroniclers will call these late sovereigns the “do‑nothing kings”. The image is partly exaggerated, but it reflects a political reality: Merovingian monarchy no longer directs the kingdom.
🔍 Zoom – Childeric III: a façade king (743–751)
⛪ Reforming the Frankish Church
For Pepin and Carloman, ruling the kingdom is not only a matter of armies and aristocracies. They also need to stabilise one of the great institutions of the Frankish world: the Church.
In the early 8th century, the Frankish Church is powerful but often disorganised. Some bishoprics are controlled by aristocratic families, rules are applied unevenly, and several dioceses lack real supervision.
The brothers understand that a stable kingdom must rely on a better structured and more disciplined Church.
They work with a major figure: the Anglo‑Saxon missionary Boniface (Wynfrith), supported by the papacy. Boniface becomes a precious ally for Carolingian power.
Boniface — Source: Wikimedia Commons
With his help, Pepin and Carloman launch a series of ecclesiastical reforms:
- reorganising dioceses and appointing bishops closer to royal power
- strengthening episcopal authority to impose stricter discipline
- gathering synods and councils to correct abuses and restore Church rules
- founding and reforming monasteries, which become centres of prayer, teaching, and administration
These measures help structure the kingdom, since bishops and abbots also play political and administrative roles.
Reform also brings the Frankish kingdom closer to the papacy, which sees the Pippinids as potential protectors of the Church in the West.
Thus a durable alliance takes shape:
the Carolingians strengthen the Frankish Church, and the Church in return helps legitimise their power.
🧎 747: Carloman withdraws
In 747, an unexpected event changes the balance of power: Carloman decides to withdraw from political life.
Since 741, the brothers have ruled together. Carloman dominates Austrasia and the East, while Pepin controls Neustria, Burgundy, and much of the West.
Carloman has been an energetic leader: he helps stabilise the kingdom after early‑740s unrest, fights revolts in Germania, and supports the reforms led with Boniface.
But the exercise of power is also marked by tensions, violence, and aristocratic rivalries. In this context, Carloman makes a radical decision: he voluntarily renounces power.
He leaves his office and retires to monastic life, first at Monte Cassino in Italy, then spending time in Rome.
Carloman’s departure immediately transforms the kingdom. Pepin becomes the sole centre of decision.
This concentration makes the next step possible: if one man already governs, why keep a Merovingian king who does not decide?
🔍 Zoom – 747: Carloman leaves power
👑 751: the end of the Merovingians
By the mid‑8th century, Pepin the Short already holds real power: he leads armies, controls administration, and arbitrates politics. Merovingian king Childeric III is a symbolic figure, maintained for appearances.
But governing in the name of a powerless king remains fragile. Pepin seeks to transform de facto power into legitimate power.
According to Frankish tradition, Pepin consults Pope Zachary on a decisive question:
“Who should be king: the one who bears the title, or the one who truly exercises power?”
The answer attributed to the pope is clear: it is better that the one who exercises authority also wear the crown.
In 751, the great men of the kingdom — aristocrats and bishops — gather and proclaim Pepin king of the Franks, at Soissons, where he receives royal anointing.
At the same time, Childeric III is deposed. He is tonsured and sent to a monastery. Among the Merovingians, long hair is a core symbol of kingship: cutting it signifies the definitive loss of royal dignity.
Monks cutting the hair of Childeric III — Source: Wikimedia Commons
This marks the official end of the Merovingian dynasty, ruling since Clovis in the early 6th century.
For the first time in Frankish history, real power and the crown are united in the same hands.
🔍 Zoom – 751–754: from the political move to the anointing
✝️ 754: papal anointing
In 754, Pepin’s legitimacy is reinforced in an exceptional way: Pope Stephen II crosses the Alps to meet the Frankish king, seeking a new protector against the Lombards while Byzantium can no longer effectively protect Rome.
At Saint‑Denis, Stephen II anoints Pepin as king of the Franks, strengthening the religious legitimacy of the new dynasty.
He also blesses Pepin’s two sons:
- Charles (future Charlemagne)
- Carloman
and grants Pepin the title patricius Romanorum, making him the official protector of Rome and the Church.
Stephen II crowns Pepin — Source: Wikimedia Commons
This alliance between the papacy and the Carolingians becomes central in medieval European history and prepares Charlemagne’s rise.
🤝 753–756: alliance with the papacy
The alliance becomes concrete military and political cooperation.
In Italy, the Lombard king Aistulf threatens Rome and has taken Ravenna in 751. Stephen II therefore crosses the Alps in 753 to seek Pepin’s help.
Pepin intervenes in Italy twice:
- 755: first campaign; Aistulf submits and promises to restore territories
- 756: second campaign after Aistulf breaks his promises; Pepin imposes decisive victory
After these interventions, Pepin makes a historic choice: instead of returning conquered lands to Byzantium, he gives them to the pope.
This act is known as the Donation of Pepin.
Donation of Pepin — Source: Wikimedia Commons
These territories form the core of the future Papal States. For the first time, the pope becomes not only head of the Church but also sovereign of a political territory.
🔍 Zoom – Donation of Pepin: papacy, Lombards, and the Papal States (753–756)
🏹 760–768: the war in Aquitaine
Pepin’s main internal challenge lies in the southwest: Aquitaine, ruled for generations by powerful dukes seeking autonomy.
When Pepin becomes king (751), Duke Waiofar (Waïfre) refuses to fully recognise the new Carolingian dynasty. Supported by local elites and a difficult terrain of valleys, forests, and fortresses, he resists.
From 760, Pepin launches repeated campaigns to subdue the region:
- capturing and destroying fortresses used as bases of resistance
- progressively occupying cities and political centres
- punitive expeditions meant to break the duke’s support
In 768, Waïfre is captured and killed, likely under Frankish pressure. Organised resistance collapses and Aquitaine is more firmly integrated into the Frankish kingdom.
🔍 Zoom – Waïfre and the war of Aquitaine (760–768)
🌊 759: Narbonne and the end of Muslim Septimania
In 759, Pepin’s troops capture Narbonne, the last major stronghold controlled by forces from al‑Andalus north of the Pyrenees.
Muslim presence in the region dates back to 719–720, when Septimania fell and Narbonne became a strategic base for expeditions into Gaul.
Charles Martel campaigned in the south in the 730s, but Narbonne remained firmly held. Under Pepin, efforts intensify in the 750s to isolate the city.
The siege is long. Narbonne’s fortifications and maritime access complicate the blockade. But the garrison is gradually weakened, and some local Gothic groups rally to the Franks.
With Narbonne’s fall, Andalusi domination north of the Pyrenees ends. The victory secures the southern frontier and gives the Carolingians control of a key point between the Mediterranean and inland Gaul.
🔍 Zoom – Narbonne 759: Septimania shifts
👥 768: succession
Pepin dies in 768.
Following Frankish tradition, the kingdom is shared between his two sons:
- Charles (future Charlemagne)
- Carloman
This division opens a new phase. Within a few years, Charles will impose himself as master of the kingdom and usher Europe into the Carolingian age.
🔍 Zoom – 768: dividing the kingdom and rival heirs
🧠 Key takeaways
- Pepin the Short transforms Pippinid de facto power into royal power.
- In 751, he deposes the last Merovingian and becomes king.
- The papal anointing of 754 founds a durable alliance between Carolingians and the papacy.
- His reign consolidates the kingdom and prepares Charlemagne’s rise.
Image credits
- Frankish realms in 741 — Thomas Lienhard, CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Childeric III — Émile Signol, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- Saint Boniface — John Gilmary Shea, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- Tonsure of Childeric III — Évariste‑Vital Luminais, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Coronation of Pepin — François Dubois, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Donation of Pepin — Archives nationales, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons