The Concilium Germanicum was the first major Church synod to be held in the eastern parts of the Frankish kingdoms . It was called by Carloman on 21 April 742/743 at an unknown location, and presided over by Boniface , who was solidified in his position as leader of the Austrasian church. German historian Gunther Wolf judges that the Concilium was the high point in Boniface's long career.
41-626: Much of the documentation pertaining to the Concilium relies on Boniface and documents associated with his life, and while the saint was prone to rhetorical embellishment and exaggeration in his correspondence, his assessment of the situation in the Frankish church appears to be reliable, although in some details he was off by a few years—the last synod in the Frankish church appears to have been held in 695 in Auxerre. He outlines three main problems in
82-506: A letter written early in 742 to the newly elected Pope Zachary : Boniface had begun his reform attempts of the Frankish church in the 730s, and by the 740s had found a kindred spirit in Carloman, the more religiously oriented of Charles Martel 's two sons who divided their father's domain. When Carloman promised Boniface a synod, he saw an opportunity to address two of his main interests in his reform efforts: to protect church property from
123-863: A military expedition down the Rhone valley. He received the submission of eastern Septimania (i.e., Nîmes , Maguelone , Beziers and Agde ) after securing count Ansemund's allegiance. The Frankish king went on to invest Narbonne , the main Umayyad stronghold in Septimania, but could not capture it from the Iberian Muslims until seven years later in 759 , when they were driven out to Hispania. However, Aquitaine remained under Waiofar 's Gascon-Aquitanian rule and beyond Frankish reach. Duke Waiofar appears to have confiscated Church lands, maybe distributing them among his troops. In 760, after conquering
164-411: A rapacious gentry, and to impose stricter guidelines on the clergy. Participation in the Concilium was restricted to Boniface's supporters, and among those invited were the bishops of Carloman's Austrasia. As well as Boniface (who, as archbishop, presided over the synod) the bishops of Cologne , Strasbourg , and Büraburg were present, as was a chorbishop named Willibald and a bishop named Dadan (who
205-767: A skilled diplomat, "perhaps the most subtle and able of all the Roman pontiffs, in this dark corridor in which the Roman See hovered just inside the doors of the Byzantine world." Pepin the Short Pepin the Short ( Latin : Pipinus ; French : Pépin le Bref ; c. 714 – 24 September 768), was King of the Franks from 751 until his death in 768. He was the first Carolingian to become king. Pepin
246-491: Is still being discussed, but 742 is maintained most notably by Heinz Löwe, and this date was most recently given by Michael Glatthaar and Michael E. Moore. Pope Zachary Pope Zachary ( Latin : Zacharias ; 679 – March 752) was the bishop of Rome from 28 November 741 to his death. He was the last pope of the Byzantine Papacy . Zachary built the original church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva , forbade
287-669: The ducatus Romanus . After a meeting with Pope Stephen II at Ponthion, Pepin forced the Lombard king to return the seized property from the Church. He confirmed the papacy in possession of Ravenna and the Pentapolis , the so-called Donation of Pepin , whereby the Papal States were established, and the temporal reign of the papacy officially began. At about 752, he turned his attention to Septimania. The new king headed south in
328-727: The Bavarians , Aquitanians , Saxons , and the Alemanni in the early years of their reign. In 743, they ended the Frankish Interregnum [ fr ] by choosing Childeric III , who was to be the last Merovingian monarch , as figurehead King of the Franks. Being well disposed towards the Christian Church and Papacy on account of their ecclesiastical upbringing, Pepin and Carloman continued their father's work in supporting Saint Boniface in reforming
369-567: The Germanic tribes was left to his successors. Pepin died in 768 from unknown causes and was succeeded by his sons Charlemagne and Carloman . Although Pepin was one of the most powerful and successful rulers of his time, his reign is largely overshadowed by that of his more famous son, Charlemagne. Pepin's father Charles Martel died in 741. He divided the rule of the Frankish kingdom between Pepin and his elder brother, Carloman , his surviving sons by his first wife: Carloman became Mayor of
410-664: The Lombards in Italy . In the midsummer of 754, Stephen II anointed Pepin afresh, together with his two sons, Charles and Carloman. The ceremony took place in the Abbey Church of St. Denis , and the Pope formally forbade the Franks ever to elect as king anyone who was not of the sacred race of Pepin. He also bestowed upon Pepin and his sons the title of Patrician of Rome . Pepin was able to secure several cities, which he then gave to
451-571: The Pantheon . He also restored the decaying Lateran Palace , moving the relic of the head of Saint George to the church of San Giorgio al Velabro . After Venetian merchants bought many slaves in Rome to sell to the Muslims of Africa , Zachary forbade such traffic and then paid the merchants their price, giving the slaves their freedom. Pope Zachary died around 15 March 752 (it may also have been
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#1732775687657492-659: The Roussillon from the Muslims and denouncing Waiofar's actions, Pepin moved his troops over to Toulouse and Albi , ravaged with fire and sword most of Aquitaine , and, in retaliation, counts loyal to Waiofar ravaged Burgundy. Pepin, in turn, besieged the Aquitanian-held towns and strongholds of Bourbon , Clermont , Chantelle , Bourges and Thouars , defended by Waiofar's Gascon troops, who were overcome, captured and deported into northern France with their children and wives. In 763, Pepin advanced further into
533-584: The heavy cavalry 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 whole army in wartime. He not only contained the Spanish Muslims as his father had but drove them out of what is now France and, as important, he managed to subdue the Aquitanians and the Gascons after three generations of on-off clashes, opening
574-617: The siege of Narbonne in 759 , and proceeded to subjugate the southern realms by repeatedly defeating Waiofar and his Gascon troops, after which the Gascon and Aquitanian lords saw no option but to pledge loyalty to the Franks. Pepin was, however, troubled by the relentless revolts of the Saxons and the Bavarians. He campaigned tirelessly in Germania as well, but the final subjugation of
615-604: The 12th or 14th) and was buried in St. Peter's Basilica . His elected successor, Stephen , died within days, and Zachary was finally succeeded by Stephen II . The letters and decrees of Zachary are published in Jacques Paul Migne , Patrolog. lat. lxxxix. p. 917–960. Church historian Johann Peter Kirsch said of Zachary: "In a troubled era Zachary proved himself to be an excellent, capable, vigorous, and charitable successor of Peter." Peter Partner called Zachary
656-519: The Basilica of St Denis in 754, bestowing upon him the additional title of Patricius Romanorum (Patrician of the Romans). This was the first recorded crowning of a civil ruler by a Pope. As life expectancies were short in those days, and Pepin wanted family continuity, the Pope also anointed Pepin's sons, Charles (eventually known as Charlemagne), who was 12, and Carloman, who was 3. The significance of
697-400: The Frankish church and evangelizing the Saxons. After Carloman, an intensely pious man, retired to religious life in 747, Pepin became the sole ruler of the Franks. He suppressed a revolt led by his half-brother Grifo and succeeded in becoming the undisputed master of all Francia. Giving up pretense, Pepin then forced Childeric into a monastery and had himself proclaimed King of the Franks with
738-696: The Lombards and sent back the captives without ransom. The contemporary history ( Liber pontificalis ) dwells chiefly on Zachary's personal influence with Liutprand, and with his successor Ratchis . At the request of the Exarchate of Ravenna , Zachary persuaded Liutprand to abandon a planned attack on Ravenna and to restore territory seized from the city. Zachary corresponded with Archbishop Boniface of Mainz , counseling him about dealing with disreputable prelates such as Milo, bishop of Reims and Trier . "As for Milo and his like, who are doing great injury to
779-473: The Merovingian Childeric to the throne (743). Then, in 747, Carloman resolved to enter a monastery after years of consideration. This left Francia in the hands of Pepin as sole mayor of the palace and dux et princeps Francorum . At the time of Carloman's retirement, Grifo escaped his imprisonment and fled to Duke Odilo of Bavaria , who was married to Hiltrude, Pepin's sister. Pepin put down
820-539: The Palace of Austrasia, Pepin became Mayor of the Palace of Neustria. Grifo , Charles's son by his second wife, Swanahild (also known as Swanhilde), demanded a share in the inheritance, but he was besieged in Laon , forced to surrender and imprisoned in a monastery by his two half-brothers. In the Frankish realm, the kingdom's unity was essentially connected with the king's person. So Carloman, to secure this unity, raised
861-579: The Pope as part of the Donation of Pepin . This formed the legal basis for the Papal States in the Middle Ages. The Byzantine Greeks , keen to make good relations with the growing power of the Frankish Empire, gave Pepin the title of Patricius . In wars of expansion for the Frankish realm , Pepin conquered Septimania from the Umayyad and Andalusian Muslims and defeated them at
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#1732775687657902-482: The anointment ceremony is visible in that the Pope newly adopted it and was unheard of in Rome. This, together with granting the title of Patrician of the Romans, which was connected to the role of Defensor Civitatis (protector of oppressed citizens), meant that Pepin was now designated as the defender of the Church. Pepin's first major act as king was to go to war against the Lombard king Aistulf , who had expanded into
943-553: The church of God, preach in season and out of season, according to the word of the Apostle, that they cease from their evil ways." At Boniface's request, Zachary confirmed three newly established bishoprics of Würzburg , Büraburg , and Erfurt . In 742 he appointed Boniface as papal legate to the Concilium Germanicum , hosted by Carloman , one of the Frankish mayors of the Palace . In a later letter Zachary confirmed
984-399: The church, proposes that the time was not yet ripe for Carloman to re-appropriate those properties, which had often been handed (by way of church offices) to various noblemen by his father, Charles Martel , to appease them and strengthen their loyalty. Re-appropriation would have led to widespread anger and distaste for the reform movement. A (partial) redress of the situation was decided on in
1025-484: The decrees of the Roman council of 732. He was selected to succeed Gregory III as pope on 3 December or 5 December 741. Gregory III's alliance with the Lombard Duchy of Spoleto put papal cities at risk when the dukes of Spoleto and Benevento rebelled. Zachary turned to King Liutprand the Lombard directly. Out of respect for Zachary the king restored to the church of Rome all the territory seized by
1066-589: The gate to central and southern Gaul and Muslim Spain. He continued his father's expansion of the Frankish church (missionary work in Germany and Scandinavia ) and the institutional infrastructure ( feudalism ) that would prove the backbone of medieval Europe. His rule was historically significant and greatly beneficial to the Franks as a people. Pepin's assumption of the crown and the title of Patrician of Rome were harbingers of his son's imperial coronation. He made
1107-418: The heart of Waiofar's domains and captured major strongholds (Poitiers, Limoges, Angoulême, etc.), after which Waiofar counterattacked and war became bitter. Pepin opted to spread terror, burning villas, destroying vineyards, and depopulating monasteries. By 765, the brutal tactics seemed to pay off for the Franks, who destroyed resistance in central Aquitaine and devastated the whole region. The city of Toulouse
1148-451: The magnates and had the power of a king, he now addressed to Pope Zachary a suggestive question: Hard pressed by the Lombards , Pope Zachary welcomed this move by the Franks to end an intolerable condition and lay the constitutional foundations for exercising royal power. The Pope replied that such a state of things is not proper. Under these circumstances, the wielder of actual power should be called King. After this decision, Childeric III
1189-540: The metropolitans appointed by Boniface to Rouen , Reims , and Sens . In 745 Zachary convened a synod in Rome to discourage a tendency toward the worship of angels. Zachary corresponded with temporal rulers as well. Answering a question from the Frankish Mayor of the Palace Pepin the Short , who planned to usurp the Frankish throne from the puppet-king Childeric III , Zachary rendered the opinion that it
1230-581: The next of Boniface's Frankish synods, that of Estinnes , 1 March 743. Whereas Gunther Wolf judged that the Concilium was the high point in Boniface's long career, other scholars such as Matthias Schuler place that high point in 747, Boniface's Frankish synod. There is still some contention among scholars about the date. Theodor Schieffer (in his 1954 biography of the saint) maintained 743, pace Heinz Löwe , as do Kurt-Ulrich Jäschke and Alain Dierkens. It
1271-458: The renewed revolt led by his half-brother and successfully restored the kingdom's boundaries. Under the reorganization of Francia by Charles Martel, the dux et princeps Francorum was the commander of the kingdom's armies, in addition to his administrative duties as mayor of the palace. As mayor of the palace, Pepin was formally subject to the decisions of Childeric III , who had only the title of king, with no power. Since Pepin had control over
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1312-545: The support of Pope Zachary in 751. Not all members of the Carolingian family supported the decision, and Pepin had to put down a revolt led by Carloman's son, Drogo , and again by Grifo. As King of the Franks, Pepin embarked on an ambitious program to expand his power. He reformed the Franks' legislation and continued Boniface's ecclesiastical reforms. Pepin also intervened in favour of the Papacy of Stephen II against
1353-598: The traffic of slaves in Rome , negotiated peace with the Lombards , and sanctioned Pepin the Short 's usurpation of the Frankish throne from Childeric III . Zachary is regarded as a capable administrator and a skillful and subtle diplomat in a dangerous time. Zachary was born into a family of Greek origin, in the Calabrian town of Santa Severina . He was most probably a deacon of the Roman Church and as such signed
1394-559: Was conquered by Pepin in 767, as was Waiofar's capital of Bordeaux . As a result, Aquitanian nobles and Gascons from beyond the Garonne also saw no option but to accept a pro-Frankish peace treaty (Fronsac, c. 768). Waiofar escaped but was assassinated by his frustrated followers in 768. Pepin died on campaign in 768 at the age of 54. He was interred in the Basilica of Saint Denis in modern-day Metropolitan Paris . His wife Bertrada
1435-457: Was also interred there in 783. Charlemagne rebuilt the Basilica in honor of his parents and placed markers at the entrance. The Frankish realm was divided according to the Salic law between his two sons: Charlemagne and Carloman I . 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 building up
1476-461: Was assisted by his friend Vergilius of Salzburg , an Irish monk who probably used a copy of the " Collectio canonum Hibernensis " (an Irish collection of canon law) to advise him to receive royal unction to assist his recognition as king. Anointed a first time in 751 in Soissons , Pepin added to his power after Pope Stephen II traveled to Paris to anoint him a second time in a lavish ceremony at
1517-472: Was better that he should be king who had the royal power than he who had not. Shortly thereafter, the Frankish nobles decided to abandon Childeric, the last Merovingian king, in favor of Pepin. Zachary remonstrated with the Byzantine emperor Constantine V Copronymus on his iconoclastic policies . Zachary built the original church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva over an ancient temple to Minerva near
1558-542: Was deposed and confined to a monastery. He was the last of the Merovingians. Pepin was then elected King of the Franks by an assembly of Frankish nobles, with a large portion of his army on hand. The earliest account of his election and anointing is the Clausula de Pippino , written around 767. Meanwhile, Grifo continued his rebellion but was eventually killed in the battle of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne in 753. Pepin
1599-406: Was possibly from Erfurt or an auxiliary bishop from Utrecht ). Absent were the bishops from Utrecht, Metz , Verdun , Speyer , and Liège . Boniface's main opponents, Milo , bishop of Reims , and Gewilip , bishop of Mainz , failed to appear. Strengthened by the absence of his enemies, Boniface succeeded in having stricter guidelines adopted, but the effort to re-appropriate church property
1640-796: Was the son of the Frankish prince Charles Martel and his wife Rotrude . Pepin's upbringing was distinguished by the ecclesiastical education he had received from the Christian monks of the Abbey Church of St. Denis , near Paris . Succeeding his father as the Mayor of the Palace in 741, Pepin reigned over Francia jointly with his elder brother, Carloman . Pepin ruled in Neustria , Burgundy , and Provence , while his older brother Carloman established himself in Austrasia , Alemannia , and Thuringia . The brothers were active in suppressing revolts led by
1681-441: Was thwarted by bishops and nobility alike. The measures adopted at the Concilium included: Many of the Concilium's measures were geared toward a stricter organization of the Frankish church, and to enforce such organization annual synods were called for, as well as real bishops and archbishops and the enforcement of canon law . Church historian Matthias Schuler, commenting on Boniface's failure to have church property returned to