person page - 112

Grifo


Grifo (726_753) was the son of the Frankish major domo Charles Martel and his second wife Swanahild.

After the death of Charles Martel power may well have been intended to be divided among Grifo and his half-brothers Pippin the Younger (Pippin the Short) and Carloman. Grifo, considered illegitimate by Pippin and Carloman, was lured into a trap by his half-brothers, however, and imprisoned in a monastery.

On his escape in 747, Duke Odilo of Bavaria provided support and assistance to Grifo, but when Odilo died a year later and Grifo attempted to seize the duchy of Bavaria for himself, Pippin, who had become sole major domo of the Frankish (Merovingian) Empire upon Carloman's resignation and retreat into a monastery, took decisive action by invading Bavaria and installing Odilo's infant son, Tassilo III, as duke under Frankish overlordship. Grifo continued his rebellion, but was eventually killed in the battle of Saint-Jean de Maurienne in 753, while Pippin became king of the Franks as Pippin III in 751.

Odilo of Bavaria

Odilo (d.18 January 748), of the house of Agilolfing, ruled Bavaria from 736 until his death in 748, succeeding Duke Hugbert. Odilo presided over the establishment of bishoprics in Bavaria in 739, when the dioceses of Regensburg, Freising, Passau, und Salzburg were established by St. Boniface, followed in 741 by Würzburg.

In 741, Odilo married Hiltrud, daughter of the Frankish Mayor of the Palace Charles Martel, but a year later he found himself at war with Martel's sons Carloman and Pepin the Short. Odilo had to accept Frankish overlordship over Bavaria, but remained duke. After his death, Grifo, half-brother of Carloman and Pepin, sought to establish his own rule in Bavaria, but was defeated by Pepin who installed Odilo's infant son Tassilo III as duke of Bavaria.

Pippin of Herstal (or Pepin; Fr. Pépin), also known as Pippin the Middle, Pippin the Younger (as with his grandson), or Pippin II, (635 or 640_December 16, 714, Jupille) was the grandson of Pippin (I) the Elder through the marriage of Ansegisel and Begga, the daughter of the Elder. He was born in Héristal (now Herstal, Belgium), hence his byname. His other bynames and his ordinal number come from his position as the second "Pippin" (of three) in the Arnulfing dynasty. He was the Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia from 680 and of Neustria and Burgundy from 687 until his death in 714. He gradually came to control the Frankish court.

Throughout most of his early career, he fought Neustrian majordomo, Ebroin, who had designs on all Frankland. When Ebroin died in 681, he made peace with his successor, Waratton. However, Waratton's successor, Berthar, and the Merovingian king Theuderic III made war and were defeated definitively at Tertry in 687. Pippin then became the de facto ruler of Austrasia, keeping a strong influence over the other Frankish kingdoms of which he was now also mayor of the palace, the first mayor of the palace over all the kingdoms, calling himself "Duke and Prince of the Franks" (dux et princeps Francorum). He subdued the Alemanni, Frisians, and Franconians, bringing them within the Frankish sphere of influence. He also began the evangelisation of Germany. In 695, he placed his son Drogo in the Burgundian office and his son Grimoald in the Neustrian one. He died December 16, 714, at Jupille (in modern Belgium). His descendants continued to serve as mayors of the palace, eventually becoming the legal rulers of the Frankish kingdom.
[edit]

Descendants and Successors

Around 670, Pippin married Plectrude for her inheritance of substantial estates in the Moselle region. They produced at least two children (who both died before Pippin) and through them at least two significant grandchildren. These legitimate grandchildren claimed themselves to be Pippin's true successors and with the help of his widow Plectrude tried to maintain the position of mayor of the palace after Pippin's death. However, Charles Martel, Pippin's son by his mistress, Alpaida (or Chalpaida), had gained favour among the Austrasians, primarily for his military prowess and ability to keep them well supplied with booty from his conquests. Despite the efforts of Plectrude to silence her rival's child by imprisoning him, he became the sole mayor of the palace and de facto ruler of Francia.

With his wife Plectrude, he had the following issue:

* Drogo (c.670-708), duke of Champagne and mayor of the palace of Burgundy
* Grimoald II (d.714), mayor of the palace of Neustria
* Childebrand (d.751), duke of Burgundy

With his mistress Alpaida, he had the following issue:

* Charles Martel (August 23, 686-October 22, 741), duke of the Franks.

Alpaida was also known as Chalpaida. She was Pepin II's (635 or 640 - December 16, 714) concubine and mother to Pepin II's illegitimate son, Charles Martel (Charles the Hammer) (August 23, 686 - October 22, 741).

Ansegisel (also Ansgise) (c.602-685) was the son of Saint Arnulf, bishop of Metz and his wife Doda. He served King Sigbert III of Austrasia (634-656), son of King Dagobert I (629-639), as a duke (Latin dux, a military leader).

He married sometime after 639 to Saint Begga, the daughter of Pepin of Landen. They had the following children:

* Pippin II (635 or 640-December 16, 714), mayor of the palace of Austrasia
* Martin, count of Laon
* Nordebert (or Norbert), mayor of the palace of Neustria and Burgundy
* Clotilda of Heristal (650-699), married King Theodoric III of Neustria.

Begga, or Begue, was the daughter of St Pepin of Landen, Mayor of the Palace in Austrasia, and his wife Itta, daughter of Arnoldus (Arnulf), Bishop of Metz. Begga died in 649. (She died 17 December 693 according to F.L. Weis, Ancestral Roots of 60 Colonists, 6th Ed.)

She married Ansegisel, the son of Arnulf of Metz, and had three children, Pippin II, Martin de Laon, and Clotilde of Austrasia, who was married to Theuderic III of the Franks.


aka BEGGULE


death: 0649 or 693.

Pippin of Landen (or Pepin; Fr. Pépin), also known as Pippin I, Pippin the Elder, or Pippin the Old (580_February 27, 640), was the Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia under the Merovingian kings Clotaire II, Dagobert I, and Sigebert III from 615 or c.623 to 629, when Dagobert retired him. He took the post again at Dagobert's death in 639 until his own on February 27, 640.

His byname comes from his birthplace of Landen, Belgium. His name gave itself to the Pippinids, for he was their first ancestor with that distinguished name.

Though Pippin was never canonised, he is listed as a saint in some old martyrologies.

He had two daughters by his wife, Itta:

* Begga, married Ansegisel, the son of Arnulf, Bishop of Metz. The son of this marriage, Pippin the Middle, was Charlemagne's great-grandfather.

* Gertrude (625-17 March 659), was burried in the convent of Nijvel founded by her mother. She was later canonised as a saint and is usually portrayed accompanied with mice.

and a son:

* Grimoald (616-662), Mayor of the Palace of the Austrasia from 650 to 661.

Ida of Nivelles, also known as Itta of Metz, and Iduberga, became a nun at Nivelles after her husband died. She was proclaimed a saint; her feast day being May 8.