Pippin the Elder

Pippin and his contemporary Remaclus , Palais Provincial , Liège

Pepin of Landen or Pippin of lands (* about 580 ; † 640 ) was from 615/625 Frankish house Meier in Austrien under three Merowinger -Königen. He is the progenitor of the Pippinids and through his daughter Begga became the ancestor of the later ruling family of the Carolingians .

Life

Little is known about Pippin's ancestors. Occasionally Karlmann (von Landen-Austrasien) is mentioned as a father.

His path to power began in 613 when, together with Bishop Arnulf von Metz and other Austrasian nobles , he intervened in an internal power struggle of the Merovingians by defeating the Neustrian King Chlothar II against the widow of King Sigibert I , who ruled in Austrasia and Burgundy , Brunichild , called for help. After their fall, Chlothar ruled the entire Franconian Empire , but had to recognize the positions of power of the Austrasian nobility in the Edictum Chlotharii .

Another concession in 623 was the appointment of Chlothar's 15-year-old son Dagobert I as sub-king in Austrasia. This gave the sub-kingdom that was dominated by Pippin and Arnulf with their clients a certain independence within the Merovingian Empire. At the same time, Pippin received an important advisory position and, at the latest in 625, also formally took over the title of housekeeper , the most important official in the kingdom.

However, since Chlothar II died in 629 and his son Dagobert I moved to Neustria to take control of the entire empire, Pippin could not maintain this influential position in the long term, although he retained the title of Austrasian housekeeper. Pippin strengthened his alliance with Arnulf by marrying his daughter Begga to Arnulf's son Ansegisel around 635 .

It was only when Dagobert I died in 638 or 639 without leaving any sons of rulable age that Pippin, with the support of the Austrasian nobility, was able to assert his claims to leadership again.

However, Pippin the Elder himself died in 640.

In the subsequent battle for the caretaker's office, his son Grimoald the elder prevailed.

Pippin was married to Itta or Iduberga von Nivelles (* 592, † May 8, 652). The couple had four children:

• Bavo , also called Count Allowin von Haspengau .
• Begga , from 620 to around 692 and 695, married the Arnulfinger Ansegisel around 635 and thus combined the power of the Pippinids with that of the Arnulfingers.
• Grimoald the Elder , the I., from 615 or 616 to around 656, 657 or 662, was Pippin's successor as caretaker.
• Sankt Gertrud , from 626 to 659, who became abbess around 644 of the Nivelles monastery founded by her mother shortly before . She is the patroness of Landen .

literature

• Rudolf Schieffer: The Carolingians . 3rd edition, Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2000, ISBN 3-17-016480-5 , pp. 14-18
• Rudolf Schieffer:  Pippin the Elder. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 20, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-428-00201-6 , p. 468 ( digitized version ).
• Margarete Weidemann: Noble families in the Chlotharreich . In: Francia 15, 1988, pp. 829-851 (1987)

predecessor	Office	successor
( Chucus , Hausmeier from Austrasia)	Franconian house maid 624 - 640	Grimoald the Elder