Childeric III

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Childeric III
Merovingian
FatherChilperic II or Theuderic IV[1]

Childeric III (c. 717 – c. 754) was

Carolingian dynasty.[2]

Background

Following the reign of

Merovingian kings gradually declined into a ceremonial role, while the real power in the Frankish kingdom was increasingly wielded by the mayors of the palace. In 718, Charles Martel combined the roles of mayor of the palace of Neustria and mayor of the palace of Austrasia, consolidating his position as the most powerful man in Francia. After the death of king Theuderic IV
in 737, Charles Martel ruled without a king on the throne.

After Charles Martel's death in 741,

Carloman and Pepin the Short, his sons by his first wife Rotrude, became co-mayors of the palace. However, they soon faced revolts from their younger half-brother Grifo and their brother-in-law Odilo, Duke of Bavaria. These revolts may have played a part in their decision to fill the throne with a Merovingian king after a six-year vacancy to add legitimacy to their reigns.[3]

Life

Evariste-Vital Luminais
, depicting the cutting of Childeric's hair.

Childeric's parentage and his relation to the Merovingian family are uncertain. He may have been either the son of Chilperic II or Theuderic IV.[1]

According to Einhard, Charlemagne's biographer, Childeric took little part in public business and would, once a year, be brought in an ox cart led by a peasant and preside at court on a throne, giving answers prepared by the mayors to visiting ambassadors.[4] In this narrative, he had neither political nor economic power, depending on his own small estate and on mayoral support.[4]

After Carloman retired to a monastery in 747, Pepin resolved to take the royal crown for himself. Pepin sent letters to

Saint-Wandrille
.

There are conflicting accounts of exactly when Childeric died, with some sources claiming as early as 753, while others state that his death occurred as late as 758.

References

  1. ^ a b Rosenwein 2009, p. 84.
  2. ^ Riché 1993, p. 65.
  3. ^ McKitterick 1999, p. 34.
  4. ^ a b Frassetto 2003, p. 118.
  5. ^ Tierney 1964, p. 20.
  6. ^ Theuws, de Jong & van Rhijn 2001, p. 326.

Sources

  • Barnwell, P. S. (2005). "Einhard, Louis the Pious and Childeric III". Historical Research. 78 (200): 129–39. .
  • Bouchard, Constance B. (2013). "Childeric III and the Emperors Drogo Magnus and Pippin the Pious". Medieval Prosopography. 28: 1–16.
  • De Jong, Mayke (2001). "Monastic Prisoners or Opting Out? Political Coercion and Honour in the Frankish Kingdoms". In Frans Theuws; Mayke de Jong; Carine Van Rhijn (eds.). Topographies of Power in the Early Middle Ages. Brill. pp. 291–327.
  • Enright, Michael (1985). Iona, Tara, and Soissons: The Origin of the Royal Anointing Ritual. Walter de Gruyter.
  • Fouracre, Paul (2005). "The Long Shadow of the Merovingians". In Joanna Story (ed.). Charlemagne: Empire and Society. Manchester University Press. pp. 5–21.
  • Frassetto, Michael, ed. (2003). "Childeric III (d.754)". Encyclopedia of Barbarian Europe: Society in Transformation. ABC-CLIO. pp. 118–19.
  • Geary, Patrick J. (1988). Before France and Germany: The Creation and Transformation of the Merovingian World. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • McKitterick, Rosamond (1999). The Frankish Kingdoms under the Carolingians. Longman.
  • Riché, Pierre (1993). The Carolingians: A Family Who Forged Europe. Translated by Allen, Michael Idomir. University of Pennsylvania Press.
  • Rosenwein, Barbara H. (2009). A Short History of the Middle Ages. University of Toronto.
  • Theuws, Frans; de Jong, Mayke; van Rhijn, Carine (2001). Topographies of Power in the Early Middle Ages. Leiden: Koninklijke Brill. .
  • Tierney, Brian (1964). The Crisis of Church and State, 1050-1300. Prentice Hall.
  • Wood, Ian N. (1994). The Merovingian Kingdoms, 450–751. Harlow: Longman.

Further reading

Vacant
Title last held by
Theuderic IV
King of the Franks

743–751
Succeeded by