Siege of Laon (741)
| Siege of Laon (741) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Francia | Grifo | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Carloman Pepin the Short | Grifo (POW) | ||||||
The siege of Laon was a
Mayors of the Palace, the brothers Carloman and Pepin the Short
, besieged the fortress and took Grifo, the Mayors' half-brother, captive.
Prelude
The
Mayor of the Palace Charles Martel died on 22 October 741.[1] He was survived by three heirs, Carloman, Pepin the Short and Grifo, the latter the son of Charles Martel's second queen, the Bavarian Swanachild.[1] Grifo was encouraged by Swanachild to take control of the entire kingdom.[1] Grifo occupied the city of Laon and declared war on his brothers.[1]
Siege
Carloman and Pepin mobilized an army, advanced on Laon and captured it after a siege.[1][2] Grifo was taken prisoner.[1][3]
Aftermath
The brothers went on to recover provinces that had broken away after Charles' death.[1][3] Carloman imprisoned Grifo in Neufchâteau in the Ardennes to prevent further revolts at home while the brothers waged war abroad.[1]
Citations
- ^ a b c d e f g h Royal Frankish Annals 1970, p. 37.
- ^ Petersen 2013, pp. 717–718.
- ^ a b Petersen 2013, p. 718.
Bibliography
- Petersen, Leif Inge Ree (2013). Siege Warfare and Military Organization in the Successor States (400-800 AD): Byzantium, the West and Islam. Leiden: ISBN 978-90-04-25199-1.
- Royal Frankish Annals (1970). Royal Frankish Annals and Nithard's Histories. Translated by Scholz, B.W. Ann Arbor: ISBN 0-472-06186-0.