72 Carolingian dynasty of the Capetian family The death of the last Capetian led also to the outburst of the Hundred Years’ War (1337–1453) between England and France See also Frankish tribe Further reading: Goetz, Hans-Werner “Hugo Capet, 987– 996.” In Die französischen Könige des Mittelalters: Von Odo bis Karl VIII Ed by Joachim Ehlers, Heribert Müller, and Bernd Schneidmüller München: C.H Beck, 1996; Hallam, Elizabeth M Capetian France, 987–1328 New York: Longman, 2001; Lewis, Andrew W Royal Succession in Capetian France: Studies on Familial Order and the State Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1981; Lot, Ferdinand Études sur le règne de Hugues Capet et la fin du Xe siècle Paris: Bouillon, 1903; Pognon, Edmond Hugues Capet roi de France Paris: Albin Michel, 1966; Sassier, Yves Hugues Capet Paris: Gallimard, 1984 Philip Slavin Carolingian dynasty The Carolingian dynasty was a family of Frankish tribe nobles who came to rule over much of western Europe from 751 to 987 The dynasty’s most prominent member was Charlemagne The family originally served as hereditary mayors of the palace of Austrasia, the northeastern section of the kingdom of the Franks comprising modern-day eastern France, western Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands, under the ruling Merovingian dynasty Pepin (or Pippin) I of Landen (580–640) assumed the position of mayor of the palace during the reign of the Merovingian king, Clotaire II (584–629) The post of mayor of the palace, known in Latin as maior domus, came to hold decision-making authority, while the king served as a reigning figurehead Pepin I’s daughter married the son of Saint Arnulf, bishop of Metz (582–640), uniting two of the most prominent Frankish noble families Their son, Pepin II of Heristal (c 635–714), continued the family’s dominance, conquering Neustria, the western section of the kingdom of the Franks comprising most of presentday northern France, in 687 He became mayor of the palace in Austrasia, Neustria, and Burgundy The names used to identify the family (Pippinid or Arnulfing) derived from one of Pepin II’s grandfathers Later known as the Carolingian family, the Pippinid family made the post of mayor of the palace hereditary The most famous Carolingian mayor of the palace was Charles Martel (686–791)—known variously as Carolus Martellus in Latin or Charles “the Hammer” in English—who served as mayor of the palace of the three Frankish kingdoms In 732 he won the Battle of Tours, which halted an advancing Muslim army from overrunning western Europe According to Frankish custom, following Charles Martel’s death, his position was divided between his two sons, Pepin III (714–768), known as “the Short,” in Neustria, and Carloman (710–754) in Austrasia Pepin III secured papal and noble support to seize power Pepin III, reuniting Austrasia and Neustria into one kingdom, usurped the Crown of the Merovingians to become the ruling king in 751 He became the founder of the Carolingian dynasty as King Pepin I The pope anointed Pepin I, also granting him the title of Roman Patrician Pepin I also created the Papal States out of conquered territory in central Italy, giving it to the pope to administer Following Pepin I’s death, his kingdom was divided equally among his two sons, Carloman (755–771) and Charlemagne (c 742–814) Following Carloman’s death in 771, Charlemagne became sole ruler Charlemagne (known as Carolus Magnus in Latin, Charles the Great in English, and Karl der Grosse in German) expanded the Frankish empire toward the south, conquering much of southern Germany, including Bavaria and Saxony, and northern and central Italy, to reunite most of the former Western Roman Empire Charlemagne’s empire came to include present-day France, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Italy and Spain He continued his alliance with the pope in Rome, promoting religious reform and cultural growth Consequently Pope Leo III (d 816) crowned Charlemagne Roman emperor on December 25, 800 The coronation solidified the alliance between the Carolingian emperors and the pope, who provided his blessing on Frankish conquests, which resulted in the spread of Christianity In 806 Charlemagne created a plan for the division of his empire among his sons However on Charlemagne’s death in 814, his sole surviving son, Louis I (778–840), known as “the Pious,” came to the throne Both Charlemagne and Louis I worked to centralize authority throughout the empire They appointed nobles as administrators, leading to the development of a feudalistic society under the emperor After Louis I’s death, his three sons, Lothair (795–855), Louis “the German” (804–876), and Charles “the Bald” (823–877), fought for control of the Frankish empire In 843 the Treaty of Verdun divided the empire into three segments (West Francia, Middle Francia, and East Francia) among each of Louis I’s sons Under Carolingian rule, cultural and