Editing Charles Martel (section)

== Background ==
Charles, nicknamed "Martel" ("the Hammer") in later chronicles, was a son of [[Pepin of Herstal]] and his mistress, possible second wife, [[Alpaida]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia|date=2002|publisher=Yorkin Publications|isbn=0-7876-4074-3|editor1-last=Commire|editor1-first=Anne|location=Waterford, Connecticut|chapter=Alphaida (c. 654–c. 714)|chapter-url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G2-2591300322.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924170313/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G2-2591300322.html|archive-date=2015-09-24|url-status=dead|chapter-url-access=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Hanson|first=Victor Davis|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XGr16-CxpH8C|title=Carnage and Culture: Landmark Battles in the Rise to Western Power|date=2007-12-18|publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-307-42518-8|language=en}}</ref> He had a brother named [[Childebrand I|Childebrand]], who later became the Frankish ''dux'' (that is, ''duke'') of [[Burgundy]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Commire|first=Anne|date=2015-09-24|orig-year=2002|title=Alphaida (c. 654–c. 714) – Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G2-2591300322.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924170313/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G2-2591300322.html|archive-date=24 September 2015|access-date=2020-09-24|publisher=Yorkin Publications|publication-place=Waterford, Connecticut}}</ref> Charles was a great-grandson of [[Arnulf of Metz]].

Older historiography commonly describes Charles as "illegitimate", but the dividing line between wives and concubines was not clear-cut in eighth-century Francia. It is likely that the accusation of "illegitimacy" derives from the desire of Pepin's first wife [[Plectrude]] to see her progeny as heirs to Pepin's throne.<ref name="Matthiesen Verlag">{{cite book|author1-last=Joch|author1-first=Waltraud|title=Legitimität und Integration: Untersuchungen zu den Anfängen Karl Martells|date=1999|publisher=Matthiesen Verlag|location=Husum, Germany}}</ref><ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite news|author1-last=Gerberding|author1-first=Richard A.|title=Review of ''Legitimität und Integration: Untersuchungen zu den Anfängen Karl Martells'' by Waltraud Joch|date=October 2002|journal=Speculum|volume=77|number=4|pages=1322–1323}}</ref>

By Charles's lifetime the [[Merovingian dynasty|Merovingian]]s had ceded power to the [[Mayors of the Palace]], who controlled the royal treasury, dispensed patronage, and granted land and privileges in the name of the figurehead king. Charles's father, Pepin of Herstal, had united the Frankish realm by conquering [[Neustria]] and [[Burgundy]]. Pepin was the first to call himself Duke and Prince of the Franks, a title later taken up by Charles.