Editing Carolingian dynasty (section)

===== Consolidation of power =====
With his ascension to the throne, several significant moments in Frankish history occurred. Firstly, the ''LHF'' ended, likely composed several years later in 727 and ended one of the several perspectives we have on Charles' ascension.<ref name="Gerberding-1987" /> Secondly, and more importantly, the Arnulfing predominance in the faction ended and the Carolingian (translating to 'sons of Charles') officially began.<ref name="Costambeys-2011"/>

Once the immediate dangers were dealt with, Charles then began to consolidate his position as sole mayor of the Frankish kingdom. The civil unrest between 714 and 721 had destroyed the continental political cohesion, and peripheral kingdoms like Aquitaine, [[Alamannia|Alemannia]], Burgundy and [[Bavaria]] had slipped from the Carolingian's grasp. Even though the faction had, by Charles Martel's time, established strong political control over Francia, loyalty to the Merovingian power within these border regions remained.<ref name="Costambeys-2011"/>

====== Ending the Civil War ======
Charles first set out to reinstate Carolingian dominance internally within Francia: the ''Continuations'' lists Charles' continuous maneuvers which solidified the campaigns generating the Carolingian military foundation. In 718, the ''AMP'' records that Charles fought against the Saxons, pushing them as far as the river [[Weser]]<ref name="Paul-1996" /> and following up with subsequent campaigns in 720 and 724 which secured the northern borders of Austrasia and Neustria.<ref name="Fouracre-1995b" /> He subdued his former enemy Raganfred at [[Angers]] in 724 and secured his patronage, removing the remaining political resistance that had continued to thrive in western Neustria.<ref name="Collins-2010a" />

====== East of the Rhine ======
In 725, Charles set out against the peripheral kingdoms, starting with Alemannia. The region had almost gained independence during the reign of Pippin II and under the leadership of [[Lantfrid]], Duke of Alemannia, as (710–730) they acted without Frankish authority, issuing law codes like the ''[[Lex Alamannorum]]'' without Carolingian consultation. As recorded in the Alemannia source,<ref>{{Cite book|last=Goosman|first=F.C.W.|title=Memorable crises: Carolingian historiography and the making of Pippin's reign, 750–900|year=2013|location=Amsterdam|pages=223}}</ref> the ''[[Breviary of Erchanbert]]'', the Alemanni 'refused to obey the duces of the Franks because they were no longer able to serve the Merovingian kings. Therefore, each of them kept to himself.'<ref name="Wood-1994b" /> This statement was true for more than just Alemannia and, just like in those regions, Charles brutally forced them into submission. Charles was successful in his first campaign, but returned in 730, the same year that Duke Lantfrid died and was succeeded by his brother [[Theudebald, Duke of Alamannia]].<ref name="Fouracre-2000b" />

As successful as campaigning had been, Charles seemingly took inspiration from [[Anglo-Saxons|Anglo-Saxon]] [[missionary]] [[Saint Boniface]], who in 719 was sent by [[Pope Gregory II]] to convert Germany, in particular the areas of [[Thuringia]] and [[Hesse]], where he established the monasteries of [[Ohrdruf Priory|Ohrdruf]], [[Tauberbischofsheim]], [[Kitzingen]] and [[Ochsenfurt]]. Charles, realising the potential of establishing Carolingian-supportive episcopal centres, utilised [[Saint Pirmin]], an itinerant monk, to establish an ecclesiastical foundation on [[Reichenau Island]] in [[Lake Constance]]. He was expelled in 727 by Lantfrid and he retreated to [[Alsace]], where he established monasteries with the support of the [[Etichonids|Etichonid]] clan, who were Carolingian supporters. This relationship gave the Carolingians long-term benefit from Pirmin's future achievements, which brought abbeys in the eastern provinces into Carolingian favour.<ref name="Riché-1993c" />

In 725, Charles continued his conquest from Alemannia and invaded Bavaria. Like Alemannia, Bavaria had continued to gain independence under the rule of the Agilolfings clan who, in recent years, had increased links with [[Lombards|Lombardy]] and affirmed their own law codes, like the [[Lex Baiuvariorum]].<ref name="Wood-1994b" /> When Charles moved, the region was experiencing a power struggle between [[Grimoald of Bavaria]] and his nephew [[Hugbert of Bavaria|Hugbert]], but when Grimoald died in 725, Hugbert gained the position and Charles reaffirmed their support. The ''Continuations'' records that when Charles left Bavaria, he took hostages, one of which was [[Swanachild]], who later would become Charles' second wife.<ref name="Nelson-1960c" /> Paul Fouracre believes this marriage could have been intentionally forced, based upon the fact that Swanchild's heritage related her both to Alemannia and Bavaria. Not only would their marriage have allowed greater control over both regions, but it also would have cut the existing family ties that the Agilofings had to the Pippinid family branch. Plectrude's sister [[Regintrud]] was married to [[Theodo of Bavaria]], and this relation provided an opportunity for disenfranchised family members to defect.<ref name="Fouracre-2000b" />

====== Aquitaine, Burgundy and Provence ======
Following his conquest east of the Rhine, Charles had the opportunity to assert his dominance over Aquitaine and began committing military resources and performing raids in 731.<ref name="Fouracre-1995a">{{Cite book|last=Fouracre|first=Paul|title=The New Cambridge Medieval History|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1995|location=Cambridge|pages=88, 90|chapter=Frankish Gaul of 814}}</ref> However, before he could make any major movements, Aquitaine was invaded by [[Umayyad Caliphate|Umayyad]] warlord [[Abd al-Rahman I]]. Following Abd al-Rahman's ascension in Spain in 731, another local Berber lord [[Munuza]] revolted, set himself up at [[Cerdanya]] and forged defensive alliances with the Franks and Aquitainians through a marriage to Eudo's daughter. Abd ar-Rahman then besieged Cerdanya and forced Munuza into retreat into France, at which point he continued his advance into Aquitaine, moving as far as Tours before he was met by Charles Martel. Carolingian sources attest that Duke Eudo begged Charles for assistance, but [[Ian N. Wood]] claims these embassies have been invented by later pro-Carolingian annalists. Eudo was a main protagonist in the [[Battle of Toulouse (721)]], which famously stopped Muslim lord [[Al-Samh ibn Malik al-Khawlani]]'s advances in [[Narbonne]] and gained Eudo praise in the ''[[Liber Pontificalis]]''.<ref name="Wood-1994a">{{Cite book|last=Wood|first=Ian|title=The Merovingian Kingdoms 450–751|url=https://archive.org/details/merovingiankingd751wood|url-access=limited|publisher=Longman Publishing|year=1994|location=New York|pages=[https://archive.org/details/merovingiankingd751wood/page/n265 256], 260, 267, 275–276, 285}}</ref>

Charles met the Muslim force at the famous [[Battle of Poitiers (732)]] and came out victorious, killing Abd ar-Rahman. This moment cemented Charles Martel in historical records and gained him international praise. [[Bede]], writing at the same time in [[Jarrow]], [[England]], recorded the event in his ''[[Ecclesiastical History of the English People]]'', and his victory gained Charles Martel the admiration of seminal historian [[Edward Gibbon]] who considered him the Christian saviour of Europe.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bede|author-link=Bede|title=A History of the English Church and People|publisher=Penguin Books|year=1968|series=Penguin Classics|location=London|pages=330|translator-last=Sherley-Price|translator-first=Leo|translator-link=Leo Sherley-Price|translator-last2=Latham|translator-first2=R. E.|translator-link2=R. E. Latham}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Gibbon|first=Edward|title=The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire|publisher=John Murray|year=1839|editor-last=Hilman|editor-first=H. H.|volume=X|location=London|pages=23–27}}</ref> Although his victory was considered famous, in reality his victory was far less impactful, and Charles would not gain much control in Aquitaine until Eudo's death in 735. The victory may have given the Carolingians relative local support that potentially allowed Charles to assert dominance over Eudo's son and successor [[Hunald of Aquitaine]], but records of continued hostilities in 736 only further cemented that relations were strained.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Collins|first=Roger|title=Charlemagne|publisher=MacMillan Press Ltd|year=1998|location=Basingstoke|pages=30}}</ref><ref name="Costambeys-2011"/>

With a stronger establishment in Aquitaine, Charles made moves to assert his dominance into Burgundy.<ref name="Collins-2010b">{{Cite book|last=Collins|first=Roger|title=Early Medieval Europe 300–1000|publisher=Palgrave MacMillan|year=2010|edition=3rd|series=Palgrave History of Europe|location=London|pages=264, 266, 269}}</ref> The region, at least in the Northern areas, had remained controlled and allied with Frankish interest. Influential nobility like [[Savaric of Auxerre]], who had maintained near-autonomy and led military forces against Burgundian towns like [[Orléans]], [[Nevers]] and [[Troyes]], even dying whilst besieging [[Lyon]], were the key to Charles' support. As such, Charles made multiple attempts to both gain the faction's support and remove their authority. When Savaric died during Charles' early reign, he agreed to support Savaric's nephew [[Eucherius of Orléans|Bishop Eucherius of Orléans]]' claim to the bishopric. However, once Charles had established a powerful basis by 737, he exiled Eucherius, with the help of a man called Chrodobert, to the monastery of [[St Trond]].<ref name="Wood-1994a" /> Charles took further military action in the same year to fully assert his authority, and installed his sons [[Pepin the Short|Pippin]] and Remigius as magnates. This was followed by the installation of political supporters from Bavaria and local supporters like [[Theuderic of Autun]] and [[Adalhard of Chalon]].<ref name="Riché-1993c"/>

This acquisition of land in southern France was supported by the increased social chaos that seemingly developed during the Civil War years. This was most apparent in [[Provence]], where local magnates, like [[Abbo of Provence]], were incredibly supportive of Charles' attempts to reinstate Frankish power.<ref name="Fouracre-1995c">{{Cite book|last=Fouracre|first=Paul|title=The New Cambridge Medieval History|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1995|location=Cambridge|pages=88–90|chapter=Frankish Gaul of 814}}</ref> In 739, he used his power in Burgundy and Aquitaine to lead an attack with his brother [[Childebrand I]] against Arab invaders and Duke [[Maurontus]], who had been claiming independence and allying himself with Muslim emir Abd ar-Rahman.<ref name="Fouracre-2000a">{{Cite book|last=Fouracre|first=Paul|title=The Age of Charles Martel|publisher=Pearson Education Limited|year=2000|location=Harlow|pages=28, 34–35, 37–40, 48, 60, 70, 96–97, 106, 108–109}}</ref> It is likely due to [[Childebrand's]] sponsorship of the manuscript that his involvement is so extensively recorded in the ''Continuations''.<ref name="Nelson-1960a">{{Cite book|title=The Fourth Book of the Chronicle of Fredegar with its continuations|publisher=Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd|year=1960|location=London|pages=32, 43, 50–52, 73–75, 87, 96, 102–103|translator-last=Wallace-Hadrill|translator-first=J. M.}}</ref> According to the manuscript, Childebrand and Charles noticed the Arab army, with Maurontus' welcome, entering [[Avignon]] and quickly moved against the alliance. They besieged the city and claimed victory; the Franks then made the decision to invade [[Septimania]], taking [[Narbonne]] and flanking the Arab army. The Franks then fought off a support army sent from Spain under [[Omar-ibn Chaled]] at the [[Berre (Aude)|River Berre]]. From there the Franks then pursued the retreating Arabs and ravaged the cities of [[Nîmes]], [[Agde]] and [[Béziers]] before returning to Francia. Later that year, Charles and Childebrand returned to Provence, likely collecting more forces, and then forcing the rebellious Maurontus into 'impenetrable rocky fastnesses out to sea.'<ref name="Nelson-1960a" /> [[Paul the Deacon]] later records in his ''[[History of the Lombards|Historia Langobardorum]]'' Maurontus received help from the Lombards, and his Arab allies then fled.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Paul the Deacon|title=Historia Langobardorum|publisher=Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Scriptores|year=1829|editor-last=Pertz|editor-first=G.|volume=II|location=Hanover|pages=262–268}}</ref> At this time, Charles then assumed control of the region and, judging from Charter evidence, appointed Abbo of Provence as ''patricius'' (Patrician) in the region.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Lewis|first=Archibald R.|date=July 1976|title=The Dukes in the Regnum Francorum, A.D. 550–751|journal=Speculum|volume=51|issue=3|pages=401|doi=10.2307/2851704|jstor=2851704|s2cid=162248053}}</ref>