Pepin the Short
Frankish mayor of the palace who took the crown with papal approval in 751. Anointed by Pope Stephen II in 754, he twice defeated the Lombards and gave Ravenna and its cities to the Roman church. He was the father of Charlemagne.
Pepin ruled the Franks as mayor of the palace with his brother Carloman, and with him supported the reforming synods of Boniface (Willibald, Life of Boniface 8 (pp. 74–78)). The Royal Frankish Annals say that envoys asked Pope Zacharias whether it was good that kings in Francia should have the name without the power, that the pope answered it was better for the one who held power to be called king, and that Pepin was then chosen king and anointed, by the hand of Boniface according to the annals, the last Merovingian being sent to a monastery (Royal Frankish Annals, years 749–750). The annals enter this under 750; G. W. Robinson’s note to Willibald’s Life puts it in November 751 (Willibald, Life of Boniface 8 (pp. 74–78)).
Pope Stephen II anointed him again in 754, with his sons Charles and Carloman (Royal Frankish Annals, year 754). After this Pepin made war on the Lombards and gave the cities of the exarchate of Ravenna to St Peter (The Donation of Pepin and the Papal States) (Liber Pontificalis Stephen II (ed. Duchesne, vol. 1, pp. 447–454)). He died at Saint-Denis on 24 September 768 (Royal Frankish Annals, year 768).
In the timeline
- AD 754 to AD 756, firm dateThe Donation of Pepin and the Papal States
Threatened by the Lombards and unaided by the emperor, Pope Stephen II crosses the Alps to the Frankish king Pepin. Pepin defeats the Lombards and gives Ravenna and its cities not to the emperor but to St Peter, making the pope a ruler of territory.
Primary sources
Royal Frankish Annals
- Royal Frankish Annals, years 749–750archive.org
- Royal Frankish Annals, year 754archive.org
- Royal Frankish Annals, year 768archive.org