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and the Merovingian king Childeric
111 is deposed and imprisoned. His
sacred flowi ng hair is ritually shorn
by the command of Pope Stephen 11
(752-757). The power of the Mero–
vingians is broken!
Childeric is sent to a monastery
for the rest of his days. T he Mero–
vingia n bloodline, however , will
survive, through intermar r iage, in
the li ne of the dukes of Hapsburg–
Lorraine.
The Merovingians have reigned
by r ight of conquest. But Pepi n has
now assumed the sovereignty
in the
name of God.
He believes it is
God's wi ll that his family rule the
Franks. Pepin according ly styles
himself
rex gratia Dei
("king by
the grace of God"), a t itle retained
by his successors.
Pepi n 's new dynasty wi ll be
known as the Carolingians. T he
name derives from Pepin's fat her,
Charles
(Carolus)
Martel, who had
been mayor of the palace before
him.
lt had been Charles Mar tel ("the
Hammer") who saved Europe from
the invad ing Saracens at Tours, in
France, in October 732. By that
momentous victory, the Franks had
become widely recognized as the
real defenders of Christendom. The
Papacy had long since realized that
Constantinople could defend no
one.
Lomba rd Threat
The Church now looks to the Caro–
lingians fo r protection against the
G e rma ni c Lomba rd s, who a re
occupying muc h of ltaly- and want
the rest!
The situation becomes desperate.
As the Lombards threaten Rome,
Pope Stephen 11 sets out across the
stormy Alps in November 753. H is
goal is Pepin's winter camp.
The Pope asks Pepin to come to
his aid. T he Church must be pro–
tected from the encroachment of
the Lombards!
At the same t ime, Pope Stephen
persona ll y a no in ts a nd crowns
Pepin, and blesses Pepin's sons and
hei rs.
T he Franks answer the call.
Pepin invades Italy and defeats the
Lombards. He then confers the
conquered Lombard terr itory upon
the Pope (754). This gift of rescued
lands is called the " Donation of
12
Pepin." I t cements the all iance
between the Carolingians and the
Church.
(The Donation of Pepin is not to
be confused wi t h the fict it ious
" Donation of Constantine," a forg–
ery a lso dat ing from about this
t ime. T his document- whose falsi–
ty will not be proved for another
700 years-ostensibly carne from
the pen of the Emperor Constan tine
himself early in the fourth century,
when he moved to the new capital
of Constantinople. The document
purpor ts to be an offer from Con–
s tantine to Pope Sylvester 1 and his
successors of temporal rulershi p
over Rome, over Jtaly and over
most ter r itories of the Western
world! Believed to be genuine, the
parchmen t car ries vast implicat ions
and bolsters significant ly the pres–
tige and authori ty of the Papacy. )
New K lng
Pepin d ies in 768. His sons Charles
(Karl ) and Carloman joint ly suc–
ceed to the Frankish throne.
In 77 1, Car loman d ies suddenly,
and Charles becomes sole king of
the Franks.
Though only 29 years old, Charles
is an imposing figu re. He literally
exudes
power and authority!
Charles is 7 feet tall- well over a
foot above average height-and
robust. He is stately and dignified in
bearing, but is known for his warm–
hear tedness and charity. He speaks a
type of Old High German.
But most important, he is a zeal–
ous and dedicated Catholic Ch r is–
t ian!
Now in und isputed possession of
the F ra nki sh t hrone, Charles
di rects
his
efforts against the ene–
mies of his kingdom. H is g reat goal
is to reestablish the political unity
that had existed in Europe befare
the invasions of the fifth century.
He fi rst launches a campaign
against the fierce Saxons, who are
threatening his frontiers. The Sax–
ons are the las t g reat pagan German
nation . Dur i ng th e next t hree
decades, Charles wi ll wage 18 cam–
paigns in his costly and bitter strug–
gle against the stubborn Saxons. In
804 they wi ll finally be Christian–
ized at the point of the sword and
incorporated into his empire.
Cha r les also under takes cam–
paig ns against the Bava ri a n s,
Avars, S lavs, Bretons, Arabs and
numerous other peoples. During his
long career, he wi ll conduct 53
expedit ions and war agai nst 12 dif–
ferent nat ions! And in the process
he wi ll unite by conquest nearly all
the lands of Western Europe into
one political unit.
Urgen t Plea
Pepin had delivered a crushing
defeat to the Lombards, but he had
not totally subdued them . The
Church is now threatened once
more. Rome needs a champion!
In 772, C har les receives an
urgent plea for aid from Pope
Ad r ian 1, whose territo ries have
been invaded by Desiderius, king of
the Lombards.
Charles crosses the Alps from
Geneva with two armies. In 774 he
decisively overthrows the kingdom
of the Lombards, deposes Desider–
ius and proclaims himsel f sovereign
of the Lombards.
Charles is now master of Italy!
Char les takes the title
Rex Fran–
corum et Longobardorum atque
Patricius Romanorum
(" King of
th e Fr anks and Lomba rds a nd
Patrician of the Romans"). The
famous "iron c rown" of the Lom–
bards- which will become one of
t he g r eat his tor ie symbols o f
Europe- is placed upon Char les'
head.
lt
will be used in subsequent
cent uries by Napoleon and other
sovereigns of Europe.
Charles confi rms and expands
the Donation made to the Papacy
by his father. This territory will
later be known as the States of the
Church.
Italy is again uni ted for the first
time in centuries. Charles is her–
alded as defender of the Chu rch
and guard ian of the C hr ist ian faith.
The Frankish monarchy and the
Papacy stand in partnership agains t
the enemies of civi lization!
Char les is now the most conspic–
uous ruler in Europe. History wi ll
kn ow h im as Cha rlemag ne–
"Charles the G reat."
Papal Ml sconduct?
1t
is 795. There is a new Pope–
Leo 11 1- in Rome. He immediately
recognizes Char les as
patricius
of
the Romans.
By now, Western Christendom
fully recognizes the bishop of Rome
The
PLAIN TRUTH