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284: CHARLES (FRANCE) II. PRANCE. CHARLES MARTEL, duke of Austrasia and mayor of the palace of the Frankish kings, born about 690, died in 741. He was the natural son of Pepin of H6ristal, by his mistress Alpaida, and seemed at first doomed to an inferior rank on account of his illegitimate birth, as well as the dislike shown to him by his father and the hatred of Plectruda, his father's lawful wife. The second son of the latter, Grimoald, hav- ing been assassinated at Liege, Charles was charged with being the murderer and conse- quently thrown into a dungeon, while Plectruda was intrusted with the government and the guar- dianship of her grandson, who, although still a child, had been declared mayor of the palace of the young king Dagobert III. The Franks were thus ruled by a woman in the name of two children. This could not be endured ; and the Neustrians first rebelled against Plectruda, and the Austrasians liberated Charles from prison, and proclaimed him their duke. Under his command they invaded Neustria, gained several victories, and obliged their western brothers to acknowledge the authority of their leader. Thus Charles became sole lord of both kingdoms, permitting however the nomi- nal reign of Dagobert III., Chilperic II., Clo- taire IV., and Thierry IV. to continue to 787. But on the death of the last named Charles appointed no successor and retained the su- preme power, althongh not assuming any higher title than that of duke of the Franks. His energetic government at home caused the powerful Austrasian aristocracy to submit, as well as the prelates of Neustria and Bur- gundy, while his valor enlarged the extent of the Frankish kingdom. He waged success- ful wars against several German nations ; but his brightest laurel was won in his struggle with the Moslems, who after the conquest of Spain had crossed the Pyrenees and attempted to conquer Gaul also. The southern part of this country had been first successfully pro- tected by the gallant Eudes, duke of Aqnita- nia, who had even routed the Moslems in 721 in a great battle under the walls of Toulouse; but, overpowered by the immense forces of the invaders, he was eventually compelled to call upon the duke of the Franks for assistance. The Moslems had already penetrated as far as Poitiers, when Charles at the head of his Frankish and German warriors met them a few miles N. E. of that city. Both armies stopped and passed six days in desultory skirmishes be- fore engaging in a decisive battle. At last, on Oct. 3, 732, the Christian infantry received the charge of the Arabian cavalry, and with- stood unbroken its repeated assaults, until at sunset the Saracens retired to their camp. In the confusion and despair of the night the va- rious tribes of the Orient, Africa, and Spain were provoked to attack each other, and the remains of the host were suddenly dissolved, every emir seeking safety by a precipitate flight. At sunrise the Franks, to their un- bounded astonishment, perceived that the ene- my had left their camp and were retreating in haste toward the south. The Moslems had not dared to renew the battle. This victory, which took place 100 years after the death of Moham- med, checked the power of his adherents and saved western Europe from their further inva- sions. Charles, from his conduct on this great occasion and the vigor of his arm, received the surname of Martel, "hammer." His prudence prevented him from pursuing the retreating army; but he subsequently renewed the war, and forced the Arabian emirs who had main- tained their power over several cities of south- ern Gaul to return to Spain. The whole of Aquitania was annexed to the Frankish em- pire, which was ruled by Charles, and after his death divided between his two sons, Austrasia being given to Carloman and Neustria to Pepin. The latter soon became possessed of the whole, and afterward assumed the title of king, the first of the Carlovingian dynasty. CHARLES I> (CHARLEMAGNE). See CHARLES I. OF GERMANY. CHARLES II., the Bald, the fourth king of the Carlovingian dynasty, born at Frankfort-on- the-Main in 823, died in a village at the foot of Mont Cenis in October, 877. The son of Louis le D6bonnaire by his second wife, Judith of Bavaria, his birth gave rise to serious troubles between his father and his elder brothers. "War followed, in which the old Louis le D6bonnaire was harshly dealt with by his sons; and his death, June 20, 840, found Charles holding nearly the whole western part of the empire. His claim being, however, dis- puted by his eldest brother Lothaire, who had assumed the imperial dignity, Charles, to main- tain his rights, formed with his second brother Louis, king of Bavaria, an aggressive alliance against the emperor, and defeated him in a desperate battle fought June 25, 841, at Fon- tenay or Fontanet, in Burgundy. The victory, however, weakened their resources to such an extent as to prevent them from following it up. Charles and Louis renewed their alliance in a solemn meeting at Strasburg, Charles taking an oath in the German language, and Louis in the vernacular of the people of Gaul. The words of this oath, which have been pre- served, are the first monument of the Romance language, from which the French has sprung. The union of Charles and Louis brought Lo- thaire to terms; and the treaty of Verdun in 843 secured to the former the tenure of his kingdom, that is, the whole of Gaul W. of the Meuse, the Saone, and the Rh6ne, which henceforth was to be called France, and part of Spain N. of the Ebro. But the submission of all the provinces of this kingdom was far from being complete, and Charles had frequent- ly to resort to arms against the people of Brit- tany and Aquitaine. Under his reign the Nor- mans, who had previously desolated the coasts of Gaul, invaded the country by ascending the