Frankish mayor of the palace.
Events
Date of Birth: perhaps about 688 or 689.
Place of Birth: unknown.
The estimated date is given by Schieffer. Père Anselme (1:23) estimates about 686.
Date of Death: 22 October 741.
Place of Death: Quierzy.
The date and place are given by Schieffer. Père Anselme (1:23) states that the correct date is 15 October.
Place of Burial: Paris, Saint-Denis.
The place is given by père Anselme (1:23) and by Schieffer.
Relationships
Father: Pepin of Herstal (died 714).
This relationship is given by père Anselme (1:23), by Settipani (p. 53), and by Schieffer.
Mother: Chalpaida.
This relationship is given by père Anselme (1:23), by Settipani (p. 53), and by Schieffer.
Spouse: Chrothrude
This relationship is given by père Anselme (1:23), by Schieffer, by Bouchard (p. 102), and by Settipani (pp. 54-55), who considers it a "quasi-certitude", although the evidence for it is somewhat indirect. Gerberding (p. 227 ff.) discusses evidence and describes the assumption that the marriage happened “reasonably safe”.
Spouse: Suanachilde
This relationship is given by père Anselme (1:24) and by Schieffer.
Mistress: Chrothais
This relationship is given (tentatively) by Schieffer.
Children (by Chrotrude):
(Complete source citations for facts about the children on this page are currently outside of the scope of this project.)
Carloman (about 705 or 710 - 4 December 754).
Pepin the Short (about 714 or 715 - 24 September 768), king of the Franks, married Bertrada de Laon.
Chiltrude (died 754) married Odilo, duke of Bavaria.
Children (by Suanchilde):
Grifo (about 726 - 753).
Children (by Chrothais):
Bernard (before 732 - 787).
Children (by an unknown mistress):
Hieronymus.
Remigius (died 771). Bishop of Rouen.
References
Sources (available online):
Liber Historiae Francorum (ed. Bruno Krusch) in Monumenta Germaniae Historica: Scriptores Rerum Merovingicarum tomus II. (Hannover, 1888). (c.51-53)
(Pseudo-) Fredegarius. Chronicarum quae dicunter Fredegarii Scholastici libri IV. cum Continuationes (ed. Bruno Krusch) in Monumenta Germaniae Historica: Scriptores Rerum Merovingicarum tomus II. (Hannover, 1888). (c.7-24)
Literature:
Anselme de Sainte-Marie. Histoire Généalogique et Chronologique de la Maison Royale de France, des Pairs, Grands Officiers de la Couronne, de la Maison du Roy et des Anciens Barons du Royaume. 9 Volumes (Paris: 1726-1733).
Bouchard, Constance Brittain. “Those of My Blood”: Constructing Noble Families in Medieval Francia (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2001).
Bretscher-Gisiger, Ch. genealogical table in volume 9 of Lexikon des Mittelalters. Munich: LexMA-Verlag, 1980-1998.
Gerberding, Richard A. “A Critical Study of the Liber Historie Francorum” (PhD thesis, Oxford, 1982).
Nonne, U. "Karl Martell" in Lexikon des Mittelalters. Band 5 (Stuttgart: 1991).
Schieffer, Theodor. “Karl I. Martell”, in Neue Deutsche Biographie 11 (1977), S. 156 f. [Onlinefassung].
Settipani, Christian. Les ancêtres de Charlemagne. (2nd ed., Prosopographia et Genealogica, 2014).