Carolingian dynasty

Carolingian dynasty
Carlovingians
Autograph of Charlemagne
Parent housePippinids
CountryWest Francia
Middle Francia
East Francia
Founded613 (as mayors)
751 (as kings)
800 (as emperors)
FounderPepin the Elder (as mayor)
Pepin the Short (as king)
Charlemagne (emperor)
Final rulerArnulf of Carinthia (emperor)
Louis V of France (king)
Titles
Estate(s)Francia, West Francia, East Francia, Lotharingia, Italy, Holy Roman Empire
Deposition987 (death of Louis V)
Cadet branches

The Carolingian dynasty (/ˌkærəˈlɪniən/ KARR-ə-LIN-jee-ən;[1] known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charles Martel and his grandson Charlemagne, descendants of the Arnulfing and Pippinid clans of the 7th century AD.[2] The dynasty consolidated its power in the 8th century, eventually making the offices of mayor of the palace and dux et princeps Francorum hereditary, and becoming the de facto rulers of the Franks as the real powers behind the Merovingian throne. In 751 the Merovingian dynasty which had ruled the Franks was overthrown with the consent of the Papacy and the aristocracy, and Pepin the Short, son of Martel, was crowned King of the Franks. The Carolingian dynasty reached its peak in 800 with the crowning of Charlemagne as the first Emperor of the Romans in the West in over three centuries. Nearly every monarch of France from Charlemagne's son Louis the Pious till the penultimate monarch of France Louis Philippe have been his descendants. His death in 814 began an extended period of fragmentation of the Carolingian Empire and decline that would eventually lead to the evolution of the Kingdom of France and the Holy Roman Empire.

  1. ^ "Carolingian". Collins English Dictionary (13th ed.). HarperCollins. 2018. ISBN 978-0-008-28437-4.
  2. ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Carolingians" . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.

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