Pepin I or Pepin I of Aquitaine (French: ''Pépin''; 797 – 13 December 838) was

King of Aquitaine The Duchy of Aquitaine ( oc, Ducat d'Aquitània, ; french: Duché d'Aquitaine, ) was a historical fiefdom in western, central, and southern areas of present-day France to the south of the river Loire, although its extent, as well as its name, fluc ...

and

Duke of Maine This is a list of counts and dukes of Maine. The capital of Maine was Le Mans. In the thirteenth century it was annexed by France to the royal domain. Dukes of Maine (''duces Cenomannici'') * Charivius (fl. 723) – appears as ''dux'' in a docu ...

. Pepin was the second son of

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

Louis the Pious Louis the Pious (german: Ludwig der Fromme; french: Louis le Pieux; 16 April 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair, and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aqui ...

and his first wife,

Ermengarde of Hesbaye Ermengarde (or Irmingard) of Hesbaye (c. 778 – 3 October 818), probably a member of the Robertian dynasty, was Carolingian empress from 813 and Queen of the Franks from 814 until her death as the wife of the Carolingian emperor Louis the Piou ...

. When his father assigned to each of his sons a kingdom (within the

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

) in August 817, he received Aquitaine, which had been Louis's own subkingdom during his father

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first ...

's reign.

Ermoldus Nigellus Ermoldus Nigellus, or Niger—translated Ermold the Black, or Ermoald (), was a poet who lived at the court of Pippin of Aquitaine, son of Frankish Emperor Louis I, and accompanied him on a campaign into Brittany in 824. Ermoldus was a cultured m ...

was his court poet and accompanied him on a campaign into

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...

in 824.

Rebellions

Pepin rebelled in 830 at the insistence of his brother Lothair's advisor Wala. He took an army of Gascons with him and marched all the way to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, with the support of the

Neustria Neustria was the western part of the Kingdom of the Franks. Neustria included the land between the Loire and the Silva Carbonaria, approximately the north of present-day France, with Paris, Orléans, Tours, Soissons as its main cities. It late ...

ns. His father marched back from a campaign in

all the way to

Compiègne Compiègne (; pcd, Compiène) is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. It is located on the river Oise. Its inhabitants are called ''Compiégnois''. Administration Compiègne is the seat of two cantons: * Compiègne-1 (with 19 ...

, where Pepin surrounded his forces and captured him. The rebellion, however, broke up. In 832, Pepin rebelled again and his brother

Louis the German Louis the German (c. 806/810 – 28 August 876), also known as Louis II of Germany and Louis II of East Francia, was the first king of East Francia, and ruled from 843 to 876 AD. Grandson of emperor Charlemagne and the third son of Louis the P ...

soon followed. Louis the Pious was in Aquitaine to subdue any revolt, but was drawn off by the

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

n insurrection of the younger Louis. Pepin took Limoges and other Imperial territories. The next year, Lothair joined the rebellion and, with the assistance of Ebbo,

archbishop of Reims The Archdiocese of Reims (traditionally spelt "Rheims" in English) ( la, Archidiœcesis Remensis; French: ''Archidiocèse de Reims'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastic territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. Erected as a diocese a ...

, the rebel sons deposed their father in 833. Lothair's later behaviour alienated Pepin, and the latter was at his father's side when Louis the Pious was reinstated on 1 March 834. Pepin was restored to his former status.

Death

Pepin died scarcely four years after getting restored to his former status, he was buried in the Church of St. Radegonde in Poitiers.

Marriage and issue

In 822, Pepin had married Ingeltrude, daughter of Theodobert, count of Madrie, with whom he had two sons:

Pepin II Pepin II (c. 635 – 16 December 714), commonly known as Pepin of Herstal, was a Frankish statesman and military leader who de facto ruled Francia as the Mayor of the Palace from 680 until his death. He took the title Duke and Prince of the Fr ...

(823-after 864), and Charles (825-830 - 4 June 863), who became Archbishop of Mainz. Both were minors when Pepin died, so Louis the Pious awarded Aquitaine to his own youngest son, Pepin's half-brother

Charles the Bald Charles the Bald (french: Charles le Chauve; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as Charles II, was a 9th-century king of West Francia (843–877), king of Italy (875–877) and emperor of the Carolingian Empire (875–877). After a ...

. The Aquitainians, however, elected Pepin's son as Pepin II. His brother Charles also briefly claimed the kingdom. Both died childless. Pepin also had two daughters, one of whom married

Gerard, Count of Auvergne Gerard was Rulers of Auvergne, Count of Auvergne from 839 until his death on 25 June 841. Marriage and issue Gerard married either Rotrud or Hildegard, daughters of Louis the Pious. They had the following children: *Ranulf I of Poitiers, Duke of Aq ...

Notes

Sources

*Collins, Roger. "Pippin I and the Kingdom of Aquitaine." ''Charlemagne's Heir: New Perspectives on the Reign of Louis the Pious'', edd. P. Godman and Roger Collins. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1990. Reprinted in ''Law, Culture and Regionalism in Early Medieval Spain''. Variorum, 1992. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Pepin 01 Of Aquitaine Rulers of the Carolingian Empire Dukes of Maine Frankish warriors 797 births 838 deaths 9th-century Frankish monarchs Burials in Nouvelle-Aquitaine Rebellious princes Sons of emperors