Plectrude (; ) (died 718) was the consort of

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

, the

mayor of the palace Under the Merovingian dynasty, the mayor of the palace or majordomo, ( or ) was the manager of the household of the Frankish king. He was the head of the Merovingian administrative ladder and orchestrated the operation of the entire court. He ...

and

duke of the Franks Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they ...

, from about 670. She was the daughter of Hugobert,

seneschal The word ''seneschal'' () can have several different meanings, all of which reflect certain types of supervising or administering in a historic context. Most commonly, a seneschal was a senior position filled by a court appointment within a royal, ...

of Clovis IV, and Irmina of Oeren. She was the regent of

Neustria Neustria was the western part of the Kingdom of the Franks during the Early Middle Ages, in contrast to the eastern Frankish kingdom, Austrasia. It initially included land between the Loire and the Silva Carbonaria, in the north of present-day ...

during the minority of her grandson Theudoald from 714 until 718.

Biography

Marriage and children

Plectrude was described as politically active and influential upon her husband and his reign. She brought a large amount of property to the Arnulfing house. Plectrude was the daughter of Hugobert,

of Clovis IV, and lady Irmina of Oeren. While there is no hard evidence for the identification of Irmina as her mother, it is highly probable as both women held land which was inherited from the same source. Irmina came from one of the most powerful families in the

Merovingian The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from around the middle of the 5th century until Pepin the Short in 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the ...

kingdom. After the death of Hugobert in 697, Irmina gave the monk Willibrord the land on which to build the

Abbey of Echternach The Abbey of Echternach is a Benedictine monastery in the town of Echternach, in eastern Luxembourg. The abbey was founded in the 7th century by St Willibrord, the patron saint of Luxembourg. For three hundred years, it benefited from the pat ...

. Much of Pepin's wealth came from his marriage to Plectrude. During the reign of Pepin, she appears as his joint signatory in every legal instrument issued by him that is still preserved, which was unusual for this time period. She had two sons by Pepin, Drogo and Grimoald. Both her sons died before Pepin, Drogo died in 707 and Grimoald was murdered in 714. She ensured Pepin II's assent that Theudoald, Grimoald's son, would be his main heir. When Pepin died soon thereafter at the end of 714, she took power in Neustria as regent of the under-age Theudoald. This appointment of a child as mayor of the palace was unprecedented.

Imprisonment of Charles Martel

To ensure her reign, she imprisoned

Charles Martel Charles Martel (; – 22 October 741), ''Martel'' being a sobriquet in Old French for "The Hammer", was a Franks, Frankish political and military leader who, as Duke and Prince of the Franks and Mayor of the Palace, was the de facto ruler of ...

, Pepin II's son with his second wife Alpaida, in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

. Charles is often said to have been illegitimate, but this is considered by many today an anachronistic interpretation of his status. Charles' contemporaries most likely did not consider him illegitimate, as he was born while his mother Alpaida was married to Pepin the Frank, and noblemen practiced polygamy in this period. In 715, the Neustrian nobility rebelled against her in alliance with Radbod of Friesland and defeated her in the Battle of Compiègne, which took place on September 26, 715, causing her to take refuge in Cologne. Cologne was the homeland of her family clan and where she kept Pepin's money. In 716,

Chilperic II Chilperic II ( 672 – 13 February 721) was King of the Franks from 715 until his death. He was a son of Childeric II and his half-cousin wife, Bilichild, both of whom were assassinated, along with their eldest son Dagobert, in 675. Still a ...

, the

king of the Franks The Franks, Germanic peoples that invaded the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century, were first led by individuals called dux, dukes and monarch, reguli. The earliest group of Franks that rose to prominence was the Salian Franks, Salian Mero ...

, and Ragenfrid, the

, led an army into

Austrasia Austrasia was the northeastern kingdom within the core of the Francia, Frankish Empire during the Early Middle Ages, centring on the Meuse, Middle Rhine and the Moselle rivers. It included the original Frankish-ruled territories within what had ...

, near Cologne, where Plectrude had gone. They defeated her and freed

. Plectrude acknowledged Chilperic as king, gave over the Austrasian treasury, and abandoned her grandson's claim to the mayoralty.Egmond, Wolfert S. van. "Plectrudis", Online Dictionary of Dutch Women, Huygens Instituut, January 13, 2014
/ref> The king and his mayor then turned to besiege their other rival in the city and claimed it. The treasury shortly after received recognition by the king and mayor. The juncture of these events favored Charles. In 717, he chased the king and the mayor to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

before turning back to deal with Plectrude in Cologne. He then took the city and dispersed her supporters.

Death

Plectrude entered a convent, and died shortly after in the same year in Cologne, where she was buried in the monastery of St. Maria im Kapitol which she had founded. Her grandson Theudoald lived under his uncle's protection until Martel's death in 741.

Issue

Her sons by Pepin were: * Drogo, duke of

Champagne Champagne (; ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, which demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...

* Grimoald, mayor of the palace of Neustria

Historiography Notes

Using the translation done by and provided by Paul Fouracre and Richard A.Gerberding in ''Late Merovingian France: History and Hagiography, 640-720,'' of the ''Annales Mettenses Priores'' (''The Earlier Annals of Metz''), Plectrude is described as “keeping Charles(Martel) from the legitimate governance of his father’s authority,” as well as having “decided to rule with feminine cunning more cruelly than was necessary,” and is blamed for the Neustrians rising up against her and her grandson. They further discuss whether the ''Annals'', possibly written at Chelles during a time when a sister of Charlemagne was abbess was written by a woman or not. They conclude that if the Source was written by a woman, it was likely “a misogynistic one,” due to the language used to describe Plectrude(as quoted above). Paul Fouracre further expands on this imagery of Plectrude in ''The Age of Charles Martel,'' writing that this phrasing used against Plectrude might be a result of the anonymous writer’s allegiance to Charles Martel, emphasizing that he was “the only surviving heir worthy of great power,” by depicting Plectrude as “unfit to rule,” and asserting that she “plotted to keep him down in favour of her grandson, Theudoald, a mere child.” It seems to Fouracre then that the author of this Source framed Charles Martel as “the Franks’ saviour” at the expense of Plectrude’s legacy. In depicting Plectrude as having made(and failed) at an attempt to hold Pippin II’s inheritance for her grandson at Charles Martel’s expense, the ''Annals'' have secured her legacy as a “pushy stepmother(s) rather than kindly mother(s)” Rosamond McKitterick disagrees with Fouracre and Gerberding’s assessment that the author of the ''Earlier Annals of Metz'' could not be a woman due to the use of language against Plectrude, arguing instead that the ''Annals'' “is more concerned with division and succession” and the purpose of the author was legitimizing the Carolinian family’s claim to the Francia kingdom. To her, because the ''Annals'' were more focused on justifying the Carolingian family’s new dynasty, and Plectrude, as Charles Martel’s stepmother was intervening in his right to his father’s inheritance, hence why the hostility in wording used referring to Plectrude.

''The Annals of Metz'' and "The Continuations of Fredegar"

The following is an excerpt from the ''Earlier Annals of Metz''(or ''Annales Mettenses Priores'') as translated by Paul Fouracre and Richard A. Gerbderding in ''Late Merovingan France: History and Hagiography, 640-720.''

"''Plectrud desired to promote her grandson, Theudoald, she was keeping Charles from the legitimate governance of his father's authority and she herself, with the infant, in a womanly plan, presumed to control the reins of so great a kingdom. Because she had decided to rule with feminine cunning more cruelly than was necessary, she quickly turned the wrath of the Neustrian Franks." ''

Plectrude is also mentioned in the "Fourth Book of the Chronicles of Fredegar with its Continuations." This source is more favorable to Plectrude, referring to her as "the fine woman," and stating that she "governed the kingdom wisely.". John Michael-Wallace Hadrill (Trans) "Book Five, Chapter XXV." ''The Fourth Book of the Chronicle of Fredegar and its Continuations''Connecticut, Greenwood Press, 1960. Accessed online at https://web.archive.org/web/20080921232251/http://www.bu.edu/english/levine/grch4%2B5.htm

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Plectrude 7th-century births 718 deaths Year of birth unknown 8th-century women regents 8th-century Frankish nobility 8th-century Frankish women 8th-century Frankish people 8th-century regents