This Europe

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Pepin of Landen

Pepin I (also Peppin, Pipin, or Pippin) of Landen (c. 580 – 27 February 640), also called the Elder or the Old, was the Mayor of the palace of Austrasia and often seen as the founder of the Carolingian dynasty. Where is he? As far as I know, there are no older sculptures depicting Pepin of Landen. He can be seen far up on the western facade of the Palace of the Prince-Bishops in Liège and in…

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Detail of a miniature of a hermit at work on a manuscript, from the Estoire del Saint Graal, France (Saint-Omer or Tournai?), c. 1315 – 1325, Royal MS 14 E III, f. 6v  (via Royal_ms_14_e_iii_f006v_detail) Link to the blog post The Burden of Writing: Scribes in Medieval Manuscripts at the Medieval manuscripts blog.

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Pepin of Landen

In the post Is Herstal the birthplace of Europe? I did not mention that Pipin of Herstal had a grandfather. I said Herstal was the the place where the Pippinide dynasty began. This is based on the fact that the sources makes this the place where both Pipin II and Charles Martel and maybe even Charlemagne was born. Old Pepin of Landen, well, he might have been from Landen, but some scholars now says that this was something made up in twelfth century sources [find reference].  But it true that this Pepin of Landen is the first Pepin and that his fathers name was Carloman, but we do not know anything about him. Pepin I daughter Begga (wonderful name) married  Ansegisel and Pepin of Herstal was their son. Now  Ansegisel was supposedly the son of the famous  Saint Arnulf, bishop of Metz. That’s what most sources says, but new history questions this, as their seems to be a lack of sources here as well (citation]. The real reason the argument goes, was that the Carolingians liked the idea of being the heir of Pepin and Arnulf, which where good friends. And that fits the whole Carolingian program of making of Christendom and it would be nice if it was true, I guess.

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Herstal, the birthplace of Europe?

Herstal is the birthplace of the dynasty that kind of made Europe, the Pippinides, better known as the Carolingians, which major men includes Charles Martel, born in Herstal, and his grandson Charlemagne, maybe born in Herstal (or Aachen). The name Herstal is of Franconian origin, consisting of the elements hari (“army”) and stal (“resting place”, compare “stable”).

The capital of the south-west crossing pillar in the Great St. Martin Church in Cologne, is according to legend depicting Pippin and Plectrudis

Today the town is mostly known for the largest arms manufacturer in Belgium, Fabrique Nationale d'Armes de Guerre (or FN Herstal for short), which employs around 900 people. Forges de Zeebrugge is another weapon producer in town. You could, possibly, argue that the spirit of the Pippinides (which where if anything, great warlords) here lives on in companies like this and in the general industrialization in the region around Liège. Herstal was also the headquarter for the motorcycle manufacturers Saroléa and Gillet Herstal.

In the history books the Pippinides road to fame began with Pippin of Herstal (ca 635–714), who had the absolutely top post in the Merovingian empire as Mayor of the Palace and he was de facto ruler of both Austrasia and Neustria. He probably chose this location as his main residence because of its proximity to the major cities of Tongeren, Maastricht, and Liège. So even if there is nada left of the old European history in this town, it still at the important junction and if the perspective change from museums, ruins and castles mode to a more geographical mode, it still could be interesting looking around for clues in the environment around the place. To be continued…