638.
We have mentioned Pippin of Landen as the Royal Steward of Clotar II. His office gave birth to the new power which grew up beside the Merovingian rule and finally suppressed it. In the chronicles of the time the officer is called the Majordomus of the King—a word which is best translated by "Steward of the Royal Household"; but in reality, it embraced much more extended and important powers than the title would imply. In their conquests, the Franks—as we have already stated—usually claimed at least one-third of the territory which fell into their hands. A part of this was portioned out among the chief men and the soldiers; a part was set aside as the king's share, and still another part became the common property of the people. The latter, therefore, fell into the habit of electing a Steward to guard and superintend this property in their interest; and, as the kings became involved in their family feuds, the charge of the royal estates was intrusted to the hands of the same steward.
The latter estates soon became, by conquest, so extensive and important, that the king gave the use of many of them for a term of years, or for life, to private individuals in return for military services. This was called the Lehen (lien, or loan) system, to distinguish it from the Allod (allotment), whereby a part of the conquered lands were divided by lot, and became the free property of those to whom they fell. The Lehen gave rise to a new class, whose fortunes were immediately dependent on the favor of the king, and who consequently, when they appeared at the national assemblies, voted on his side. Such a "loaned" estate was also called feod, whence the term "feudal system," which, gradually modified by time, grew from this basis. The importance of the Royal Steward in the kingdom is thus explained. The office, at first, had probably a mere business character. After Chlodwig's time, the civil wars by which the estates of the king and the people became subject to constant change, gave the steward a political power, which increased with each generation. He stood between the monarch and his subjects, with the best opportunity for acquiring an ascendency over the minds of both. At first, he was only elected for a year, and his reëlection depended on the honesty and ability with which he had discharged his duties. During the convulsions of the dynasty, he, in common with king and nobles, gained what rights the people lost: he began to retain his office for a longer time, then for life, and finally demanded that it should be hereditary in his family.
638. THE "LEHEN" SYSTEM.
The Royal Stewards of Burgundy and Germany played an important part in the last struggle between Clotar II. and Brunhilde. When the successful king, in 622, found that the increasing difference of language and habits between the eastern and western portions of his realm required a separation of the government, and made his young son, Dagobert, ruler over the German half, he was compelled to recognize Pippin of Landen as his Steward, and to trust Dagobert entirely to his hands. The dividing line between "Austria" and "Neustria" was drawn along the chain of the Vosges, through the forest of Ardennes, and terminated near the mouth of the Schelde—almost the same line which divides the German and French languages, at this day.
Pippin was a Frank, born in the Netherlands, a man of energy and intelligence, but of little principle. He had, nevertheless, shrewdness enough to see the necessity of maintaining the unity and peace of the kingdom, and he endeavored, in conjunction with Bishop Arnulf of Metz, to make a good king of Dagobert. They made him, indeed, amiable and well-meaning, but they could not overcome the instability of his character. After Clotar II.'s death, in 628, Dagobert passed the remaining ten years of his life in France, under the control of others, and the actual government of Germany was exercised by Pippin.
670.
The period of transition between the power of the kings, gradually sinking, and the power of the Stewards, steadily rising, lasted about fifty years. The latter power, however, was not allowed to increase without frequent struggles, partly from the jealousy of the nobility and priesthood, partly from the Resistance of the people to the extinction of their remaining rights. But, after the devastation left behind by the fratricidal wars of the Merovingians, all parties felt the necessity of a strong and well-regulated government, and the long experience of the Stewards gave them the advantage.
Grimoald, the son and successor of Pippin in the stewardship of Germany, made an attempt to usurp the royal power, but failed. This event, and the interference of a Steward of France with the rights of the dynasty, led the Franks, in 670—when the whole kingdom was again united under Childeric II.—to decree that the Stewards should be elected annually by the people, as in the beginning. But when Childeric II., like the most of his predecessors, was murdered, the deposed Steward of France regained his power, forced the people to accept him, and attempted to extend his government over Germany. In spite of a fierce resistance, headed by Pippin of Heristall, the grandson of Pippin of Landen, he partly maintained his authority until the year 681, when he was murdered in turn.
Pippin of Heristall was also the grandson of Arnulf, Bishop of Metz, whose son, Anchises, had married Begga, the daughter of Pippin of Landen. He was thus of Roman blood by his father's, and Frank by his mother's side. As soon as his authority was secured, as Royal Steward of Germany, he invaded France, and a desperate struggle for the stewardship of the whole kingdom ensued. It was ended in 687 by a battle near St. Quentin, in which Pippin was victorious. He used his success with a moderation very rare in those days: he did honor to the Frank king, Theuderich III., who had fallen into his hands, spared the lives and possessions of all who had fought against him, on their promise not to take up arms against his authority, and even continued many of the chief officials of the Franks in their former places.
687. PIPPIN OF HERISTALL.
From this date the Merovingian monarch became a shadow. Pippin paid him all external signs of allegiance, kept up the ceremonies of his Court, supplied him with ample revenues, and governed the kingdom in his name; but the actual power was concentrated in his own hands. France, Switzerland and the greater part of Germany were subjected to his government, although there were still elements of discontent within the realm, and of trouble outside of its borders. The dependent dukedoms of Aquitaine, Burgundy, Alemannia, Bavaria and Thuringia were restless under the yoke; the Saxons and Frisians on the north were hostile and defiant, and the Slavonic races all along the eastern frontier had not yet given up their invasions.
Pippin, like the French rulers after him, down to the present day, perceived the advantage of having the Church on his side. Moreover, he was the grandson of a Bishop, which circumstance—although it did not prevent him from taking two wives—enabled him better to understand the power of the ecclesiastical system of Rome. In the early part of the seventh century, several Christian missionaries, principally Irish, had begun their labors among the Alemanni and the Bavarians, but the greater part of these people, with all the Thuringians, Saxons and Frisians, were still worshippers of the old pagan gods. Pippin saw that the latter must be taught submission, and accustomed to authority through the Church, and, with his aid, all the southern part of Germany became Christian in a few years. Force was employed, as well as persuasion; but, at that time, the end was considered to sanction any means.
Pippin's rule (we can not call it reign) was characterized by the greatest activity, patience and prudence. From year to year the kingdom of the Franks became better organized and stronger in all its features of government. Brittany, Burgundy and Aquitaine were kept quiet; the northern part of Holland was conquered, and immediately given into charge of a band of Anglo-Saxon monks; and Germany, although restless and dissatisfied, was held more firmly than ever. Pippin of Heristall, while he was simply called a Royal Steward, exercised a wider power than any monarch of his time.
714.
When he died, in the year 714, the kingdom was for a while convulsed by feuds which threatened to repeat the bloody annals of the Merovingians. His heirs were Theudowald, his grandson by his wife Plektrude, and Karl and Hildebrand, his sons by his wife Alpheid. He chose the former as his successor, and Plektrude, in order to suppress any opposition to this arrangement, imprisoned her step-son Karl. But the Burgundians immediately revolted, elected one of their chiefs, Raginfried, to the office of Royal Steward, and defeated the Franks in a battle in which Theudowald was slain. Karl, having escaped from prison, put himself at the head of affairs, supported by a majority of the German Franks. He was a man of strong personal