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Pepin the Hunchback
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Pepin the Hunchback
Pepin (or Pippin) the Hunchback (French: Pépin le Bossu, German: Pippin der Buckelige; 768/769 – 811) was a Frankish prince. He was the eldest son of Charlemagne and noblewoman Himiltrude. He developed a humped back after birth, leading early medieval historians to give him the epithet "hunchback". He lived with his father's court after Charlemagne dismissed his mother and married Desiderata. Around 781, Pepin's half brother Carloman was rechristened as "Pepin"—a step that may have signaled Charlemagne's decision to disinherit the elder Pepin, for a variety of possible reasons. In 792, Pepin the Hunchback revolted against his father with a group of leading Frankish nobles, but the plot was discovered and put down before the conspiracy could be put into action. Charlemagne commuted Pepin's death sentence, having him tonsured and exiled to the monastery of Prüm instead. Since his death in 811, Pepin has been the subject of numerous works of historical fiction.
The circumstances of Pepin's birth remain unclear to modern scholars, especially regarding the legitimacy of his mother's union to Charles. Most Carolingian-era sources dismiss Charles' first union as illegitimate. The contemporary historian Einhard writes merely that Pepin was born to a "concubine", and he does not list him among Charlemagne's legitimate offspring. Although it is possible that Pepin was born to a now-forgotten concubine, Einhard is probably referring to Himiltrude—the first child-bearing partner of Charlemagne, about whom little is now known. However, Einhard and most other Carolingian historians worked in the courts of Charlemagne's successors and had a vested interest in undermining the legitimacy of the claims of other potential royal lines. These writers may have maligned Charles' union to Himiltrude after the fact in order to lend a post facto justification to Pepin's later disinheritance.
It is possible that the union of Charlemagne and Himiltrude was a Germanic form of marriage with fewer obligations than the sacramental marriage of the Church—what some medievalists have called Friedelehe—although the concept is controversial. Paul the Deacon writes in his Gesta Episcoporum Mettensium that Pepin was born ante legale connubium or "before legal marriage", but his meaning is unclear: he does not specify as to whether Charles and Himiltrude were not fully, legally married by the church, or if they simply got married after Pepin was born. In a letter to Charlemagne, Pope Stephen III describes the relationship as a legitimate marriage, but he had a vested interest in preventing Charlemagne from taking a new wife—the daughter of Lombard King Desiderius, who was a major political enemy of the papacy.
After Charles ignored Stephen's advice and married the Lombard princess Desiderata, the story of Himiltrude might have been altered and forgotten. Perhaps Charles' resentment over a deformed son led him to divorce Himiltrude once an opportune and advantageous time arrived. Another possibility is that when Pepin's hunchback became evident, stories needed to change to accommodate a different heir. At any rate, concepts like legitimacy and rightful inheritance were very likely more fluid for the Carolingians than they were for later monarchies—an ambiguity that continues to provoke debate about Pepin's disinheritance. What is known fairly certainly is that Charles fathered a son with a woman named Himiltrude, with whom he may or may not have been married.
The nature of Pepin's birth is further illuminated by an understanding of his name and the customs of naming children during this time. Carolingian aristocrats frequently named newborn children after successful ancestors. This tradition was more than a mere homage to dead relatives—it seems that the Carolingians saw naming customs as a way to help children assume the historical roles of their eponymous ancestors.
The Carolingian dynasty was dominated by the name "Pepin": it had been Charles' father's name, as well as that of several other members of the royal line. In fact, Charles' brother and political rival Carloman named his firstborn Pepin before Charles was even married. Charles, then, was naturally inclined to name his first son "Pepin"—announcing his own dynastic ambitions, clearing the ground for the eventual recognition of his son as emperor. However, Notker the Stammerer, writing long after Pepin's death, suggests that it was Himiltrude (Pepin's mother) and not Charles who gave Pepin his name.
Pepin apparently continued to live at his father's court even after Charlemagne dismissed Himiltrude to marry Desiderata around 770. Only after Charlemagne's marriage to Hildegard and the birth of new male heirs like Charles the Younger (772) and Carloman (773), did Pepin's position seem to become more precarious. In either 780 or 781, Charles had the young Carloman baptized by Pope Hadrian in Rome, renaming him Pepin. The Poeta Saxo, a 9th-century Latin poet who records the events of Charlemagne's reign, states that while Charlemagne "attended the solemnties of Easter the venerable Pope administered soul-saving baptism to Charles' son Pepin [formerly Carloman]." Charles had added another, more fit Pepin to his lineage—an apparent snub that many historians have interpreted as the beginning of Pepin the Hunchback's disinheritance. However, a dearth of documents and credible contemporary historians leaves the question up for debate, and some have even argued that Pepin retained a full stake in the inheritance of the kingdom right up until his rebellion in 792.
Charlemagne was extremely conscious of the notions of succession and inheritance during his lifetime, even refusing to marry off his daughters to the Frankish nobility. This quirk scandalized later contemporary historians ("Strange to say," Einhard writes, "he never wanted to give any one of them in marriage to anybody") and probably reflects Charlemagne's reluctance to leave problematic heirs that could interfere with a peaceful succession after his death. But in spite of all the potential difficulties that Pepin presented for the succession—particularly his dubious birth and problematic deformity—sources suggest that Charlemagne treated him with affection and even respect. Even after Carloman was rechristened "Pepin", Charlemagne maintained the older Pepin at his court, right alongside Charles the Younger, one of Charlemagne's sons by Hildegard.
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Pepin the Hunchback
Pepin (or Pippin) the Hunchback (French: Pépin le Bossu, German: Pippin der Buckelige; 768/769 – 811) was a Frankish prince. He was the eldest son of Charlemagne and noblewoman Himiltrude. He developed a humped back after birth, leading early medieval historians to give him the epithet "hunchback". He lived with his father's court after Charlemagne dismissed his mother and married Desiderata. Around 781, Pepin's half brother Carloman was rechristened as "Pepin"—a step that may have signaled Charlemagne's decision to disinherit the elder Pepin, for a variety of possible reasons. In 792, Pepin the Hunchback revolted against his father with a group of leading Frankish nobles, but the plot was discovered and put down before the conspiracy could be put into action. Charlemagne commuted Pepin's death sentence, having him tonsured and exiled to the monastery of Prüm instead. Since his death in 811, Pepin has been the subject of numerous works of historical fiction.
The circumstances of Pepin's birth remain unclear to modern scholars, especially regarding the legitimacy of his mother's union to Charles. Most Carolingian-era sources dismiss Charles' first union as illegitimate. The contemporary historian Einhard writes merely that Pepin was born to a "concubine", and he does not list him among Charlemagne's legitimate offspring. Although it is possible that Pepin was born to a now-forgotten concubine, Einhard is probably referring to Himiltrude—the first child-bearing partner of Charlemagne, about whom little is now known. However, Einhard and most other Carolingian historians worked in the courts of Charlemagne's successors and had a vested interest in undermining the legitimacy of the claims of other potential royal lines. These writers may have maligned Charles' union to Himiltrude after the fact in order to lend a post facto justification to Pepin's later disinheritance.
It is possible that the union of Charlemagne and Himiltrude was a Germanic form of marriage with fewer obligations than the sacramental marriage of the Church—what some medievalists have called Friedelehe—although the concept is controversial. Paul the Deacon writes in his Gesta Episcoporum Mettensium that Pepin was born ante legale connubium or "before legal marriage", but his meaning is unclear: he does not specify as to whether Charles and Himiltrude were not fully, legally married by the church, or if they simply got married after Pepin was born. In a letter to Charlemagne, Pope Stephen III describes the relationship as a legitimate marriage, but he had a vested interest in preventing Charlemagne from taking a new wife—the daughter of Lombard King Desiderius, who was a major political enemy of the papacy.
After Charles ignored Stephen's advice and married the Lombard princess Desiderata, the story of Himiltrude might have been altered and forgotten. Perhaps Charles' resentment over a deformed son led him to divorce Himiltrude once an opportune and advantageous time arrived. Another possibility is that when Pepin's hunchback became evident, stories needed to change to accommodate a different heir. At any rate, concepts like legitimacy and rightful inheritance were very likely more fluid for the Carolingians than they were for later monarchies—an ambiguity that continues to provoke debate about Pepin's disinheritance. What is known fairly certainly is that Charles fathered a son with a woman named Himiltrude, with whom he may or may not have been married.
The nature of Pepin's birth is further illuminated by an understanding of his name and the customs of naming children during this time. Carolingian aristocrats frequently named newborn children after successful ancestors. This tradition was more than a mere homage to dead relatives—it seems that the Carolingians saw naming customs as a way to help children assume the historical roles of their eponymous ancestors.
The Carolingian dynasty was dominated by the name "Pepin": it had been Charles' father's name, as well as that of several other members of the royal line. In fact, Charles' brother and political rival Carloman named his firstborn Pepin before Charles was even married. Charles, then, was naturally inclined to name his first son "Pepin"—announcing his own dynastic ambitions, clearing the ground for the eventual recognition of his son as emperor. However, Notker the Stammerer, writing long after Pepin's death, suggests that it was Himiltrude (Pepin's mother) and not Charles who gave Pepin his name.
Pepin apparently continued to live at his father's court even after Charlemagne dismissed Himiltrude to marry Desiderata around 770. Only after Charlemagne's marriage to Hildegard and the birth of new male heirs like Charles the Younger (772) and Carloman (773), did Pepin's position seem to become more precarious. In either 780 or 781, Charles had the young Carloman baptized by Pope Hadrian in Rome, renaming him Pepin. The Poeta Saxo, a 9th-century Latin poet who records the events of Charlemagne's reign, states that while Charlemagne "attended the solemnties of Easter the venerable Pope administered soul-saving baptism to Charles' son Pepin [formerly Carloman]." Charles had added another, more fit Pepin to his lineage—an apparent snub that many historians have interpreted as the beginning of Pepin the Hunchback's disinheritance. However, a dearth of documents and credible contemporary historians leaves the question up for debate, and some have even argued that Pepin retained a full stake in the inheritance of the kingdom right up until his rebellion in 792.
Charlemagne was extremely conscious of the notions of succession and inheritance during his lifetime, even refusing to marry off his daughters to the Frankish nobility. This quirk scandalized later contemporary historians ("Strange to say," Einhard writes, "he never wanted to give any one of them in marriage to anybody") and probably reflects Charlemagne's reluctance to leave problematic heirs that could interfere with a peaceful succession after his death. But in spite of all the potential difficulties that Pepin presented for the succession—particularly his dubious birth and problematic deformity—sources suggest that Charlemagne treated him with affection and even respect. Even after Carloman was rechristened "Pepin", Charlemagne maintained the older Pepin at his court, right alongside Charles the Younger, one of Charlemagne's sons by Hildegard.