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:See also: Charles Martel d'Anjou (1271-1295).
carolingians

Charles Martel (Charles "the
Hammer", German: Karl Martell) (August
23, 686 – October 22 741) was born in
Herstal, in what is now Wallonia, Belgium, the
illegitimate son of Pippin of Herstal|Pippin the
Middle (635 or 640 - December 16 714) and his
concubine Alpaida or Chalpaida. 

Although he was Mayor of the Palace of the kingdom
of the Franks, Martel (Martel means "the Hammer")
is best remembered for winning the Battle of Tours
in 732, which has been characterized as the
salvation of Europe from the Arabs spreading their
empire further than the Iberian Peninsula.
Martel's Frankish army defeated an Arab army,
which had swept through southern Asia and north
Africa, before conquering most of the Iberian
peninsula and much of southern France. Martel
achieved lasting greatness by inspiring his Franks
to do what was thought to be impossible.

It was this battle that earned Charles the
cognomen "Martel," for the merciless way he smote
his enemies. Most historians believe that had he
failed at Tours, Islam would probably have overrun
Europe.

The Battle of Tours probably took place somewhere
between Tours and Poitiers.  The Frankish army,
under Charles Martel, consisted of veteran
infantry, somewhere between 15,000 and 75,000. 
Responding to the Muslim invasion, the Franks had
marched over the mountains and avoided the old
Roman roads, hoping to take the invaders by
surprise.  From the old Arab accounts of the
battle, the Muslims were indeed taken by surprise
to find a large force opposing their sack of
Tours, and waited for six days, scouting the
enemy.  On the seventh day, the Muslim army,
consisting of between 60-400,000 horsemen and led
by Abd er Rahman|Emir Abd er Rahman, attacked.
During the battle, the Franks defeated the Islamic
army and Emir Abd er Rahman was killed.   While
western accounts are sketchy, Arab accounts are
fairly detailed that the Franks formed a large
square and fought a brilliant defensive battle.
Rahman had doubts before the battle that his men
were ready for such a struggle, and should have
had them abandon the loot which hindered them, but
instead decided to trust his horsemen, who had
never failed him.  Indeed, as previously noted, it
was thought impossible for infantry of that age to
withstand armoured mounted warriors.  Martel
managed to inspire his men to stand firm against a
force which must have seemed invincible to them,
huge armoured horsemen, who in addition probably
badly outnumbered the Franks.  But Rahman's death
led to bickering between the surviving generals,
and the Arabs abandoned the battlefield the day
after his death, leaving Martel a unique place in
history as the savior of Europe, and the only man
to ever manage such a victory between such
disparate forces.

Although it took another two generations for the
Franks to drive all the Arab garrisons out of what
is now France and across the Pyrenees, Charles
Martel's halt of the invasion of French soil
turned the tide of Islamic advance, and the
unification of the Frankish kingdom under Charles
Martel, his son Pippin the Younger, and his
grandson Charlemagne prevented the Umayyad kingdom
from expanding over the Pyrenees.

On Pippin the Middle's death in 714, the
succession passed to an infant grandson,
Theodoald. The faction of Austrasian nobles who
supported Theodoald was led by his stepmother,
Pippin's widow, Plectrude. Charles, who was
already an adult, led a rival faction and
prevailed in a series of battles against both
invading Neustria|Neustrian Franks and the forces
of Plectrude.  Between 718 and 723, Charles
secured his power through a series of victories
and by winning the loyalty of several important
clerics.  This he accomplished in part by donating
lands and money for the foundations of abbeys such
as Echternach.

In the subsequent decade, Charles led the Frankish
army against the eastern duchies, Bavaria and
Alemannia, and the southern duchies, Aquitaine and
Provence (in Avignon, Nîmes, Montfrin (736),
...).  He dealt with the ongoing conflict with the
Saxons to his northeast with some success, but
full conquest of the Saxons and their
incorporation into the Frankish empire would wait
for his grandson Charlemagne.

Charles Martel married:
#Chrotrud or Rotrude (690-724), with children:
#*Pippin the Younger
#*Carloman, son of Charles Martel|Carloman
#Swanachild
#*Grifo

Charles Martel died on October 22 741 at Quierzy
in what is today the Aisne département in the
Picardy region of France. He was buried at Saint
Denis Basilica in Paris|Paris. He was succeeded by
his sons, Carloman, Pippin the Younger, and Grifo.