CHARLES
629
CHARLES
electors to accept his abdication and to elect Ferdi-
nand his successor. This was done on 28 February,
1558. Shortly after the final decree of the Diet of
Augsburg, in IT)")."), Charles convened the Estates of
the Netherlands, ami in their presence transferred the
government to Philip, Three months later (16 Janu-
ary, 155(5) he transferred the Spanish Crown to his
son. In spite of this he could not free himself from
political cares. It was September, 1556; before he
could leave for his long chosen place of retirement in
Spain, accompanied by his two sisters, the widow of
the French king, and Maria of Hungary. But he did
not live a monastic life even at Yuste. Messengers
with political despatches came to him every day.
However, he took no active part in affairs. He lived
his few remaining months on earth amid works of art ,
of which he had a keen appreciation (Titian was his
favourite painter), amid (he bonks which, as a cul-
tured man, lie studied and look pleasure in, and en-
joying the music which he loved, while he prepared
himself for the life to come.
9andoval, Historia *lc la iida y kechos del emperador Carlos V (Antwerp, 1581); Slbidanus, />■ statu retigionis et rei- pvbliccs Caroln V cossare (Strasburg, 1555); Deutsche Reich- stagsakten (Gotha, 1893 1905); Lanz, Rorrespondem des
Kaisers Karl C (Leipzig, 184-1 ItVi; Slaa/ipapi,re :urt; / ■<•>, ,/,-; Kaisers Karl V ■ Man -art. IM.,1; . I I.I. „ si oeke u.Iirirfe z Gesch
Kaiser Ka ' 1 li™':i. lvv:\ K.h.kiguez Villa, El empera- dor Carlos V y I ' M ..In ,. I'm , . \ . lodurhenrhle ai,s
Deutschland 1 Abl L533 1559 Gotha, 1892 1900), I-IV. VIII,
IX. XII; /.'. 7<i .-i -. .. I ....'/.■■'..Wn.eil. Albkri (Florence, 1839 62 , Vi ' tni '■■ !' hen rom Kaiscrhofe
, isvi 'i.e. iti.u, \ .-. ■ ■•■ ■ i ipl mat q ■ ■ entr, la /
leprt mi i ■ ■". n. - ■ ■/ • 16. slide, i Paris.
1845) . Cain.,- ,l\!a! .1 , -ai.luail ,1, (, rani, lie . . OuAi
la direction de Ch. IP, it (Paris, 1841 52); Calendar of State I harles V (Brussels, 1898- \906); 1 i y estancias deCarlos V (Madrid, 1895);
Gachard, Voyages des Pays-Bos (Brussels, 1874-
32); Armstro n Charles V (London, l'lirj);
Bai mgahtew (iesrhiehle Karls V (Stuttgart, 1SS5-92) ; H.\Kniaa;, f/. ../... /.'.' .^panirns anlrr den //,//' tun, inn (Gotha, l'lllTl; Hf.vn-k. Hi '■■'a ..'.. ' '!"• ■■'■ I'fimli 1. 1 1, ml en />',/„.,,„, , Mn.--.-l- i. i.l 1 .i ls;,S atll; Pirenne. Ce.sehirlile B,l,pe„s.
.1177 i.7i'. (Gotha, 1907. 1177 I..7H; Hohfahl, Wilhelm
von Oranien and der n ■ I (Halle, 1906);
Lava. St lata di Carlo V m correlazione all Italia
(Venice and Padua, 1863-93); Pastor, Geschichle der Pdpste (Freiburg, 1906, 1907), [V.
Martin Spahn.
Charles Martel, b. about 688; d. at Quierzy on the Oise, 21 Oct., 741. He was the natural son of Pepin of Herstal and a woman named Alpai'de orChalpaide. Pepin, who died in 71 1, had outlived his two legiti- mate sons, Drogon and Grimoald, and to Theodoald, a son of the latter and then only six years old, fell the burdensome inheritance of the Prankish monarchy. Charles, who was then twenty-six, was not excluded from the succession on account of his birth, Theo- doald himself being the son of a concubine, but through the influence of Plectrude, Theodoald's grandmother, who wished the power invested in her own descendants exclusively. To prevent any oppo- sition from Charles she had him cast into prison and, having established herself at Cologne, assumed the guardianship of her grandson. But the different nations whom the strong hand of Pepin of Herstal had held in subjection, shook off the yoke of oppres- sion as soon as they saw that it was with a woman they had to deal. Ncustria gave the signal for revolt (715), Theodoald was beaten in the forest of Cuise and. led by Haginfrid, mayor of the palace, the enemy advanced .-is far as the Meuse. The Frisians flew to anus and. headed by their duke, Ratbod, de- stroyed the Christian mission and entered into a con- federacy with the Neustrians. The Saxons came and devastated the country of the Hattuarians, and even in Austrasia there was a certain faction that chafed under the government of a woman and child. At this juncture Charles escaped from prison and placed himself at the head of the national party of Austrasia. At first he was unfortunate. He was defeated by Ratbod near Cologne in 716, and the Neustrians
forced Plectrude to acknowledge as king Chilperic,
the son of Childeric II, having taken this Merovingian
prince from the seclusion of the cloister, where he lived
under the name of Daniel. But Charles was quick to
take revenge. He surprised and conquered the Neu-
strians at Amblevc near Malmedy (716), defeated
I lien, a second time at Vincy nearCambrai (21 March,
717), and pursued them as far as Paris. Then re-
tracing his steps, he came to Cologne and compelled
Plectrude to surrender her power and turn over to
him the wealth of his father, Pepin. In order to give his
recently acquired authority a. semblance of legitimacy,
he proclaimed the Merovingian Clotaire IV King of
Austrasia, reserving for himself the title of Mayor of
the Palace. It was about this time that Charles ban-
ished Rigobert, the Bishop of Reims, who had op-
posed him, appointing in his stead the warlike and
unpriestly Milon, who was already Archbishop of
Trier.
The ensuing years were full of strife. Eager to chastise the Saxons who had invaded Austrasia, Charles in the year 718 laid waste their country to the banks of the Weser. In 719 Ratbod died, and Charles seized Western Friesland without any great resistance on the part of the Frisians, who had taken possession of it on the death of Pepin. The Neustrians, always a menace, had joined forces with the people of Aqui- taine, but Charles hacked their army to pieces at Soissons. After this defeat they realized the neces- sity of surrendering, and the death of King Clotaire IV, whom Charles had placed upon the throne but two years previously, facilitated the reconciliation of the two great fractions of the Prankish Kmpire. Charles acknowledged Chilperic as head of the entire monarchy, while, on their side, the Neustrians and Aquitanians endorsed the authority of Charles; but, when Chilperic died, the following year (720), Charles appointed as his successor the son of Dagobert III, Thierry IV. who was still a minor, and who occupied the throne from 720 to 737. A second expedition against the Saxons in 720 and t he definitive submission of Raginfrid, who had been left the County of Angers (72 I .. re-established the Prankish Monarchy as it had been under Pepin of Herstal, and closed the first series of Charles Mart el's struggles. The next six years were devoted almost exclusively to the confirming of the Frankish authority over the dependent Ger- manic tribes. In 72o and 728 Charles went into i ia. where the Agilolfing dukes had gradually ren- dered themselves independent, and re-established Frankish suzerainty. He also brought thence the Princess Suanehilde, who seems to have become his mistress. In 730 he marched against l.antfrid, Duke of t lie Alemanna, whom he likewise brought intosubjec- tion, and thus Southern Germany once more became part of the Frankish Empire, as had Northern Ger- many during the first years of the reign. But at the extremity of the empire a dreadful storm was gather- ing. For several years the Mohammedans of Spain had been threatening Caul. Banished thence in 721 by Duke Eudes, they had returned in 725 and pene- trated as far as Burgundy, where they had destroyed Autun. Duke Eudes, unable to resist them, at length
contented himself by negotiating with them, and to Othmar, one of their chiefs, lie gave the hand of his daughter. But this compromising alliance brought him into disfavour with Charles, who defeated him in 731 , and the death of Othmar that same year again
I. it Eudes at the mercy of Mnlianmieda.ii enterprise. In 732 Abd-er-Rahman. Governor of Spain, crossed the Pyrenees at the head of an immense army, over- came Duke Eudes. and advanced by way of Bordeaux as far as the Loire, pillaging and burning as he went. In October, 732, Charles met Abd-er Rahman outside of Tours and defeated and slew him in a battle which must ever remain one of the great events in the his- tory of the world, as upon it- issue depended whether
