Charles Martel | Britannica

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href="/biography/Charles-Martel">Introduction</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref343548"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/biography/Charles-Martel#ref343548">Early life</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref343549"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/biography/Charles-Martel#ref343549">Mayor of the palace</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref343550"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/biography/Charles-Martel#ref343550">Consolidation of power and the Battle of Tours</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li></ul> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900 selected" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Charles-Martel/additional-info">References & Edit History</a> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="/facts/Charles-Martel">Quick Facts & Related Topics</a> </div> <div class="tlr-media-slider pb-10 mb-30"> <a class="section-header link-gray-900 font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mb-10 mx-10" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Charles-Martel/images-videos">Images</a> <div class="slider js-slider position-relative d-inline-flex align-items-center mw-100 "> <div class="slider-container js-slider-container overflow-hidden d-flex overflow-hidden text-nowrap ml-15"> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/52/130352-050-8B473B8D/Charles-Martel-armour.jpg" data-href="/media/1/107383/127146" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/52/130352-004-20C0B41F/Charles-Martel-armour.jpg" alt="Charles Martel in full armour." height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/88/688-050-CE128825/Frankish-domains-Charles-Martel.jpg" data-href="/media/1/107383/1629" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/88/688-004-49EA33D0/Frankish-domains-Charles-Martel.jpg" alt="Frankish domains in the time of Charles Martel" height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/51/130351-050-8FEA7FAB/Engraving-Charles-Martel-Frankish-Battle-of-Tours.jpg" data-href="/media/1/107383/223403" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/51/130351-004-C711061A/Engraving-Charles-Martel-Frankish-Battle-of-Tours.jpg" alt="Battle of Tours" height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/75/130075-050-9D7F95D0/Charles-Martel-battle-of-Tours-Frankish-battle-axe.jpg" data-href="/media/1/107383/220000" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/75/130075-004-5B7A1545/Charles-Martel-battle-of-Tours-Frankish-battle-axe.jpg" alt="Battle of Poitiers" height="50" /> </a> </div> <button disabled class="prev-button js-prev-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-blue " aria-label="Previous"> <span class="material-icons md-24" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_left"></span> </button> <button disabled class="next-button js-next-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-blue " aria-label="Next"> <span class="material-icons md-24" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></span> </button> </div> </div> <div class="mb-30 tlr-student-links"> <div class="text-gray-900 p-5 font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mx-10 mb-10"> For Students </div> <div class="imagelink-with-image-on-the-side card card-horizontal tlr-img-with-side-link ml-15 link-gray-900 mb-10" > <div class="position-relative card-media" style="flex: 0;"> <a class="ilf-image position-relative" href="/summary/Charles-Martel"> <img loading="lazy" 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Viking warriors hold swords and shields. 9th c. AD seafaring warriors raided the coasts of Europe, burning, plundering and killing. Marauders or pirates came from Scandinavia, now Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. European History" width="200" height="200" /> </a> </div> <div class="card-body ilf-content"> <a class="font-weight-semi-bold d-block mb-5 font-16 ilf-title" href="/quiz/european-history" >European History</a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="mb-30 tlr-discover"> <div class="text-gray-900 p-5 font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mx-10 mb-10"> Discover </div> <div class="imagelink-with-image-on-the-side card card-horizontal tlr-img-with-side-link ml-15 link-gray-900 mb-10" > <div class="position-relative card-media" style="flex: 0;"> <a class="ilf-image position-relative" href="/list/new-seven-wonders-of-the-world"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/36/162636-131-E4AA93A0/Colosseum-Rome-Italy.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop" alt="The Colosseum, Rome, Italy. 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Heavily damaged school in the town of Yingxiu after a major earthquake struck China's Sichuan Province on May 12, 2008." width="200" height="200" /> </a> </div> <div class="card-body ilf-content"> <a class="font-weight-semi-bold d-block mb-5 font-16 ilf-title" href="/list/6-deadliest-earthquakes" >The 6 Deadliest Earthquakes Since 1950</a> </div> </div> <div class="imagelink-with-image-on-the-side card card-horizontal tlr-img-with-side-link ml-15 link-gray-900 mb-10" > <div class="position-relative card-media" style="flex: 0;"> <a class="ilf-image position-relative" href="/story/did-george-washington-really-say-i-cant-tell-a-lie"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/82/110382-050-E95BCB99/Grant-Woods-Parsons-Weems-Fable.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop" alt="Parsons Weems' Fable, oil on canvas by Grant Wood, 1939; in the Amon Carter Museum of American Art. Catalog entry: The historian Mason Locke Weems, commonly known by his clerical title, Parson Weems, pulls back a curtain to point at 6-year-old George Washington. Bearing an adult head and holding an axe, George gazes blankly up at his father, Augustine, who questions his son while holding a partially cut cherry tree. All of this takes place in front of a 20th-century brick building, which Wood modeled after his own home in Iowa. The scene illustrates the fable of Washington and the cherry tree, which Weems invented in 1806 for the first president's biography. Wood playfully suggests the artifice of the tale here, presenting the story in the manner of a costumed stage play rather than a real event. 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History</a> </span> <span class="breadcrumb-item "> <a class="link-gray-600" href="/browse/Military-Leaders">Military Leaders</a> </span> </nav> <h1 class="mb-5">Charles Martel: References & Edit History</h1> <div class="border-bottom mt-20"></div> <div id="More-Articles"> <h2 class="my-20">More Articles On This Topic</h2> <div class="mb-30"> <section><h3>Assorted References</h3><ul class="list-unstyled"></ul><ul class="list-unstyled"><li><strong>role in Battle of Tours</strong><ul class="list-unstyled"><li> <span class="index-xref">In <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Tours-732#ref1270151" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Battle of Tours: The clash near Poitiers</a></span></li><li> <span class="index-xref">In <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Al-Andalus#ref1271076" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Al-Andalus: Islamic hegemony in Spain</a></span></li><li> <span class="index-xref">In <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Islamic-world/The-emergent-Islamic-civilization#ref317120" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Islamic world: The emergent Islamic civilization</a></span></li></ul></li></ul></section><section><h3>association with</h3><ul class="list-unstyled"></ul><ul class="list-unstyled"><li><strong>Boniface</strong><ul class="list-unstyled"><li> <span class="index-xref">In <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Boniface#ref102005" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Saint Boniface</a></span></li></ul></li><li><strong>Carloman</strong><ul class="list-unstyled"><li> <span class="index-xref">In <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Carloman-king-of-the-Franks-715-754#ref701244" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Carloman</a></span></li></ul></li><li><strong>Chilperic II</strong><ul class="list-unstyled"><li> <span class="index-xref">In <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Chilperic-II#ref94548" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Chilperic II</a></span></li></ul></li><li><strong>Chlotar IV</strong><ul class="list-unstyled"><li> <span class="index-xref">In <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Chlotar-IV#ref61489" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Chlotar IV</a></span></li></ul></li></ul></section><section><h3>history of</h3><ul class="list-unstyled"></ul><ul class="list-unstyled"><li><strong>Carolingian dynasty</strong><ul class="list-unstyled"><li> <span class="index-xref">In <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Carolingian-dynasty#ref116624" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Carolingian dynasty</a></span></li><li> <span class="index-xref">In <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/France/The-Carolingians#ref464488" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">France: Charles Martel</a></span></li></ul></li><li><strong>Germany</strong><ul class="list-unstyled"><li> <span class="index-xref">In <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Germany/The-rise-of-the-Carolingians-and-Boniface#ref795198" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Germany: The rise of the Carolingians and Boniface</a></span></li></ul></li><li><strong>Low Countries</strong><ul class="list-unstyled"><li> <span class="index-xref">In <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/history-of-the-Low-Countries-prehistoric-times-to-1579-2157575#ref413759" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">history of the Low Countries: Frankish rule</a></span></li></ul></li><li><strong>Spain</strong><ul class="list-unstyled"><li> <span class="index-xref">In <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Spain/Muslim-Spain#ref587344" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Spain: The conquest</a></span></li></ul></li></ul></section></div> </div> <div id="Additional-Reading"> <div class="border-top"><h2 class="my-20">Additional Reading</h2> </div><div class="mb-30"> <span class="marker PREMOD1 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">There is no modern biography; indispensable works on early Frankish history include J.M. Wallace-Hadrill, <em>The Barbarian West, 400–1000, </em>3rd rev. ed. (1967, reissued 1985), and <em>The Long-Haired Kings and Other Studies in Frankish History </em>(1962, reprinted as <em>The Long-Haired Kings,</em> 1982).</p><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span> </div> </div> <div id="contributors" class="pt-20 mt-30 border-top"> <div id="contributors-Charles-Martel"> <h2 class="mb-20">Article Contributors</h2> <h3 class="topic-contributors-subtitle h4">Primary Contributors</h3> <ul class="list-unstyled mt-10 mb-20 contributor-PRIMARY"> <li> <a href="/contributor/Eleanor-Shipley-Duckett/789">Eleanor Shipley Duckett</a> <div class="font-serif my-10"></div> </li> <li> <a href="/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</a> </li> </ul> <h3 class="topic-contributors-subtitle h4">Other Encyclopedia Britannica Contributors</h3> <ul class="list-unstyled mt-10 mb-20 contributor-NON_PRIMARY_EB"> <li> <a href="/editor/Adam-Augustyn/6394">Adam Augustyn</a> </li> <li> <a href="/contributor/encyclopaedia-britannica/12989892">Encyclopaedia Britannica</a> </li> <li> <a href="/editor/Aakanksha-Gaur/9336039">Aakanksha Gaur</a> </li> <li> <a href="/editor/John-Higgins/7666587">John Higgins</a> </li> <li> <a href="/editor/Gloria-Lotha/7666594">Gloria Lotha</a> </li> <li> <a href="/editor/Chelsey-Parrott-Sheffer/6450">Chelsey Parrott-Sheffer</a> </li> <li> <a href="/editor/Michael-Ray/6392">Michael Ray</a> </li> <li> <a href="/editor/Emily-Rodriguez/9852325">Emily Rodriguez</a> </li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="history" class="pt-20 border-top"> <div id="history-Charles-Martel"> <h2 class="mb-20">Article History</h2> <div class="mw-100 overflow-auto"> <table class="article-history table"> <thead> <tr> <th class="topic-history-type">Type</th> <th class="topic-history-description">Description</th> <th class="topic-history-contributor">Contributor</th> <th class="topic-history-date">Date</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td class="history-type"> <em class="material-icons " data-icon="link"></em> </td> <td> Add new Web site: Warfare History Network - Charles The Hammer At Tours.</td> <td class="history-contributor"> <ul class="list-unstyled"> <li data-type="contributor"> <a href="/editor/Aakanksha-Gaur/9336039">Aakanksha Gaur</a></li> </ul> </td> <td data-type="date" class="text-nowrap"> Aug 31, 2024</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="history-type"> <em class="material-icons " data-icon="edit"></em> </td> <td> <span class="topic-history-diff-link link-blue" data-diff="/87/22587-008">First paragraph modernization.</span></td> <td class="history-contributor"> <ul class="list-unstyled"> <li data-type="contributor"> <a href="/contributor/encyclopaedia-britannica/12989892">Encyclopaedia Britannica</a></li> </ul> </td> <td data-type="date" class="text-nowrap"> Feb 21, 2024</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="history-type"> <em class="material-icons " data-icon="info_outline"></em> </td> <td> Anniversary information added.</td> <td class="history-contributor"> </td> <td data-type="date" class="text-nowrap"> Oct 18, 2023</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="history-type"> <em class="material-icons " data-icon="link"></em> </td> <td> Add new Web site: Kwantlen Polytechnic University - Charles Martel, Princeps and Subregulus (Prince and Viceroy).</td> <td class="history-contributor"> <ul class="list-unstyled"> <li data-type="contributor"> <a href="/editor/Gloria-Lotha/7666594">Gloria Lotha</a></li> </ul> </td> <td data-type="date" class="text-nowrap"> Sep 28, 2023</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="history-type"> <em class="material-icons " data-icon="link"></em> </td> <td> Add new Web site: HistoryNet - Under the Hammer: Charles Martel.</td> <td class="history-contributor"> <ul class="list-unstyled"> <li data-type="contributor"> <a href="/editor/Emily-Rodriguez/9852325">Emily Rodriguez</a></li> </ul> </td> <td data-type="date" class="text-nowrap"> Aug 23, 2023</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="history-type"> <em class="material-icons " data-icon="link"></em> </td> <td> Add new Web site: Chemistry LibreTexts - Charles Martel and Pepin the Short.</td> <td class="history-contributor"> <ul class="list-unstyled"> <li data-type="contributor"> <a href="/editor/Gloria-Lotha/7666594">Gloria Lotha</a></li> </ul> </td> <td data-type="date" class="text-nowrap"> Jul 12, 2023</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="history-type"> <em class="material-icons " data-icon="link"></em> </td> <td> Add new Web site: HistoryNet - Under the Hammer: Charles Martel.</td> <td class="history-contributor"> <ul class="list-unstyled"> <li data-type="contributor"> <a href="/editor/Gloria-Lotha/7666594">Gloria Lotha</a></li> </ul> </td> <td data-type="date" class="text-nowrap"> Mar 11, 2023</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="history-type"> <em class="material-icons " data-icon="link"></em> </td> <td> Add new Web site: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute - Charles 'The Hammer' Martel Mayor of the Palace.</td> <td class="history-contributor"> <ul class="list-unstyled"> <li data-type="contributor"> <a href="/editor/Gloria-Lotha/7666594">Gloria Lotha</a></li> </ul> </td> <td data-type="date" class="text-nowrap"> Dec 19, 2022</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="history-type"> <em class="material-icons " data-icon="link"></em> </td> <td> Add new Web site: Geology.com - Topaz.</td> <td class="history-contributor"> <ul class="list-unstyled"> <li data-type="contributor"> <a href="/editor/Gloria-Lotha/7666594">Gloria Lotha</a></li> </ul> </td> <td data-type="date" class="text-nowrap"> Oct 10, 2022</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="history-type"> <em class="material-icons " data-icon="link"></em> </td> <td> Add new Web site: World History Encyclopedia - The Legacy of Charles Martel & the Battle of Tours.</td> <td class="history-contributor"> <ul class="list-unstyled"> <li data-type="contributor"> <a href="/editor/Gloria-Lotha/7666594">Gloria Lotha</a></li> </ul> </td> <td data-type="date" class="text-nowrap"> Sep 13, 2022</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="history-type"> <em class="material-icons " data-icon="edit"></em> </td> <td> <span class="topic-history-diff-link link-blue" data-diff="/87/22587-006">Added details about Charles's military campaigns and his appropriation of church lands.</span></td> <td class="history-contributor"> <ul class="list-unstyled"> <li data-type="contributor"> <a href="/editor/Michael-Ray/6392">Michael Ray</a></li> </ul> </td> <td data-type="date" class="text-nowrap"> Aug 23, 2019</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="history-type"> <em class="material-icons " data-icon="link"></em> </td> <td> Add new Web site: Heritage History - Charles Martel.</td> <td class="history-contributor"> <ul class="list-unstyled"> <li data-type="contributor"> <a href="/editor/Gloria-Lotha/7666594">Gloria Lotha</a></li> </ul> </td> <td data-type="date" class="text-nowrap"> Jan 11, 2019</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="history-type"> <em class="material-icons " data-icon="edit"></em> </td> <td> <span class="topic-history-diff-link link-blue" data-diff="/87/22587-005">Corrected display issue.</span></td> <td class="history-contributor"> <ul class="list-unstyled"> <li data-type="contributor"> <a href="/editor/Adam-Augustyn/6394">Adam Augustyn</a></li> </ul> </td> <td data-type="date" class="text-nowrap"> Oct 24, 2018</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="history-type"> <em class="material-icons " data-icon="photo"></em> </td> <td> Media added.</td> <td class="history-contributor"> <ul class="list-unstyled"> <li data-type="contributor"> <a href="/editor/Chelsey-Parrott-Sheffer/6450">Chelsey Parrott-Sheffer</a></li> </ul> </td> <td data-type="date" class="text-nowrap"> Aug 14, 2009</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="history-type"> <em class="material-icons " data-icon="link"></em> </td> <td> Added new Web site: The Catholic Encyclopedia - Biography of Charles Martel.</td> <td class="history-contributor"> <ul class="list-unstyled"> <li data-type="contributor"> <a href="/editor/John-Higgins/7666587">John Higgins</a></li> </ul> </td> <td data-type="date" class="text-nowrap"> Nov 17, 2006</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="history-type"> <em class="material-icons " data-icon="edit"></em> </td> <td> Article revised.</td> <td class="history-contributor"> <ul class="list-unstyled"> <li data-type="contributor"> <a href="/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</a></li> </ul> </td> <td data-type="date" class="text-nowrap"> Nov 01, 2000</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="history-type"> <em class="material-icons " data-icon="edit"></em> </td> <td> Article added to new online database.</td> <td class="history-contributor"> <ul class="list-unstyled"> <li data-type="contributor"> <a href="/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</a></li> </ul> </td> <td data-type="date" class="text-nowrap"> Jul 20, 1998</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </div> <div id="md-topic-diff" class="d-none"> <div class="md-modal-header"> </div> <div class="md-modal-body"> <div class="md-topic-diff-header-container"> <div class="md-topic-diff-header"> <div class="grid"> <div class="col"> <div class="md-topic-diff-header-browse"> <span>View Changes: </span> <div title="previous change" id="md-topic-diff-previous" class="md-topic-diff-pn disabled"></div> <div title="next change" id="md-topic-diff-next" class="md-topic-diff-pn"></div> </div> </div> <div class="col justify-content-center d-flex align-items-center align-self-center"> <div class="h3">Article History</div> </div> <div class="col"> <div class="md-topic-diff-header-info"> <div>Revised: <span id="md-topic-diff-date"></span></div> <div>By: <span id="md-topic-diff-contributor"></span></div> </div> <em class="md-close material-icons" data-icon="close"></em> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div id="md-topic-diff-container" class="md-overlay-container mt-50 mt-sm-0"></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <aside class="col-md-da-320"></aside> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <footer class="md-footer footer-wrapper hide-on-edit"> <div class="footer-bck"> <DIV class="marketing-FOOTER_NEWSLETTER marketing-content" data-marketing-id="FOOTER_NEWSLETTER"><div class="md-footer-newsletter-form pt-10 mb-30 mx-15 mx-sm-120"> <div class="font-18"> <strong>History at your fingertips –</strong> Sign up here to see what happened On This Day, every day in your inbox! </div> <div class="p-30"> <div class="newsletter-form-container"> <form class="newsletter-form" method="post" action="/newsletter-subscription/EB_ON_THIS_DAY"> <div class="form-group grid d-flex justify-content-center"> <div class="col-sm-50 col-100"> <label class="sr-only" for="enter-your-email">Enter your email</label> <input id="enter-your-email" type="email" name="email" class="form-control font-18 p-10" placeholder="Enter your email" pattern="[a-z0-9._%+-]+@[a-z0-9.-]+\.[a-z]{2,4}$" required> </div> <div class="col-sm-auto col-100 mt-5 mt-sm-0"> <button type="submit" class="btn btn-outline-white" style="width: 100%; height:100%;">Subscribe</button> </div> </div> <div class="text-white pt-30 text-opacity"> By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica.<br> Click here to view our <a class="link-white text-decoration-underline" href="https://corporate.britannica.com/privacy-policy" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">Privacy Notice</a>. 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Charles Martel | Britannica