Pepin I of Aquitaine facts for kids

A Denier coin of Pepin I of Aquitaine (817–838). It says Pippinus rex (Pepin the King).

Pepin I (born 797, died 13 December 838) was a powerful ruler in the early Middle Ages. He was known as the King of Aquitaine and also the Duke of Maine. Aquitaine was a large region in what is now France.

Pepin was the second son of Louis the Pious, who was the Holy Roman Emperor. His mother was Louis's first wife, Ermengarde of Hesbaye. In August 817, Emperor Louis decided to give each of his sons a kingdom to rule. Pepin received Aquitaine. This region had been his father's own kingdom before Louis became emperor. A poet named Ermoldus Nigellus worked for Pepin and even joined him on a military trip to Brittany in 824.

Pepin's Rebellions Against His Father

Pepin was involved in several conflicts with his father, Emperor Louis the Pious. These were often about power and control within the Carolingian Empire.

First Uprising in 830

In 830, Pepin decided to rebel against his father. His brother Lothair I's advisor, Wala of Corbie, encouraged him. Pepin gathered an army, including soldiers from Gascony. He marched his forces all the way to Paris, gaining support from people in Neustria.

His father, Emperor Louis, quickly returned from a military trip in Brittany. Louis marched to Compiègne, where Pepin's army surrounded him. Pepin managed to capture his father. However, this rebellion did not last long and soon ended.

Second Uprising in 832

Pepin rebelled against his father again in 832. His brother Louis the German also joined this uprising. Emperor Louis the Pious went to Aquitaine to stop any revolts there. But he had to leave when his younger son, Louis, started a rebellion in Bavaria.

While his father was busy, Pepin took control of Limoges and other areas that belonged to the Emperor. The next year, his brother Lothair joined the rebellion too. With help from Ebbo, the archbishop of Reims, the rebel sons removed their father from power in 833.

However, Lothair's actions after this made Pepin unhappy. Because of this, Pepin decided to support his father. On 1 March 834, Emperor Louis the Pious was put back on his throne. Pepin also got his old position and kingdom back.

Pepin's Death

Pepin died just four years after he was restored to his kingdom. He passed away on 13 December 838. Pepin was buried in the Church of St. Radegonde in Poitiers, a city in what is now France.

Pepin's Family

In 822, Pepin married a woman named Ingeltrude. She was the daughter of Theodobert, who was the count of Madrie. Pepin and Ingeltrude had two sons together.

Pepin's Sons

Their first son was Pepin II (born 823, died after 864). Their second son was Charles (born between 825 and 830, died 4 June 863). Charles later became the Archbishop of Mainz.

When Pepin I died, both of his sons were still young. Because of this, Emperor Louis the Pious gave Aquitaine to his youngest son, Charles the Bald. Charles the Bald was Pepin I's half-brother. However, the people of Aquitaine chose Pepin I's son, Pepin II, to be their new king instead. Pepin I's other son, Charles, also briefly claimed the kingdom. Both Pepin II and Charles died without having any children.

Pepin I also had two daughters. One of his daughters married Gerard, Count of Auvergne.

Sources

• Collins, Roger. "Pippin I and the Kingdom of Aquitaine." Charlemagne's Heir: New Perspectives on the Reign of Louis the Pious, edd. P. Godman and Roger Collins. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1990. Reprinted in Law, Culture and Regionalism in Early Medieval Spain. Variorum, 1992. ISBN: 0-86078-308-1.

See also

In Spanish: Pipino I de Aquitania para niños