Pepin of Herstal

Born around 635, son of the statesman Ansegisel, Pepin worked to make his family the strongest force in Francia. He became Mayor of the Palace in Austrasia in 680 and spent the next years at war, conquering Neustria and Burgundy by 687 to unite all Frankish realms under his hand. He pushed outward too, subjugating the Alemanni, Frisians, and Franconians, and set evangelisation rolling in Germany. Under him, the last shreds of Merovingian royal power withered; his family's right to rule became fact. He named his grandson Theudoald as heir, but his son Charles Martel refused the arrangement. Pep…