Mayor of the palate

See also: Mayor (homonymy)

For the period mérovingienne, the Mayor of the palate quasi magister palatii seu Major domus regiæ, was the first dignity of the kingdom. This office resembled enough that which one called among Romans, prefect of the court. The Mayors of the palate carried also the title of princes or dukes of the palate, and dukes of France. The history does not mention institution of this office, which is as old as monarchy; it is true that it is not made by it mention under Clovis Ier, nor under his/her children; but when Gregoire de Tours and Frédegaire speak about it under the reign about the grandsons about this prince, they speak about it like already established dignity. They were initially established only for a time, then with life, and finally they became hereditary. Their institution was to only order in the palate, but their power increased largely, they became soon ministers, and one saw these ministers, under the reign of Clotaire II, with the head of the armies. The Mayor was all at the same time the Minister and the general born of the state; they were tutors of the kings in low age; one saw a Mayor however still child exerting this office under the supervision of his mother: it was Théodebalde, grandson of Pip, which was Maire of the palate under Dagobert III, in 714.

The usurpation that the Mayors of a capacity without terminals made became sensitive only into 660, by the tyranny of the Ebroin Mayor, they often deposited the kings, and others put some at their place.

When the kingdom was divided into various monarchies of France, Austrasie, Burgundy and Aquitaine, there were Mayors of the palate in each one of these kingdoms,

Pip, wire of Charles Martel, which was after his Maire father of the palate, having arrived at the crown into 752, put an end to the government Mayors of the palate. Various dynasties of Mayors of the palate subsitèrent by transmitting the name " of Palais" or " Dupalais". Those which replaced them were called large-seneshals, and then large-Masters of France or large-Masters of the house of the king.

Period mérovingienne

Throughout this period, one saw the advent of the family of the Pippinides (downward of Pépin of Landen or Pip the Old one), which gave rise to the Carolingian dynasty .

The capacity of the mayors of the palate was increasing continuously. At the beginning servants of the king and persons in charge of the palate, they gradually directed the kingdom of the Francs in the place of the sovereign, starting from VIIe century. The office became a stake between the aristocrats and was transmitted soon of wire father.

Dagobert Ier, conscious of the threat that they represented, separated from the mayor Pépin of Landen in order to take again the capacity personally. But to its death, the kingdom fell down definitively to the hands of the mayors pépinnides. In fact, the rise of Pippinides was not done without clashes and during nearly 20 years of 662 with 680, they were isolated capacity by the family of Vulfoald; moreover, Ansegisel, father of Pépin of Herstal was assassinated during this same period. The downward of Dagobert Ier, often very young sovereigns and of a very short life expectancy, could not reign without the assistance of the mayors of the palate. Those benefitted from the situation to still increase their power and to direct the country in the place of the sovereigns: they named the bishop S, the Count S and the Duc S, signed the agreements with the adjoining countries, decided and conducted the military campaigns… The mayors of the palate also wove with their profit a network of fidelities, by gifts and matrimonial alliances.

In the final analysis, the sovereign did not have any more any function, from where the name of “lazy kings” ( makes nothing ) that one allots to the downward sovereigns of Dagobert Ist is however necessary to relativize this name of “lazy kings”. Indeed, the Carolingian dynasty hastened, as soon as arrived definitively at the capacity, to disparage the old dynasty mérovingienne to try to legitimate its coup d'etat. It lays out nevertheless prestige and legitimacy of its dynasty (it has royal blood).

The last king Mérovingien, Childéric III, is locked up in a monastery by Pépin the Brief in 751. Pip then requires of the Pape Zacharie to frankly recognize it like sovereign of the kingdom . It is not a question of a coup d'etat strictly speaking since Pépin obtains from the pope the royal sacring. The Zacharie pope may find it very beneficial to line up with dimensions Francs which can defend it against the Christian Empire of the East.

Principal mayors of the palate

Austrasy

The load of mayor of the palate of Austrasie was especially occupied by the Pépinides.

Burgundy

Neustrie

Provence

Devolution with the intendant

See also: Devolution of the capacity

Many similar cases of devolution of the capacity of the “legitimate” dynasty to a dynasty of servants are observed in the history. The most known, because being spread out over one long period of time, are, in addition to Peppinides, the Peshwa of the Marathes and the Shogun S with the Japan.

See too

Sources: according to the encyclopedic Dictionary of the nobility of France Nicolas Viton of Saint-Went (1773-1842) - Paris, 1816

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