Gorze Abbey was a Benedictine monastery in Gorze in the present arrondissement of Metz , near Metz in Lorraine . It was prominent as the source of a monastic reform movement in the 930s.
63-564: Gorze Abbey was founded in around 757 by Bishop Chrodegang of Metz , who obtained for it from Rome the relics of Saint Gorgonius . The new community at first followed his Rule, but decline later set in. The highly placed Frankish lord Bivin of Gorze (810–863), married to a daughter of Boso the Elder , functioned as lay abbot of Gorze. In 933 the premises, by then semi-derelict, were given by Adalbero, Bishop of Metz , to John of Gorze and Einald of Toul so that they could restore observance of
126-630: A certain unity in Gaul, Charles saved it from a great peril. In 711 the Arabs had conquered Spain. In 720 they crossed the Pyrenees, seized Narbonensis, a dependency of the kingdom of the Visigoths, and advanced on Gaul. By his able policy Odo succeeded in arresting their progress for some years; but a new vali, Abdur Rahman , a member of an extremely fanatical sect, resumed the attack, reached Poitiers, and advanced on Tours,
189-611: A cessation of hostilities if Chilperic would recognize his rights as mayor of the palace in Austrasia. The refusal was not unexpected but served to impress upon Charles's forces the unreasonableness of the Neustrians. They met near Cambrai at the Battle of Vincy on 21 March 717. The victorious Charles pursued the fleeing king and mayor to Paris, but as he was not yet prepared to hold the city, he turned back to deal with Plectrude and Cologne. He took
252-457: A darker reputation, for his alleged abuse of church property. A ninth-century text, the Visio Eucherii , possibly written by Hincmar of Reims , portrayed Charles as suffering in hell for this reason. According to British medieval historian Paul Fouracre , this was "the single most important text in the construction of Charles's reputation as a seculariser or despoiler of church lands". By
315-708: A location between the French cities of Tours and Poitiers , in a victory described by the Continuations of Fredegar . According to the historian Bernard Bachrach , the Arab army, mostly mounted, failed to break through the Frankish infantry. News of this battle spread, and may be recorded in Bede's Ecclesiastical History (Book V, ch. 23). However, it is not given prominence in Arabic sources from
378-472: A monastic rule, and analogous to Chrodegang of Metz's Regula Canonicorum ." In the course of the 9th century mention is made of nine places in Ireland (including Armagh , Clonmacnoise , Clones , Devenish and Sligo ) where communities of Culdees were established as a kind of annex to the regular monastic institutions. They seem especially to have had the care of the poor and the sick, and were interested in
441-614: A near-contemporary source, the Liber Historiae Francorum , Charles was "a warrior who was uncommonly ... effective in battle". Charles gained a very consequential victory against an Umayyad invasion of Aquitaine at the Battle of Tours , at a time when the Umayyad Caliphate controlled most of the Iberian Peninsula . Alongside his military endeavours, Charles has been traditionally credited with an influential role in
504-409: A note of unfinished business". Charles married twice, his first wife being Rotrude of Treves , daughter either of Lambert II, Count of Hesbaye , or of Leudwinus , Count of Treves. They had the following children: Most of the children married and had issue. Hiltrud married Odilo I ( Duke of Bavaria ). Landrade was once believed to have married a Sigrand (Count of Hesbania) but Sigrand's wife
567-542: A series of wars fought by Frankish princes for booty and territory... One of Fredegar's continuators presented the battle of Poitiers as what it really was: an episode in the struggle between Christian princes as the Carolingians strove to bring Aquitaine under their rule." More recently, the memory of Charles has been appropriated by far right and white nationalist groups, such as the ' Charles Martel Group ' in France, and by
630-642: A territorial unit, with an abbot as its overlord, even in the absence of a monastic community. In the 1660s these lands passed from the Holy Roman Empire to France . In the 1690s, the Prince-Abbot Eberhard von Löwenstein built an appropriately splendid residence, which still stands. At the time of the French Revolution the building was confiscated and sold off and was later used for a variety of military and local government purposes, particularly as
693-653: A workhouse for the poor. The palace has now been restored and is in use as a museum, old people's home and for several other purposes. The gardens, nymphaeum and chapel are all of architectural and artistic interest. The abbey is the property of the commune. It has been listed since 1886 as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture . 49°3′14″N 5°59′48″E / 49.05389°N 5.99667°E / 49.05389; 5.99667 Chrodegang of Metz Chrodegang ( Latin : Chrodogangus ; German : Chrodegang, Hruotgang ; died 6 March 766)
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#1733085034064756-473: Is the only defeat of Charles's career. Charles retreated to the hills of the Eifel to gather and train men. In April 716, he fell upon the triumphant army near Malmedy as it was returning to Neustria. In the ensuing Battle of Amblève , Charles attacked as the enemy rested at midday. According to one source, he split his forces into several groups which fell at them from many sides. Another suggests that while this
819-516: The Rule of St. Benedict . They did so extremely successfully and the customary of Gorze soon spread to many other monasteries, at first local, such as St. Maximin's Abbey, Trier , and St. Evre's Abbey, Toul , and later in more distant places, such as Bavaria , through the mediation of Wolfgang of Regensburg . The Gorze Reform was similar to the Cluniac Reform in that it aimed at a reestablishment of
882-629: The Teutoburg Forest and thus secured the Frankish border. When the Frisian leader Radbod died in 719, Charles seized West Frisia without any great resistance on the part of the Frisians , who had been subjected to the Franks but had rebelled upon the death of Pippin. When Chilperic II died in 721, Charles appointed as his successor the son of Dagobert III, Theuderic IV , who was still a minor, and who occupied
945-461: The 720s onwards. Indeed, the anonymous Chronicle of 754 records a victory for Odo in 721 at the Battle of Toulouse , while the Liber Pontificalis records that Odo had killed 375,000 Saracens. It is more likely that this invasion or raid took place in revenge for Odo's support for a rebel Berber leader named Munnuza . Whatever the precise circumstances were, it is clear that an army under
1008-547: The Agilolfing Princess Swanachild as a second wife. In 725 and 728, he again entered Bavaria but, in 730, he marched against Lantfrid , Duke of Alemannia, who had also become independent, and killed him in battle. He forced the Alemanni to capitulate to Frankish suzerainty and did not appoint a successor to Lantfrid. Thus, southern Germany once more became part of the Frankish kingdom, as had northern Germany during
1071-757: The Austrasian nobles because Theudoald was a child of only eight years of age. To prevent Charles using this unrest to his own advantage, Plectrude had him imprisoned in Cologne , the city which was intended to be her capital. This prevented an uprising on his behalf in Austrasia , but not in Neustria . Pepin's death occasioned open conflict between his heirs and the Neustrian nobles who sought political independence from Austrasian control. In 715, Dagobert III named Raganfrid mayor of
1134-479: The Frankish statesman Pepin of Herstal and a noblewoman named Alpaida . Charles successfully asserted his claims to power as successor to his father as the power behind the throne in Frankish politics. Continuing and building on his father's work, he restored centralized government in Francia and began the series of military campaigns that re-established the Franks as the undisputed masters of all Gaul . According to
1197-612: The Franks in return for legitimate royal affirmation of his own mayoralty over all the kingdoms. Between 718 and 732, Charles secured his power through a series of victories. Having unified the Franks under his banner, Charles was determined to punish the Saxons who had invaded Austrasia. Therefore, late in 718, he laid waste their country to the banks of the Weser , the Lippe , and the Ruhr . He defeated them in
1260-535: The Great (or Eudes, as he is sometimes known), the duke of Aquitaine , who had become independent during the civil war in 715, but was again defeated, at the Battle of Soissons , by Charles. Chilperic fled with his ducal ally to the land south of the Loire and Raganfrid fled to Angers . Soon Chlotar IV died and Odo surrendered King Chilperic in exchange for Charles recognizing his dukedom. Charles recognized Chilperic as king of
1323-591: The Pippinid wealth at Cologne. The Neustrians allied with another invading force under Redbad, King of the Frisians and met Charles in battle near Cologne , which was still held by Plectrude. Charles had little time to gather men or prepare and the result was inevitable. The Frisians held off Charles, while the king and his mayor besieged Plectrude at Cologne, where she bought them off with a substantial portion of Pepin's treasure. After that they withdrew. The Battle of Cologne
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#17330850340641386-644: The Rule of St. Benedict, but quite different in several major areas. In particular, whereas Cluny created a centralised system of authority in which the religious houses adopting its reforms became subordinate to Cluny itself, the Gorze reforms preserved the independence of the participating monasteries, and resulted instead in a network of loosely connected affiliations based on several centres, such as Fulda , Niederaltaich , Einsiedeln and St. Emmeram's Abbey in Regensburg . Gorze
1449-473: The Younger Neustria, Burgundy, Provence, and Metz and Trier in the "Mosel duchy". Grifo was given several lands throughout the kingdom, but at a later date, just before Charles died. Earlier in his life Charles had many internal opponents and felt the need to appoint his own kingly claimant, Chlotar IV . Later, however, the dynamics of rulership in Francia had changed, and no hallowed Merovingian ruler
1512-509: The chances of preserving his life's work were better with a successful field commander like Charles than with Plectrude in Cologne. Willibrord subsequently baptized Charles's son Pepin . Gerberding suggests a likely date of Easter 716. Charles also received support from bishop Pepo of Verdun. Charles took time to rally more men and prepare. By the following spring, he had attracted enough support to invade Neustria. Charles sent an envoy who proposed
1575-423: The city and dispersed her adherents. Plectrude was allowed to retire to a convent. Theudoald lived to 741 under his uncle's protection. Upon this success, Charles proclaimed Chlothar IV king in Austrasia in opposition to Chilperic and deposed Rigobert , archbishop of Reims , replacing him with Milo , a lifelong supporter. In 718, Chilperic responded to Charles's new ascendancy by making an alliance with Odo
1638-657: The civil wars of Charles' reign. The next six years were devoted in their entirety to assuring Frankish authority over the neighboring political groups. Between 720 and 723, Charles was fighting in Bavaria, where the Agilolfing dukes had gradually evolved into independent rulers, recently in alliance with Liutprand the Lombard . He forced the Alemanni to accompany him, and Duke Hugbert submitted to Frankish suzerainty. In 725 he brought back
1701-610: The days when he was tottering on excommunication, and set the stage for his son and grandson to assert themselves in the peninsula. Charles died on 22 October 741, at Quierzy-sur-Oise in what is today the Aisne département in the Picardy region of France. He was buried at Saint Denis Basilica in Paris . His territories had been divided among his adult sons a year earlier: to Carloman he gave Austrasia, Alemannia, and Thuringia, and to Pippin
1764-549: The death of Saint Boniface , Pope Stephen conferred the pallium on Saint Chrodegang (754–755), thus making him an archbishop , but not elevating the See of Metz. In 762, during a dangerous illness, he introduced among his priests a confraternity of prayer known as the League of Attigny. Chrodegang was well versed in Latin and the native early Old High German . He died at Metz on 6 March 766 and
1827-571: The desire of Pepin's first wife Plectrude to see her progeny as heirs to Pepin's throne. By Charles's lifetime the Merovingians had ceded power to the Mayors of the Palace , who controlled the royal treasury, dispensed patronage, and granted land and privileges in the name of the figurehead king. Charles's father, Pepin of Herstal, had united the Frankish realm by conquering Neustria and Burgundy . Pepin
1890-701: The development of the Frankish system of feudalism . At the end of his reign, Charles divided Francia between his sons, Carloman and Pepin . The latter became the first king of the Carolingian dynasty . Pepin's son Charlemagne , grandson of Charles, extended the Frankish realms and became the first emperor in the West since the Fall of the Western Roman Empire . Charles, nicknamed "Martel" ("the Hammer") in later chronicles,
1953-584: The duke at the Battle of the Boarn . Charles ordered the Frisian pagan shrines destroyed, and so wholly subjugated the populace that the region was peaceful for twenty years after. In 735, Duke Odo of Aquitaine died. Though Charles wished to rule the duchy directly and went there to elicit the submission of the Aquitanians, the aristocracy proclaimed Odo's son, Hunald I of Aquitaine , as duke, and Charles and Hunald eventually recognised each other's position. In 737, at
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2016-474: The eighteenth century, historians such as Edward Gibbon had begun to portray the Frankish leader as the saviour of Christian Europe from a full-scale Islamic invasion. In the nineteenth century, the German historian Heinrich Brunner argued that Charles had confiscated church lands in order to fund military reforms that allowed him to defeat the Arab conquests, in this way brilliantly combining two traditions about
2079-674: The fate of King Roderick at the Rio Barbate, it is doubtful that a "do-nothing" sovereign of the Merovingian realm could have later succeeded where his talented major domus had failed. Indeed, as Charles was the progenitor of the Carolingian line of Frankish rulers and grandfather of Charlemagne, one can even say with a degree of certainty that the subsequent history of the West would have proceeded along vastly different currents had 'Abd al-Rahman been victorious at Tours-Poitiers in 732." And in 1993,
2142-502: The first years of the reign. In 731, after defeating the Saxons, Charles turned his attention to the rival southern realm of Aquitaine, and crossed the Loire, breaking the treaty with Duke Odo. The Franks ransacked Aquitaine twice, and captured Bourges , although Odo retook it. The Continuations of Fredegar allege that Odo called on assistance from the recently established emirate of al-Andalus, but there had been Arab raids into Aquitaine from
2205-501: The holy town of Gaul. In October 732—just 100 years after the death of Mahomet —Charles gained a brilliant victory over Abdur Rahman , who was called back to Africa by revolts of the Berbers and had to give up the struggle. ...After his victory, Charles took the offensive". Similarly, William E. Watson , who wrote of the battle's importance in Frankish and world history in 1993, suggested that "Had Charles Martel suffered at Tours-Poitiers
2268-432: The influential political scientist Samuel Huntington saw the battle of Tours as marking the end of the "Arab and Moorish surge west and north". Other recent historians, however, argue that the importance of the battle is dramatically overstated, both for European history in general and for Charles's reign in particular. This view is typified by Alessandro Barbero , who in 2004 wrote, "Today, historians tend to play down
2331-498: The lay church, which alone of the abbey buildings still survives, as the present parish church of Saint Stephen . The extensive territory which the abbey accumulated became known as the "Terre de Gorze". The abbey was dissolved in 1572 as a consequence of the Reformation . An attempt at a re-foundation in 1580 came to nothing, and the buildings, apart from St. Stephen's church, were demolished. The "Terre de Gorze" continued however as
2394-468: The leadership of Abd al-Rahman al-Ghafiqi headed north, and after some minor engagements marched on the wealthy city of Tours. According to British medieval historian Paul Fouracre , "Their campaign should perhaps be interpreted as a long-distance raid rather than the beginning of a war". They were, however, defeated by the army of Charles at the Battle of Tours (known in France as the Battle of Poitiers), at
2457-468: The leadership of Maurontus . Charles used the relative peace to set about integrating the outlying realms of his empire into the Frankish church. He erected four dioceses in Bavaria ( Salzburg , Regensburg , Freising , and Passau ) and gave them Boniface as archbishop and metropolitan over all Germany east of the Rhine, with his seat at Mainz . Boniface had been under his protection from 723 on. Indeed,
2520-454: The musical part of worship . Charles Martel Charles Martel ( / m ɑːr ˈ t ɛ l / ; c. 688 – 22 October 741), Martel being a sobriquet in Old French for "The Hammer", was a Frankish political and military leader who, as Duke and Prince of the Franks and Mayor of the Palace , was the de facto ruler of the Franks from 718 until his death. He was a son of
2583-497: The palace . On 26 September 715, Raganfrid's Neustrians met the young Theudoald's forces at the Battle of Compiègne . Theudoald was defeated and fled back to Cologne. Before the end of the year, Charles had escaped from prison and been acclaimed mayor by the nobles of Austrasia. That same year, Dagobert III died and the Neustrians proclaimed Chilperic II , the cloistered son of Childeric II , as king. In 716, Chilperic and Raganfrid together led an army into Austrasia intent on seizing
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2646-433: The period. Despite his victory, Charles did not gain full control of Aquitaine, and Odo remained duke until 735. Between his victory of 732 and 735, Charles reorganized the kingdom of Burgundy , replacing the counts and dukes with his loyal supporters, thus strengthening his hold on power. He was forced, by the ventures of Bubo, Duke of the Frisians , to invade independent-minded Frisia again in 734. In that year, he slew
2709-471: The perpetrator of the Christchurch mosque shootings at Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre in Christchurch , New Zealand, in 2019. The memory of Charles is a topic of debate in contemporary French politics on both the right and the left. In the seventeenth century, a legend emerged that Charles had formed the first regular order of knights in France. In 1620, Andre Favyn stated (without providing
2772-546: The relics of Saint Nazarius , and for Gorze those of Saint Gorgonius . In his diocese he introduced the Roman Liturgy and musical chant , and also enriched community life for the canons of his cathedral. Around 755, he wrote a special rule for them, the Regula Canonicorum , later known as ' Rule of Chrodegang' . The rule, containing thirty-four chapters, was based on the Rule of St. Benedict . Its purpose, however,
2835-432: The ruler. However, Fouracre argued that "...there is not enough evidence to show that there was a decisive change either in the way in which the Franks fought, or in the way in which they organised the resources needed to support their warriors." Many twentieth-century European historians continued to develop Gibbon's perspectives, such as French medievalist Christian Pfister , who wrote in 1911 that "Besides establishing
2898-406: The saint himself explained to his old friend, Daniel of Winchester , that without it he could neither administer his church, defend his clergy nor prevent idolatry. In 739, Pope Gregory III begged Charles for his aid against Liutprand , but Charles was loath to fight his onetime ally and ignored the plea. Nonetheless, the pope's request for Frankish protection showed how far Charles had come from
2961-477: The significance of the battle of Poitiers, pointing out that the purpose of the Arab force defeated by Charles Martel was not to conquer the Frankish kingdom, but simply to pillage the wealthy monastery of St-Martin of Tours". Similarly, in 2002 Tomaž Mastnak wrote: "The continuators of Fredegar's chronicle, who probably wrote in the mid-eighth century, pictured the battle as just one of many military encounters between Christians and Saracens—moreover, as only one in
3024-529: The son of Sigramnus, Count of Hesbaye , and Landrada , daughter of Lambert II, Count of Hesbaye . Landrada was the sister of Rotrude of Hesbaye , Charles Martel's first wife. He was educated first at the monastery of Saint-Trond , one of the oldest and most powerful abbeys in the Low Countries , and then at the cathedral school of Metz. At the court of Charles Martel, became his referendary , then chancellor, and in 737 prime minister. Sometime after 742, he
3087-562: The tail end of his campaigning in Provence and Septimania , the Merovingian king, Theuderic IV, died. Charles, titling himself maior domus and princeps et dux Francorum , did not appoint a new king and nobody acclaimed one. The throne lay vacant until Charles' death. The interregnum, the final four years of Charles' life, was relatively peaceful although in 738 he compelled the Saxons of Westphalia to submit and pay tribute and in 739 he checked an uprising in Provence where some rebels united under
3150-422: The throne from 721 to 737. Charles was now appointing the kings whom he supposedly served ( rois fainéants ). By the end of his reign, he didn't appoint any at all. At this time, Charles again marched against the Saxons. Then the Neustrians rebelled under Raganfrid, who had left the county of Anjou. They were easily defeated in 724 but Raganfrid gave up his sons as hostages in turn for keeping his county. This ended
3213-840: The turning point in Charles's struggle. Richard Gerberding points out that up to this time, much of Charles's support was probably from his mother's kindred in the lands around Liege. After Amblève, he seems to have won the backing of the influential Willibrord , founder of the Abbey of Echternach . The abbey had been built on land donated by Plectrude's mother, Irmina of Oeren , but most of Willibrord's missionary work had been carried out in Frisia. In joining Chilperic and Raganfrid, Radbod of Frisia sacked Utrecht, burning churches and killing many missionaries. Willibrord and his monks were forced to flee to Echternach. Gerberding suggests that Willibrord had decided that
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#17330850340643276-421: Was a son of Pepin of Herstal and his mistress, possible second wife, Alpaida . He had a brother named Childebrand , who later became the Frankish dux (that is, duke ) of Burgundy . Older historiography commonly describes Charles as "illegitimate", but the dividing line between wives and concubines was not clear-cut in eighth-century Francia. It is likely that the accusation of "illegitimacy" derives from
3339-493: Was also the home of the " chant messin " , an early form of Gregorian chant or plainsong , as a part of the liturgy , and also of sacred drama, particularly in connection with the Easter rituals. From the 12th century Gorze ceased to occupy the central spiritual position it had had previously. Nevertheless, in material terms it continued to prosper, and in the 12th and 13th centuries undertook substantial building works, including
3402-477: Was appointed to succeed Sigibald as Bishop of Metz, while still retaining his civil office. In 753 he met and escorted Pope Stephen II when the pontiff visited France to seek help against Lombard incursions. As apostolic delegate to the Frankish kingdom, he was directly involved in the coronation of Pepin in 754 and the subsequent defeat of the Longbard king Aistulf . He accompanied the pope to Ponthieu . After
3465-464: Was brought by Irish monks to their native land from the monasteries of north-eastern Gaul , and that Irish anchorites originally unfettered by the rules of the cloister bound themselves by it. The Rule of Céli Dé , which is preserved in the Leabhar Breac , and has been attributed to Máel Ruain , was possibly written in the 9th century by one of his community. The Rule "...is more a canonical than
3528-513: Was buried in Gorze Abbey, the site of his principal shrine. According to M.A. Claussen, "Chrodegang's work lay at the foundation of the Carolingian spiritual revival of later eighth and ninth centuries." In 748 he founded Gorze Abbey (near Metz). He also established St. Peter's Abbey on the Moselle , and did much for the abbeys of Gengenbach and Lorsch . For the latter he is said to have obtained
3591-404: Was his intention, he then decided, given the enemy's unpreparedness, this was not necessary. In any event, the suddenness of the assault led them to believe they were facing a much larger host. Many of the enemy fled and Charles's troops gathered the spoils of the camp. His reputation increased considerably as a result, and he attracted more followers. This battle is often considered by historians as
3654-551: Was more likely the sister of Rotrude. Auda married Theoderic, Count of Autun . Charles also married a second time, to Swanhild and they had a child named Grifo . With Ruodhaid , with whom he had: For early medieval authors, Charles was famous for his military victories. Paul the Deacon for instance attributed a victory against the Saracens actually won by Odo of Aquitaine to Charles. However, alongside this there soon developed
3717-497: Was principally pastoral: to encourage the mutual support of a community as found in a monastic setting, while recognizing the very different responsibilities of canons serving the spiritual needs of the faithful. Chrodegang necessarily adapted the Benedictine rule, particularly in regards to the hospitality characteristic of monasteries, and the care of the sick as there were neither guest houses nor hospices at cathedrals. The rule
3780-403: Was required. Charles divided his realm among his sons without opposition (though he ignored his young son Bernard ). For many historians, Charles laid the foundations for his son Pepin's rise to the Frankish throne in 751, and his grandson Charlemagne's imperial acclamation in 800. However, for Paul Fouracre, while Charles was "the most effective military leader in Francia", his career "finished on
3843-418: Was the Frankish Bishop of Metz from 742 or 748 until his death. He served as chancellor for his kinsman, Charles Martel . Chrodegang is claimed to be a progenitor of the Frankish dynasty of the Robertians . He is recognized as a saint in the Catholic Church . He was born in the early eighth century at Hesbaye (Belgium, around the old Roman civitas of Tongeren ) of a noble Frankish family, possibly
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#17330850340643906-404: Was the first to call himself Duke and Prince of the Franks, a title later taken up by Charles. In December 714, Pepin of Herstal died. A few months before his death and shortly after the murder of his son Grimoald the Younger , he had taken the advice of his wife Plectrude to designate as his sole heir Theudoald , his grandson by their deceased son Grimoald . This was immediately opposed by
3969-415: Was widely circulated and gave an important impulse to the spread of community life among the secular clergy. In 816, it was incorporated in part into the Institutio canonicorum Aquisgranensis established by the Council of Aachen . By the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the Rule of Chrodegang was gradually supplanted by more popular rules based on Augustine . It seems probable that the Rule of Chrodegang
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