Charles Martel King of Franks

     Charles Martel King of Franks was born on 23 August 676 at Heristal, Leige, Belgium.^1,2 He was the son of Pepin II of Heristal and Aupais (concubine). Charles Martel King of Franks married Chrotrud of Alemannia, daughter of Leutwinus and Willigarde of Bavaria. Charles Martel King of Franks died on 22 October 741 at Quierzy-sur-Oise, Aisne, France, at age 65.¹ He was buried at Monastáere De Saint Denis, Saint Denis, France.
     Martel was born in Herstal, or present-day Belgium, the illegitimate son of Pippin the Middle and his concubine Alpaida (or Chalpaida). He was described by Louis Gustave and Charles Strauss in their book "Moslem and Frank; or, Charles Martel and the rescue of Europe" as a tall, powerfully built man, who was more agile than his size would lead men to believe.

He is best remembered for winning the Battle of Tours in 732, which has traditionally been characterized as an event that saved Europe from the Islamic expansionism that had conquered Iberia. Charles's victory has often been regarded as decisive for world history, since it preserved western Europe from Muslim conquest and Islamization.

J.M. Roberts says of Charles Martel in his note on the Carolingians on page 315 of his 1993 History of the World:

It (the Carolingian line) produced Charles Martel, the soldier who turned the Arabs back at Tours, and the supporter of Saint Boniface, the Evangelizer of Germany. This is a considerable double mark to have left on the history of Europe."
Gibbon perhaps summarized Charles Martel's legacy most eloquently: "in a laborious administration of 24 years he had restored and supported the dignity of the throne..by the activity of a warrior who in the same campaign coud display his banner on the Elbe, the Rhone, and shores of the ocean."