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Mayor of the palace

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Under the Merovingian dynasty, the mayor of the palace or majordomo.[1] (Latin: maior palatii or maior domus) was the manager of the household of the Frankish king. He was the head of the Merovingian administrative ladder and orchestrated the operation of the entire court. He was appointed by the king from among the magnates, the most powerful families.[2] Austrasia, Neustria and Burgundy had their own mayor of the palace. After Chlothar II, who ruled over the entire Frankish Kingdom, had ordered the execution of Warnachar, the mayor of Burgundy, the magnates of Burgundy declared in 626 not to want their own mayor anymore; see Fredegar IV.54. This declaration marks the effective end of the Burgundian court and the beginning of the Neustrian-Burgundian political alliance against Austrian influence. The Austrian magnates revolted and the Battle of Tertry of 687 became the Austrasian victory with Pepin of Herstal as their leader and the new mayor of the palace.

During the second half of the seventh century, the office evolved into the "power behind the throne". At that time the mayor of the palace held and wielded the real and effective power to make decisions affecting the kingdom, while the kings were increasingly reduced to performing merely ceremonial functions, which made them little more than figureheads (rois fainéants, 'do-nothing kings'). The office may be compared to that of the peshwa, shōgun, sarvadhikari or prime minister, all of which have similarly been the real powers behind some ceremonial monarchs.

In 687, after victory over the western kingdom of Neustria, the Austrasian mayor, Pippin of Herstal, took the title Duke of the Franks to signify his augmented rule. His son and successor, Charles Martel, ruled without elevating a new king during the last four years of his reign (737–741). His sons Carloman and Pepin the Short elevated another Merovingian king, Childeric III, but he was eventually deposed in 751 by Pepin, who was crowned king in his place.

See also Royal Administration of Merovingian and Carolingian Dynasties.

Lists of mayors of the palaces

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Austrasia

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Name In office Family Remarks
Parthenius 531–548 court position is unknown
...
Gogo 567–581 court position is mentioned as 'comes' and 'nutricius'
Wandalenus 581–583 Waltrichs
...
Florentianus um 589
...
Protadus 595–600
Claudius 600
Gondulphus 600–612 Merowingians (uncert.)
Warnachar 613 Short after the assassination of Sigibert II
Rado 613–616/617
Hugh (Chucus) 617–622 Hugobertins (uncert.)
Pepin of Landen 624/25–634 Pippinids First time
Adalgisel 634–639
Pepin of Landen 639–640 Pippinids Second time
Otto 640–643
Grimoald I 643–657 oder 662 Pippinids
Ansegisel 657 oder 662–662 Arnulfingians
Wulfoald 662–679 Etichonen (uncert.)
Pepin of Herstal 679–714 Pippinids
Theudoald 714–715 Pippinids de jure under his grandmother Plectrude
Charles Martel 715–741 Pippinids After the Battle of Soissons (718) Maior Domus in all parts of the realm
Carloman 741–747 Pippinids Austrasia containing also Alemania
Pepin the Short 747–751 Pippinids Maior Domus for the whole realm

Neustria

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Burgundy

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Hereafter the office remained vacant, with Burgundy a separate realm under the King of Neustria and Burgundy. The administration of Burgundy was briefly separate under:

  • Drogo (695–708), also duke of Champagne from 690 and duke of Burgundy from 697

Aquitaine

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Further reading

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  • Oman, Charles. The Dark Ages, 476–918. London: Rivingtons, 1914.

References

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  1. ^ Cambridge Dictionary Consulted 09 July 2024.
  2. ^ Yitzhak Hen, The Merovingian Polity: A Network of Courts and Courtiers, in: Bonnie Effros and Isabel Moreira (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of the Merovingian World, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2020, p. 226
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