CHAPTER XV CHARLEMAGNE AND HIS EMPIRE Section 6o. Conquests of Charlemagne We have seen how the kings of the Franks, Clovis and How Pippin his successors, conquered a large territory, including western of th^FraSS, Germany and what is called France to-day; As time went on, p^pe^^g ^p. the king's chief minister, who was called the Mayor of the proval, 752 Palace, got almost all the power into his hands and really ruled in the place of the king. Charles Martel, who defeated the Mohammedans at Tours in 732, was the Mayor of the Palace of the western Prankish king. His son, Pippin the Shore, finally determined to do away altogether with the old line of kings and put himself in their place. Before taking the decisive step, how- ever, he consulted the Pope. To Pippin's question whether it was right that the old line of kings should continue to reign when they no longer had any power, the Pope replied : "It seems better that he who has the power in the State should be king, and be called king, rather than he who is falsely called king." With this sanction, then (752), the Prankish counts and dukes, in accordance with the old German ceremony, raised Pippin on their shields, in somewhat the way college boys now- adays carry off a successful football player on their shoulders. He was then anointed king by St. Boniface, the apostle to the Germans, of whom we have spoken, and received the blessing of the Pope.^ It would hardly be necessary to mention this change of dynasty in so short a history as this, were it not that the calling in of the 1 The old line of kings which was displaced by Pippin is known as the Merovingian line. Pippin and his successors are called the Carolingian hne. I 369
