ABSTRACT
In this chapter we shall look at the events of the last years of Charles Martel’s career and assess his position and standing at the time of his death in 741. There are two closely related issues here which require careful thought. The first is how and why Charles was able to rule without a king from 737 to 741. The second is the question of what Charles hoped or intended should happen after his death. Both issues turn on the history of the Carolingian family itself. We shall then follow the narrative of Frankish history over the next decade to 754, that is, up to the moment at which it was declared that henceforth the kings of the Franks should be chosen only from among the descendants of Charles’s son Pippin. From this vantage point we can then think about the significance of Martel’s career against the unfolding background of developments across the whole period we have examined, from the mid-seventh to the mid-eighth century.
