Carloman (mayor of The Palace) - Assumption of Power

Assumption of Power

After the death of his father, power was not initially divided to include Grifo, another of Charles' sons, by his second wife Swanachild. This was per Charles' wishes, though Grifo demanded a portion of the realm from his brothers, who refused him. By 742, Carloman and Pippin had ousted their half-brother, Grifo and forced him into a monastery, and each turned his attention towards his own area of influence as major domo, Pippin in the West (in what was called Neustria, roughly the Area between Nancy and Reims) and Carloman in the East (in what was called Austrasia, roughly what is now is the area between Bruges, Metz and Fulda), which was the Carolingian base of power.

With Grifo contained, the two mayors, who had not yet proved themselves in battle in defence of the realm as their father had, on the initiative of Carloman, installed the Merovingian Childeric III as king (743), even though Martel had left the throne vacant since the death of Theuderic IV in 737.

Unlike most medieval instances of fraternal power sharing, Carloman and Pippin for seven years seemed at least willing to work together; certainly, they undertook many military actions together. Carloman joined Pippin against Hunald of Aquitaine's rising in 742 and again in 745. Pippin assisted Carloman against the Saxons 742-743, when Duke Theoderic was forced to come to terms, and against Odilo of Bavaria in 742 and again in 744, when peace was established between the brothers and their brother-in-law, for Odilo had married their sister Hiltrude.