Mayor of the palate of Austrasie under the Merovingian last. Charles was the son of Pip of Héristal and his Alpaïde concubine. Subsequently, one will forge a heroic origin with the winner of Poitiers (October 25th, 732), skilful warrior, who owed his nickname of Martel (hammer) with a imdomptable energy.

Its situation of bastard would undoubtedly have confined it in an obscure role so of the genealogical chances had not made the only heir ready to it to preserve the paternal heritage. Pip of Héristal had had to be resigned to move away Alpaïde and to take again his legitimate wife, Plectrude. The death of his/her Grimoald son, to which Alpaïde is not foreign, causes a successional crisis: Pip dies into 714 and leaves its powers of mayor of the palate of Austrasie and Neustrie to its Théobald grandson, six years old. Plectrude controls on its behalf and makes imprison Charles.

This weakness of the power is made profitable by the Clippings and Neustriens, which revolt and threaten the domination of Austrasie on the frank kingdom. This crisis involves the fall of Plectrude.

As of 715, Charles Martel is released and proclaimed mayor of the palate of Austrasie by the large ones; he eliminates Plectrude, restores the situation in Neustrie and ensures the legitimacy of his power while making crown king into 720 Merovingian who to him all is devoted, Thierry IV (713-737).

Charles passes then to the offensive. Into Germanic Eastern, it carries out forwarding on forwarding against the Clippings, the Saxon ones and the Bavarian ones: it thus starts the work of gathering of the Germanic people under the franque authority, works that Charlemagne was to conclude its.

In the south of Beats, he undertakes to bring back in the franque orbit Aquitaine and Provence. Its intervention as Berry, in 731, against the duke Eudes, engages the process of invasion by the Moslems of Spain; Eudes made alliance with a Berber chief of the north of the peninsula in revolt against the Abdérame governor. This one comes to end easily from the rebel and, on his impetus, crosses the Pyrenees and plunders Aquitaine. Eudes, defeated, call Charles Martel, who beats the Moslems between Poitiers and Tours on on October 25th, 732. This victory enables him to subject Aquitaine and to turn to Provence to make recognize its authority with the local aristocracy, allied with the Moslems.

In Poitiers as in his provençaux combat, Charles is not posed as a defender faith: he seeks to protect his borders and to restore the franque domination on the countries of the south of the Loire. Moreover, it owes its successes partly with its complete absence of scruples with regard to the Church: it seized many ecclesiastical fields to distribute them in benefit to its clean faithful, which rejoins with its cause considerable customers without weakening her inheritance.

Certain authors denied the existence of this famous episode of the reign of Charles Martel.: the battle of Poitiers. Wrongly undoubtedly, but sources, as well Moslem as Christian, are so confused that essential points remain extremely discussed. The traditional date of October 25th, 732 is not accepted by certain historians, who prefer that of October 733 to him.

The localization of the combat lends to discussion: close to Poitiers? close to Turns? or between the two? Lastly, the importance of the battle is appreciated differently. Capital fact in the European history, did block the Moslem expansion and saved Western Christianity? or this combat was a simple adventure without significance, the stop of the expansion of Islam being due to other causes? The contemporaries, in any case, did not perceive the importance of the event, which could not surprise. As for Charles Martel, it undoubtedly was well close thinking that by beating the Arabs in Poitiers it beat by way of Aquitains.