Plectrude
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| Battles of the Frankish Civil War of 715-718 |
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| Compiègne – Cologne – Amblève – Vincy – Soissons |
Plectrude or Plectrudis (d.717) was the wife of Pepin of Herstal, the mayor of the palace and duke of the Franks, from about 670. She was the daughter of Hugobert, seneschal of Clovis IV, and Irmina d'Oeren.
She brought a large amount of property to the Arnulfing house and this probably helped to save Pepin in his warmaking with the Neustrians. She tried to assure that her grandchildren (for both her sons by Pepin predeceased him) would inherit and she got Pepin's assent that Theudoald should be his main heir. When Pepin died soon thereafter (714), she imprisoned his dangerous bastard son Charles Martel in Cologne.
In 716, Chilperic II, king of the Franks, and Ragenfrid, his mayor of the palace, together led an army into Austrasia. Near Cologne, in which Plectrude had shut herself up, they defeated the escaped Charles Martel. The king and his mayor then turned to besiege their other rival in the city and took it, the treasury, and received the recognition of both Chilperic as king and Ragenfrid as mayor.
At this juncture, events turned in Charles favour. In 717, he chased the king and the mayor to Paris before turning back to deal with Plectrude in Cologne. He took the city and dispersed her adherents. She died later that year in Cologne, where she is buried.
Her sons by Pepin were:
