Pepin 1 was the son of the Frankish ruler Charles Martel (Karoulos 2); his father sent him to the Lombard king Liutprand 1, who ceremonially cut off his hair and sent him back to his father laden with royal gifts: Paul. Diac., Hist. Lang. VI 53. Father of Carolus (Karoulos 1; i.e. Charlemagne): Lib. Pont. 94. 25, 96. 16-17. Father also of Carlomannus (Karoulomannos 2): Lib. Pont. 96. 16-17. Brother of Hieronymos 2: Lib. Pont. 94. 38. He ruled the Franks from 751 to 768 and was king of the Franks from 754 to 768; see below. King of the Franks (?rex Francorum?); in response to a secret message from pope Stephen III (II) (Stephanos 8) he sent a messenger, the abbot Trottigangus (Droctegang 1), promising to fulfil all that the pope desired to protect Italy from the oppression of the Lombards; shortly afterwards another messenger arrived ("alius missus familiaris eius") (Anonymus 739) with confirmation of this: Lib. Pont. 94. 15-16. In late summer 753 he sent two envoys (Chrodegang 1 and Autchar 1) to Rome to escort the pope Stephanos 8 to Francia: Lib. Pont. 94. 18. At St Maurice d'Agaune the Frankish envoys Fulrad 1 and Rothard 1 met pope Stephanos 8 to escort him to meet Pepin 1: Lib. Pont. 94. 24. On hearing of the pope's approach, Pepin 1 sent his son Karoulos 1 a hundred miles ahead to meet him, and himself, with his wife (Bertrada 1), other children and notables, went to meet him three miles from the palace at Ponthion; there he and his entourage all greeted Stephanos 8 with great humility: Lib. Pont. 94. 25. He then escorted him to the palace at Ponthion, which they entered on 6 January 754; in response to entreaties from Stephanos 8, Pepin 1 agreed on oath to do all he could to restore the exarchate of Ravenna and all other occupied places to the Roman republic: Lib. Pont. 94. 26. He invited pope Stephanos 8 to remain at the monastery of St Denis for the rest of the winter; a few days later Stephanos 8 anointed Pepin 1 and his two sons (Karoulos 1 and Karoulomannos 2) as kings of the Franks ("hisdem christianissimus Pippinus rex ab eodem sanctissimo papa, Christi gratia, cum duobus filiis suis reges uncti sunt Francorum"): Lib. Pont. 94. 27. This event was recorded thirteen years later by a monk of St Denis in a note written at the end of a manuscript of Gregory of Tours, cited by Duchesne, Lib. Pont., p. 458, n. 31; this is dated in the year 767 of Our Lord, in the sixteenth year of Pippin, in indiction 5, and in the thirteenth year since pope Stephanos 8 anointed Pepin 1 and his sons Carolus (Karoulos 1) and Carlomannus (Karoulomannos 2) (this confirms the year as 754); the monk adds that Pepin 1 was elevated to the throne three years previously, with the consent of pope Zacharias 16 and by the choice of all the Franks and the clergy of Gaul, and was then anointed as king and patricius ("in regem et patricium") by pope Stephanos 8. Pepin 1 therefore became ruler of Francia in 751 and received the titles of king and of patricius from pope Stephanos 8 in 754. For his title patricius Romanorum, which his sons also received, see Lib. Pont. 96. 16 (cited below). After his meetings with pope Stephanos 8, Pepin 1 called an assembly of the Frankish nobility ("cunctos proceres regiae suae potestatis") and confirmed his undertakings with the pope: Lib. Pont. 94. 29. He resisted the attempts soon afterwards by his brother Carloman (Karoulomannos 1) to change his mind and finally with the agreement of pope Stephanos 8 Pepin 1 had Karoulomannos 1 confined to a monastery: Lib. Pont. 94. 30. Obedient to the wishes of pope Stephanos 8 he sent embassies three times to the Lombard king, Aistulf 1, requesting a treaty of peace and the restoration of the occupied territories, but with no success: Lib. Pont. 94. 31. He then set out on campaign against Aistulf 1, on the way sending a further appeal to the Lombard king, at the request of pope Stephanos 8, to settle the matter without bloodshed, but again without success: Lib. Pont. 94. 32-33. He sent some of his forces on ahead, to guard the passes over the Alps; Aistulf 1 attacked them and was defeated and fled back to Pavia, which was then besieged by Pepin 1 and pope Stephanos 8: Lib. Pont. 94. 33- 36. An agreement was now reached between the Lombards, the Franks and the Romans; Pepin 1 took Lombard hostages and Aistulf 1 agreed to restore Ravenna and the other cities; Pepin 1 and Stephanos 8 now parted company, but Aistulf 1 failed to carry out his promises: Lib. Pont. 94. 36-37. According to the later recension, Pepin 1 sent his brother Hieronymos 2 with other Franks to escort pope Stephanos 8 back to Rome: Lib. Pont. 94. 38. Further complaints from Stephanos 8 about the failure of the Lombards to carry out their agreements reached Pepin 1 (cf. Warnehar 1, Gregorios 221, Komitas 6 and Thomarichos 2), and he launched another attack on the Lombards: Lib. Pont. 94. 42-43. Meanwhile envoys from Constantinople arrived, and Pepin 1, now at Pavia, was asked by one of them, Georgios 130, to restore the lands seized by the Lombards to imperial control; Pepin 1 refused and insisted that they should be returned only to the see of St Peter and the bishop of Rome, and then dismissed the envoy: Lib. Pont. 94. 43-45. He then forced Aistulf 1 to renew the former agreement and to hand over the cities to the see of St Peter: Lib. Pont. 94. 46. He sent Fulrad 1 to take over the cities and himself returned to Francia; the document issued by Pepin 1 detailing the cities which belonged to St Peter was deposited by Fulrad 1 at St Peter's: Lib. Pont. 94. 47. In 768, early in his pontificate, pope Stephen IV (III) (Stephanos 84) sent an envoy (Sergios 53) to Pepin 1 and his sons Karoulos 1 and Karoulomannos 2 asking for learned bishops to be sent from Francia to a Council in Rome; the envoy found that Pepin 1 had just died, and he delivered Stephanos 84's message to Karoulos 1 and Karoulomannos 2, his successors: Lib. Pont. 96. 16 ("ad excellentissimos viros Pipinum, Carulum et Carulomannum, reges Francorum et patricios Romanorum"). Pepin 1's promise to restore the captured cities of Italy to the papacy was recalled by pope Hadrian I (Hadrianos 1) when seeking the help of Pepin 1's son Karoulos 1: Lib. Pont. 97. 6. 22. 26. 41. 42.

Pepin 1 was mayor of the palace and de facto ruler of the Franks when in 754 the bishop of Rome Stephanos 8 visited him to seek help against the Lombards under their king Aistulf 1 (ἐπὶ Πιπίνου προοίκου καὶ ἐξάρχου τῆς διοικήσεως τῶν ὅλων πραγμάτων καὶ τοῦ τῶν Φράγγων ἔθνους); he was the real ruler, in place of the Frankish king, and was famous for defeating the Arabs from Spain and killing their ruler Abderachman (Abd ar-Rahman 3) in a battle near the river Po; the pope released him from his oaths of loyalty to the Frankish king (Childeric 1) and made him king of the Franks himself (καὶ προηγεῖται τοῦ ἔθνους πρῶτος οὐ κατὰ γένος); he had two sons, Karoulos 1 and Karoulomannos 2: Theoph. AM 6216 (ὁ Πίπινος δύο υἱοὺς ἔσχεν, Κάρουλον καὶ Καρουλόμαγνον, τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ). The statement connecting him with the death of Abd ar-Rahman 3 is false; it was Charles Martel (Karoulos 2), the father of Pepin 1, who defeated and killed Abd ar-Rahman, in 732 at the battle of Poitiers. The account in Theophanes is confused. Cf. Rochow, Theophanes, pp. 108-110.

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