1. Saint Itta, Abbess of Nivelles (Brabant) married Pepin I of Landen.
Saint Itta (also Ida, Itte, or Idulberga) (died May 8, 652) was the wife of Pepin of Landen, mayor of the palace of Austrasia.
On the advice of the missionary bishop Saint Amand, bishop of Maastricht, after Pepin's death, she founded the Benedictine nunnery at Nivelles, with a monastery under the abbess. She herself entered it and installed as abbess her daughter Gertrude, perhaps after resigning the post herself.
She had by Pepin another daughter, Abbess Begga of Andenne. By Begga, she is the grandmother of Pepin of Heristal and one of the matriarchs of the great Carolingian family. Her only son was Grimoald, later mayor of the palace, and father of King Childebert the Adopted.
Both her daughters were later canonised, as was she. Her feast day is May 8.
Pepin I of Landen The Elder, son of Carloman ( - ), was born circa 0580. He died on 27 February 0640. He and Itta, Abbess of Nivelles (Brabant) had the following children:
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2. Abbess Begga of Andenne, daughter of Pepin I of Landen The Elder and Saint Itta, Abbess of Nivelles (Brabant), married Ansegis(el).
Ansegis(el), son of St. Arnulf, Bishop of METZ (582-640) and Doda (586-612), was born circa 0602. He died before 0679. He and Abbess Begga of Andenne had the following children:
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3. Pepin II, Duke of Austrasie (also known as Pepin II de Heristal, Pippin the MIDDLE), son of Ansegis(el) and Abbess Begga of Andenne, was born circa 0635. He died on 16 December 0714. He married Alpaide de Austasia.
Pepin (also Pippin, Pipin, or Peppin ) of Herstal (c. 635 – 16 December 714), also called the Middle, the Fat, or the Younger,[1] was the Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia from 680 to his death and of Neustria and Burgundy from 687 to 695. He was also the first mayor of the palace to "reign" as Duke and Prince of the Franks and he by far overshadowed the Merovingian rois fainéants.
Pepin, sometimes called Pepin II, was the grandson and namesake of Pepin I the Elder by the marriage of Pepin I's daughter Begga and Ansegisel, son of Arnulf of Metz. That marriage united the two houses of the Pippinids and the Arnulfings which created what would be called the Carolingian dynasty. Pepin II was probably born in Herstal (Héristal), modern Belgium (where his centre of power lay), whence his byname (sometimes "of Heristal").
As mayor of Austrasia, Pepin and Martin, the duke of Laon, fought the Neustrian mayor Ebroin, who had designs on all Frankland. Ebroin defeated the Austrasians at Lucofao (Bois-du-Fay, near Laon) and came close to uniting all the Franks under his rule; however, he was assassinated in 681, the victim of a combined attack by his numerous enemies. Pepin immediately made peace with his successor, Waratton.
However, Waratton's successor, Berthar, and the Neustrian king Theuderic III, who, since 679, was nominal king of all the Franks, made war on Austrasia. The king and his mayor were decisively defeated at the Battle of Tertry (Textrice) in the Vermandois in 687. Berthar and Theuderic withdrew themselves to Paris, where Pepin followed and eventually forced on them a peace treaty with the condition that Berthar leave his office. Pepin was created mayor in all three Frankish kingdoms (Austrasia, Neustria, and Burgundy) and began calling himself Duke and Prince of the Franks (dux et princeps Francorum). In the ensuing quarrels, Berthar killed his mother-in-law Ansfled and fled. His wife Anstrude married Pepin's eldest son Drogo, Duke of Champagne, and Pepin's place in Neustria was secured.
Over the next several years, Pepin subdued the Alemanni, Frisians, and Franconians, bringing them within the Frankish sphere of influence. He also began the evangelisation of Germany. In 695, he placed Drogo in the Burgundian mayorship and his other son, Grimoald, in the Neustrian one.
Around 670, Pepin had married Plectrude, who had inherited substantial estates in the Moselle region. She was the mother of Drogo of Champagne and Grimoald, both of whom died before their father. However, Pepin also had a mistress named Alpaida (or Chalpaida) who bore him two more sons: Charles and Childebrand. Just before Pepin's death, Plectrude convinced him to disinherit his bastards in favour of his grandson, Theudoald, the son of Grimoald, who was still young (and amenable to Plectrude's control). Pepin died suddenly at an old age on 16 December 714, at Jupille (in modern Belgium). His legitimate grandchildren claimed themselves to be Pepin's true successors and, with the help of Plectrude, tried to maintain the position of mayor of the palace after Pepin's death. However, Charles had gained favor among the Austrasians, primarily for his military prowess and ability to keep them well supplied with booty from his conquests. Despite the efforts of Plectrude to silence her rival's child by imprisoning him, he became the sole mayor of the palace and de facto ruler of Francia after a civil war which lasted for more than three years after Pepin's death.
Pepin II, Duke of Austrasie had the following children:
| 4 | Charles Martel (The Hammer) King of the Franks (672-741). Charles was born in 0672. He was born in 0676. He died in 0741. |
Alpaide de Austasia (also known as Elphide) was the daughter of Guerin, Count of Paris ( - ).