Pepin of Landen

Pepin of Landen, also called the Elder, was mayor of the palace of Austrasia under King Dagobert I and later under Sigebert III, and an ancestor of the Carolingian dynasty. He was never formally canonized, but because of the goodness of his rule he is listed as a saint or blessed in some martyrologies. He is commemorated on 21 February.

Beginnings

He was born around 580, probably at Landen in present-⁠day Belgium. The main source for his life is the Chronicle of Fredegar. In 613 Pepin and Arnulf, the future bishop of Metz, were among the great nobles of Austrasia and Burgundy who abandoned the regency of Brunhild and joined Chlothar II of Neustria. Pepin received his reward only in 623, when Chlothar made his son Dagobert king in Austrasia: Pepin was named mayor of the palace, and his lifelong friend Arnulf adviser to the king.

Mayor of the palace

His contemporaries praised his good government and wise counsel. Some enemies tried to turn the king against him, but their plots failed. In 629, for reasons unknown, Pepin withdrew to his estates, where he stayed for ten years, until Dagobert died in 639.

He then returned as mayor of Austrasia for the heir Sigebert III, still a child. He helped in dividing the royal treasure between Sigebert, his brother Clovis II and their stepmother Nanthild. The division was made peacefully, partly thanks to his friendship with the Burgundian mayor Aega. Pepin and Bishop Cunibert of Cologne received the treasure at Compiègne and brought it to Metz. He died on 21 February 640. He was so loved in Austrasia that he came to be remembered as a saint.

Family

He was married to Itta of Metz. They had four children: Grimoald, who succeeded him as mayor, Saint Begga, Saint Gertrude, abbess of Nivelles, and Bavo. Begga married Ansegisel, son of Saint Arnulf. From them came Pepin of Herstal, and from their descendants the Carolingian dynasty, with Charles Martel, Pepin the Short and Charlemagne.