Kim Rendfeld

In 737, Pippin, for all intents and purposes a Frankish prince, traveled to Lombard King Luitprand’s court, where the monarch adopted him as a son and bestowed him with gifts.

(Note: Part 2 of two—if you missed part 1, read about how Charles Martel’s failing health rattled Boniface.

Part 1 of 2.

(Note to readers: This article, originally published on English Historical Fiction Authors, has some spoilers for Duchess of the New Dawn.)

Charles Martel, the father of my heroine, Chiltrude, in Duchess of the New Dawn (forthcoming, June 16) had a complicated family life from the very beginning, one that spilled over into politics and war.

A Frankish man and woman, as portrayed in 1914 New Student’s Reference Work edited by Chandler B.

High-ranking Frankish women from the 1882 Costume of All Nations (public domain image via Wikimedia Commons) In the Dark Ages, noblewomen had two options: countess or abbess.

“Sacre de Pépin le Bref, 28 juillet 754,” 1837 by François Dubois (CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons) A man seeks a divorce and, when told he cannot remarry, not only stays with his current wife for the rest of his life but makes her his full partner.

We have no idea what Gewilib looked like, so here is a 19th-century illustration of a medieval priest by Paul Mercuri (public domain, via Wikimedia Commons).

The deposition of Childeric III as portrayed in the book Bien Connaitre les Généalogies des Rois de France, Jean-Charles Volkmann, originally from L’Histoire de France Populaire, Henri Martin, 1876 (public domain via Wikimedia Commons) No one in my forthc…

Charles Martel, as depicted in the Grandes Chroniques de France, compiled from the 13th to 15th centuries (public domain image) While researching my forthcoming novel Duchess of the New Dawn, I came across something that sounds too weird to be true.