You wouldn’t say it, but the Frankish ruler Karel Martel’s proper name is just as special as his nickname. Nowadays, Karel is regarded as a somewhat old-fashioned name (less than a quarter of a percent of the Dutch population is still called that), but the name was once new and unique – namely when the son of the Frankish mayor of the palace Pepijn van Herstal was born in 689.
There is a special story attached to that birth, which can be read in the thirteenth-century chronicle of the German monk Alexander van Roes. Pepijn was married to Plectrude, but had an affair with Aplaida. His mistress became pregnant and gave birth to a healthy boy. The messenger who was supposed to bring this news to Pippin found him in the company of his lawful wife – and so had to beat around the bush. He spoke: “Vivat rex, quia karl erst.”
Maybe a bit nicer
By that he meant that Aplaida had given birth to a beautiful son, because Karl at the time meant “ein starck mensche, der strack gelider het” – a strong human being with powerful limbs. Pippin is said to have replied: “Bonum nomen est Karl” – Karel is a beautiful name.
Now Alexander did not write this anecdote down until six hundred years later, so the story may have become more beautiful over the centuries. However, the uniqueness of the name Karel is already stated in the Liber historiae Francorum written in the eighth century that Pepin his son „vocavitque nomen eius lingue proprietate Carlo” – had given the name Karel in his own language. There is no trace of a former Karel. In a genealogical overview from the tenth century of the Carolingian dynasty (which is therefore named after this Charles and not after his grandson Charlemagne) it is explicitly stated that Pepin was the first to father a man with the name Charles.
At the time, Poitiers was not seen as the most important victory of Charles, who was permanently embroiled in (civil) wars
This child has gone down in history not because of his first name, but because of his nickname Martel, which means ‘the Hammer’. Many people think he earned that title when he defeated the invading force of Caliph Abdul Rahman at Poitiers, France in 732 – thus halting the Arab conquests – but historians today question that. Poitiers, although a fine victory, was not seen at the time as the most important victory of Charles, who was permanently embroiled in (civil) wars.
The German historian Ulrich Nonn listed the sources and came to the conclusion that during his lifetime no one described Karel as ‘the Hammer’. This nickname first appeared on parchment at the end of the ninth century: initially as Malleus and Tuditesshortly afterwards as Martellusthe version that stuck.
According to Nonn, both words do not belong to the Latin as it was spoken in the Middle Ages. The conclusion must therefore be that Charlemagne got his nickname in the vernacular, and that chroniclers later translated it into Latin. There is no doubt about its meaning: the hammer symbolizes Charlemagne’s strength and bravery during the many battles he fought.