- published: 11 Feb 2016
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Carloman I (28 June 751 – 4 December 771) was the king of the Franks from 768 until his death in 771. He was the second surviving son of Pepin the Short and Bertrada of Laon and was a younger brother of Charlemagne.
Carloman I stands in the unfortunate position of having been written of only by writers prejudiced against him, who portray him as peevish, self-pitying and easily flattered. Little is known of him, except such as touches upon his more famous father and brother.
At the age of 3, he was, together with his father, Pepin the Short, and his elder brother, Charlemagne, anointed King of the Franks and titled "Patrician of the Romans" by Pope Stephen II, who had left Rome to beg the Frankish King for assistance against the Lombards. Together with Charlemagne, he inherited a half of the Kingdom of the Franks upon Pepin's death. His share was based in the centre of the Frankish Kingdom, with his capital at Soissons, and consisted of the Parisian basin, the Massif Central, the Languedoc, Provence, Burgundy, southern Austrasia, Alsace and Alemannia; the regions were poorly integrated and surrounded by those bequeathed to Charlemagne, and, although Carloman's territories were easier to defend than those of Charlemagne, they were also poorer in income.