Maires du Palais

Maires du Palais (Mayors of the Palace). Under the Merovingian kings these were the heads of the royal household. They became increasingly powerful, virtually ruling the kingdom after the death of Dagobert I in 639. Charles Martel, the victor of the battle of Poitiers, was a mayor of the palace; his son, Pépin le Bref, founded the Carolingian dynasty after a palace coup in 751.