throughout the sixth and seventh centuries, they had "simply assumed that the church was freely at their disposal," and they appointed bishops and sold church appointments as they saw fit. They did not recognize the authority of the Roman popes in religious matters.
But, by the early eighth century, the Merovingian rulers of the Frankish kingdom were kings in name only. The Carolingian dynasty began with Charles Martel, the Merovingians' Mayor of the Palace, who was the actual ruler of the kingdom. Charles became a hero by defeating the Spanish Muslims in 732. At this time Pope Gregory III, who wanted the Papacy to escape the control of the "Roman" emperors at Byzantium, appealed to Charles for protection against the Lombards, a Germanic group in northern Italy who were menacing Rome. But Charles "refused the papal request for an attack on the Lombards in Italy" because they had aided him in fighting the Muslims. Though this attempt failed, Gregory's idea of turning to the Franks, as protectors of the Church's interests, did not die.
Charles passed on control of the kingdom to his sons, Carloman and Pepin. Carloman worked with the popes' envoy, Boniface, to convert the Germans in the eastern part of the kingdom. Carloman and Boniface also began, on a limited scale, the reform of the Frankish clergy who, for the first time, declared their allegiance to the pope. But Carloman, who was "more interested in religious devotion than in royal power," abdicated, and Pepin became the sole head of the Frankish kingdom in 747.
When Pepin gained control, he was faced with the problem of legitimizing the Carolingian family's rule. The Carolingians had clearly supplanted the Merovingians, "yet a departure from the ancient line might shock the feelings of the people." Pepin saw that the best way to legitimize the Carolingian kingship was through an alliance with the popes. Pepin prepared for this "by accepting Boniface's pr...