The Battle of Tertry was an important engagement in Merovingian Gaul

Gaul

Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...

 between the forces of Austrasia

Austrasia

Austrasia formed the northeastern portion of the Kingdom of the Merovingian Franks, comprising parts of the territory of present-day eastern France, western Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Metz served as its capital, although some Austrasian kings ruled from Rheims, Trier, and...

 on one side and those of Neustria

Neustria

The territory of Neustria or Neustrasia, meaning "new [western] land", originated in 511, made up of the regions from Aquitaine to the English Channel, approximating most of the north of present-day France, with Paris and Soissons as its main cities...

 and Burgundy

Kingdom of Burgundy

Burgundy is a historic region in Western Europe that has existed as a political entity in a number of forms with very different boundaries. Two of these entities - the first around the 6th century, the second around the 11th century - have been called the Kingdom of Burgundy; a third was very...

 on the other. It took place in 687

687

Year 687 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 687 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Europe :* King Theuderic III of Neustria is defeated...

 at Tertry, Somme

Tertry, Somme

Tertry is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:Tertry is situated east of Amiens, on the D44 and D45 crossroads.-Population:-History:...

.

The powerful Austrasian mayor of the palace

Mayor of the Palace

Mayor of the Palace was an early medieval title and office, also called majordomo, from the Latin title maior domus , used most notably in the Frankish kingdoms in the 7th and 8th centuries....

, Pepin of Herstal, had concluded peace with his Neustrian counterpart, Waratton

Waratton

Waratton, Waratto, or Warato was the mayor of the palace of Neustria and Burgundy on two occasions, owing to the deposition he experienced at the hands of his own faithless son. His first term lasted from 680 or 681 to 682, when his son Gistemar deposed him and took over the office...

, in 681

681

Year 681 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 681 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Byzantine Empire :* The Bulgars under Asparukh win...

. However, Waratton's successors had renewed the conflict between Austrasia and Neustria which was common in times of disunion: though the Frankish realm was then united under Theuderic III

Theuderic III

Theuderic III was the king of Neustria on two occasions and king of Austrasia from 679 to his death in 691. Thus, he was the king of all the Franks from 679...

, who inherited Austrasia in 679

679

Year 679 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 679 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Deaths :* Æthelthryth, wife of King Ecgfrith of...

. The king, born and raised in Neustria and a Neustrian at heart, and the nobles of Neustria and Burgundy, under their mayor, Berthar

Berthar

Berthar was the mayor of the palace of Neustria and Burgundy from 686 to 687. He was the successor of Waratton, whose daughter Anstrude he had married....

, invaded Austrasia territory. Berthar and Theuderic were routed at Tertry and the Austrasians had the field. Their supremacy vindicated on a battlefield, the victors forced Berthar out of office and Pepin appointed Nordebert

Nordebert

Norbert was the duke of Burgundy and count of Paris in the last quarter of the seventh century. He was a faithful follower of Pepin of Heristal, who put him in charge of Neustria and Burgundy after the Battle of Tertry in 687. Pepin's sons were given the mayoralties of these realms in 695...

 to act on his behalf in Neustria and Burgundy. The king was forced to recognise Pepin's mayorship over the entire realm in exchange for remaining sole king.

The legacy of the battle was the further diminution of royal authority, for once again a Merovingian had been definitively defeated in battle; the supremacy of Austrasia over the rest of the realm, characterised by later conquests to the east and the Aachen

Aachen

Aachen has historically been a spa town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Aachen was a favoured residence of Charlemagne, and the place of coronation of the Kings of Germany. Geographically, Aachen is the westernmost town of Germany, located along its borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, ...

-centred Carolingian Empire

Carolingian Empire

Carolingian Empire is a historiographical term which has been used to refer to the realm of the Franks under the Carolingian dynasty in the Early Middle Ages. This dynasty is seen as the founders of France and Germany, and its beginning date is based on the crowning of Charlemagne, or Charles the...

; the undisputed right to rule of the Arnulfing clan, Pepin even taking the title of dux et princeps Francorum

Duke of the Franks

The title dux et princeps Francorum, or duke and prince of the Franks, was the title adopted by Pepin of Heristal after his epoch-making victory at the Battle of Tertry in 687...

; and, finally, the personal gains to Pepin, who "reigned," as one chronicle put it, thereafter over all the Franks for 27 more years.