Interrègne de Charles Martel

This engraving by Jean-Michel Moreau the Younger, published in 1790 in Figures de l’histoire de France, depicts the interregnum of Charles Martel after the death of Theuderic IV. The work presents Charles Martel, mayor of the palace, in a political setting where Merovingian royal authority appears weakened while effective power is concentrated in the hands of the kingdom’s great officers. Produced at the end of the eighteenth century, the image is not a contemporary witness to the early Carolingian age but a historical interpretation intended to illustrate major episodes of French history. It reflects the taste of early modern artists and publishers for political scenes from the early Middle Ages and for visual representations of moments of dynastic transition.