dle. As quickly as he could
he got together a great army of Franks and Germans and marched
against the Saracens. The two armies met between the cities of
Tours and Poitiers (_pwaw-te-ay_) in October, 732. For six days
there was nothing but an occasional skirmish between small parties
from both sides; but on the seventh day a great battle took place.

Both Christians and Mohammedans fought with terrible earnestness.
The fight went on all day, and the field was covered with the bodies
of the slain. But towards evening, during a resolute charge made by
the Franks, Abd-er-Rahman was killed. Then the Saracens gradually
retired to their camp.

It was not yet known, however, which side had won; and the Franks
expected that the fight would be renewed in the morning.

But when Charles Martel, with his Christian warriors, appeared on
the field at sunrise there was no enemy to fight. The Mohammedans
had fled in the silence and darkness of the night and had left
behind them all their valuable spoils. There was now no doubt which
side had won.

The battle of Tours, or Poitiers, as it should be called, is regarded
as one of the decisive battles of the world. It decided that Christians,
and not Moslems, should be the ruling power in Europe.

Charles Martel is especially celebrated as the hero of this battle.
It is said that the name _Martel_ was given to him because of his
bravery during the fight. Marteau (_mar-to'_) is the French word
for hammer, and one of the old French historians says that as a
hammer breaks and crushes iron and steel, so Charles broke and
crushed the power of his enemies in the battle of Tours.

But though the Saracens fled from the battlefield of Tours, they
did not leave the land of the Franks; and Charles had to fight
other battles with them, before they were finally defeated. At
last, however, he drove them across the Pyrenees, and they never
again attempted to invade Frankland.

After his defeat of the Saracens Charles Martel was looked upon as
the great champion of Christianity; and to the day of his death,
in 741, he was in reality, though not in name, the king of the
Franks.

III

Charles Martel had two sons, Pepin and Carloman. For a time they
ruled together, but Carloman wished to lead a religious life, so he
went to a monastery and became a monk. Then Pepin was sole ruler.

Pepin was quite low in stature, and therefore was called Pepin
the Short. But he had great strength and courage. A