From the race that bore the griffin as their emblem, came Ethod, brother of Eugenius, King of the Scots. His son was Ertus, who married Rocha, daughter of Roderic, Lord and Prince of Denmark. Roderic had a son Fergus who assisted Alaric, King of the Goths, at the taking of Rome in 410 A. D. Fergus was later crowned King of the Scots as Fergus II. A younger son Roderic was brought up in Denmark and educated at the Royal Danish Court. He married a daughter of a Frankish noble of Austrasia. He bore on his shield the griffin, and his crest was a demi-griffin. His grandson was Arnulf, born near Nancy about 580. He married a daughter of the duke of the Franks of Austrasia. After her death he became bishop of Metz in 614. One of his sons was Ansighis, who married Begga, daughter of Pepin de Landin, mayor of the palace. His estate or lordship was known as Heristal. His son was Pepin de Heristal, father of Charles de Heristal (Charles Martel), who was one of the greatest administrators and warriors of his age, from 732 to 771. His power, based on the sword alone, extended from the Rhine to the Loire. He married Chrutude, and founded the great dynasties of the Carolings. Two sons, Pepin and Carloman, received equally the kingdom.

Charles Martel married second Sonahilda, the daughter of the Duke of Bavaria. One son, Roderic, was born in 726. He was called Grippo and surnamed the Griffin because he carried the figure of the griffin on his shield. When he grew to manhood, as a warrior he bore the demi-griffin crest, while his two half-brothers bore the crest of the kings and princes of the Franks, whose estates they inherited.

When Mattel died, Grippo received only a small part of the estate because the church did not consider his mother’s marriage an ecclesiastic one, even though it was within the customs of the Franks. Grippo objected and claimed an equal share as a prince of the royal blood. His half-brothers had him imprisoned in a castle in the Ardennes to prevent a realization of his claim. Fortunately he escaped and went to Friesland, now North Holland, where he was warmly welcomed because the people there still held in high esteem his ancestor, Forsite. It was there Grippo sought allies to regain his rights, and the Frieslanders were the first to give him aid. Idile, a Danish chieftain, and also a duke of the Bavarians, resented what he considered an insult to his relative the mother of Grippo, and he was determined to avenge it. During the contention there was some fighting, after which an agreement was made in which the half-brothers of Grippo gave him the government of twelve counties de Mansond, with the rank of Lordship de Mansond. However, spies surrounded him, and fearing he would be imprisoned, in 751, he went to Aquitaine. Three years later he attempted to join an army of the Lombards that had arisen against the Franks.

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