The Carolingians were originally “mayors of the Palace” until this ruler deposed the last Merovingian king, Childeric III, and cut off his hair. For 10 points each:
[10h] Name this Frankish ruler and father of Charlemagne. This person’s namesake Donation essentially founded the Papal States in 756.
ANSWER: Pepin the Short [or Peppin or Pippin; accept Donation of Pepin]
[10m] Pepin helped the papacy against this Germanic ethnic group, which had spread across Italy. This ethnic group, whose “Iron Crown” was used to crown Italian rulers, gives its name to a modern-day region in northern Italy.
ANSWER: Lombards [or Langobards; accept Lombardy]
[10e] This city served as the capital of the Papal States until it was conquered during the Risorgimento. The Vatican City remains entirely surrounded by this city today.
ANSWER: Rome [or Roma]
<Cambridge B, European History>