The Life Of Charlemagne By Einhard

The Life of Charlemagne is an edited version from the original book Two Lives of Charlemagne. The author of the original biography is Einhard, who was his close friend and younger contemporary. He wrote this biography, after his death in 814 CE to honor Charlemagne and his contributions to the Frankish dynasty. In the historical context Charlemagne is believed to have contributed largely in flourishing the Carolingian Empire. In the book, The Life of Charlemagne, Einhard describes Charlemagne’s personal life rather than the actual historical legacies. The biography seems to have many personal bias opinions which makes the source hard to trust. One example from the text itself is when he describes King Charlemagne’s physical appearance, “His neck was short and rather thick, and his stomach a trifle too heavy, but the proportions of the rest of the body prevented from noticing these blemishes (Brophy, 250).” Even Though, the author describes the king with great details, he is positive throughout each text and avoids giving any flawed comments.

The first account of Charlemagne's life was by his courtier, Einhard, who thought it would be a tragedy if history forgot such a noble ruler. Furthermore, not only does he believe that it should be him to write about Charlemagne's life, but only him. He

The dark ages, a time period spanning from 500 AD until 1500 AD, is commonly perceived as the worst time in history, solely because of its name. When asked “What is the dark ages generally known for?” many people respond with the black plague or great famines. The main reason for this title is in fact due to a lack of written records and documents lost to history. In reality, the dark ages were not really that dark because a humanitarian king shaped European ideals, religion kept culture alive, and many historical and scientific progressions occurred.

The two lives of Charlemagne as told by Einhard and Notker are two medieval sources about the accounts of the life Charlemagne. Modern sources by Matthew Innes and Rosamond Mckitterick discuss how history was recorded during the medieval period and how it was suppose to be viewed in the early ages. Observing each of these sources helps get an understanding of how the writing of history is important in recorded history and how it affected how the history of Charlemagne was recorded.

Einhard’s The Life of Charlemagne is one of several prominent texts from Mediaeval Europe. The main focus of the text is on the life of Charlemagne, the Frankish king from the Carolingian dynasty. Under his rule, the Frankish kingdom experiences an extensive period of prosperity and growth, especially in intellectually related areas since Charlemagne himself is a well-known patron of the arts (#). Hence, Charlemagne is the ruler often credited for the “Roman revival” across Mediaeval Europe. In order to ensure that Charlemagne’s glorious reign will leave its mark in history, all of Charlemagne’s works and accomplishments are accounted for Einhard’s book. As expressed in the preface of the book, Einhard’s intention is to document the life of the greatest king that is often overlooked in other texts (*). Four essential facts are noted in The Life of Charlemagne: 1) The prevalence of alliances & foreign relations 2) Cultural revolution through public works & endorsement of the arts 3) Promotion of the Christian faith 4) Public reforms throughout the state. The Frankish kingdom rises as the dominant post-Roman European entity through the political and economical stabilization of the state with the use of foreign alliances. Emperor Charlemagne is said to have close relations with Kings of Persia, Scotland, and Constantinople (*). Prosperity in the Frankish kingdom is due to the frequent correspondences that exist between these European states, further promoting the flow of

Charlemagne is described by Janet Nelson as being a role model for Einhard. Einhard himself writes in the first paragraph of The Life of Charlemagne, “After I decided to write about the life, character and no small part of the accomplishments of my lord and foster father, Charles, that most excellent and deservedly famous king, I determined to do so with as much brevity as I could.” I feel that these are sincere words about the man who cared for Einhard. I feel that Einhard’s purpose for writing The Life of Charlemagne is to praise the works of his “foster-father” and create a historical document that would describe the great deeds of Charlemagne so that he would not be forgotten throughout time as a great leader and man.

The two lives of Charlemagne as told by Einhard and Notker the Stammerer are very different accounts of the life of the great Emperor. Einhard gives us a historical overview of the life of Charlemagne who lived from 742 to 814 A.D. Charlemagne was also known as Charles the Great and the King of the Franks.Charles was one of four children born to Pepin the Short, A Mayor of the Palace of the Carolingian Empire. He had one brother, Carloman and two sisters, Gisela and Pepin.Since women at the time didn’t inherit power, when Pepin the Short died, the kingship of the Carolingian Empire was divided and shared by Charlemagne and his brother, Carloman. Unfortunately, Carloman died early and unexpectedly as a young man and

The Life of Charlemagne, written by the Frankish scholar Einhard, is a biography on the personal life and achievements of Charlemagne, a ruler of the Franks and the king of Italy. He ruled from 774-800. Einhard, a male Frankish scholar, was born to noble parents in the Main Valley, around 770 A.D. He was educated in the monastery of Fulda, and shortly after sent to the palace school of Charlemagne in Aachen. Eventually becoming a personal adviser and a close friend to the king of the Franks, he influenced the king in all the ways of higher thinking and even inspired the king to desire a higher education for himself. The king even tried his hand at learning to write, however to no avail. Einhard was able to give deeper insight into the life of Charlemagne, as he was present during many of the events that took place. He also had the advantage of hearing firsthand accounts from the king. The Life of Charlemagne is thought to have been written between 829 to 836, composed by Einhard while living in Seligenstadt. Einhard wrote the accounts of Charlemagne so that there would be a historical account describing the emperor’s day to day life. “His two immediate reasons for writing were the personal knowledge which he possessed of Charlemagne, and the debt of gratitude which he owed to this remarkable king and emperor.” He was a man that possessed a drive for knowledge and insight into the future. By working under Charlemagne, he was able to grow in that knowledge and even

After reading two versions of “The Life of Charlemagne”, one written by a person who lived with Charlemagne, and one who didn’t, it is evident that Charlemagne is portrayed in a negative way by the author, the Monk of St. Gall, and in a positive way by Einhard. Einhard was very close to Charlemagne. He lived at the same time and with Charlemagne himself. His version of “The Life of Charlemagne” was writing right after his death. The Monk of St. Gall wrote his version more than 70 years after Charlemagne’s death. He did not live with or even at the same time as Charlemagne. This is probably one of the reasons the view on the ruler are completely different.

We now leave this in-depth description of Charlemagne given by Einhars, and take a look at a new essay by Fichtenau entitled "A New Portrait of Charlemagne." Instead of describing Charlemagne as Einhard does, we find that Fichtenau's essay rather rebuilds Charlemagne. Fichtenau talks about how things like his personality were strung together in the wrong way by Einhard. He talks about how his personality is predictable, because all Emperors must have the same values. He talks of how in generosity, as Einhard's description showed as being out of the kindness of his heart, was actually a result of what actions would follow his generous jesters. Fichtenau uses his whole essay to rebuild Charlemagne to what kind of ruler he believes he is. He does say that without the great ruling and personality of Charlemagne, then it would have taken generations for this empire to reach its peak. "What remains is

Einhard, born in 775 in an ancient Frankish homeland, in a valley of the River Main, was taken into Charlemagne’s court sometime between 791 and 792. After the scholar Alcuin retired to the monastery, Einhard became a go to source for answers for Charlemagne. After Charlemagne’s death Einhard felt compelled to write a biography about his king and friend, writing that, ○“In any event, I would rather commit my story to writing, and hand it down in posterity, in partnership with others, so to speak, that to suffer the most glorious life of this most excellent king, the greatest of all the princes of his day, and his illustrious deeds, hard for men of later times to imitate, to be wrapped in the darkness of oblivion” (Einhard 16). Einhard spent twenty-two years in Charlemagne’s court and ○“Although

Charlemagne, or Charles the Great, reigned during a time of much turmoil and upheaval in Europe during middle ages. Charlemagne’s background and family history contributed much to his rise to power. The triumphs of his past lineage prepared him to take on the task of governing the Frankish Empire, and defending it from invaders. Charlemagne accomplished much during his supremacy. He not only brought education back into medieval Europe, but also invented an efficient way to govern his people. His conquests against the many adversaries of the Holy Roman Empire expanded his empire across the majority of Europe. His conquests also formed strong ties between the Catholic Church and the State. Charlemagne’s drive to convert Europe’s primitive

Emperor Otto would become the first of the Ottonian dynasty to swear on this bible. After his Otto death, the king elect would swear his oath on this Gospels book during coronations in Aachen laying his fingers on the first page. Through this the manuscript gain a significant spiritual and symbolic expression of Carolingian power in which future generation after Charlemagne sought to gain. This spirituality of this book, derives from it’s creation and aesthetic use. This manuscript was created to act as a coronation bible for Charlemagne in which on Christmas day the year 800 under pope Leo 111 that Charlemagne was crowned Holy Roman emperor. (87) On the surface, this action is highly aesthetically symbolic. The pope, the convolute which god acts on earth is crowning a king and emperor. Charlemagne is in this way ordained by god. This action would tie the christian church and the concept of kingship together forever. But there are also more practically reasons for this divine inspiration. The crowning allowed for Charlemagne and his descendants to gain support from the church. In turn Charlemagne power for provide the papacy with military support. The papacy since the fall of Rome has struggle against internal and external threats. Therefore the Papacy through symbolic actions gain support they desperately needed. This support allows for Charlemagne to gain authority to deal with the issue of instability within his kingdom. His rulership becomes derived from god allowing his rulership to be able to have influence within the Papacy. The christian church

I believe that Charlemagne is considered one of the “most illuminating figures of the Dark Ages” because of the outcomes of his rule. He is considered to be the Father of Europe because of how he was able to unite Europe again. He also tried to do everything in his power to bring Europe out of its Dark Age. Something that he is also known for is that he learned to read and to write. Most rulers never learned how to read and write because it wasn’t part of their job description. I think this showed his people that he was willing to put in extra time, and to work hard in order to make a difference. Also, by uniting Europe, he was also able to expand the empire as well as unite it.

Believed to be born in 742 AD in Francia, he was the son of Pepin the Short the 3rd and Bertrada of Laon. There is a void when referring to his childhood meaning there isn’t much verifying that he even had one. Although much isn’t known about his childhood historians can still vouch for the effortless talent displayed when it came to speaking and interpretation other languages such as Greek and more. Charlemagne can best be classified as a medieval monarch who ruled the majority of Western Europe from 768 – 814. At the young age of only 29 Charlemagne came to be the king of the Franks, which was Germanic people that conquered Gaul in the 6th century and controlled much of Western Europe for several centuries afterward. It was a great deal of work that he would go on to accept in which the objective was to bring all of the Germanic people together as one in one overall kingdom as well as get everyone under his jurisdiction to