Vita Karoli Magni

La Chanson de Roland, or The Song of Roland, is the oldest surviving French poem. It is also the oldest and greatest of the chansons de geste, medieval epic poems written in French. In old French, "geste" means a deed or action, often of heroic proportions. A hundred or so of these epic poems survive, dating from around the year 1100 to the late fourteenth century. In their time, they were exceedingly popular. Although we know neither the identity of The Song of Roland 's composer nor the date of

perspective of another. It is typically written in third person, different from an autobiography which is written by that particular person on their own lives, written in the first person. One such biography was Einhards, Life of Charlemagne, or Vita

Einhard’s opening chapter of his biography, Life of Charles the Great, provides its audience with an extremely harsh representation of late Merovingian kings. For a long time, he claims, these kings have had no true power or authority, and possessed nothing more than an empty title. The impression given is that it is the mayor of the palace, instead, who holds true power in the kingdom; all of the wealth and all authoritative responsibility. The king then, can be seen as nothing more than a figurehead

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

Another aspect of Einhard’s writing that must be questioned is his mention of friendships with other kings as this is another area which seems to have a strong subtext. Einhard mentions that Charlemagne made some alliances through friendship however these friendships often have a deeper reason for their existence than purely his friendly nature: fear. When “Alfonso [II], the king of Galicia and Asturias… ordered that in Charle’s presence he was only to be referred to as his subject” he may have been

Emperor Charlemagne Traits Marking a Great Ruler History, through the ages, has listed many kings, rulers, and military generals, all of whom together, fill volumes about the individual traits and strengths that made them, either individually or as a whole, noteworthy. One of the most notable of the early Middle Ages was Emperor Charlemagne, ruler of the Franks for forty-seven years, from 768 A.D. until his death in January 28, 814, according to Einhard’s Life of Charlemagne. The man was described

In Einhard's Life of Charlemagne and Notker’s Deeds of Charlemagne, the authors express different views of Charlemagne however, they both portray Charlemagne as an influential king through the advancements he made for his kingdom as well as his work with the church. The Life of Charlemagne, written by Einhard, gives a detailed look into the professional life of the great king Charlemagne. Einhard was one of Charlemagne's servants who was able to give the readers a more closely analyzed view of the

The Life of Charlemagne was written by Einhard to honor Charlemagne. He claimed that after the last Merovingian King fell, there was no more power within the dynasty. Einhard described the Merovingian kings as weak, in order to show how powerful Charlemagne was. He was extremely biased in his favor of the patron. He lived during Charlemagne’s life and believed that he could accurately portray him. On Christmas day 800, Charlemagne was crowned emperor. Although emperors existed before him, which implicated

The Song of Roland is the oldest epic poem in French, written by an anonymous poet, composed in between late eleven century to twelfth century. This epic poetry holds an important place in the history of France and invention of Christendom. The Song of Roland is a cultural artifact that takes us to the journey of Medieval Europe, when religion becomes an important element for the formation of proto-Europe. Religion plays a crucial role in The Song of Roland and becomes the reason of criticism. Some

his role in founding the major kingdoms of mainland Europe and because of his role in the Carolingian Renaissance [6] that revitalised Europe’s cultural and economic strength. Many Manuscripts written by scholars and monks such as Einhard (in vita Karoli Magni), deal with Charlemagne’s rise to prominence and his conquests. Charlemagne’s early power at the beginning of his reign, was largely due to the efforts of his father Pippin III (the short) and Charles Martel (the hammer) [7]. Pippin the short