Vita Karoli Magni = The Life of Charlemagne 0870242121, 9780870242120 [PDF]

Zitiervorschau

Einhard’s Vita Karoli Magni is a unique document of the early Middle Ages, both from a historical and a literary point of view. It is a personal account by a close associate of the life, character, and achievements of the greatest ruler of his time, Charle­ magne, a man who had a decisive impact on the history of Western Europe. Charlemagne’s character, wisdom, courage, and actions shaped the politi­ cal map of Europe in a way that would decisively mark the trend of Western culture for centuries to come. This alone would explain why the study of his life remains perpetually fascinating to the general public as well as to the historian. But what of Charlemagne as a human being—what of his personal likes and dislikes, his relationships, the ordinary details of his everyday exis­ tence? These questions are answered in this concise biography by Einhard, who spent most of his life in the court as an associate and close friend of the emperor. We learn of a man who liked to dress modestly and felt uncomfortable when the occasion called for pomp and ceremony; a man who preferred hunting and swimming to any other form of recreation; and a man who, already a king and a mightv con­ queror, accepted the imperial crown only because Pope Leo thrust it on him during a celebration in Rome. Chademu ine was a family man who loved his women and his children, yet fcontinued on back flap)

$ 7.95

The Life of Charlemagne

Bronze statuette of Charlemagne on horseback {ninth century). Carbevalet Museum, Paris.

Einhard

V ita The Karoli Life o f M agni Charlem agne T h e Latin T e x t

W ith a N ew English Translation, Introduction, and N otes by Evelyn Scherabon Firchow and Edwin H. Zeydel

University of M iami ‘Press Coral Gables, Florida

Copyright © 1972 by University of Miami Press Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 71-163840 ISBN 0-87024-212-1 All rights reserved, including rights of reproduction and use in any form or by any means, including the making of copies by any photo process, or by any electronic or mechanical device, printed or written or oral, or recording for sound or visual reproduction or for use in any knowledge or retrieval system or device, unless permission in writing is obtained from the copyright proprietors.

Designed by Bernard Lipsky Manufactured in the United States of America

Contents

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. S. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 13. 16. 17.

Illustrations 7 Preface 9 Introduction 13 Prologue 31 The Merovingians 35 Charles’ Ancestors 31 Charles Becomes King 39 Plan of This W ork 41 W ar in Aquitaine 43 W ar with the Lombards 45 W ar with the Saxons 47 W ar with the Saxons (continued) 53 Expedition to Spain 55 Submission of the Bretons and Beneventians 57 Tassilo and the W ar with the Beneventians 59 W ar with the Slavs 6 i W ar with the Huns 63 W ar with the Danes 65 Conquests 67 Foreign Relations 69 Public W orks 73

\s. Private Life 15 19 Private Life (continued) 79 20. \ Conspiracies Against Charles 81 21. Treatment of Foreigners 83 22. Personal Appearance 81 2$r Dress 89 24c Habits 91 25.' Studies 93 36. Piety 95 2^ Generosity 91 28. Charles Becomes Emperor 99 29. Reforms 99 30. Coronation of Louis and Charles’ Death 31. Burial 105 32. Omens of Death 105 33. Last Will 111 Notes 121 Selected Bibliography M l

6 Contents

103

Illustrations

Bronze statuette of Charlemagne on horseback Frontispiece Map of the Carolingian Empire 16-11 Map of Europe according to ‘Einhard 48-^49 Oldest royal document in Germany 11 Frankish warriors (ca. 900) 84 Page from the oldest manuscript of Einhard’s Vita 85 Basilica of the royal palace in Aachen 108 The monastery of Monte Casino in Latium, Italy 109 Genealogical Table 120

‘Preface

inhard’s Life of Charlemagne is a unique document of the early Middle Ages both from a historical and a literary point of view. It is a personal account, by a close associate, of the life, character, and achievements of the greatest ruler of his time, a man who had a decisive impact on the history of W estern Europe. So far four English translations of this ninth-century classic have appeared. William Glaister’s (1877) has been out of print and inaccessible for many years. Samuel E. Turner’s translation (1880) was made available again in 1960 in a reprint published by the University of Michigan Press, with a foreword by Sidney Painter. Although it is based on the accepted text of the Monumenta Germaniae historica (before the revision by O. Holder-Egger), the rendering is old-fashioned and full of inaccuracies, while the notes are outdated and inadequate. The more recent translation by Arthur J. Grant (1922)—like Glaister’s of British origin—was republished in the Medieval Library series in New York in 1966. It also contains the fictional Life of Charles by a “Monk of St. Gall” (N otker the Stam­ merer), written some seventy years after the death of

E

Charlemagne. Grant’s book offers only a sketchy intro­ duction to the subject and his translation is based on the outdated Latin text version of 1867 by Philipp Jaffe. The most recent translation appeared in the Penguin series in 1969. It is by Lewis Thorpe and also contains Notker’s Life of Charles. This translation is in places rather free, and the lengthy introduction and commentary do not take into consideration the large and important body of recent German scholarship. Also, the textual basis of the transla­ tion is Jaffe’s unreliable edition rather than the later Monu­ menta text. These are perhaps not major faults in a work intended solely for a popular audience, but they would impede a translation with more scholarly pretensions. Our present edition is the first to offer the Latin text— from the Monumenta Germaniae historica—side by side with a new English translation, which attempts not only to be faithful but also fluent and readable. It contains an introduction based on the latest research as well as detailed notes that explain references, problems, and difficulties and correct Einhard’s misstatements. W e have also included two maps, a genealogical table, and several photographs, which we hope will be useful to our readers. To the best of our knowledge this, then, is the first extensively illus­ trated edition of Einhard’s work to appear in any language. Our text owes much to the German Reclam translation of the Vita Caroli Magni (first published in Stuttgart in 1968, second printing 1969) by Evelyn Scherabon Cole­ man, who under her new name of Firchow is also one of the present editor-translators. W e thank the Reclam Pub­ lishers for permitting such use. The Graduate School of the University of Minnesota has provided the necessary funds for the collection of the secondary sources as well

ίο

Preface

as intermittent clerical assistance. Thanks also go to Peter E. Firchow for numerous suggestions and help in the preparation of this book. E velyn S cherabon F irchow E dw in H. Z eydel

Preface

11

Introduction

inhard’s Vita Caroli Magni, though admittedly de­ fective in many respects, will always remain an authentic and invaluable historical source. This is partly because Einhard was Charlemagne’s contemporary and trusted friend and so could base much of his biography on personal experience, and partly because he recorded with complete sincerity what seemed to him to be the most important facts concerning the life of the ruler and the character of the man. Einhard was born around 770 a.d. in the Main River re­ gion. The scion of a noble East Franconian family, he was educated in the monastery of Fulda, now in Central Ger­ many, which was then the cultural center of East Franconia. In some of the early manuscripts he is also called Einhartus, Ainhardus, or Heinhardus—all of these orthographic vari­ ants of the same name—but in the tenth century this changed to Agenardus and Eginhardus or Eginhartus. In English and French the latter forms have been used very widely, but the correct form of his name is Einhard. Physically all we know of Einhard is that he was unusually small. The w riter Walahfrid Strabo calls him “a tiny man” (homuncio)

E

of “ridiculously small stature” (statura despicabilis). The monk Theodolf also makes fun of his appearance, and one of Einhard’s nicknames was “Nardulus”—a diminutive form of his name. But Einhard’s keen wit and intelligence soon attracted the attention of his abbot, Baugulf, who recom­ mended him to the court of Charlemagne at Aachen for further training. And so Einhard came there to the Palace School in 791 or 792. The school had first been established under Charles Martel and Pepin mainly to provide training in manners and court procedure. In 782 the famous English scholar and writer Alcuin (ca. 735-804) assumed the direction of the school. He was one of the most learned men of his day, a man who enjoyed Charlemagne’s complete confidence as an adviser and teacher and supported the king in his ambition to bring light and learning to his realm. Einhard soon attracted Alcuin’s attention because of his versatility, his erudition, and his familiarity with the classical Latin authors. Within a few years Einhard was placed in charge of Charlemagne’s literary and mathematical studies. Thus the friendship be­ tween the king and his future biographer, and indeed with Charlemagne’s entire family—of which Einhard speaks in his Prologue—became very close. W hen Alcuin retired from the court to St. Martin’s monastery in Tours,1 Einhard became his successor at the Palace School. Since he was also an expert in architecture, as well as in the arts and crafts generally, he was charged with supervising the con­ struction of new buildings, such as the basilica in Aachen. Einhard was given the nickname “Bezaleel” after the man who was a master “in all manner” of workmanship—in gold, silver, and brass, in cutting of stones, and in “carving of timber.”2 In later years Charlemagne also used Einhard for am­

14 Introduction

bassadorial missions. In 806 Einhard appeared in Rome to secure from Pope Leo III the approval of the plan for partitioning the empire. In 813, a year before the king’s death, he acted as the successful spokesman for the Frankish nobles to have Charlemagne’s son Louis the Pious recognized as regent. Although not an official at the court, Einhard was regarded as one of its most distinguished members. N ot until after Charlemagne’s death, however, did he become the private secretary of Louis the Pious. In recognition of his valuable services the latter presented him with various abbeys, among them St. Cloud near Paris, St. Servais in Maastricht-, and St. Pierre and St. Bavo near Ghent. Einhard also received grants of land, one in what later became Seligenstadt on the river Main* where in 828 he erected a church and a monastery for the bones of the martyrs St. Marcellinus and St. Peter. But Einhard’s attitude toward Louis was never as friendly as it had been toward Charlemagne. From cool it must have deteriorated to icy when in 817 he became the tutor of Louis’ son Lothar, whom Einhard openly favored. This made Einhard’s position at court unpleasant and indeed untenable, especially when Lothar threatened to revolt against his father. So Einhard retired with his wife Imma, probably around 830, to the monastery he had built in Seligenstadt. There he spent the rest of his days: he as a monk, his wife as an abbess. It was probably in Seligenstadt between 830 and 833 that he wrote his Vita Karoli Magni. At any rate, it is men­ tioned for the first time in 836 when Einhard must have been in his middle sixties. Though deeply pessimistic during his later years and nostalgic for the glorious old times under Charlemagne, he kept in touch with political developments. His disposition toward Louis never changed, for he blamed

Introduction

15

him for the imminent dissolution of Charlemagne’s empire. Before his death on 14 March 840 in Seligenstadt he did, however, help bring about a reconciliation between Louis and Lothar. Louis died in the same year as Einhard, leav­ ing the crumbling empire to his sons: Lothar, Roman em­ peror; Pepin I, king of Aquitaine; Louis II, the German, king of Germany; and Charles the Bald, king of what re­ mained of France. Inevitably, they quarreled and divided the empire at the Peace of Verdun (843), an event Einhard foresaw and feared and would have deplored had he been alive. The Vita Karoli Magni is by no means the only work Einhard ever wrote. But it is his only secular production of importance. Most of his other writings are more or less religious. One is the Libellus de adoranda cruce (On the Adoration of the Cross), long considered lost but redis­ covered by Ernst von Diimmler3 in 1885 in a manuscript in Vienna. Einhard also edited a collection of psalms and around 830 wrote the Translatio et miracula SS Marcellini et Petri ( The Removal and the Miracles of the Saints Marcellinus and Peter), dealing with the transfer of the bones of these two saints to Seligenstadt. This work re­ veals Einhard as the typical child of a naive, superstitious but extremely religious age, and throws interesting side­ lights upon his character. A Passio in a rhythmical form characteristic of the ninth century again deals with the sufferings of the same two martyrs. Finally, we have a considerable number of his letters—over sixty—also written in Latin and dating from the years 825 to 836. They are usually brief and impersonal and contain the sometimes crotchety utterances of an aging man. Though chiefly letters of state dealing with political events during Louis’ rulership, they occasionally reveal Einhard’s generosity and

8 Introduction

kindliness, as well as his political astuteness. All these works are composed in the Vulgar Latin of the time and differ markedly from the consciously Suetonian style of the Vita. As often in the case of famous writers, works that Ein­ hard did not write have been ascribed to him. One of them is a treatise, now lost, De adventu, moribus et superstitione Saxonum (On the Origins, Customs and Superstitions of the Saxons). Another work is the Carolingian Annales regni Frayicorum (Annals of the Frankish Kingdom), which Einhard probably used together with an earlier version of the Annales in writing his Vita. He is also sometimes given credit for the annals of the monastery of Fulda, where he had received much of his training.4 So far the critics of the Vita± as might be expected, have managed to agree on only a few points. Ernst Bernheim5 disparages Einhard as an independent writer, considers him overrated and a master neither of content nor of form. Wilhelm W attenbach6 discerns a certain staleness because of Einhard’s excessive dependence upon Suetonius, while Arthur J. Kleinclausz7 condemns him for striving too much to entertain and please. But Max Manitius8 praises him for his use of historical sources and sees in his style a vast improvement over that of eighth-century writers. Hans Pyritz9 holds Einhard largely responsible for the presentday image of Charlemagne as a ruler, statesman, and guardian of the empire in its function as a haven of order and stability. Karl Hampe10 disagrees with many other writers in believing that in spite of his dependence on Suetonius, Einhard has power of his own. In fact, he believes that the example of Suetonius was more of an asset than anything else. The popularity subsequently en­ joyed by Charlemagne, Hampe feels, is due largely to Einhard. Martin Lintzel,11 no more agreeable than Hampe,

Introduction

19

points out that Einhard did not grasp Charlemagne’s full historical significance. W hen all is said and done, the fact remains that Ein­ hard’s Vita is the first secular biography written in the Middle Ages—and possibly the best. It is a worthy product of the renaissance of learning that marks the age of Charle­ magne. Most criticisms of it are written from the ex post facto point of view of a later and self-styled wiser age. As such they do not take into account that a writer of the ninth century was expected to model his work on ancient sources if he wanted to be taken seriously. He was expected, above all, to entertain and please his readers and tell a good story. Exact dates and details mattered little. Nor could a writer like Einhard foresee Charlemagne’s full future significance without divine prescience. Still, it is regrettable that, for physical reasons if for no other, Einhard reported on Charlemagne’s many wars and battles without ever having participated in even the slightest skirmish. That he neglects Charlemagne’s administrative achievements is perhaps natural in the light of the almost total lack of interest in such matters at the time. That he tells us little or nothing about his church policy or his interest in supporting agriculture is equally unfortunate. Even so, criticism would probably do better to concern it­ self more with what Einhard did than with what he omitted to do. Suetonius, the Roman biographer and author of the Lives of the first twelve caesars and a contemporary of Tacitus in the so-called Silver Age around 100 a.d., has been mentioned frequently as Einhard’s model, both struc­ turally and stylistically. Einhard was undoubtedly familiar with his work and takes many of his topoi or themes from it, especially for the Prologue. But also Einhard’s style and

20 Introduction

attention to vital traits of character show the marks of a close reading of Suetonius. Tw o of his biographies influ­ enced Einhard most, those of Caesar Augustus and Titus.12 The former suggested topical disposition without much use of anecdotes; the latter, subdued panegyric, elevated tone, and select stylistic features. But there are also echoes of numerous other Roman writers. Caesar, Ovid, Cicero, Tacitus, perhaps Nepos and Livy, Velleius, Curtius Rufus, and a few lesser lights are occasionally discernible in the background. Among the topoi which Einhard uses are the following: praise of earlier writers, need for brevity, a dis­ like of prolixity, self-effacement and modesty, self-defense, ancient versus modern history.13 But the Vita is not a cento or crazy quilt of quotations from Roman authors. Rather, Einhard uses the topoi meaningfully to highlight his affectionate personal relationship with the king. The Prologue offers eloquent testimony to the reawakening of the Roman literary tradition in the ninth century. Its al­ most exclusive dependence upon Roman writers points up the fact that Einhard’s time knew no other models. For apart from them Einhard used only the annals of the Franks, and perhaps earlier annals, as historical sources and for factual data. Some of these, now lost, go back to the beginning of the ninth century. Earlier in this Introduction it was noted that the Vita contains a number of inaccuracies. Einhard’s dates are at times wrong and his facts unreliable. W e can only give a few examples here: Carloman ruled over three years, not two (chap. 3); Charlemagne’s father Pepin himself, and not the nobles after his death, ordered the partition of his realm between Charlemagne and Carloman (chap. 3); Charlemagne ruled forty-five, not forty-seven years (chap. 15); the wives and children of Charlemagne are incorrectly

Introduction

21

listed (chap. 18); the author omits one of the capital cities, Narbonne (chap. 33); he refers to insignificant skirmishes as battles: chapter 2, near Poitiers and on the river (i.e., brook) Berre; chapter 8, near Detmold and on the river (i.e. brook) Hase. Einhard also confuses the names of the popes, for whom he uses various Latin designations.14 Undoubt­ edly, the factual errors are due in part to the circumstance that Einhard, relying to a large extent on memory, wrote his work as an aging man at least twenty years after Charlemagne’s death and away from sources and authori­ ties that might have proved helpful. That he glosses over the scandalous and improper conduct involving members of Charlemagne’s family (e.g., in chap. 19) is perhaps par­ donable, especially since some of them were still living. The illegitimate children of Charlemagne’s daughters Rotrud and Bertha are only hinted at in chapter 19. The king’s concubines (e.g., in chap. 20) are taken for granted. In this connection it must be remembered that in the eighth and ninth centuries marriages did not involve the Church. Fortunately, we are able to check and correct errors of this kind. Far more important than these flaws, however, are Einhard’s personal observations and impressions gained during his many years at Charlemagne’s court. It is strik­ ing that, except for his personal remarks in the Prologue, Einhard does not refer to himself in his little book, al­ though other contemporaries usually show an eagerness to claim credit for their achievements. N ot even when he mentions the building of the palace in Aachen in chapter 22 does he devote a word to the important role he played as an architect. That he sometimes covers up facts unfavor­ able to his beloved ruler is due no doubt to loyalty but probably owes something as well to the fact that he is writing a panegyric in the style of Suetonius. The pattern

22 Introduction

set by the latter perhaps accounts for the brief compass of his book. Although Einhard is specific enough about the ante­ cedents and events of Charles’ reign, a brief summary may not be out of place here. Charles’ father, Pepin the Short, was majordomo under King Childeric III, the last Mero­ vingian. But on 28 July 754 Pope Stephen III crowned him king of the Franks, thus starting the new Carolingian dynasty. He did this in self-protection against the threats, real or imagined, from Constantinople, and even more as insurance against the aggressiveness of the Lombards in northern Italy. Pepin died in 768 after dividing the realm between his two sons Charles and Carloman, the latter be­ ing nine years younger than his brother. Charles obtained, among other territories, northern'Bavaria, Austrasia, Frisia, Neustria, and Western Aquitaine; Carloman Swabia, Bur­ gundy, Provincia, Septimania, and Eastern Aquitaine. Carloman deserted his brother in the war in Aquitaine and then died in 771, making it possible for Charles to seize his share and reestablish a unified kingdom. Then, after deposing the Lombard King Desiderius, he added the lands of this feared opponent to his own territories. These events were followed by the long series of wars described by Einhard, especially the conflicts with the Saxons and Avars. Eventu­ ally Charles’ realm included most of present-day Germany and France, northern Italy, most of the Netherlands, all of Belgium, Switzerland, and much of Spain. As for his diplomatic activities, he cultivated amicable though at times precarious relations with Constantinople and was on good terms with Harun al Rashid and the kings of Mercia and Northumbria in central and northeastern England. The fact that Einhard goes out of his way to eulogize

Introduction

23

Charlemagne and to dwell on his sterling traits of character and his ideals as a Christian statesman and soldier reflects his dissatisfaction with the age of Louis the Pious. Perhaps he meant the Vita as a lesson for Louis, perhaps he was only expressing his disappointment. Louis’ narrow monkish at­ titudes in ecclesiastic matters aroused Einhard’s skepticism. Louis never succeeded in winning the popularity of his father, a popularity which in due course made Charle­ magne a legendary figure, not unlike Emperor Maximilian I in the sixteenth century. T o the readers of the Vitay Charlemagne remained a Franconian idol; not the imperial potentate of a remote Holy Roman Empire. But Francon­ ian pride in his achievements and in Frankish prowess in general is reflected not only in Einhard’s writings. Forty years earlier Otfrid von Weissenburg had made similar boasts in his Book of the Gospels, written in Old High German verse. At first glance it is striking that Einhard never refers to Charlemagne as emperor but always as king (rex), al­ though he recounts his coronation by Pope Leo III in chapter 28. He also emphasizes Charlemagne’s lack of en­ thusiasm and his embarrassment when accepting the title, quoting him as saying he would not have entered St. Peter’s that day had he known Leo’s intention. While Charle­ magne’s statement may perhaps be taken with a grain of salt—was he loath to be beholden to the Pope?—it is sur­ prising that Einhard shows so little interest in the high honor bestowed on his benefactor. The explanation lies in the fact that Einhard wrote his Vita in the thirties, at a time far different from the one he was writing about. The imperial title when new brought with it a feeling of pride. After that, under Louis the Pious, it merged with a concept of Frankish unity, the sovereignty over all other

24 Introduction

hereditary Frankish rulers. But Louis the German was an opponent of the imperial office, so Einhard, looking to the future, perforce bowed to his feelings. The reader may well be surprised by Einhard’s general remarks, particularly in chapter 7, about the fierceness, in­ fidelity, and devotion to the worship of “demons” on the part of “almost all the nations inhabiting Germania,” and especially the Low Saxons (sicut omnes fere Germaniam incolentes nationes). Is the word fere (almost) all he can find to exclude the Franconians from this category? And doesn’t the proverb cited by Einhard in chapter 16, sug­ gesting that-th e Franks were undesirable neighbors, at­ tribute qualities to them that are not much more favor­ able? Certainly Charlemagne was a member of the Ger­ manic tribe or nation of the Franks, but certainly the Franks, at the outbreak of their war with the Saxons in 772, occupied large parts of what as early as the times of Caesar and Tacitus was known as Germania. Their terri­ tory stretched from east of the Rhine to where the realms of the Thuringians and Bavarians began. Einhard seems to be thinking of Lower Saxony, Frisia, and Scandinavia, countries as yet un-Christian but by no means given to the worship of “demons,” unless demonism is to be under­ stood as covering any polytheistic belief. But it would be highly inaccurate to call Charlemagne a “German” despite the fact that he was Germanic or Teutonic. N o such concept as “German” existed. Charle­ magne eventually governed also vast non-Germanic terri­ tories, including France and large parts of present-day Italy and Spain. He was a ruler of Germanic lineage to whom most of western Europe was, or became, subject.15 Einhard’s Vita is valuable not only as a historical docu­ ment and early biography but also as a contribution to the

Introduction

25

history of the German language and literature. Through Einhard we learn of Charlemagne’s practical interest in the vernacular and in legal and ecclesiastical documents. It was during his time that German literature was first re­ corded in the vernacular—as, for example, the fragment of the Lay of Hildebrand, the Wessobrunn Prayer, the Muspilli. Unfortunately, the collection of ancient bar­ barian songs about the deeds and wars of the early Ger­ manic kings, which Einhard mentions in chapter 29, has been lost, probably because of a lack of interest after Charlemagne’s death. Possibly they were destroyed—as has been suggested—by Louis the Pious because of their heathen content. Einhard tells us that Charlemagne had had the Salic and Ripuarian laws written down, improved and amended, and that he had the same done for the Saxon, Thuringian, and Frisian codes. He planned a grammar of the Franconian dialect and gave Frankish names to the months and winds. Einhard’s Vita was extremely popular during the Middle Ages. More than eighty manuscripts and fragments have been preserved. Besides the Annales regni Francorum, which cover the years 741-829, and the revision of the Annales up to 801, other sources for our knowledge of Charles are the Annales Mosellani (703-97), numerous capitularies (i.e., royal ordinances), official and private letters, as well as lives of contemporaries, e.g., of Alcuin and Louis the Pious (by Thegan of T rier). Furthermore, more than forty years after Einhard’s death a monk of St. Gall in Switzerland, who has sometimes been identified with Notker Balbulus, “the Stammerer” (d. 912), wrote another Life of Charlemagne, the Gesta Caroli Magni.1* The author tells us that he composed his work at the be­

26 Introduction

hest of Emperor Charles III in 883. It is written in pon­ derous Latin prose and is incomplete, although almost twice as long as the Vita. The Gesta is rich in stories, anecdotes, and legends that had developed in the seventy years since Charlemagne’s death. The writer depended on several sources, among them an old warrior who had served as a youth under the king. Many of the views and opinions expressed in the work, especially the ones about Charlemagne’s achievements, are quite obviously the w rit­ er’s own. He pictures Charlemagne as the instrument of God, chosen to create a universal empire. It is clear that legend plays-a more important role than fact in the Gesta. By the twelfth century the legendary image of Charle­ magne, far removed from the intimate and realistic pic­ ture of the man Einhard has given us, emerges in all its romantic glory. Under the pressures of the far-reaching monastic reforms of Cluny, the struggle over investiture, the crusades, and the important political and cultural progress in France, Charlemagne becomes first and fore­ most the superhuman Gallic champion of the Church and the defender of the faith. “Karolus” turns into “Charle­ magne,” and even in Germany he becomes the defender of Christianity. The twelfth-century Historia Caroli Magni of pseudo-Turpinus paints its hero as the supreme demi­ god, rex in Gallia, not as the proud and human Franconian of the Rhineland and Aachen. A plethora of heroic poems dealing with him and his deeds now begins to appear throughout Europe. N ot until the time of the Alsatian humanist Wimpheling in the early sixteenth century does Charlemagne once again emerge in Germany as a Frank made of flesh and blood. As is usually the case where nationalistic prejudices prevail, the traditional game of

Introduction

27

“who’s got the hero” began to be played with Charlemagne in Germany and France. A senseless game: for Charle­ magne is surely big enough for each to have a piece. As for Einhard, he deserves the praise of all historians for writing this succinct and honest life—one of the most important documents of the period, replete with such personal touches as only an eyewitness can furnish. Factual errors there are, but the essential, intimate details that make Charlemagne live and breathe, he, and he alone, reports. “For I was there when they occurred,” he points out in his Prologue.

28 Introduction

The Life of Charlemagne

Prologus itam et conversationem et ex parte non modica res gestas domini et nutritoris mei Karoli, excellentissimi et merito famosissimi regis, postquam scribere animus tulit, quanta potui brevitate conplexus sum, operam inpendens, ut de his quae ad meam notitiam pervenire potuerunt nihil omitterem neque prolixitate narrandi nova quaeque fasti­ dientium animos offenderem; si tamen hoc ullo modo vitari potest, ut nova scriptione non offendantur qui vetera et a viris doctissimis atque disertissimis confecta monumenta fastidiunt. Et quamquam plures esse non ambigam, qui otio ac litteris dediti statum aevi praesentis non arbitrentur ita neglegendum, ut omnia penitus quae nunc fiunt velut nulla memoria digna silentio atque oblivioni tradantur, potiusque velint amore diuturnitatis inlecti aliorum prae­ clara facta qualibuscumque scriptis inserere quam sui nominis famam posteritatis memoriae nihil scribendo sub­ trahere, tamen ab huiuscemodi scriptione non existimavi temperandum, quando mihi conscius eram nullum ea veracius quam me scribere posse, quibus ipse interfui, quaeque praesens oculata, ut dicunt, fide cognovi et, utrum ab alio scriberentur necne, liquido scire non potui. Satiusque iudicavi eadem cum aliis velut communiter litteris mandata memoriae posterorum tradere quam regis excel­ lentissimi et omnium sua aetate maximi clarissimam vitam et egregios atque moderni temporis hominibus vix imi­ tabiles actus pati oblivionis tenebris aboleri. Suberat et alia non inrationabilis, ut opinor, causa, quae vel sola sufficere

Ü

30

Vita Karoli Magni

Prologue fter I had made up my mind to describe the life and habits and, above all, the deeds of my lord and patron, the illustrious and deservedly famous King Charles, I set about doing so as succinctly as possible. I have tried not to omit anything that has come to my notice, and at the same time not to be long-winded and offend those dis­ cerning readers who object to the very idea of a modern history. But I also wanted to keep my new work from dis­ pleasing thos.e who disapprove even of the masterpieces of the wisest and most learned authors of antiquity. T o be sure, I am fully aware that there are many men of letters who do not regard contemporary matters so far beneath their notice as to treat them with contempt and consider them fit only to sink into silence and oblivion. On the contrary, the enthusiasm for things past leads some writers to recount the famous deeds of other men as best they can, and in this way they hope to insure that their own names will be remembered by posterity. Be this as it may, none of these possible objections can prevent me from writing on the subject, since I am con­ vinced that no one can describe these events better than I can. For I was there when they took place and I know them as an eyewitness, so to speak. Furthermore, I am not entirely sure if they will be recorded by anyone else. And so I thought it would be better to write down what I had to say even at the risk of duplicating what others might write, rather than to allow the illustrious life of the greatest king of the age and his famous deeds, un­ matched by his contemporaries, to disappear forever into forgetfulness. Besides, there was another reason, important enough in

A

The Life of Charlemagne 3

posset, ut me ad haec scribenda conpelleret, nutrimentum videlicet in me inpensum et perpetüa, postquam in aula eius conversari coepi, cum ipso ac liberis eius amicitia; qua me ita sibi devinxit debitoremque tam vivo quam mortuo constituit, ut merito ingratus videri et iudicari possem, si tot beneficiorum in me conlatorum inmemor clarissima et inlustrissima hominis optime de me meriti gesta silentio praeterirem patererque vitam eius, quasi qui numquam vixerit, sine litteris ac debita laude manere; cui scribendae atque explicandae non meum ingeniolum, quod exile et parvum, immo poene nullum est, sed Tullianam par erat desudare facundiam. En tibi librum praeclarissimi et ma­ ximi, viri memoriam continentem; in quo prateter illius facta non est quod admireris, nisi forte, quod homo barbarus et in Romana locutione perparum exercitatus aliquid me decenter aut commode Latine scribere posse putaverim atque in tantam inpudentiam proruperim, ut illud Ciceronis putarem contemnendum, quod in primo Tusculanarum libro, cum de Latinis scriptoribus loqueretur, ita dixisse legitur: ‘Mandare quemquam’, inquit, ‘litteris cogitationes suas, qui eas nec disponere nec inlustrare possit nec delec­ tatione aliqua adlicere lectorem, hominis est intemperanter abutentis et otio et litteris.’ Poterat quidem haec oratoris egregii sententia me a scribendo deterrere, nisi animo praemeditatum haberem hominum iudicia potius experiri et haec scribendo ingenioli mei periculum facere quam tanti viri memoriam mihi parcendo praeterire.

32

Vita Karoli Magni

itself, I think, to make me compose this book: namely, that Charles educated me and gave me his life-long friend­ ship and that of his children from the time I came to the court. In this way he attached me to his person and made me so devoted to him in life and death that I might well be called ungrateful if I were to forget everything he did for me and never say a word about his great and magnifi­ cent generosity, I, who owe him so much; indeed, that would mean allowing his life to remain unremembered and unpraised, as though he had never lived! T o be sure, my abilities, feeble and inadequate as they are—nonexistent even—are incapable of portraying his life as it really ought to be portrayed. Even the eloquence of a Cicero would not have been up to that. Here, then, is the book containing the life story of a truly great man. You will marvel at his deeds, and prob­ ably also at the presumption of a barbarous Frank for imagining that he could write tastefully and elegantly in Latin. For I am not much versed in the Roman tongue. Then, too, you will perhaps be amazed at my temerity in ignoring the words of Cicero when, speaking of Latin writers, he said in the first book of his Tusculan Disputa­ tions that “whoever puts his thoughts in writing and can not arrange and state them clearly, and delight the reader with a pleasant style, makes a complete mockery of the writer’s craft.”1 This remark of the famous orator might have kept me from writing if I had not already made up my mind to brave the judgment of the world and take a chance with my feeble talents. I thought this would be better than to allow the memory of so great a man to perish out of petty concern for my own reputation.

The Life of Charlemagne 3 3

1. Gens Meroingorum, de qua Franci reges sibi creare soliti erant, usque in Hildricum regem, qui iussu Stephani Romani pontificis depositus ac detonsus atque in mona­ sterium trusus est, durasse putatur. Quae licet in illo finita possit videri, tamen iam dudum nullius vigoris erat, nec quicquam in se clarum praeter inane regis vocabulum prae­ ferebat. Nam et opes et potentia regni penes palatii prae­ fectos, qui maiores domus dicebantur, et ad quos summa imperii pertinebat, tenebantur. Neque regi aliud relinque­ batur, quam ut regio tantum nomine contentus crine profuso, barba summissa, solio resideret ac speciem dominantis effingeret, legatos undecumque venientes au­ diret eisque abeuntibus responsa, quae erat edoctus vel etiam iussus, ex sua velut potestate redderet; cum praeter inutile regis nomen et precarium vitae stipendium, quod ei praefectus aulae prout videbatur exhibebat, nihil aliud proprii possideret quam unam et eam praeparvi reditus villam, in qua domum et ex qua famulos sibi necessaria ministrantes atque obsequium exhibentes paucae numero­ sitatis habebat. Quocumque eundum erat, carpento ibat, quod bubus iunctis et bubulco rustico more agente trahe­ batur. Sic ad palatium, sic ad publicum populi sui con­ ventum, qui annuatim ob regni utilitatem celebrabatur, ire, sic domum redire solebat. A t regni administrationem et omnia quae vel domi vel foris agenda ac disponenda erant praefectus aulae procurabat.

34

Vita Karoli Magni

t. The Merovingians The family of the Merovingians from which the Franks customarily chose their kings is believed to have ruled until the time of King Hilderich.1 Hilderich was deposed, tonsured, and sent to a monastery by the command of the Roman Pope Stephen.2 Although the royal line apparently ended only with him, it had long before ceased to matter and possessed no more except the empty title of king. The real wealth and power of the kingdom were in the hands of the prefects of the palace, the so-called majordomos, and their word was law. The king had no choice but to sit on the throne with flowing hair and full beard, content with his title and the semblance of sovereignty.3 He would listen to messengers coming from all around and, as they left, give them replies as though they were his own, but in reality, they had been dictated to him or even forced on him. Except for the empty title of king and an intermittent allowance which the prefect of the palace gave or did not give him at his pleasure, the king owned nothing but a single estate, and that was not a very lucrative one. He lived on it and had a few servants there performing the most necessary duties and making a show of obsequious­ ness. W herever he had to go, he went like a farmer in a cart drawn by a span of oxen with a carter driving them.4 That is how he went to the palace and how he went to the meetings of his people, which took place yearly for the good of the realm. And in this same way he returned home. But the administration of the state and all internal and external business was carried out by the prefect of the palace.

The Life of Charlemagne 35

2. Quo officio tum, cum Hildricus deponebatur, Pippinus pater Karoli regis iam velut hereditario fungebatur. Nam pater eius Karolus, qui tyrannos per totam Franciam dominatum sibi vindicantes oppressit et Sarracenos Galliam occupare temptantes duobus magnis proeliis, uno in Aqui­ tania apud Pictavium civitatem, altero iuxta Narbonam apud Birram fluvium, ita devicit, ut in Hispaniam eos redire conpelleret, eundem magistratum a patre Pippino sibi dimissum egregie administravit. Qui honor non aliis a populo dari consueverat quam his qui et claritate generis et opum amplitudine ceteris eminebant. Hunc cum Pippinus pater Karoli regis ab avo et patre sibi et fratri Karlomanno relictum, summa cum eo con­ cordia divisum, aliquot annis velut sub rege memorato tenuisset, frater eius Karlomannus —incertum quibus de causis, tamen videtur, quod amore conversationis con­ templativae succensus — operosa temporalis regni administratione relicta, Romam se in otium contulit, ibique habitu permutato monachus factus in monte Soracte apud ecclesiam beati Silvestri constructo monasterio cum fratri­ bus secum ad hoc venientibus per aliquot annos optata quiete perfruitur. Sed cum ex Francia multi nobilium ob vota solvenda Romam sollemniter commearent et eum velut dominum quondam suum praeterire nollent, otium, quo maxime delectabatur, crebra salutatione interrumpentes locum mutare conpellunt. Nam huiuscemodi frequentiam

36

Vita Karoli Magni

2. Charles' Ancestors W hen Hilderich was deposed, the office of majordomo was already hereditarily held by Pepin, the father of King Charles. For Pepin’s father, Charles, had in his time1 crushed the rebels who were trying to take over all of Franconia. He had also defeated the Saracens so badly in two great battles, when they attempted to occupy Gaul, that they had to return to Spain. One of these battles had taken place in Aquitaine near Poitiers, the other on the Berre River not far from Narbonne.2 This same Charles had in turn received the office of majordomo from his father Pepin and had administered it extremely well. It was customary for the people to bestow such an honor only on men of noble birth and great wealth. W hen Pepin, the father of King Charles, held this office, bequeathed by his grandfather and father to him and to his brother Carloman, the two of them shared it quite amicably for several years, nominally under King Hilde­ rich. But then for some unknown reason Carloman aban­ doned the burdensome government of the temporal kingdom—possibly because he longed for a more con­ templative life—and went into retirement in Rome. There, giving up his worldly garb, he became a monk and built a monastery on Mt. Soracte near the church of St. Syl­ vester.3 For a number of years he enjoyed his longed-for seclusion, along with a few monks who had accompanied him. But when a great many noble Franks came on pil­ grimages to Rome to fulfill vows and insisted on paying homage to their former lord, it was impossible for him to get any peace, which he cherished more than anything else, and he decided to move elsewhere. W hen he saw

The Life of Charlemagne 37

cum suo proposito officere vidisset, relicto monte in Sam­ nium provinciam ad monasterium sancti Benedicti situm in castro Casino secessit et ibi quod reliquum erat temporalis vitae religiose conversando conplevit.

3 Pippinus autem per auctoritatem Romani pontificis ex prae­ fecto palatii rex constitutus, cum per annos XV aut eo amplius Francis solus imperaret, finito Aquitanico bello, quod contra Waifarium ducem Aquitaniae ab eo susceptum per continuos novem annos gerebatur, apud Parisios morbo aquae intercutis diem obiit, superstitibus liberis Karlo et Karlomanno, ad quos successio regni divino nutu pervenerat. Franci siquidem facto sollemniter generali conventu ambos sibi reges constituunt, ea conditione praemissa, ut totum regni corpus ex aequo partirentur, et Karolus eam partem, quam pater eorum Pippinus tenuerat, Karlomannus vero eam, cui patruus eorum Karlomannus praeerat, regendi gratia susciperet. Susceptae sunt utrimque conditiones, et pars regni divisi iuxta modum sibi propositum ab utroque recepta est. Mansitque ista, quamvis cum summa difficultate, concordia, multis ex parte Karlomanni societatem separare molientibus, adeo ut quidam eos etiam bello committere sint

38

Vita Karoli Magni

that the crowds of intruders were interfering with his resolve to be alone, he left the mountain and went away to the province of Samnium, to the monastery of St. Bene­ dict on Monte Cassino, where he spent the rest of his life in prayer.4

3. Charles Becomes King Pepin, no longer majordomo but king by authority of the Roman pontiff, ruled alone over the Franks for fifteen years or more.1 For nine unbroken years he fought against Waifar, duke of Aquitaine, and then, at the end of the war, he died of dropsy in Paris.2 His sons Charles and Carloman survived him, and on them, by the will of Provi­ dence, the succession devolved. In solemn assembly the Franks appointed them kings on condition that they share the realm equally,3 Charles ruling the part which had be­ longed to their father Pepin, Carloman the part formerly controlled by his uncle Carloman. Both accepted these conditions and each one took over that section of the di­ vided kingdom which he had received according to the agreement. But peace between the two brothers was maintained only with the greatest difficulty since many of Carloman’s followers plotted to break up the partnership. A few even

The Life of Charlemagne 39

meditati. Sed in hoc plus suspecti quam periculi fuisse ipse rerum exitus adprobavit, cum defuncto Karlomanno uxor eius et filii cum quibusdam, qui ex optimatum eius numero primores erant, Italiam fuga petiit et nullis existentibus cau­ sis, spreto mariti fratre, sub Desiderii regis Langobardorum patrocinium se cum liberis suis contulit. Et Karlomannus quidem post administratum communiter biennio regnum morbo decessit; Karolus autem fratre de­ functo consensu omnium Francorum rex constituitur.

4 De cuius nativitate atque infantia vel etiam pueritia quia neque scriptis usquam aliquid declaratum est, neque quis­ quam modo superesse invenitur, qui horum se dicat habere notitiam, scribere ineptum iudicans ad actus et mores ceterasque vitae illius partes explicandas ac demonstrandas, omissis incognitis, transire disposui; ita tamen, ut, primo res gestas et domi et foris, deinde mores et studia eius, tum de regni administratione et fine narrando, nihil de his quae cognitu vel digna vel necessaria sunt praetermittam.

40

Vita Karoli Magni

tried to provoke a war with their intrigues. The outcome, however, showed that there was more imagined than real danger. W hen Carloman died, his wife and sons4 fled to Italy with the most important members of their court. W ithout any apparent reason she spurned her brother-inlaw and placed herself and her children under the pro­ tection of Desiderius, king of the Lombards. Carloman had succumbed to an illness after ruling jointly for two years,5 and at his death Charles was unanimously pro­ claimed king of the Franks.

4 Plan o f This Work Because nothing has been recorded in writing about Charles’ birth,1 infancy, or even boyhood, and because no survivor has been found who claims to know of these mat­ ters, I consider it foolish to write about them. So I have decided to skip what we know nothing about and proceed to recount and describe Charles’ exploits, habits, and other facts of his life. First I want to tell of his deeds at home and abroad, then describe his habits and interests, his rulership and finally his death, omitting nothing that is worth mentioning or necessary to know.

The Life of Charlemagne 41

5. Omnium bellorum, quae gessit, primo Aquitanicum, a patre inchoatum, sed nondum finitum, quia cito peragi posse vide­ batur, fratre adhuc vivo, etiam et auxilium ferre rogato, suscepit. Et licet eum frater promisso frustrasset auxilio, susceptam expeditionem strenuissime exsecutus non prius incepto desistere aut semel suscepto labori cedere voluit, quam hoc, quod efficere moliebatur, perseverantia quadam ac iugitate perfecto fine concluderet. Nam et Hunoldum, qui post Waifarii mortem Aquitaniam occupare bellumque iam poene peractum reparare temptaverat, Aquitaniam relinquere et Wasconiam petere coegit. Quem tamen ibi consistere non sustinens, transmisso amne Garonna et aedi­ ficato castro Frontiaco, Lupo Wasconum duci per legatos mandat, ut perfugam reddat; quod ni festinato faciat, bello se eum expostulaturum. Sed Lupus saniori usus consilio non solum Hunoldum reddidit, sed etiam se ipsum cum provincia cui praeerat eius potestati permisit.

42

Vita Karoli Magni

5. War in Aquitaine Of all the wars Charles waged, the first was the Aquitainian campaign,1 begun but not finished by his father. Charles believed that it would soon be over. He asked his brother, who was still living at the time, to help him. But although his brother disappointed him and failed to provide the promised support, Charles completed the undertaking with great vigor. He was unwilling to give up what he had be­ gun or to abandon a task once taken on until he had car­ ried out his plans and brought them to a happy conclusion by force of perseverance and steadfastness. He even com­ pelled Hunold, who after W aifar’s death2 had tried to seize Aquitaine and revive a war that was almost finished, to leave'the country and flee to the land of the Basques. But Charles gave him no respite. He crossed the Garonne River, built Fort Fronsac,3 and through diplomatic chan­ nels let the Basque Duke Lupus know that he had better return the fugitive speedily or he would come and get Hunold by force. Lupus thought better of it and not only handed over Hunold but also submitted himself and the province he ruled to the jurisdiction of Charles.4

The Life of Charlemagne 43

6. Conpositis in Aquitania rebus eoque bello finito, regni quo­ que socio iam rebus humanis exempto, rogatu et precibus Hadriani Romanae urbis episcopi exoratus bellum contra Langobardos suscepit. Quod prius quidem et a patre eius, Stephano papa supplicante, cum magna difficultate, sus­ ceptum est; quia quidam e primoribus Francorum, cum quibus consultare solebat, adeo voluntati eius renisi sunt, ut se regem deserturos domumque redituros libera voce proclamarent. Susceptum tamen est tunc contra Haistulfum regem et celerime conpletum. Sed licet sibi et patri belli suscipiendi similis ac potius eadem causa subesse videretur, haud simili tamen et labore certatum et fine constat esse conpletum. Pippinus siquidem Haistulfum regem paucorum dierum obsidione apud Ticenum conpulit et obsides dare et erepta Romanis oppida atque castella restituere atque, ut reddita non repeterentur, sacramento fidem facere; Karolus vero post inchoatum a se bellum non prius destitit, quam et Desiderium regem, quem longa obsidione fatigaverat, in deditionem susciperet, filium eius Adalgisum, in quem spes omnium inclinatae videbantur, non solum regno, sed etiam Italia excedere conpelleret, omnia Romanis erepta restitueret, Hruodgausum Foroiuliani ducatus praefectum res novas mo­ lientem opprimeret totamque Italiam suae ditioni subiugaret subactaeque filium suum Pippinum regem inponeret. Italiam

44

Vita Karoli Magni

6. War w ith the Lombards W hen the affairs of Aquitaine had been settled and the war ended, and after his brother had died, Charles under­ took a campaign against the Lombards at the request and pleading of Bishop Hadrian of Rome.1 His father had once before fought the Lombards, that time in response to the entreaties of Pope Stephen.2 Pepin had done so under great difficulties, for certain nobles with whom he usually con­ sulted had opposed his wishes so strongly that they openly declared they would desert the king and go home. Never­ theless, arms were taken up against King Aistulf at that time and the war brought to a.speedy end. But although the reasons for this conflict seem to have been similar and indeed the same in both Charles’ and Pepin’s case, the difficulties of seeing it through and settling it varied in each instance. Pepin, after a few days’ siege at Pavia, forced Aistulf to give hostages and to return to the Romans the cities and fortresses he had taken. He also made Aistulf swear a sacred oath that he would not try to regain what he had surrendered. Charles, on the other hand, pursued the war more single-mindedly and did not rest until he had forced King Desiderius to surrender un­ conditionally after weakening him in a lengthy siege. He also ordered Desiderius’ son Adalgis, who was the favorite of his people, to leave the kingdom and Italy and to re­ store everything he had taken from the Romans.3 Charles then prevented Rotgaud, the duke of Friuli, from starting a revolt.4 After that he subjected all of Italy to his rule and made his son Pepin king of the conquered Italian territories. At this point I should describe how difficult it was for

The Life of Charlemagne 45

intranti quam difficilis Alpium transitus fuerit, quantoque Francorum labore invia montium iuga et eminentes in caelum scopuli atque asperae cautes superatae sint, hoc loco describerem, nisi vitae illius modum potius quam bellorum, quae gessit, eventus memoriae mandare praesenti opere animo esset propositum. Finis tamen huius belli fuit subacta Italia et rex Desiderius perpetuo exilio deportatus et filius eius Adalgisus Italia pulsus et res a Langobardorum regibus ereptae Hadriano Romanae ecclesiae rectori restitutae.

I Post cuius finem Saxonicum, quod quasi intermissum vide­ batur, repetitum est. Quo nullum neque prolixius neque atrocius Francorumque populo laboriosius susceptum est; quia Saxones, sicut omnes fere Germaniam incolentes nati­ ones, et natura feroces et cultui daemonum dediti nostraeque religioni contrarii neque divina neque humana iura vel pol­ luere vel transgredi inhonestum arbitrabantur. Suberant et causae, quae cotidie pacem conturbare poterant, termini videlicet nostri et illorum poene ubique in plano contigui, praeter pauca loca, in quibus vel silvae maiores vel montium iuga interiecta utrorumque agros certo limite disterminant, in quibus caedes et rapinae et incendia vicissim fieri non cessabant. Quibus adeo Franci sunt irritati, ut non iam vicissitudinem reddere, sed apertum contra eos bellum susci­ pere dignum iudicarent. Susceptum est igitur adversus eos bellum, quod magna utrimque animositate, tamen maiore Saxonum quam Francorum damno, per continuous triginta tres annos gerebatur. Poterat siquidem citius finiri, si Saxo-

46

Vita Karoli Magni

Charles to cross the Alps on his way to Italy and how the Franks toiled when crossing the trackless mountain ridges, the rocky cliffs, and the sharp peaks reaching to the sky. But I have decided to describe in this work Charles* way of life rather than the outcome of the wars he waged.5 Suffice it to say that the end of the campaign resulted in the subjugation of Italy, the deportation of Desiderius into permanent exile, the expulsion of his son Adalgis from Italy, and the restoration of the possessions taken by the Lombard kings to Pope Hadrian of Rome.

1 War w ith the Saxons Then the Saxon war—which had merely been inter­ rupted—was taken up again.1 The Franks have never been involved in any struggle that was more prolonged, more bitter, or more laborious. For the Saxons—like almost all of the nations inhabiting Germania—are savage by nature, given to the cult of demons, and hostile to our religion.2 They do not find it dishonorable to violate or break divine or human laws.3 Hardly a day passed without incidents threatening the peace. The border between our land and theirs runs almost entirely through plains, with the exception of a few areas where large forests or moun­ tain ridges provide the territories with natural boundaries. Thus, murder, robbery, and arson never ceased on both sides. Eventually the Franks became so enraged that it no longer seemed enough to retaliate and so they decided to wage open war. Accordingly, war was declared and fought by both parties with great ferocity. It continued for thirty-three years and cost the Saxons far more than the Franks. T o be sure, it could have been concluded

The Life of Charlemagne 47

num hoc perfidia pateretur. Difficile dictu est, quoties supe­ rati ac supplices regi se dediderunt/ imperata facturos polliciti sunt, obsides qui imperabantur absque dilatione dederunt, legatos qui mittebantur susceperunt, aliquoties ita domiti et emolliti, ut etiam cultum daemonum dimittere et Christianae religioni se subdere velle promitterent. Sed sicut ad haec facienda aliquoties proni, sic ad eadem pervertenda semper fuere praecipites, non sit ut satis aestimare, ad utrum horum faciliores verius dici possint; quippe cum post incho­ atum cum eis bellum vix ullus annus exactus sit, quo non ab eis huiuscemodi facta sit permutatio. Sed magnanimitas regis ac perpetua tam in adversis quam in prosperis mentis constantia nulla eorum mutabilitate vel vinci poterat vel ab his quae agere coeperat defatigari. Nam numquam eos huiuscemodi aliquid perpetrantes inpune ferre passus est, quin aut ipse per se ducto aut per comites suos misso exercitu perfidiam ulcisceretur et dignam ab eis poenam exigeret, usque dum, omnibus qui resistere solebant profligatis et in suam potestatem redactis, decem milia hominum ex his qui utrasque ripas Albis fluminis incolebant cum uxoribus et parvulis sublatos transtulit et huc atque illuc per Galliam et Germaniam multimoda divisione distribuit. Eaque conditione a rege proposita et ab illis suscepta tractum per tot annos bellum constat esse finitum, ut, abiecto daemonum cultu et relictis patriis caerimoniis, Christianae fidei atque religionis sacramenta susciperent et Francis adunati unus cum eis populus efficerentur.

50

Vita Karoli Magni

sooner if the treachery of the Saxons had allowed it. For it is difficult to say how many times they surrendered to the king and promised to do what they were ordered, how often and without delay they furnished hostages that were demanded, and how often they received legates. Many times they were so badly defeated and weakened that they vowed to give up their cult of demons and indicated their willingness to submit to the Christian faith. But just as they were often ready to do this, just as often were they in a hurry to break their promises. Thus, I cannot say with certainty which of these courses of action they more truthfully favored. It is a fact, however, that after the beginning of the war against the Saxons hardly a year passed without some vacillation on their part. And yet the king in his high purpose and unswerving con­ stancy both in success and failure was not to be frustrated by their fickleness, nor could he be made to abandon what he had begun. He never allowed any of them who per­ petrated such perfidy to go unpunished. In these instances he either led an army personally or sent one with his counts to avenge the crimes and mete out proper punish­ ment.4 After he had defeated all of those who had been offering resistance, he subjected them to his power. Then he took ten thousand Saxons who lived on both banks of the Elbe river, with their wives and children, and re­ settled them in various contingents here and there through­ out Gaul and Germania.5 And so the war which had dragged on for so many years was concluded under the conditions which the king imposed and the Saxons ac­ cepted. The conditions were that they give up the cult of demons, abandon the religious practices of their an­ cestors, adopt the sacraments of the Christian faith and religion, and become a single nation with the Franks.

The Life of Charlemagne 51

$. Hoc bello, licet per multum temporis spatium traheretur, ipse non amplius cum hoste quam bis acie conflixit, semel iuxta montem qui Osneggi dicitur in loco Theotmelli nomi­ nato et iterum apud Hasa fluvium, et hoc uno mense, paucis quoque interpositis diebus. His duobus proeliis hostes adeo profligati ac devicti sunt, ut ulterius regem neque provocare neque venienti resistere, nisi aliqua loci munitione defensi, auderent. Plures tamen eo bello tam ex nobilitate Francorum quam Saxonum et functi summis honoribus viri consumpti sunt. Tandemque anno tricesimo tertio finitum est, cum interim tot ac tanta in diversis terrarum partibus bella contra Francos et exorta sint et sollertia regis administrata, ut merito intuentibus in dubium venire possit, utrum in eo aut laborum patientiam aut felicitatem potius mirari conveniat. Nam biennio ante Italicum hoc bellum sumpsit exordium, et cum sine intermissione gereretur, nihil tamen ex his quae aliubi erant gerenda dimissum aut ulla in parte ab aeque operoso certamine cessatum est. Nam rex, omnium qui sua aetate gentibus dominabantur et prudentia maximus et animi magnitudine praestantissimus, nihil in his quae vel suscipi­ enda erant vel exsequenda aut propter laborem detractavit aut propter periculum exhorruit, verum unumquodque secundum suam qualitatem et subire et ferre doctus nec in adversis cedere nec in prosperis falso blandienti fortunae adsentiri solebat.

52

Vita Karoli Magni

&War w ith die Saxons (continued] Although this struggle had gone on for many years, the king himself fought the enemy not more than twice dur­ ing the period,1 and this within a single month with only a few days intervening: once at the mountain Osning, in a place called Detmold, and once at the river Hase.2 The enemies were so routed and defeated in these two battles that they subsequently never dared to provoke the king again or to resist him when he approached, unless they were protected by fortifications. In these fights many noblemen and leaders in highest positions were killed, both among the Franks and Saxons. Finally, the strife ended in the thirty-third year. But meanwhile so many other great wars had been declared against the Franks in various parts of the world and were taken up under the king’s guidance that anyone considering the matter might justifiably wonder whether Charles’ endurance in time of trouble or his good fortune is more to be admired. The Saxon war had begun two years before the Italian,3 and, although it was carried on without interruption,4 none of the other pressing duties were set aside nor other equally difficult struggles dropped for its sake. For the king surpassed everyone in his time in prudence and nobility of mind, and he turned down nothing that had to be undertaken or carried out. He did not shy at the difficulties or fear the dangers involved because he had learned to accept and endure everything in accordance with its nature. Neither in adversity did he yield nor was he misled by good fortune when it beckoned deceptively during times of great success.

The Life of Charlemagne 53

9 Cum enim assiduo ac poene continuo cum Saxonibus bello certaretur, dispositis per congrua confiniorum loca prae­ sidiis, Hispaniam quam maximo poterat belli apparatu adgreditur; saltuque Pyrinei superato, omnibus, quae adierat, oppidis atque castellis in deditionem acceptis, salvo et incolomi exercitu revertitur; praeter quod in ipso Pyrinei iugo Wasconicam perfidiam parumper in redeundo contigit experiri. Nam cum agmine longo, ut loci et angustiarum situs permittebat, porrectus iret exercitus, Wascones in summi montis vertice positis insidiis — est enim locus ex opacitate silvarum, quarum ibi maxima est copia, insidiis ponendis oportunus — extremam impedimentorum partem et eos qui novissimi agminis incedentes subsidio praecedentes tuebantur desuper incursantes in subiectam vallem deiciunt, consertoque cum eis proelio usque ad unum omnes inter­ ficiunt, ac direptis impedimentis, noctis beneficio, quae iam instabat, protecti summa cum celeritate in diversa dispergun­ tur. Adiuvabat in hoc facto Wascones et levitas armorum et loci, in quo res gerebatur, situs, econtra Francos et armorum gravitas et loci iniquitas per omnia Wasconibus reddidit impares. In quo proelio Eggihardus regiae mensae praepositus, Anshelmus comes palatii et Hruodlandus Brittannici limitis praefectus cum aliis conpluribus interficiuntur. Neque hoc factum ad praesens vindicari poterat, quia hostis re perpetrata ita dispersus est, ut ne fama quidem remaneret, ubinam gentium quaeri potuisset.

54

Vita Karoli Magni

9 Expedition to Spain While Charles was engaged in the strenuous and almost incessant struggle with the Saxons and after he had built fortifications at strategic points along the frontier, he decided to invade Spain with as large an army as he could raise. He crossed the Pyrenees successfully and accepted the surrender of all the towns and castles on his way. Finally, he turned back with his forces safe and intact, but when recrossing the mountains he was made to feel the treachery-of the Basques. In a densely wooded area well suited for ambush the Basques had prepared to at­ tack the army from the top of the highest mountain. As the troops were proceeding in a* long column through the narrow mountain passes, the Basques descended on the baggage train and the protecting rear guard and forced them into the valley. In the ensuing battle the Basques slaughtered them to a man. They seized the baggage and, under cover of the growing darkness, quickly scattered in all directions. In this encounter the Basques had the advantage of light weapons and a favorable terrain; the Franks on the other hand were hampered by their heavy equipment and the unevenness of the battle ground. Ekke­ hard, the royal steward, Anshelm, the count of the Palace, and Roland, the margrave of Brittany, as well as many others were killed in the engagement.1 Unfortunately, the incident could not be avenged since the enemies disap­ peared without a trace after the attack and there were no signs where they might be found.

The Life of Charlemagne 55

10. Domuit et Brittones, qui ad occidentem in extrema quadam parte Galliae super litus oceani residentes dicto audientes non erant, missa in eos expeditione, qua et obsides dare et quae imperarentur se facturos polliceri coacti sunt. Ipse postea cum exercitu Italiam ingressus ac per Romam iter agens Capuam Campaniae urbem accessit atque ibi positis castris bellum Beneventanis, ni dederentur, comminatus est. Praevenit hoc dux gentis Aragisus: filios suos Rumoldum et Grimoldum cum magna pecunia obviam regi mittens rogat, ut filios obsides suscipiat, seque cum gente imperata fac­ turum pollicetur, praeter hoc solum, si ipse ad conspectum venire cogeretur. Rex, utilitate gentis magis quam animi eius obstinatione considerata, et oblatos sibi obsides suscepit eique, ut ad conspectum venire non cogeretur, pro magno munere concessit; unoque ex filiis, qui minor erat, obsidatus gratia retento, maiorem patri remisit; legatisque ob sacra­ menta fidelitatis a Beneventanis exigenda atque suscipienda cum Aragiso dimissis Romam redit, consumptisque ibi in sanctorum veneratione locorum aliquot diebus in Galliam revertitur.

56

Vita Karoli Magni

tO. Submission o f the Bretons and Beneventians Charles also conquered the Bretons,1 who lived in a certain remote part of Gaul along the west coast and were not subject to him. He sent an expedition against them, which forced them to give hostages and made them promise to do what was expected of them. Then he entered Italy with an army and, marching through Rome, went as far as Capua, a city in Campania. There he set up a camp and threatened to take up arms against the Beneventians2 unless they surrendered. Aregis, the duke of Benevento, prevented this by sending his sons Rumold and Grimold with a large sum of money asking the king to accept them as hostages. He promised that he and his people would do as Charles demanded, on the condition that he would not be forced to appear before the king in person. Charles was more concerned about the good of the people than about the duke’s stubbornness, and so he accepted the hostages and agreed that, in view of the large gift of money, the duke should not be com­ pelled to come. He kept one of the two sons of Aregis, not yet of age, as a hostage and sent the older one back to his father. Charles also dispatched legates to receive oaths of loyalty from the Beneventians and from Aregis himself. After that he returned to Rome, spent several days there in worship at the holy places, and finally went back to Gaul.

The Life of Charlemagne 57

u. Baioaricum deinde bellum et repente ortum et celeri fine conpletum est. Quod superbia simul ac socordia Tassilonis ducis excitavit; qui hortatu uxoris, quae filia Desiderii regis erat ac patris exilium per maritum ulcisci posse putabat, iuncto foedere cum Hunis, qui Baioariis sunt ab oriente contermini, non solum imperata non facere, sed bello regem provocare temptabat. Cuius contumaciam, quia nimia vide­ batur, animositas regis ferre nequiverat, ac proinde copiis undique contractis Baioariam petiturus ipse ad Lechum amnem cum magno venit exercitu. Is fluvius Baioarios ab Alamannis dividit. Cuius in ripa castris conlocatis, priusquam provinciam intraret, animum ducis per legatos statuit expe­ riri. Sed nec ille pertinaciter agere vel sibi vel genti utile ratus supplex se regi permisit, obsides qui imperabantur dedit, inter quos et filium suum Theodonem, data insuper fide cum iuramento, quod ab illius potestate ad defectionem nemini suadenti adsentire deberet. Sicque bello, quod quasi maximum futurum videbatur, celerrimus est finis inpositus. Tassilo tamen postmodum ad regem evocatus neque redire permissus, neque provincia, quam tenebat, ulterius duci, sed comitibus ad regendum commissa est.

58

Vita Karoli Magni

tt. Tassilo and the War w ith the Beneventtans All at once a war broke out in Bavaria which was, how­ ever, swiftly concluded.1 It was caused by the pride and folly of Duke Tassilo. At the urging of his wife, who was a daughter of King Desiderius2 and who imagined that she could avenge her father’s exile through her hus­ band, he made an alliance with the Huns,3 the neighbors of the Bavaria'ns to the east. According to its terms, Tassilo not only refused to do the king’s bidding but also tried his best to challenge him to war. The dauntless king could not tolerate this outrageous insolence. He therefore col­ lected his troops from all over and personally marched to Bavaria with a large army. He reached the river Lech, which separates the Bavarians from the Alemanni, and established his camp there. Before invading the province, however, he decided to find out about the plans of the duke by sending messengers to him. Tassilo realized that there was no point for him or his people to act stubbornly, and so he presented himself to the king to ask for for­ giveness. He furnished the hostages that were demanded, among them also his son Theodo, and swore an oath that he would never again be persuaded by anyone to be dis­ obedient to Charles. Thus a speedy end was made to the war which at first had threatened to become one of major proportions. Tassilo, however, was later summoned to the court and not permitted to return. His province was from that time on ruled not by one duke but by several counts.4

The Life of Charlemagne 59

tz His motibus ita conpositis, Sclavis, qui nostra consuetudine Wilzi, proprie vero, id est sua locutione, Welatabi dicuntur, bellum inlatum est. In quo et Saxones velut auxiliares inter ceteras nationes, quae regis signa iussae sequebantur, quam­ quam ficta et minus devota oboedientia, militabant. Causa belli erat, quod Abodritos, qui cum Francis olim foederati erant, adsidua incursione lacessebant nec iussionibus coerceri poterant. Sinus quidam ab occidentali oceano orientem ver­ sus porrigitur, longitudinis quidem inconpertae, latitudinis vero quae nusquam centum milia passuum excedat, cum in multis locis contractior inveniatur. Hunc multae circum­ sedent nationes; Dani siquidem ac Sueones, quos Nordmannos vocamus, et septentrionale litus et omnes in eo insulas tenent. At litus australe Sclavi et Aisti et aliae diversae incolunt nationes; inter quos vel praecipui sunt, quibus tunc a rege bellum inferebatur, Welatabi. Quos ille una tantum et quam per se gesserat expeditione ita contudit ac domuit, ut ulterius imperata facere minime rennuendum iudicarent.

60

Vita Karoli Magni

12. War with the Slavs After these problems had been solved arms were taken up against the Slavs, who were known to us as Wiltzes but who call themselves Welatabi in their own language.1 The Saxons fought as auxiliaries in this war, together with other peoples who followed the standards of the king. To be sure, their loyalty was more perfunctory than real. The conflict was caused by the Wiltzes, who were con­ stantly invading and harassing the Abodrites2—long-time allies of the" Franks—and could not be intimidated by warnings. A gulf of undetermined length .stretches from the west­ ern Ocean toward the East, nowhere exceeding a hundred miles across, though narrower at many points.3 Numerous nations live around its shores. The Danes, for instance, and the Swedes, whom we call Norsemen,4 occupy the northern shore and all the islands along it. The southern shore, on the other hand, is inhabited by Slavs, Estes, and various other nationalities. Among these are the Wiltzes whom Charles was attacking now. In a single campaign led by himself, he crushed and conquered them so effec­ tively that they never again dared to refuse his orders.5

The Life of Charlemagne 61

13. Maximum omnium, quae ab illo gesta sunt, bellorum praeter Saxonicum huic bello successit, illud videlicet, quod contra Avares sive Hunos susceptum est. Quod ille et animosius quam cetera et longe maiori apparatu administravit. Unam tamen per se in Pannoniam — nam hanc provinciam ea gens tum incolebat — expeditionem fecit, cetera filio suo Pippino ac praefectis provinciarum, comitibus etiam atque legatis perficienda commisit. Quod cum ab his strenuissime fuisset administratum, octavo tandem anno conpletum est. Quot proelia in eo gesta, quantum sanguinis effusum sit, testatur vacua omni habitatore Pannonia et locus, in quo regia Kagani erat, ita desertus, ut ne vestigium quidem in eo humanae habitationis appareat. Tota in hoc bello Hunorum nobilitas periit, tota gloria decidit. Omnis pecunia et con­ gesti ex longo tempore thesauri direpti sunt. Neque ullum bellum contra Francos exortum humana potest memoria recordari, quo illi magis ditati et opibus aucti sint. Quippe cum usque in id temporis poene pauperes viderentur, tan­ tum auri et argenti in regia repertum, tot spolia pretiosa in proeliis sublata, ut merito credi possit hoc Francos Hunis iuste eripuisse, quod Huni prius aliis gentibus iniuste eripu­ erunt. Duo tantum ex proceribus Francorum eo bello peri­ erunt: Ericus dux Foroiulanus in Liburnia iuxta Tharsaticam maritimam civitatem insidiis oppidanorum interceptus, et Geroldus Baioariae praefectus in Pannonia, cum contra

62

Vita Karoli Magni

13. W&r w ith the Huns Next to the Saxon the war which now followed was the most important of them all: it was directed against the Avars or Huns.1 Charles undertook it with greater energy and far better equipment than any other before. He made one expedition himself to Pannonia—the Huns were oc­ cupying this province at that time—and the execution of the rest of the campaign he assigned to his son Pepin2 and to his provincial prefects, counts, and representatives. Although the war was carried on most vigorously, it ended only in the eighth year.3 The deserted palace of the Khan as well as the way in which Pannonia was divested of all its population, so that not even a trace of human habitation now remains, testify to the many battles fought and the great amount of blood shed there. The entire Hunnish nobility perished during these struggles and their glory vanished. All the money and treasures they had collected over many years were taken away. There is in memory of man no war ever fought against the Franks in which they became richer and accumulated greater wealth. Indeed, although up to that time the Huns had almost seemed to be paupers, so much gold and silver were found in their palace, and so much precious loot captured in the battles, that one can say with good reason: the Franks justly took away from the Huns what the latter had previously unjustly acquired from other peoples.4 Only two leaders of the Franks perished in this cam­ paign. Duke Eric of Friuli was killed through the treach­ ery of the townspeople in the seaport town of Tarsatica in Libumia.5 Gerold, the prefect of Bavaria,6 was slain

The Life of Charlemagne 63

Hunos proeliaturus aciem strueret, incertum a quo, cum duobus tantum, qui eum obequitantem ac singulos hortantem comitabantur, interfectus est. Ceterum incruentum poene Francis hoc bellum fuit et prosperrimum exitum habuit, tametsi diutius sui magnitudine traheretur.

14. Post quod et Saxonicum suae prolixitati convenientem finem accepit. Boemanicum quoque et Linonicum, quae postea exorta sunt, diu durare non potuerunt. Quorum utrumque ductu Karoli iunioris celeri fine conpletum est. Ultimum contra Nordmannos, qui Dani vocantur, primo pyraticam exercentes, deinde maiori classe litora Galliae atque Ger­ maniae vastantes, bellum susceptum est. Quorum rex Godofridus adeo vana spe inflatus erat, ut sibi totius Germaniae promitteret potestatem. Frisiam quoque atque Saxoniam haud aliter atque suas provincias aestimabat. Iam Abodritos, vicinos suos, in suam ditionem redegerat, iam eos sibi vecti­ gales fecerat. lactabat etiam se brevi Aquasgrani, ubi regis comitatus erat, cum maximis copiis adventurum. Nec dictis eius, quamvis vanissimis, omnino fides abnuebatur, quin potius putaretur tale aliquid inchoaturus, nisi festinata fuisset morte praeventus. Nam a proprio satellite interfectus et suae vitae et belli a se inchoati finem acceleravit.

64

Vita Karo li Magni

by an unidentified person in Pannonia when he was about to join the attack against the Huns and was marshaling his lines on horseback. He died together with two others who accompanied him while he was exhorting his soldiers one by one to muster their courage for the battle. Other­ wise the conflict was practically bloodless and its outcome highly advantageous for the Franks, although because of its magnitude, it lasted for a long time.

14. tDar with the Danes At long last the Saxon war, too, came to a proper con­ clusion befitting its long duration. The following wars in Bohemia and Linonia were bound to be brief.1 Under the leadership of the young King Charles they were quickly settled. Charles’ last campaign was directed against those Norsemen who are called Danes. They first were engaged in piracy; later they invaded and devastated the coasts of Gaul and Germania with a rather large fleet. Godofrid, their king, was so filled with vain ambition that he saw himself as the future master over all of Germania. Already he regarded Frisia and Saxony as his own provinces and had subjugated his neighbors, the Abodrites, forcing them to pay tribute. Furthermore, he bragged that in a short time he would be coming with a very large force to the king’s court at Aachen. However empty his boasts were, some people did indeed believe them and thought that he was about to do something of this kind. But he was pre­ vented by sudden death from carrying out his plans. He was assassinated by his own guard, and this ended his life and the war he had begun.2

The Life of Charlemagne 65

15. Haec sunt bella, quae rex potentissimus per annos XLVII — tot enim annis regnaverat — in diversis terrarum partibus summa prudentia atque felicitate gessit. Quibus regnum Francorum, quod post patrem Pippinum magnum quidem et forte susceperat, ita nobiliter ampliavit, ut poene duplum illi adiecerit. Nam cum prius non amplius quam ea pars Galliae, quae inter Rhenum et Ligerem oceanumque ac mare Balearicum iacet, et pars Germaniae, quae inter Saxoniam et Danubium Rhenumque ac Salam fluvium, qui Thu­ ringos et Sorabos dividit, posita a Francis qui Orientales dicuntur incolitur, et praeter haec Alamanni atque Baioarii ad regni Francorum potestatem pertinerent: ipse per bella memorata primo Aquitaniam et Wasconiam totumque Pyrinei montis iugum et usque ad Hiberum amnem, qui apud Navarros ortus et fertilissimos Hispaniae agros secans sub Dertosae civitatis moenia Balearico mari miscetur; deinde Italiam totam, quae ab Augusta Praetoria usque in Calabriam inferiorem, in qua Graecorum ac Beneventano­ rum constat esse confinia, decies centum et eo amplius pas­ suum milibus longitudine porrigitur; tum Saxoniam, quae quidem Germaniae pars non modica est et eius quae a Fran­ cis incolitur duplum in lato habere putatur, cum ei longitu­ dine possit esse consimilis; post quam utramque Pannoniam et adpositam in altera Danubii ripa Daciam, Histriam quoque et Liburniam atque Dalmaciam, exceptis maritimis civitati­ bus, quas ob amicitiam et iunctum cum eo foedus Constantinopolitanum imperatorem habere permisit; deinde omnes

66 Vita Karoli Magni

15. Conquests These were the wars which the mighty King Charles planned so carefully and executed so brilliantly in various parts of the world during his reign of forty-seven years.1 As a result the kingdom of the Franks, which was already great and powerful when Charles inherited it from his father Pepin, was almost doubled in size. Formerly, the Frankish territory had encompassed only that part of Gaul lying between the Rhine and the Loire, the ocean and the Balearic'Sea, as well as that part of Germania inhabited by the so-called East Franconians and bordering on Saxony and the Danube, the Rhine and the Saale—a river separating the Thuringians from the Sorbs—and, finally, the land of the Alemanni and Bavarians. Through the wars described above Charles conquered first Aquitaine, then Gascony and the entire Pyrenees region as far south as the Ebro River. This river originates in Navarre and flows through the most fertile plains of Spain, emptying into the Balearic Sea beneath the walls of the city of Tortosa.2 Charles also added to his territory all of Italy from Aosta to Lower Calabria, where the bor­ der runs between the Beneventians and the Greeks—an area extending over more than a thousand miles.3 Further­ more, he incorporated Saxony—no small part of Germania and considered equal in length and twice the width of Franconia—and both Upper and Lower Pannonia,4 as well as Dacia on the other side of the Danube, Istria, Liburnia, and Dalmatia. Only the coastal towns of the latter coun­ tries he left to the emperor of Constantinople out of friendship and in consideration of a treaty he had made with him. Finally, Charles subjugated and forced to pay

The Life of Charlemagne 67

barbaras ac feras nationes, quae inter Rhenum ac Visulam fluvios oceanumque ac Danubium positae, lingua quidem poene similes, moribus vero atque habitu valde dissimiles, Germaniam incolunt, ita perdomuit, ut eas tributarias effi­ ceret; inter quas fere praecipuae sunt Welatabi, Sorabi, Abodriti, Boemani — cum his namque bello conflixit; ceteras, quarum multo maior est numerus, in deditionem suscepit.

16. Auxit etiam gloriam regni sui quibusdam regibus ac genti­ bus per amicitiam sibi conciliatis. Adeo namque Hadefonsum Galleciae atque Asturicae regem sibi societate devinxit, ut is, cum ad eum vel litteras vel legatos mitteret, non aliter se apud illum quam proprium suum appellari iuberet. Scottorum quoque reges sic habuit ad suam voluntatem per munificentiam inclinatos, ut eum numquam aliter nisi domi­ num seque subditos et servos eius pronuntiarent. Extant epistolae ab eis ad illum missae, quibus huiusmodi affectus eorum erga illum indicatur. Cum Aaron rege Persarum, qui excepta India totum poene tenebat orientem, talem habuit in amicitia concordiam, ut is gratiam eius omnium, qui in toto orbe terrarum erant, regum ac principum amicitiae praeponeret solumque illum honore ac munificentia sibi colendum iudicaret. Ac proinde, cum legati eius, quos cum donariis ad sacratissimum Domini ac salvatoris nostri sepulchrum locumque resurrectionis miserat, ad eum venissent et ei domini sui voluntatem indicassent, non solum quae petebantur fieri permisit, sed etiam sacrum illum et salutarem

68

Vita Karoli Magni

tribute all of the barbarian and savage nations who inhabit Germania between the Rhine and the Vistula rivers, the ocean and the Danube. They speak almost the same lan­ guage5 but have quite different customs and habits. The most important of these tribes are the Wiltzes, Sorbs, Abodrites, and Bohemians. W ith these he was forced to fight, but others, by far the greater number, surrendered without a struggle.

16. Foreign Relations Charles also increased the glory of his empire by estab­ lishing friendly relations with many kings and peoples. An example is his close friendship with King Alfons of Galicia and Asturias,1 who always insisted on calling himself Charles’ vassal when sending him letters or am­ bassadors.2 Charles also secured the favor of the Scottish kings by his great generosity, so that they always referred to him as their master and called themselves his subjects and servants. To this day there exist letters sent by them which clearly express these feelings.3 W ith King Harun of Persia,4 who ruled almost all of the Orient except India, he was on such friendly terms that Harun preferred Charles’ goodwill to the friendship of all other kings and potentates on earth and considered Charles alone worthy of his respect and homage. At one time the king of the Franks sent messengers with offerings to the most Holy Sepulcher, the site of the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior.5 W hen they appeared before Harun to relay their master’s wishes, the king not only permitted them to carry out their mission but also gave

The Life of Charlemagne 69

locum, ut illius potestati adscriberetur, concessit; et rever­ tentibus legatis suos adiungens inter vestes et aromata et ceteras orientalium terrarum opes ingentia illi dona direxit, cum ei ante paucos annos eum, quem tunc solum habebat, roganti mitteret elefantum. Imperatores etiam Constantinopolitani, Niciforus, Michahel et Leo, ultro amicitiam et societatem eius expetentes conplures ad eum misere legatos. Cum quibus tamen propter susceptum a se imperatoris nomen et ob hoc eis, quasi qui imperium eis eripere vellet, valde suspectum foedus firmissimum statuit, ut nulla inter partes cuiuslibet scandali remanert occasio. Erat enim semper Romanis et Grecis Francorum suspecta potentia. Unde et illud Grecum extat proverbium: Τ Ο Ν ΦΡΑΝΚΟΝ ΦΙΛΟΝ EXIC, ΓΙΤΟ Ν Α OYK EXIC.

70

Vita Karoli Magni

Charles the jurisdiction over this holy and blessed place. On their return Harun sent along his own messengers with precious gifts, garments, spices, and other riches of the Orient. A few years earlier Charles had asked him for an elephant and Harun had sent him the only one he owned.6 The three emperors of Constantinople, Nicephorus, Michael, and Leo,7 also sought Charles’ friendship and alliance and sent numerous legations to his court. Only when Charles assumed the title of emperor did they begin to distrust him out of fear that he would seize their lands. To allay these fears and make sure that there would be no occasion for further trouble, Charles at once concluded a firm treaty with them. But the Greeks and the Romans remained suspicious of Frankish* power. Hence the Greek proverb: “Have.a Frank as a friend, but not as a neighbor.”

Oldest royal document in Germany (January 777) confirming gift of crown estate Hammelsburg to the monastery of Fulda. Munich, Bayerisches Staatsarchiv, KS1.

17 Qui cum tantus in ampliando regno et subigendis exteris nationibus existeret et in eiusmodi occupationibus assidue versaretur, opera tamen plurima ad regni decorem et com­ moditatem pertinentia diversis in locis inchoavit, quaedam etiam consummavit. Inter quae praecipua fere non inmerito videri possunt basilica sanctae Dei genitricis Aquisgrani opere mirabili constructa et pons apud Mogontiacum in Rheno quingentorum passuum longitudinis — nam tanta est ibi fluminis latitudo; qui tamen uno, antequam decederet, anno incendio conflagravit, nec refici potuit propter festi­ natum illius decessum, quamquam in ea meditatione esset, ut pro ligneo lapideum restitueret. Inchoavit et palatia operis egregii, unum haud longe a Mogontiaco civitate, iuxta, villam cui vocabulum est Ingilenheim, alterum Noviomagi super Vahalem fluvium, qui Batavorum insulam a parte meridiana praeterfluit. Praecipue tamen aedes sacras ubi­ cumque in toto regno suo vetustate conlapsas conperit, pontificibus et patribus, ad quorum curam pertinebant, ut restaurarentur, imperavit, adhibens curam per legatos, ut imperata perficerent. Molitus est et classem contra bellum Nordmannicum, aedificatis ad hoc navibus iuxta flumina, quae et de Gallia et de Germania septentrionalem influunt oceanum. Et quia Nordmanni Gallicum litus atque Germani­ cum assidua infestatione vastabant, per omnes portus et ostia fluminum, qua naves recipi posse videbantur, stationibus et excubiis dispositis, ne qua hostis exire potuisset, tali muni­ tione prohibuit. Fecit idem a parte meridiana in litore pro-

72

Vita Karoli Magni

\1 Public Works No matter how much time and effort Charles spent on planning and carrying out campaigns to enlarge his realm and subjugate foreign nations, he still was able to begin work on a number of public projects designed to help and beautify his kingdom. Some of them he actually managed to complete. The Basilica of the Holy Mother of God in Aachen, a triumph of the arts of construction, is quite rightly considered among the most remarkable of these. So, too, the bridge spanning the Rhine at Mainz, which is a full five hundred paces long, since the river is that w ide at this point.1 The bridge was destroyed by fire and was not rebuilt because Charles died a year later. He had intended to replace the wooden structure with one of stone. He also began building two magnificent palaces, one near the city of Mainz close to his estate at Ingelheim, the other in N ym wegen on the Waal River, which flows south of the island of the Batavians.2 But his chief concern was for the churches. W hen he discovered one in any part of his kingdom that was old and ready to collapse he charged the responsible bishops and priests with restoring it. And he made sure that his instructions were carried out by having his agents check up on them.3 He also set up a navy to withstand the attacks of the Norsemen and had the necessary ships built on the rivers which flow from Gaul and Germania into the N orth Sea. Since the Norsemen were continuously invading and dev­ astating the Gallic and Germanic coasts, he placed guards and fortifications in all harbors and large estuaries where ships could enter. In this way he prevented the enemy from landing and looting. He did the same in the south

T he Lije of Charlevtagne 73

vinciae Narbonensis ac Septimaniae, toto etiam Italiae litore usque Romam contra Mauros nuper pyraticam exercere adgressos; ac per hoc nullo gravi damno vel a Mauris Italia vel Gallia atque Germania a Nordmannis diebus suis adfecta est, praeter quod Centumcellae civitas Etruriae per prodi­ tionem a Mauris capta atque vastata est, et in Frisia quaedam insulae Germanico litori contiguae a Nordmannis deprae­ datae sunt.

1Ä Talem eum in tuendo et ampliando simulque ornando regno fuisse constat. Cuius animi dotes et summam in qualicumque et prospero et adverso eventu constantiam ceteraque ad interiorem atque domesticam vitam pertinentia iam abhinc dicere exordiar. Post mortem patris cum fratre regnum partitus tanta pati­ entia simultates et invidiam eius tulit, ut omnibus mirum videretur, quod ne ad iracundiam quidem ab eo provocari potuisset. Deinde cum matris hortatu filiam Desiderii regis Langobardorum duxisset uxorem, incertum qua de causa, post annum eam repudiavit et Hildigardam de gente Suaborum praecipuae nobilitatis feminam in matrimonium acce­ pit; de qua tres filios, Karolum videlicet, Pippinum et Hludowicum, totidemque filias. Hruodtrudem et Berhtam et Gislam, genuit. Habuit et alias tres filias. Theoderadam et Hiltrudem et Hruodhaidem, duas de Fastrada uxore, quae de Orientalium Francorum, Germanorum videlicet, gente erat, tertiam de concubina quadam, cuius nomen modo memoriae

74

Vita Karoli Magni

along the shores of Narbonensis, Septimania,4 and Italy as far south as Rome to ward off the Moors who had just begun to take up piracy. As a consequence Italy was hardly touched during his reign except for the Etruscan town of Civita Vecchia,5 which was treacherously cap­ tured and plundered by the Moors. Gaul and Germania were likewise spared except for a few Frisian islands along the Germanic coast which were laid waste by the Norse­ men.

15, Private Life This is how Charles defended and enlarged his empire and at the same time made it beautiful. My subject from this point on will be his intellectual abilities and his extraor­ dinary steadfastness both in success and in adversity; and, further, whatever else concerns his private and domestic life. After the death of his father, Charles ruled the kingdom together with his brother. Everyone was surprised that he bore the latter’s animosity and envy with so much patience that he could never be provoked to anger by him. A t his mother’s request he married a daughter of the Lombard king Desiderius but repudiated her for unknown reasons after one year.1 Then he married Hildegard, who came from a very noble Swabian family. W ith her he had three sons, Charles, Pepin, and Louis, and as many daughters, Rotrud, Bertha, and Gisela.2 He had three more daughters, Theoderada, Hiltrud, and Rotheid, two of them with his [third] wife Fastrada,3 who came from Eastern Franconia and was therefore Germanic, the third by a concubine

The Life of Charlemagne η5

non occurrit. Defuncta Fastrada Liutgardam Alamannam duxit, de qua nihil liberorum tulit. Post cuius mortem quat­ tuor habuit concubinas, Madelgardam scilicet, quae peperit ei filiam nomine Ruothildem, Gersuindam Saxonici generis, de qua ei filia nomine Adaltrud nata est, et Reginam, quae ei Drogonem et Hugum genuit, et Adallindem, ex qua Theodericum procreavit. Mater quoque eius Berhtrada in magno apud eum honore consenuit. Colebat enim eam cum summa reverentia, ita ut nulla umquam invicem sit exorta discordia, praeter in divortio filiae Desiderii regis, quam illa suadente acceperat. Decessit tandem post mortem Hildigardae, cum iam tres nepotes suos totidemque neptes in filii domo vi­ disset. Quam ille in eadem basilica, qua pater situs est, apud Sanctum Dionisium, magno cum honore fecit humari. Erat ei unica soror nomine Gisla, a puellaribus annis religiosae conversationi mancipata, quam similiter ut matrem magna coluit pietate. Quae etiam paucis ante obitum illius annis in eo, quo conversata est, monasterio decessit.

76

Vita Karoli Magni

whose name I cannot recall at the moment. W hen Fastrada died he took Liutgard to wife, who was from Alemannia and with whom he had no children. After her death he had four concubines:4 Madelgard, who bore him a daugh­ ter by the name of Rothild; Gerswinda from Saxony, with whom he had another daughter called Adeltrud; Regina, who gave him two sons, Drogo and Hugo; and Adelind, who had Theoderic.5 His mother Berthrada spent her old age in great honor in his house. He always treated her with greatest respect; only when he divorced the daughter of King Desiderius, whom he had married to please her, was there any dis­ agreement between them. Berthrada died soon after Hilde­ gard,6 but she had lived long enough to see three grand­ sons and three granddaughters in the house of her son. Charles buried her with' highest honors in the church of St. Denis, where his father had been laid to rest. Like his mother, he treated his only sister Gisela, who had entered a convent as a young girl, with the greatest affection. She died a few years before he did in the con­ vent where she had spent most of her life.7

The Life of Charlemagne 77

19 Liberos suos ita censuit instituendos, ut tam filii quam filiae primo liberalibus studiis, quibus et ipse operam dabat, eru­ direntur. Tum filios, cum primum aetas patiebatur, more Francorum equitare, armis ac venatibus exerceri fecit, filias vero lanificio adsuescere coloque ac fuso, ne per otium tor­ perent, operam impendere atque ad omnem honestatem erudiri iussit. Ex his omnibus duos tantum filios et unam filiam, priusquam moreretur, amisit, Karolum, qui natu maior erat, et Pippinum, quem regem Italiae praefecerat, et Hruodtrudem, quae filiarum eius primogenita et a Constan­ tino Grecorum imperatore desponsata erat. Quorum Pippinus unum filium suum Bernhardum, filias autem quinque, Adalhaidem, Atulam, Gundradam, Berhthaidem ac Theoderadam, superstites reliquit. In quibus rex pietatis suae prae­ cipuum documentum ostendit, cum filio defuncto nepotem patri succedere et neptes inter filias suas educari fecisset. Mortes filiorum ac filiae pro magnanimitate, qua excellebat, minus patienter tulit, pietate videlicet, qua non minus in­ signis erat, conpulsus ad lacrimas. Nuntiato etiam sibi Hadri­ ani Romani pontificis obitu, quem in amicis praecipuum habebat, sic flevit, acsi fratrem aut carissimum filium ami­ sisset. Erat enim in amicitiis optime temperatus, ut eas et facile admitteret et constantissime retinert, colebatque sanctissime quoscumque hac adfinitate sibi coniunxerat. Filiorum ac filiarum tantam in educando curam habuit, ut

78

Vita Karoli Magni

19. Private Life (continued^ For the education of his children Charles made the follow­ ing provisions: his sons as well as his daughters were to be instructed first in those liberal arts1 in which he took most interest himself. As soon as the boys were old enough they had to learn how to ride, hunt, and handle weapons in Frankish style. The girls had to get used to carding wool and to the distaff and the spindle. T o prevent their becoming bored and lazy he gave orders for them to be taught to engage in these and all other virtuous activities. Of his children, only two sons and one daughter died before him: Charles, who was the oldest; Pepin, whom he had made king of Italy; and his oldest daughter Rotrud, who had been engaged to marry the emperor Constantine of Greece.2 Pepin was survived by one son, called Bernhard, and five daughters: Adelheid, Atula, Guntrada, Bertheid, and Theoderada. How much Charles cared for his grandchildren was proved after their father’s death*, he made Bernhard Pepin’s successor3 and raised the five girls together with his own daughters. W hen his two sons and daughter died, Charles reacted to their deaths with much less equanimity than might have been expected of so strong-minded a man. Because of his deep-seated devo­ tion to them he broke down in tears. Also, when he was told of the death of the Roman Pope Hadrian,4 who was one of his best friends, he wept as much as if he had lost a brother or a favorite son. For Charles was by nature a man who had a great gift for friendship, who made friends easily and never wavered in his loyalty to them. Those whom he loved could rely on him absolutely. He supervised the upbringing of his sons and daughters

The Life of Charlemagne 79

numquam domi positus sine ipsis caenaret, numquam iter sine illis faceret. Adequitabant ei filii, filiae vero poene se­ quebantur, quarum agmen extremum ex satellitum numero ad hoc ordinati tuebantur. Quae cum pulcherrimae essent et ab eo plurimum diligerentur, mirum dictu, quod nullam earum cuiquam aut suorum aut exterorum nuptum dare voluit, sed omnes secum usque ad obitum suum in domo sua retinuit, dicens se earum contubernio carere non posse. Ac propter hoc, licet alias felix, adversae fortunae maligni­ tatem expertus est. Quod tamen ita dissimulavit, acsi de eis nulla umquam alicuius probri suspicio exorta vel fama dis­ persa fuisset.

20. Erat ei filius nomine Pippinus ex concubina editus, cuius inter ceteros mentionem facere distuli, facie quidem pulcher, sed gibbo deformis. Is, cum pater bello contra Hunos sus­ cepto in Baioaria hiemaret, aegritudine simulata, cum qui­ busdam e primoribus Francorum, qui eum vana regni pro­ missione inlexerant, adversus patrem coniuravit. Quem post fraudem detectam et damnationem coniuratorum detonsum

80

Vita Karoli Magni

very carefully. W hen he was at home he never ate his meals without them and when he went away, he always took them along. At such times his sons rode by his side and his daughters followed close behind, protected by a bodyguard of handpicked men. Although the girls were very beautiful and he loved them dearly, it was odd that he did not permit any of them to get married either to a man of his own nation or to a foreigner. Rather, he kept all of them with him until his death, saying that he could not live without their company. And on account of this, he had to suffer a number of unpleasant experiences, how­ ever lucky he was in every other respect. But he never let on that he had heard of any suspicions regarding their chastity or any rumors about them.5

20. Conspiracies Acjainst Charles By one of the concubines he had a son1 whom I have not mentioned along with the others. His name was Pepin and he had a handsome face but was hunchbacked. While his father was wintering in Bavaria during the war against the Huns, Pepin pretended to be ill and became involved with some Frankish nobles in a plot against his father.2 He had been lured into it by empty promises that they would make him king. But the scheme was discovered and the traitors punished. Pepin was tonsured and allowed,

The Life of Charlemagne 81

in coenobio Prumia religiosae vitae iamque volentem vacare permisit. Facta est et alia prius contra eum in Germania valida coniuratio. Cuius auctores partim luminibus orbati, partim membris incolomes, omnes tamen exilio deportati sunt; neque ullus ex eis est interfectus nisi tres tantum; qui cum se, ne conprehenderentur, strictis gladiis defenderent, aliquos etiam occidissent, quia aliter coerceri non poterant, interempti sunt. Harum tamen coniurationum Fastradae reginae crudelitas causa et origo extitisse creditur. Et idcirco in ambabus contra regem conspiratum est, quia uxoris crudelitati consentiens a suae naturae benignitate ac solita mansuetudine inmaniter exorbitasse videbatur. Ceterum per omne vitae suae tempus ita cum summo omnium amore atque favore et domi et foris conversatus est, ut numquam ei vel minima iniustae crudelitatis nota a quoquam fuisset obiecta.

21. Amabat peregrinos et in eis suscipiendis magnam habebat curam, adeo ut eorum multitudo non solum palatio, verum etiam regno non inmerito videretur onerosa. Ipse tamen prae magnitudine animi huiuscemodi pondere minime gravabatur, cum etiam ingentia incommoda laude liberalitatis ac bonae famae mercede conpensaret.

82

V ita Karoli Magni

on his own free will, to enter the monastery of Pruem, where he spent the rest of his life as a monk.3 But even before this there had been a great conspiracy in Germania against Charles.4 All of vhe guilty ones were exiled, some of them only after being blinded, but the others were not harmed physically. Only three were killed because they had drawn their swords and tried to resist being taken prisoners. After they had slaughtered a number of men, they were killed themselves since there was no other way to subdue them. It was generally felt that Queen Fastrada’s cruelty was responsible for these uprisings. And in both cases the reason they were aimed at Charles was because he apparently acquiesced in his wife’s cruelty and seemed to have lost a good deal of his usual kindness and easy disposition. But for the rest, he was deeply loved and respected by everyone at home and abroad during all of his life, and no one ever accused him of being unnecessarily harsh.

21. Treatment of Foreigner Charles liked foreigners and made every effort to see that they were well received. Often there were so many of them in his palace and kingdom that they were quite rightly considered a nuisance. But, magnanimous as he was, he was never bothered by such annoyances. For he felt that he would be rewarded for his troubles if they praised his generosity and gave him a good reputation.

T he Lije of Charlemagne 83

Group in Louvre, Paris

Frankish 'warriors ( ca. 900), carved ivory

Solo figure in Berlin

84

Vita Karoli Magni

Page from the oldest manuscript (ninth century) of Einhard's Vita (chapters 21-22, iw part). Vienna National Library, Cod. Vindob. 529.

The Life of Charlemagne

85

22. Corpore fuit amplo atque robusto, statura eminenti, quae tamen iustam non excederet — nam septem suorum pedum proceritatem eius constat habuisse mensuram — apice capitis rotundo, oculis praegrandibus ac vegetis, naso paululum mediocritatem excedenti, canitie pulchra, facie laeta et hilari. Unde formae auctoritas ac dignitas tam stanti quam sedenti plurima adquirebatur; quamquam cervix obesa et brevior venterque proiectior videretur, tamen haec ceterorum mem­ brorum celabat aequalitas. Incessu firmo totaque corporis habitudine virili; voce clara quidem, sed quae minus corporis formae conveniret. Valitudine prospera, praeter quod, ante­ quam decederet, per quatuor annos crebro febribus corripie­ batur, ad extremum etiam uno pede claudicaret. Et tunc quidem plura suo arbitratu quam medicorum consilio facie­ bat, quos poene exosos habebat, quod ei in cibis assa, quibus assuetus erat, dimittere et elixis adsuescere suadebant. Exercebatur assidue equitando ac venando; quod illi genti­ licium erat, quia vix ulla in terris natio invenitur, quae in hac arte Francis possit aequari. Delectabatur etiam vaporibus aquarum naturaliter calentium, frequenti natatu corpus ex­ ercens; cuius adeo peritus fuit, ut nullus ei iuste valeat ante­ ferri. Ob hoc etiam Aquisgrani regiam exstruxit ibique extremis vitae annis usque ad obitum perpetim habitavit. E t non solum filios ad balneum, verum optimates et amicos, aliquando etiam satellitum et custodum corporis turbam invitavit, ita ut nonnumquam centum vel eo amplius homi­ nes una lavarentur.

86

Vita Karoli Magni

22. Personal Appearance Charles had a big and powerful body and was tall but well-proportioned.1 That his height was seven times the length of his own feet is well known.2 He had a round head, his eyes were unusually large and lively, his nose a little longer than average, his gray hair attractive, and his face cheerful and friendly. W hether he was standing or sitting his appearance was always impressive and dignified. His neck was somewhat short and thick and his stomach protruded- a little, but this was rendered inconspicuous by the good proportions of the rest of his body. He walked firmly and his carriage was manly, yet his voice, though clear, was not as strong as one might have expected from someone his size. His health was always excellent, except during the last four years of his life, when he frequently suffered from attacks of fever. And at the end he also limped with one foot. All the same, he continued to rely on his own judgment more than on that of his physicians, whom he almost hated because they ordered him to give up his customary roast meat and eat only boiled meat instead. According to Frankish custom, he rode and hunted a great deal. There is probably no nation on earth that can match the Franks in these skills. Charles was also fond of the steam of natural hot springs. He swam a great deal and did it so well that no one could compete with him. This was why he built the palace in Aachen3 and spent there the last years of his life without interruption until he died. He invited not only his sons but also his nobles and friends, sometimes even his retinue and bodyguard, to bathe with him, so that frequently there would be more than a hundred people in the baths.

The Lije of Charlemagne 87

23 Vestitu patrio, id est Francico, utebatur. Ad corpus camisam lineam, et feminalibus lineis induebatur, deinde tunicam, quae limbo serico ambiebatur, et tibialia; tum fasciolis crura et pedes calciamentis constringebat et ex pellibus lutrinis vel murinis thorace confecto umeros ac pectus hieme muniebat, sago veneto amictus et gladio semper accinctus, cuius capulus ac balteus aut aureus aut argenteus erat. Ali­ quoties et gemmato ense utebatur, quod tamen nonnisi in praecipuis festivitatibus vel si quando exterarum gentium legati venissent. Peregrina vero indumenta, quamvis pulcher­ rima, respuebat nec umquam eis indui patiebatur, excepto quod Romae semel Hadriano pontifice petente et iterum Leone successore eius supplicante longa tunica et clamide amictus, calceis quoque Romano more formatis induebatur. In festivitatibus veste auro texta et calciamentis gemmatis et fibula aurea sagum adstringente, diademate quoque ex auro et gemmis ornatus incedebat. Aliis autem diebus habitus eius parum a communi ac plebeio abhorrebat.

88

Vita Karoli Magni

25. Dress He wore the national dress of the Franks. The trunk of his body was covered with a linen shirt, his thighs with linen pants.1 Over these he put on a tunic2 trimmed at the border with silk.3 The legs from the knee downward were wound with leggings, fastened around the calves with laces,4 and on his feet he wore boots.5 In winter he protected his shoulders and chest with a vest6 made of otter skins or marten fur,7 and over that he wrapped a blue cloak.8 He always carried a sword strapped to his side, and the hilt and belt thereof were made either of gold or silver. Only on special holidays or when ambassa­ dors from foreign nations were to be received did he sometimes carry a jewel-studded saber. He disliked foreign clothes no matter how beautiful they were, and would never allow himself to be dressed in them. Only in Rome was he seen on two occasions in a long tunic, chlamys, and Roman shoes: the first time at the entreaty of Pope Hadrian and the second by request of his successor Leo.9 On high festival days he wore a suit of golden cloth and boots ornamented with jewels. His cloak was fastened by a golden brooch, and on his head he carried a diadem of gold, embellished with gems. On other days, however, his dress was not much different from that of the common people.10

The Life of Charlemagne 89

24. In cibo et potu temperans, sed in potu temperantior, quippe qui ebrietatem in qualicumque homine, nedum in se ac suis, plurimum abhominabatur. Cibo enim non adeo abstinere poterat, ut saepe quereretur noxia corpori suo esse ieiunia. Convivabatur rarissime, et hoc praecipuis tantum festivitati­ bus, tunc tamen cum magno hominum numero. Caena cotidiana quaternis tantum ferculis praebebatur, praeter assam, quam venatores veribus inferre solebant, qua ille libentius quam ullo alio cibo vescebatur. Inter caenandum aut aliquod acroama aut lectorem audiebat. Legebantur ei historiae et antiquorum res gestae. Delectabatur et libris sanc­ ti Augustini, praecipueque his qui de civiate Dei praetitulati sunt. Vini et omnis potus adeo parcus in bibendo erat, ut super caenam raro plus quam ter biberet. Aestate post cibum meridianum pomorum aliquid sumens ac semel bibens, de­ positis vestibus et calciamentis, velut noctu solitus erat, duabus aut tribus horis quiescebat. Noctibus sic dormiebat, ut somnum quater aut quinquies non solum expergescendo, sed etiam desurgendo interrumperet. Cum calciaretur et amiciretur, non tantum amicos admittebat, verum etiam, si comes palatii litem aliquam esse diceret, quae sine eius iussu definiri non posset, statim litigantes introducere iussit et, velut pro tribunali sederet, lite cognita sententiam dixit; nec hoc tantum eo tempore, sed etiam quicquid ea die cuiuslibet officii agendum aut cuiquam ministrorum iniungendum erat expediebat.

90

Vita Karoli Magni

24. Habits Charles was a moderate eater and drinker, especially the latter, because he abominated drunkenness in any man, particularly in himself and in his associates. But he could not easily abstain from eating and often complained that fasting was bad for his health. He rarely gave banquets and then only on special feast days for large numbers of guests. His daily dinner consisted of four courses, besides the roast which the hunters used to bring in on spits and which he loved more than any other food. During the meal he either listened to music1 or to someone reading aloud. Stories and the deeds of the old heroes were recited to him.2 He also enjoyed the books of St. Augustine, especially The City of God. He was so temperate in drinking wine or other bever­ ages that he rarely drank more than three times during a meal. After his midday meal in summer he would eat some fruit and take another drink, then remove his clothes and shoes, just as he did at night, and rest for two to three hours. His sleep at night would usually be inter­ rupted four or five times, and as soon as he awoke, he got up. W hile he was being dressed and having his shoes put on, he would invite his friends to come into the room. If the count of the palace told him of some dispute which could not be settled without his decision, he ordered the litigants brought before him at once and, just as though he were sitting in a court of justice, would hear the case and pronounce judgment. At the same time he would give instructions on what had to be transacted that day, or what his ministers were to be charged with doing.

The Life of Charlemagne 91

25 Erat eloquentia copiosus et exuberans poteratque quicquid vellet apertissime exprimere. Nec patrio tantum sermone contentus, etiam peregrinis linguis ediscendis operam im­ pendit. In quibus Latinam ita didicit, ut aeque illa ac patria lingua orare sit solitus, Grecam vero melius intellegere quam pronuntiare poterat. Adeo quidem facundus erat, ut etiam dicaculus appareret. Artes liberales studiosissime coluit, earumque doctores plurimum veneratus magnis adficiebat honoribus. In discenda grammatica Petrum Pisanum dia­ conem senem audivit, in ceteris disciplinis Albinum cogno­ mento Alcoinum, item diaconem, de Brittania Saxonici generis hominem, virum undecumque doctissimum, praecep­ torem habuit, apud quem et rethoricae et dialecticae, praeci­ pue tamen astronomiae ediscendae plurimum et temporis et laboris inpertivit. Discebat artem conputandi et intentione sagaci siderum cursum curiosissime rimabatur. Temptabat et scribere tabulasque et codicellos ad hoc in lecto sub cervicalibus circumferre solebat, ut, cum vacuum tempus esset, manum litteris effigiendis adsuesceret, sed parum suc­ cessit labor praeposterus ac sero inchoatus.

92

Vita Karoli Magni

2 5 Studies Charles was a gifted speaker. He spoke fluently and ex­ pressed whatever he had to say with great clarity. N ot only was he proficient in his mother tongue but he also took trouble to learn foreign languages. He spoke Latin as well as his own language, but Greek he understood better than he could speak it. At times he was so eloquent that he almost seemed verbose. He was zealous in his culti­ vation of the liberal arts,1 and respected and honored highly those who taught them. He learned grammar from the Deacon Peter of Pisa,2 who was then already an old man. ^Another fleaeon, Alhinysv surnamed Alcuin,3 a man of Saxon origin who came from Britain and was the greatest scholar of his time, taught him the other subjects. Under his direction, the king spent a great deal of time and effort studying rhetoric, logic, and especially astron­ omy. He learned how to calculate and with great diligence and curiosity investigated the course of the stars. He also tried his hand at writing and to this end always kept writing tablets and notebooks under his pillow in bed in order to practice during spare moments. But since he had only started relatively late in life, he never became very accomplished in this art.

The Life of Charlemagne 93

26. Religionem Christianam, qua ab infantia fuerat inbutus, sanctissime et cum summa pietate coluit, ac propter hoc plurimae pulchritudinis basilicam Aquisgrani exstruxit auroque et argento et luminaribus atque ex aere solido can­ cellis et ianuis adornavit. Ad cuius structuram cum columnas et marmora aliunde habere non posset, Roma atque Ravenna devehenda curavit. Ecclesiam et mane et vespere, item noc­ turnis horis et sacrificii tempore, quoad eum valitudo permi­ serat, inpigre frequentabat, curabatque magnopere, ut omnia quae in ea gerebantur cum qua maxima fierent honestate, aedituos creberrime commonens, ne quid indecens aut sor­ didum aut inferri aut in ea remanere permitterent. Sacrorum vasorum ex auro et argento vestimentorumque sacerdotalium tantam in ea copiam procuravit, ut in sacrificiis celebrandis ne janitoribus quidem, qui ultimi ecclesiastici ordinis sunt, privato habitu ministrare necesse fuisset. Legendi atque psallendi disciplinam diligentissime emendavit. Erat enim utriusque admodum eruditus, quamquam ipse nec publice legeret nec nisi submissim et in commune cantaret.

94

Vita Karoli Magni

26. P ie ty The king practiced the Christian religion, in which he had been raised since childhood, with the greatest piety and devotion. That is why he built the beautiful basilica in Aachen and decorated it with gold and silver, candelabras, lattices, and portals of solid bronze.1 Since he was unable to get the columns and marble for the structure from anywhere else, he had them brought from Rome and Ravenna.2 As long as his health permitted, the king attended church regularly in the morning and evening and took part in the late-night hours and morning mass.3 He was especially concerned that everything done in the church should be carried out with the greatest possible dignity. Often he admonished the sacristans to see to it that nothing unseemly or unclean was brought into the church or left there. He gave many sacred vessels of gold and silver and so many priestly vestments that when services were held not even the doorkeepers—the humblest in ecclesiastical rank—had to perform their duties in every­ day clothes.4 Charles also worked very hard at improving the quality of liturgical reading and chanting of the psalms. He him­ self was well versed in both, although he would never read in public or sing, except in a low voice and together with the congregation.

The Life of Charlemagne

95

27 Circa pauperes sustentandos et gratuitam liberalitatem, quam Greci eleimosinam vocant, devotissimus, ut qui non in patria solum et in suo regno id facere curaverit, verum trans maria in Syriam et Aegyptum atque Africam, Hierosolimis, Alexandriae atque Cartagini, ubi Christianos in paupertate vivere conpererat, penuriae illorum conpatiens pecuniam mittere solebat; ob hoc maxime transmarinorum regum amicitias ex­ petens, ut Christianis sub eorum dominatu degentibus refri­ gerium aliquod ac relevatio proveniret. Colebat prae ceteris sacris et venerabilibus locis apud Romam ecclesiam beati Petri apostoli; in cuius donaria magna vis pecuniae tam in auro quam in argento necnon et gemmis ab illo congesta est. Multa et innumera pontificibus munera missa. Neque ille toto regni sui tempore quicquam duxit antiquius, quam ut urbs Roma sua opera suoque labore vetere polleret auctoritate, et ecclesia sancti Petri per illum non solum tuta ac defensa, sed etiam suis opibus prae om­ nibus ecclesiis esset ornata atque ditata. Quam cum tanti penderet, tamen intra XLVII annorum, quibus regnaverat, spatium quater tantum illo votorum solvendorum ac suppli­ candi causa profectus est.

96

Vita Karoli Magni

2 1. Generosity Charles was especially interested in helping the poor, and his generosity was of the kind for which the Greeks use the word eleemosyna (alms). But his charity was not limited to his own country and kingdom, for wherever he heard of Christians living in poverty, he would send them money out of compassion for their wretched lot, even overseas, to Syria and Egypt, as well as to Africa, Jerusalem, Alexandria, and Carthage. This was also the chief reason why he cultivated friendships with kings across the seas, so that the Christians living in need under their jurisdiction would receive some aid and succor.1 Of all sacred and hallowed places, he loved the Cathe­ dral of the Holy Apostle Peter in Rome most of all. He endowed its treasure room with great quantities of gold, silver, and precious stones. He sent its pontiffs many, in­ deed innumerable, gifts. During his entire reign nothing seemed more important to him than to exert himself to restore the city of Rome to its old splendor and to have the Cathedral of St. Peter not only secured and defended but, through his generosity, adorned and enriched beyond all other churches. Although he favored this church so much, he only visited it four times during his reign of forty-seven years, there to fulfill his vows and offer his prayers.2

The Life of Charlemagne

97

2$. Ultimi adventus sui non solum hae fuere causae, verum etiam quod Romani Leonem pontificem multis affectum iniuriis, erutis scilicet oculis linguaque amputata, fidem regis implorare conpulerunt. Idcirco Romam veniens propter reparandum, qui nimis conturbatus erat, ecclesiae statum ibi totum hiemis tempus extraxit. Quo tempore imperatoris et augusti nomen accepit. Quod primo in tantum aversatus est, ut adfirmaret se eo die, quamvis praecipua festivitas esset, ecclesiam non intraturum, si pontificis consilium prae­ scire potuisset. Invidiam tamen suscepti nominis, Romanis imperatoribus super hoc indignantibus, magna tulit patientia. Vicitque eorum contumaciam magnanimitate, qua eis procul dubio longe praestantior erat, mittendo ad eos crebras lega­ tiones et in epistolis fratres eos appellando.

29 Post susceptum imperiale nomen, cum adverteret multa legi­ bus populi sui deesse — nam Franci duas habent leges, in plurimis locis valde diversas — cogitavit quae deerant addere et discrepantia unire, prava quoque ac perperam prolata corrigere, sed de his nihil aliud ab eo factum est, nisi quod

98

Vita Karoli Magni

2$. Charles Becomes Emperor But there were also other reasons for Charles’ last visit to Rome. The Romans had forced Pope Leo, on whom they had inflicted various injuries, like tearing out his eyes and cutting out his tongue, to beg for the king’s assis­ tance.1 Charles therefore went to Rome to put order into the confused situation and reestablish the status of the Church. This took the whole winter. It was on this oc­ casion that he accepted the titles of Emperor and Augustus, which at" first he disliked so much that he said he would never have entered the church even on this highest of holy days2 if he had beforehand realized the intentions of the Pope. Still, he bore with astonishing patience the envy his imperial title aroused in the indignant Eastern Roman emperors. He overcame their stubborn opposition with magnanimity—of which he unquestionably had far more than they did—and sent frequent embassies to them, al­ ways calling them his brothers in his letters.3

29. Reforms After Charles had accepted the imperial title he noticed that there were many flaws in the legal code of his people, for the Franks have two separate sets of laws differing markedly in many details.1 He planned to fill in the gaps, to reconcile discrepancies, and to correct what was wrongly and improperly stated. But he was unable to get

The Life of Charlemagne

99

pauca capitula, et ea inperfecta, legibus addidit. Omnium tamen nationum, quae sub eius dominatu erant, iura quae scripta non erant describere ac litteris mandari fecit. Item barbara et antiquissima carmina, quibus veterum regum actus et bella canebantur, scripsit memoriaeque mandavit. Inchoavit et grammaticam patrii sermonis. Mensibus etiam iuxta propriam linguam vocabula inposuit, cum ante id temporis apud Francos partim Latinis, partim barbaris nominibus pronuntiarentur. Item ventos duodecim propriis appellationibus insignavit, cum prius non amplius quam vix quattuor ventorum vocabula possent inveniri. Et de mensibus quidem Ianuarium uuintarmanoth, Februarium hornung, Martium lenzinmanoth, Aprilem ostarmanoth, Maium uuinnemanoth, Iunium brachmanoth, Iulium heuuimanoth, Augustum aranmanoth, Septembrem uuitumanoth, Octobrem uuindumemanoth, Novembrem herbistmanoth, Decembrem heilagmanoth appellavit. Ventis vero hoc modo nomina inposuit, ut subsolanum vocaret ostroniuuint, eurum ostsundroni, euroaustrum sundostroni, austrum sundroni, austroafricum sunduuestroni, africum uuestsundroni, zefyrum uuestroni, chorum uuestnordroni, circium norduuestroni, septentrionem nordroni, aquilonem nordostroni, vulturnum ostnordroni.

i oo

V ita Karoli Magni

very much done, except for making a very few additions and even those incomplete. Even so, he did order all the unwritten laws of the nations under his rule collected and written down.2 He also had the same done for the very old heathen songs which tell of the deeds and wars of former kings, so that they might be preserved for pos­ terity.3 In addition, he began a grammar of his native language.4 Charles gave Frankish names to the months. Before that the Franks had used partly Latin, partly barbarian names for them. He also invented appropriate designations for the twelve- winds for which there had previously been barely four words. As for the months, he called January uuintarmanoth, February hom ung, March lenzinmanoth, April ostarmanoth, May uuinnemanothy June bracbmanoth, July heuuimanoth, August aranmanoth, September uuitumanoth, October uuindumemanoth, November herbistmanoth, and December heilagmanoth.5 T o the winds he gave the following names: the east wind (subsolanus) he called ostroniuuint, the southeaster {eurus) ostsundroni, the south-southeaster {euroauster) sundostroni, the south wind {auster) sundroni, the south-southwester {austro­ africus) sunduuestroni, the south wester {africus) uuestsundroni, the west wind {zephyrus) uuestroni, the north­ wester {chorus) uuestnordroniy the north-northwester {circius) norduuestroni, the north wind {septentrio) nord roniy the northeaster {aquilo) nordostroni, and the northnortheaster {vulturnus) ostnordroni.e

The Life of Charlemagne

ιο 1

30, Extremo vitae tempore, cum iam et morbo et senectute pre­ meretur, evocatum ad se Hludowicum filium, Aquitaniae regem, qui solus filiorum Hildigardae supererat, congregatis sollemniter de toto regno Francorum primoribus, cunctorum consilio consortem sibi totius regni et imperialis nominis heredem constituit, inpositoque capiti eius diademate im­ peratorem et augustum iussit appellari. Susceptum est hoc eius consilium ab omnibus qui aderant magno cum favore; nam divinitus ei propter regni utilitatem videbatur inspira­ tum. Auxitque maiestatem eius hoc factum et exteris nationi­ bus non minimum terroris incussit. Dimisso deinde in Aqui­ taniam filio, ipse more solito, quamvis senectute confectus, non longe a regia Aquensi venatum proficiscitur, exactoque in huiuscemodi negotio quod reliquum erat autumni, circa Kalendas Novembris Aquasgrani revertitur. Cumque ibi hiemaret, mense Ianuario febre valida cor­ reptus decubuit. Qui statim, ut in febribus solebat, cibi sibi abstinentiam indixit, arbitratus hac continentia morbum posse depelli vel certe mitigari. Sed accedente ad febrem lateris dolore, quem Greci pluresin dicunt, illoque adhuc inediam retinente neque corpus aliter quam rarissimo potu susten­ tante, septimo, postquam decubuit, die, sacra communione percepta, decessit, anno aetatis suae septuagesimo secundo et ex quo regnare coeperat quadragesimo septimo, V. Ka­ lendas Februarii, hora diei tertia.

102

Vita Karoli Magni

3 0 . Coronation o f Louis and Charles' Death At the end of his life, when he was already beset by illness and old age, Charles summoned Louis, the king of Aquitaine and Hildegard’s only surviving son, to his presence.1 He invited all of the Frankish nobles to a solemn assembly, in which with their consent he appointed Louis co-regent over the entire realm and heir to the imperial title. He crowned his son himself by placing the diadem on his head and ordering that he be addressed Emperor and Augustus.2 His decision was received by all those present with great acclaim since it seemed to be divinely inspired for the good of the kingdom. It increased his reputation as a ruler and instilled considerable respect among foreign nations. After Charles had sent his son back to Aquitaine, he started out as usual for the hunt3 paying no heed to his advanced age. Thus occupied, he spent what was left of the autumn not far from Aachen and returned to the palace at approximately the beginning of November. While he was wintering there he was attacked by a high fever during the month of January and had to retire to bed. As he always did when he had a temperature, he began to diet in the belief that he could cure or at least alleviate his illness by abstaining from food. In addition to the fever he developed a pain in his side, which the Greeks call pleurisy, but he kept up his fasting and did not take any sustenance except for an occasional drink. On the seventh day after he had taken to bed he received the Holy Communion and died on 28 January between eight and nine o’clock in the morning. Charles was then in the seventy-second year of his life and in the forty-seventh year of his reign.4

The Life of Charlemagne

103

31 Corpus more sollemni lotum et curatum et maximo totius populi luctu ecclesiae inlatum atque humatum est. Dubita­ tum est primo, ubi reponi deberet, eo quod ipse vivus de hoc nihil praecepisset. Tandem omnium animis sedit nus­ quam eum honestius tumulari posse quam in ea basilica, quam ipse propter amorem Dei et domini nostri Iesu Christi et ob honorem sanctae et aeternae virginis, genetricis eius, proprio sumptu in eodem vico construxit. !n hac sepultus est eadem die, qua defunctus est, arcusque supra tumulum deau­ ratus cum imagine et titulo exstructus. Titulus ille hoc modo descriptus est: ‘SUB HOC CONDITORIO SITUM EST CORPUS KAROLI MAGNI A TQ U E ORTHODOXI IMPERATORIS, QUI REGNUM FRANCORUM NOBI­ LITER AMPLIAVIT ET PER ANNOS XLVII FELICI­ TER REXIT. DECESSIT SEPTUAGENARIUS A NNO DOMINI DCCCXIIII, INDICTIONE VII, V. KAL. FEBR.’

32. Adpropinquantis finis conplura fuere prodigia, ut non solum alii, sed etiam ipse hoc minitari sentiret. Per tres continuos vitaeque termino proximos annos et solis et lunae creberrima defectio et in sole macula quaedam atri coloris septem di­ erum spatio visa. Porticus, quam inter basilicam et regiam operosa mole construxerat, die ascensionis Domini subita ruina usque ad fundamenta conlapsa. Item pons Rheni apud Mogontiacum, quem ipse per decem annos ingenti labore

04

Vita Karoli Magni

31. Burial His body was washed and prepared for burial in the cus­ tomary way, then brought to the basilica and buried amid the great lamentations of the entire population. A t first there was uncertainty about where he should be laid to rest because he had never given any instructions on this point during his lifetime. Finally everyone agreed that there could be no more appropriate place than the basilica which he had built at his own expense in this city out of love for God and our Lord Jesus Christ and in honor of the Holy and Immaculate Virgin. He was interred there on the same day he died. Above his grave a gilded arch was raised with his image and an inscription reading as follows: “In this tomb lies the body of Charles, the great Christian Emperor, who gloriously increased the kingdom of the Franks and ruled successfully for forty-seven years. He died in his seventies in the seventh year of the indic­ tion,1 on January 28th in the year of our Lord 814.”

32. Omens o f Death There were many omens indicating the approach of his death, so that not only others but even he himself took note of the forewarnings. During the last three years of his life there were frequent eclipses of the sun and moon, and black spots were seen on the face of the sun for seven days.1 On Ascension Day the portico between the cathe­ dral and the palace which he had had built with immense effort suddenly came crashing down in complete ruin.2 The wooden bridge across the Rhine at Mainz, which had taken ten years of hard work to build and which was so

The Life of Charlemagne

ιo5

et opere mirabili de ligno ita construxit, ut perenniter durare posse videretur, ita tribus horis fortuitu incendio conflagra­ vit, ut, praeter quod aqua tegebatur, ne una quidem astula ex eo remaneret. Ipse quoque, cum ultimam in Saxoniam expeditionem contra Godofridum regem Danorum ageret, quadam die, cum ante exortum solis castris egressus iter agere coepisset, vidit repente delapsam caelitus cum ingenti lumine facem a dextra in sinistram per serenum aera trans­ currere. Cunctisque hoc signum, quid portenderet, ammirantibus, subito equus, quem sedebat, capite deorsum merso decidit eumque tam graviter ad terram elisit, ut, fibula sagi rupta balteoque gladii dissipato, a festinantibus qui aderant ministris exarmatus et sine amiculo levaretur. Iaculum etiam, quod tunc forte manu tenebat, ita elapsum est, ut viginti vel eo amplius pedum spatio longe iaceret. Accessit ad hoc creber Aquensis palatii tremor et in domibus, ubi conversa­ batur, assiduus laqueariorum crepitus. Tacta etiam de caelo, in qua postea sepultus est, basilica, malumque aureum, quo tecti culmen erat ornatum, ictu fulminis dissipatum et supra domum pontificis, quae basilicae contigua erat, proiectum est. Erat in eadem basilica in margine coronae, quae inter superiores et inferiores arcus interiorem aedis partem ambie­ bat, epigramma sinopide scriptum, continens, quis auctor esset eiusdem templi, cuius in extremo versu legebatur: KAROLUS PRINCEPS. Notatum est a quibusdam eodem, quo decessit, anno paucis ante mortem mensibus eas, quae PRINCEPS exprimebant, litteras ita esse deletas, ut penitus non apparerent. Sed superiora omnia sic aut dissimulavit aut sprevit, acsi nihil horum ad res suas quolibet modo per­ tineret.

106

Vita Karoli Magni

cleverly constructed that it seemed as if it would last for­ ever, this bridge accidentally caught fire and burnt to ashes in three hours, so that not a single plank remained except what was under water.3 During his last campaign in Saxony against Godofrid, the king of the Danes,4 Charles all at once saw a ball of brilliant fire falling from the sky and flashing from right to left through the clear atmosphere. He had just left his camp before sunrise to start out on the march. While everybody was looking and wondering what this sign meant, his horse suddenly fell headfirst and threw him to the ground so violently that the clasp on his cloak broke and his sword belt burst. The attendants who were near him and rushed to his aid helped him up without his weapons and cloak. The lance which he had been holding tightly in his hand was thrown a distance of more than twenty feet. In addition to all this there were numerous earth tremors in his palace in Aachen, and in the houses which Charles visited the wooden beams in the ceilings creaked con­ stantly. Furthermore, lightning had struck the basilica in which he was later to be buried and the golden ball which decorated the gable was destroyed and hurled onto the roof of the bishop’s house next to the church. In the same basilica there was an inscription written in red ochre naming its builder and running along the edge of the cir­ cular space which surrounds the interior part of the build­ ing between the upper and lower arches. Its last words read: “Karolus Princeps.” Several people noticed that dur­ ing the last year of his life, only a few months before he died, the letters of the word “Princeps” had become so blurred that they could hardly be deciphered. But Charles took no notice of these omens; in any case he acted as if they had nothing whatever to do with him.

The Life of Charlemagne

107

Basilica of the Royal Palace in Aachen. The kings were crowned here. It represents a conscious attempt to establish an indigenous architecture independent of the Byzantine style.

108

V ita Karoli Magni

The monastery of Monte Casino in Latium, Italy, before the destruction by the Allies in 1944. (Here reproduced by permission of the Ministerio della Pubblica Istruzione, Roma.)

The Life of Charlemagne

109

33 Testamenta facere instituit, quibus filias et ex concubinis liberos ex aliqua parte sibi heredes faceret, sed tarde inchoata perfici non poterant. Divisionem tamen thesaurorum et pecuniae ac vestium aliaeque suppellectilis coram amicis et ministris suis annis tribus, antequam decederet, fecit, con­ testatus eos, ut post obitum suum a se facta distributio per illorum suffragium rata permaneret. Quidque ex his quae diviserat fieri vellet, breviario conprehendit; cuius ratio ac textus talis est: ‘IN N OM INE DOMINI DEI OM NIPOTENTIS, PATRIS ET FILII E T SPIRITUS SANCTI. Descriptio atque divisio, quae facta est a gloriosissimo atque piissimo domno Karolo imperatore augusto anno ab incarnatione domini nostri Iesu Christi DCCCXI, anno vero regni eius in Francia XLIII et in Italia XXXVI, imperii autem XI, in­ dictione IIII, quam pia et prudenti consideratione facere decrevit et Domino annuente perfecit de thesauris suis atque pecunia, quae in illa die in camera eius inventa est. In qua illud praecipue praecavere voluit, ut non solum eleimosinarum largitio, quae sollemniter apud Christianos de pos­ sessionibus eorum agitur, pro se quoque de sua pecunia ordine atque ratione perficeretur, sed etiam ut heredes sui omni ambiguitate remota, quid ad se pertinere deberet, liquido cognoscere et sine lite atque contentione sua inter se conpetenti partitione dividere potuissent.

11 ο

Vita Karoli Magni

33. Last W ill Charles had decided to draw up a will in which he wanted to make his daughters and illegitimate children heirs to some part of his estate. Since he started too late, how­ ever, he was unable to complete it. Nevertheless, three years before his death he made a division of his treasures, money, clothing, and other movable property in the pres­ ence of his friends and attendants. He called on them to bear witness that the apportionment which he had planned should be executed faithfully after his death. He had a brief statement prepared summarizing what he wanted done with the property he had divided. This document reads as follows: “In the name of the Almighty Lord God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Here is a descrip­ tion of the division which was made by the most glorious and pious Lord Charles, Emperor and Augustus, in the eight hundred and eleventh year after the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ, during the forty-third year of his reign over the Franks, in the thirty-sixth year of his rule over Italy, in the eleventh year of his Imperial sovereignty, and in the fourth indiction. After much pious and prudent deliberation and with the help of God, he has decided to distribute the valuables and money which on this day are on deposit in his treasury. In doing so he wished above all to ensure that in his case the distribution of alms, which among Christians is traditionally made from their own personal belongings, would be carried out in an orderly and reasonable fashion. He also wanted to be certain that his heirs should understand quite clearly and definitely what was to be theirs, so that they could divide up the inheritance properly without any litigation or dispute.

The Life of Charlemagne

111

Hac igitur intentione atque proposito omnem substantiam atque suppellectilem suam, quae in auro et argento gem­ misque et ornatu regio in illa, ut dictum est, die in camera eius poterat inveniri, primo quidem trina divisione partitus est. Deinde easdem partes subdividendo de duabus partibus XX et unam partem fecit, tertiam integram reservavit. Et duarum quidem partium in XX et unam partem facta divisio tali ratione consistit, ut, quia in regno illius metropolitanae civitates XX et una esse noscuntur, unaquaeque illarum partium ad unamquamque metropolim per manus heredum et amicorum suorum eleimosinae nomine perveniat, et archiepiscopus, qui tunc illius ecclesiae rector extiterit, partem quae ad suam ecclesiam data est suscipiens cum suis suffraganeis partiatur, eo scilicet modo, ut pars tertia suae sit ecclesiae, duae vero partes inter suffraganeos dividantur. Harum divisionum, quae ex duabus primis partibus factae sunt et iuxta metropoleorum civitatum numerum XX et una esse noscuntur, unaquaeque ab altera sequestrata semotim in suo repositorio cum superscriptione civitatis, ad quam perferenda est, recondita iacet. Nomina metropo­ leorum, ad quas eadem eleimosina sive largitio facienda est, haec sunt: Roma, Ravenna, Mediolanum, Forum Iulii, Gra­ dus, Colonia, Mogontiacus, Iuvavum quae et Salzburc, T re­ veri, Senones, Vesontio, Lugdunum, Ratumagus, Remi, Arelas, Vienna, Darantasia, Ebrodunum, Burdigala, Turones, Bituriges. Unius autem partis, quam integram reservari voluit, talis est ratio, ut, illis duabus in supradictas divisiones distributis et sub sigillo reconditis, haec tertia in usu cotidiano ver­ saretur, velut res, quam nulla voti obligatione a dominio' possidentis alienatam esse constaret, et hoc tamdiu, quoadus­ que vel ille mansisset in corpore vel usum eius sibi neces­ sarium iudicaret. Post obitum vero suum aut voluntariam saecularium rerum carendam eadem pars quattuor subdivi112

Vita Karoli Magni

Such being his intention and purpose, he first divided all his tangible and movable possessions, consisting of gold and of silver, precious stones and royal vestments, de­ posited in his treasury on the stipulated day into three main parts. One part he left intact; the other two he sub­ divided into twenty-one smaller portions, the reason for this being that, as is well known, there are twenty-two capital cities in his realm.1 One of these portions shall be given for charitable purposes to each of the cities by his heirs and friends. The archbishop responsible for the diocese shall receive the portion and divide it with his suffragans in such a manner that one-third is kept for his church and two-thirds is given to the suffragans. These twenty-one portions into which two-thirds of his property were subdivided to correspond 'to the number of capital cities in the kingdom have been carefully separated and set aside in individual coffers on which the names of the cities of destination are written. The cities to which these alms and gifts are to be given are as follows: Rome, Ravenna, Milan, Cividale del Friuli,2 Grado,3 Cologne, Mainz, Salzburg, Trier, Sens, Besan£on, Lyons, Rouen, Rheims, Arles, Vienne, Moutiers-en-Tarantaise,4 Embrun,5 Bordeaux, Tours, and Bourges. “The third main part which is to be preserved intact shall be dealt with in the following manner: while both of the above-mentioned parts are to be divided in the way stated and are to be kept under seal, the third part is to be used for the defrayment of the daily expenses by the owner and will constitute property of which he can­ not be deprived by any sworn obligation whatsoever. This provision shall remain in force for as long as he lives or for as long as he judges that he has need of it. After his death or voluntary withdrawal from the secular world the said part is to be divided into four shares. One

The Life of Charlemagne

1 13

sionibus secaretur, et una quidem earum supradictis XX et unae partibus adderetur, altera a filiis ac filiabus suis filiis­ que ac filiabus filiorum suorum adsumpta iusta et ratio­ nabili inter eos partitione divideretur tertia vero consueto Christianis more in usum pauperum fuisset erogata, quarta simili modo nomine eleimosinae in servorum et ancillarum usibus palatii famulantium sustentationem distributa veniret. Ad hanc tertiam totius summae portionem, quae similiter ut ceterae ex auro et argento constat, adiungi voluit omnia ex aere et ferro aliisque metallis vasa atque utensilia cum armis et vestibus alioque aut pretioso aut vili ad varios usus facto suppellectili, ut sunt cortinae, stragula, tapetia, filtra, coria, sagmata, et quicquid in camera atque vestiario eius eo die fuisset inventum, ut ex hoc maiores illius partis divi­ siones fierent et erogatio eleimosinae ad plures pervenire potuisset. Capellam, id est ecclesiasticum ministerium, tam id quod ipse fecit atque congregavit, quam quod ad eum ex paterna hereditate pervenit, ut integrum esset neque ulla divisione scinderetur, ordinavit. Si qua autem invenirentur aut vasa aut libri aut alia ornamenta, quae liquido constaret eidem capellae ab eo conlata non fuisse, haec qui habere vellet dato iustae aestimationis pretio emeret et haberet. Similiter et de libris, quorum magnam in bibliotheca sua copiam con­ gregavit, statuit, ut ab his qui eos habere vellent iusto pretio fuissent redempti, pretiumque in pauperibus erogatum. Inter ceteros thesauros atque pecuniam tres mensas argen­ teas et auream unam praecipuae magnitudinis et ponderis esse constat. De quibus statuit atque decrevit, ut una ex his,

14

V ita Karoli Magni

of these shall be added to the above mentioned twentyone portions; the second share is to go to his sons and daughters and their sons and daughters and shall be distributed in a just and equitable way; the third shall be devoted to the poor in the customary Christian manner; the fourth is to be similarly parceled out in form of a pension, in the name of Christian charity, among the male and female servants of the Palace. “T o this third main part of his fortune, which like the rest consists of gold and silver, he desires that there be added all vessels and utensils made of bronze, iron, and other metal, together with his weapons, clothes, and other movable property, whether valuable or not, and for what­ ever use intended, such as curtains, coverlets, tapestries, woolens, leather goods, pack saddles, and whatever else might be found that day in the treasury or in his ward­ robe. In this way the shares of the third part will be en­ larged and the alms distributed among a greater number of people. “Further, he has given orders that the chapel, that is to say the furnishings which he has donated and collected, or inherited from his father, be kept intact and not be subject to any kind of division. Should there, however, be any vessels, books, or other objects of which it is certainly known that they were not given to the chapel by him, then any person desiring them may buy them, provided a fair price is paid. In the same way he decreed that the large collection of books in his library may be bought by persons who want them and will pay a just price for them. The proceeds shall go to the poor. “Among his other treasures and valuables there are known to be three silver tables and one of unusual size and weight made of gold. He has stipulated and decreed that

The Life of Charlemagne

1 15

quae forma quadrangula descriptionem urbis Constantinopolitanae continet, inter cetera donaria, quae ad hoc de­ putata sunt, Romam ad basilicam beati Petri apostoli de­ feratur, et altera, quae forma rotunda Romanae urbis effigie figurata est, episcopio Ravennatis ecclesiae conferatur. Ter­ tiam, quae ceteris et operis pulchritudine et ponderis gravi­ tate multum excellit, quae ex tribus orbibus conexa totius mundi descriptionem subtili ac minuta figuratione conplectitur, et auream illam, quae quarta esse dicta est, in tertiae illius et inter heredes suos atque in eleimosinam divi­ dendae partis augmento esse constituit. Hanc constitutionem atque ordinationem coram epis­ copis, abbatibus comitibusque, qui tunc praesentes esse potuerunt, quorumque hic nomina descripta sunt, fecit atque constituit. Episcopi: Hildibaldus, Richolfus, Arn, Wolfarius, Bernoinus, Laidradus, Iohannes, Theodulfus, Iesse, Heito, Waltgaudus. Abbates: Fridugisus, Adalungus, Engilbertus, Irmino. Comites: Walah, Meginherus, Otulfus,

116

V ita Karoli Magni

one of them, square in shape and decorated with a plan of the city of Constantinople, be sent to Rome to the Cathedral of the Holy Apostle Peter together with the other gifts thereto intended. The second table, round in shape and engraved with a picture of the city of Rome, shall be given to the bishopric of the church of Ravenna.® The third, far superior to the others, both in beauty of craftsmanship and in weight, consists of three concentric circles on which a map of the entire world is skillfully traced in great detail.7 This table together with the golden one, called the fourth, shall be added to the third main part of his fortune which he has allotted to his heirs and to those who are to receive alms. “These arrangements and stipulations were done in the presence of the following bishops, abbots,8 and counts who were able to attend on that day, and whose names are herein recorded: Bishops John Theodolf Jesse Heito Waltgaud

Hildebald Richolf Amo W olfar Bernoin Laidrad Abbots

Angilbert Irmino

Fridugis Adalung Counts Walach Meginher

Richwin Edo

The Life of Charlemagne

1 17

Stephanus, Unniocus, Burchardus, Meginhardus, Hatto, Rihwinus, Edo, Ercangarius, Geroldus, Bero, Hildigemus, Hroccolfus.’ Haec omnia filius eius Hludowicus, qui ei divina iussione successit, inspecto eodem breviario, quam celerrime poterat post obitum eius summa devotione adimplere curavit.

118

Vita Karoli Magni

Otolf Stephan Unruoch Burchard Meginhard H atto

Ercangar Gerold Bero Hildegern Hroccolf.”

After Charles’ death, his son Louis, who succeeded him by divine ordination, examined this document and had its provisions carried out as speedily as possible and with the utmost scrupulousness.9

The Life of Charlemagne

1 19

Notes

Introduction 1. The great monastic schools of Tours, Corbie, Fulda, and St. Gall were not only important'cultural centers but also instru­ mental in the preservation of the treasures of classical Latin poetry. Much of it might well be lost to us today had these schools not been diligent copying centers. 2. Exod. 31: 2 and 35: 3(M5. 3. Published in Neues A rchiv der Gesellschaft für ältere deutsche Geschichtskunde 11 (1886): 231-38. 4. Max Manitius, Die Annales Sithiensesf Laurissenses minores und Enharti Fuldenses, dissertation, Leipzig, Dresden 1881. The Annales regni Francorum were edited by Friedrich Kurze (Hannover, 1895). Cf. also Reinhold Rau, Quellen zur karo­ lingischen Rechtsgeschichte , 1. Teil, Die Reichsannaleny Ein­ hards Leben Karls des Grossen , zwei “Leben” Ludwigs , Nithart geschickten (Berlin, 1955). 5. “Die Vita Caroli Magni als Ausgangspunkt zur literarischen Beurtheilung des Historikers Einhard,” in Historische Aufsätze dem Andenken Georg W aitz gewidmet (Hannover, 1886), pp. 78-96. 6. Deutsche Geschichtsquellen des Mittelalters, 1. Band (Weimar, 1904): 170-86. 7. Eginhard (Paris, 1942). 8. Neues A rchiv 7 (1881): 515M58. 9. “Das Karlsbild Einhards,” Deutsche Vierteljahrsschrift 15 (1937): 167-88. 10. “Einhard,” in Reallexikon der germanischen Altertumskunde , hrsg. von J. L. Hoops, 1. Band (Strassburg, 1911): 538-41.

Notes to pages 13 to 19

121

11. “Die Zeit der Entstehung von Einhards Vita Karoli,” in Kritische Beiträge zur Geschichte des-Mittelalters, Festschrift für Robert Holtzmann , Historische Studien 238 (Berlin, 1933),

pp. 22-42. 12. Friedrich Leo, Die griechisch-römische Biographie nach ihrer literarischen Form (Leipzig, 1901). 13. See Ernst R. Curtius, Europäische Literatur und lateinisches Mittelalter (Bern, 1948); Helmut Beumann, “Topos und Ge­ dankengefüge bei Einhard,” A rchiv für Kulturgeschichte 33 (1950): 340ff, and Ideengeschichtliche Studien zu Einhard und anderen Geschichtsschreibern des früheren Mittelalters (Darm­ stadt, 1962). 14. Einhard is not always consistent in his designation of the popes. In chapter 3 he uses the title pontifex , so also in chap­ ters 19, 23, 27, and 28. But in chapter 6 the terms episcopus and papa are used, and later in the same chapter Romanae ecclesiae rector. In chapter 32, however, pontifex must be translated “bishop.” 15. Clear evidence of Charlemagne’s impact upon the history and civilization of Europe was afforded by a recent exhibit of hun­ dreds of cultural treasures related to him. It took place in Aachen in the summer of 1965 and was organized by Wolf­ gang Braunfels, director of the Institute for the History of Art and professor at the Technische Hochschule in Aachen. The treasures came from all over the world. 16. A new English translation of the Gesta has recently appeared in England. It is contained in Einhard and N otker the Stammerer: T w o Lives of Charlemagne, translated by Louis Thorpe (Pen­ guin Classics, 1969).

Prologue 1.

Marcus Tullius Cicero, Tusculan Disputations I, iii, 6.

Chapter 1 1. 2.

The first Merovingian king of the Franks was Chlodwig I (481511). Hilderich III, the last of the Merovingians, ruled from 742 to 751. Stephen II (or III) was pope from 752 to 757. Actually, his predecessor, Pope Zachary (741-752), had, shortly before his

122

Notes to pages 19 to 35

3.

4.

death, ordered the deposition of Hilderich. Stephen was elected in March 752 and went to Gaul to anoint Pepin the Short at Saint Denis in 754. The popes of the eighth century did not always possess full power to crown the Frankish kings (cf. chap. 28). Jacob Grimm, Deutsche Rechstalterthümer (Göttingen *1854), pp. 146ff and p. 239 comments as follows: “Hair and beard were marks and fashion of adult freemen. . . . He who had his hair and beard cut off thereby submitted to the paternal authority of the person doing the cutting. A freeman could by handing over his hair give himself up in bondage to another.” See also Paulus Diaconus IV, 40 and VI, 53. Already Tacitus referred to the hair style of the Swabian princes. See Grimm, op. cit., p. 262: “This was not done by the majordomos to humiliate the king. Rather, it was an old royal privilege which they left to him who bore the empty royal title. . . . The king’s oxen were . . . especially respected and probably sacred animals in pagan times. Ladies of regal and noble stature also rode in ox-carts.” Obviously Einhard was not aware of the ancient custom and considered it a sign of degradation.

Chapter 2 1.

2. 3. 4.

Pepin II of Heristal died in 714. His son Charles Martel was majordomo from 714 to 741. He was succeeded by his son Pepin III (the Short, or the Younger), who ruled as king of the Franks from 751 to 768. The earlier majordomos had juris­ diction only over the eastern part of the kingdom. The battle of Poitiers took place in 732. The battle on the small river Berre (not l’Etang de Berre), which flows into l’Etang de Si jean, occurred in 737. North of Rome. Carloman went there in 747. He died in Vienne near Lyon in 755. Pepin ordered that he was to be buried on Monte Cassino.

Chapter 3 1. 2.

He actually ruled almost seventeen years (752-68). The war lasted from 760 to 768 (cf. chap. 5). Pepin died on 24 September 768.

Notes to pages 35 to 39

123

3. 4. 5.

On 9 October 768. But Einhard is mistaken here: Pepin him­ self had made the partition with the consent of his nobles. Her name was Gerberga. One of their sons was called Pepin. From 18 October 768 to 4 December 771 —over three years.

Chapter 4 1.

It has been conjectured that Charles was born on 2 April 742. The place of his birth is unknown.

Chapter 5 1. 2. 3. 4.

See chapter 3. Hunold was the son of Waifar, who died shortly before Pepin in 768. At the mouth of the Garonne River. “Castro Frontiaco” is added from the eleventh-century Paris codex 5927 and not found in earlier manuscripts. Einhard’s story about Lupus is not supposed to be true ac­ cording to Max Manitius, Die Annales Sitbienses, Laurissenses minores und, Enharti Fulensesy dissertation, Leipzig, Dresden, 1881, 42if.

Chapter 6 1. 2. 3.

4. 5.

Hadrian (or Adrian) I (772-795). Stephen II (or III), 752 to 757. Pepin had actuallyinvaded Italy twice and fought against Aistulf in 754 and 756. Charles’ campaign began in 773. Desiderius had fled to Pavia, which Charles besieged. Adalgis fled to Verona, then, when besieged by Charles, to Epirus, Salerno, and finally to Con­ stantinople. Desiderius surrendered in 774 and was exiled to the monastery of Corbie, where he died. Einhard is mistaken here for he implies that the short war with Duke Rotgaudof Friuli took place right after the sur­ render of Desiderius. Actually it was fought in 776. An example of Einhard’s aim to be brief, as he promised in his Prologue, and to stress Charles’ way of life, not his wars.

1 24

Notes to pages 31 to 41

Chapter 7 1. 2.

3.

4. 5.

The war with the Saxons lasted from 772 to 804. Strangely enough Einhard sounds here as though the Franks were not a Germanic people (but see chap. 18 on Fastrada). When referring to the nations residing in Germania as uncivi­ lized he is clearly omitting the Franks. Since the Christianization of the Germanic people started among the Franks, he must be talking about the as yet heathen tribes in the north and south. This is written exclusively from an early Christian point of view. The divina iura are the Christian tenets which the Franks had embraced about 270 years earlier, and the accept­ ance of which Charles now demanded by force of arms. To­ day we would not call the Germanic gods, starting with Odin, “demons.” When -Duke Widukind rebelled in 782 Charles ordered 4500 Saxons to be decapitated on a single day in Verden on the Aller. One of the earliest examples of political displacement of large numbers of people. Martin Lintzel believes that a treaty was actually made, but other historians disagree. (Cf. “Der Sach­ senfrieden Karls des Grossen”, Neues A rchiv der Gesellschaft für ältere deutsche Geschichtskunde 48 [1929-30]: 1-32.)

Chapter 8 1. 2.

3. 4.

Actually, Charles also fought the Saxons personally near Lübeck in 775 and at Bochult in 779. The Osning is not a mountain but rather the southeastern part of the Teutoburg Forest. The Battle of Detmold took place in 783. The Hase River is a tributary of the Ems River. The battle occurred in 783 in a place near what is today Osnabrück. The Saxon war began in 772, the Italian in 773. Actually, there were several interruptions.

Chapter 9 1.

As we know from Ekkehard’s epitaph, the battle must have taken place on 15 August 778 (cf. Monumenta Germaniae

Notes to pages 41 to 55

125

historica, Poetae Carolini Aevi, vol. 1, p. 109).

W e have no historical references about the exact location of the ambush: the original version of the Annales *regni Francorum does not mention the occurrence at all: a later version of the A n ­ nales gives a report about it, and Einhard seems to have fol­ lowed this account. But he changes certain details, for he does not tell us that the whole army took part in the battle and that most of the military leaders were killed in the en­ gagement. In the Vita Hludovici, written around 840 by the Limousin Astronomer, the ambush is briefly mentioned as well, but no further details are given. According to the famous French Chanson de Roland (second half of the eleventh century) the battle was fought in Roncesvalles, a valley in Northern Pamplona. Das Rolandslied , its German counterpart, was written around 1130 by the Rhine Franconian priest Konrad, and it, too, recounts the legend which had in the meantime grown up around the incident and embellished it greatly as a story of intrigue. Legend blamed the ambush on the Saracens and has turned Roland into a nephew of Charlemagne. But Einhard is the only his­ torian who actually names Roland, whose horn of distress is said to have echoed for hundreds of miles. Georg Baesecke has compared Einhard’s account with Suetonius’ story of the defeat of Varus in his Life of Augustus and has noted some striking parallels. Both Einhard and Suetonius men­ tioned the fall of three great heroes. One wonders if Ein­ hard’s report is colored by that of Suetonius, whose Lives of Augustus and Titus served Einhard as models. (Cf. “Die Schlacht von Roncesvalles in Einhards Leben Karls des Grossen,” in Festschrift, Paul Kluckhohn und H er­ man Schneider (Tübingen, 1948), pp. 32-45).

Chapter 10 1.

2.

T h e B r e to n s w e r e d e f e a te d s e v e r a l tim e s b y v a r io u s C a r o lin g ia n l e a d e r s : A u d o l f s u b d u e d t h e m i n 786, W i d o i n 799 a n d i n 800. T h e B r e to n s s w o r e a lle g ia n c e t o C h a r le s a t T o u r s ; b u t t h e i r i n ­ s u b o r d i n a t i o n c o n t i n u e d , a n d t h e y r o s e a g a i n i n 811. T h e D u c h y o f B e n e v e n to w a s f o u n d e d b y L o m b a rd s w h o h a d m ig r a te d to S o u th e rn Ita ly , b u t w a s in d e p e n d e n t o f t h e L o m b a r d k in g d o m . T h e e x p e d itio n a g a in s t A r e g is o c -

12 6

Notes to pages 55 to 57

curred in 786-87. Aregis was married to a daughter of King Desiderius.

Chapter 11 1. 2. 3. 4.

The war with Duke Tassilo III of Bavaria took place in 787-88. Her name was Liutberga (cf. chap. 6). Throughout his Vita £inhard confuses the Avars with the Huns. These were distinct tribes, both of Mongolian ori­ gin. Here, as in all other places, he means the Avars. In 788 Tassilo was summoned before the Frankish assem­ bly to defend himself publicly. It developed that on the instigation of his wife he had broken his word by nego­ tiating •with the Avars. Tassilo, his wife, and all of their children were forced to enter monastic orders. Duke Tas­ silo retired to the monastery of Jumieges. As a conse­ quence, the Duchy of Bavaria, which had formerly been independent, was now incorporated into the Frankish kingdom. Tassilo was once more called to appear before the Frankfurt Synod in 794 and had to renounce all claims of his family to his lands.

Chapter 12 1.

2. 3.

4. 5.

The Wiltzes or Welatabi were a Slavic tribe living on the coast of the Baltic Sea in present-day Pomerania and Brandenburg. They were members of the East Slavic league of the Liutici. They remained free until about 1150, when Albrecht the Bear incorporated them into Germany with the help of the Christian Mission. They inhabited present-day Mecklenburg and were also called Obodriti. The Baltic Sea, which is almost 900 miles long and between 100 and 200 miles wide. Einhard uses a Roman measurement here, “100,000 paces,” which is equivalent to approximately 100 miles (one pace, passus, actually means a double step equaling approxi­ mately 1.5 yards or almost five feet). Nordmannos means “Norsemen,” not “Normans” in the modern sense. Einhard is talking about the campaign of 789. In 808 the Wiltzes rebelled once more against the Franks.

Notes to pages 51 to 61

127

Chapter 13 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Cf. footnote 3, chap. 11. Pepin defeated the Avars in 796. Actually, the struggles with the Avars lasted from 791 to 803. It is said that the influx of gold and silver into Franconia as a result of this war was so great that the value of these pre­ cious metals fell by one-third. Duke Eric was killed in 799. Tarsatica was located very near present-day Fiume. Gerold was the brother of Charles’ wife Hildegard.

Chapter 14 1.

2.

The war in Bohemia lasted from 805 to 806. The war with the Linones took place in 808, but they rose again in 811. The Linones were a Slavic people who lived between the Elbe and Oder rivers. The wars lasted from 804 to 810. To protect his lands from the Franks, Godofrid had built a huge earth wall called “Danework” south of the Eider River, reaching from the North Sea to the Baltic Sea. In 808 he attacked the Franks, and in 810 he sent a large fleet to invade Frisia. Charles per­ sonally marched northward to meet him, but Godofrid was killed before the battle could take place.

Chapter 15 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Charles ruled from 9 October (24 September?) 768 to 28 January 814, actually only forty-five years and four months. Einhard must be counting both 768 and 814 as full years, But Charles did not conquer Tortosa nor did his empire extend as far south as the Ebro River. Einhard adds Calabria to makes Charles’ accomplishments more impressive. Upper and Lower Pannonia correspond to parts of present-day Austria, Roumania, Transylvania, and Hungary as far as the Theiss River. From the following sentence it would appear that Einhard is talking about the Slavic tribes in this area only, whose languages, of course, were not Germanic but rather Slavic

1 28

Notes to pages 63 to 69

d ia le c ts . B u t s in c e h e h a s n o t m e n t i o n e d t h e o t h e r G e r m a n i c trib e s in th e sa m e r e g io n e ls e w h e re w e m u s t a ssu m e th a t t h e y a re h e r e in c lu d e d as w e ll. T h e i r la n g u a g e s w e r e o f c o u rs e G e r m a n i c a n d s im ila r ; t h e y s p o k e th e v a rio u s d ia le c ts o f O ld H ig h G e rm a n a n d O ld S ax o n .

Chapter 16 1.

Alfons II, called the Chaste, ruled from 791 to 842. Galicia and Asturias are regions in northern Spain.

2.

T h ese

3.

The letters have not come down to us. It is not clear which Scottish (Irish) kings Einhard refers to here. W e know only of his correspondence with King Offa of Mercia be­ tween 789 and 796, and a visit of King Eardulf of Northum­ bria to Charles in Nymwegen in 808. Does Einhard mean his diplomatic relations with the Irish court? Einhard refers to Harun al Rashid (786-809), the fifth caliph of Bagdad from the family of the Abbasides. This was fully three hundred years before the First Crusade, when thousands went to the Holy Land. Later on a legend developed that Charles himself had made a pilgrimage and cru­ sade to Jerusalem. In 799 Charles sent messengers to Jerusalem who returned in 800 with the keys of the Holy Sepulcher and Mount Calvary given to Charles by the patriarch of Jerusalem out of deference. Harun al Rashid did not send his ambassadors until 801, and, according to the revised version of the Annales regni Francorum , the elephant arrived shortly thereafter. Whether or not it was the only elephant in Harun’s possession the Annales do not tell us. In 807 another embassy came to Charles bringing generous gifts from Harun. Included were a waterclock, cande­ labra, and tent. Nicephorus I ruled from 802 to 811, Michael I from 811 to 813, and Leo V from 813 to 820. The messengers from Leo V did not arrive until after Charles’ death.

4. 5.

6.

7.

le tte rs

a re

no

lo n g e r

e x ta n t.

Chapter 11 1.

One pace equals approximately 5 feet; thus the length of the bridge was about 2,250 feet.

Notes to pages 69 to 13

12 9

2.

3. 4.

5.

Emperor Frederick I (Barbarossa) had both palaces restored in the twelfth century. He admired Charles greatly and had him sainted by Pope Pascal III in 1165. A long ninth-century poem by Ermoldus Nigellus describing the palace in Ingelheim is dedicated to Louis the Pious (see Monumenta Germaniae his­ torica, Poet. Lat. II, “In Honorem Hludowici,” liber IV, pp. 181—82). Ingelheim is near Bingen on the Rhine and may have been Charles’ birthplace. The palace was destroyed during the French invasion of 1689 under Louis XIV. The royal and imperial laws of 794, 803, 807, and 813 deal with the preservation and restoration of old churches and buildings. Septimania was named in honor of the Seventh Roman Legion. At the time of Charles’ reign it encompassed the southern part of France along the Mediterranean from the upper Garonne to the Rhone, between the Pyrenees and the Cevennes. A coastal city in Latium.

Chapter 18 1. 2.

3.

4.

Charles’ first marriage probably occurred in 770. His wife’s name is not known, and it is believed that she was in ill health and unable to bear children. Hildegard was a descendant of the Alemannic duke Gottfried and died on 30 April 783. Einhard is mistaken in the number of children she bore Charles. They had nine children, four sons and five daughters (see Genealogical Table). Pepin was first called Carloman but assumed a new name when he became king of Italy in 781. Louis had a twin brother, Lothar (778780), who died in infancy. Adelheid and Hildegard died early and are not mentioned by Einhard. Rotrud was later engaged to the East Roman emperor Constantine VI but never married him. She bore Count Rorich an illegitimate son Louis, who later became abbot in St. Denis and died in 867. Bertha had several illegitimate children, among them two sons by Angilbert, the poet and Charles* minister of state, who were called Hartnidus and Nithardus. The latter became a well-known historian. Fastrada was the daughter of the Frankish Count Rudolf; she died in 794. Theoderada later became abbess of the covent of Notre Dame d’ Argenteuil near Paris, and Hiltrud was, ac­ cording to Anselmus, abbess of the convent Faremoutiers. Liutgard died in 800. Some manuscripts mention only three concubines.

1 30

Notes to pages 13 to 77

5.

6. 7.

Rothild is supposed to have been an abbess in Faremoutiers and died in 852. Drogo was archbishop of Metz from 823 to 855, when he died. Hugo became abbot of St. Quentin and died in 844. Theoderic also entered a religious order. Berthrada died on 12 July 783. Charles actually had four sisters, three of whom died young (see Genealogical Table). Gisela was abbess of the convent of Chelles near Paris and died in 810.

Chapter 19 1.

2. 3. 4. 5.

See chapter 25. These were the “seven liberal arts” (ac­ tually more than seven), the so-called trivium and quadrivium , including Latin grammar (and some literature), dialectic (logic), rhetoric (which included speaking and writing of prose and poetry, as well as law), geometry (geography, natural history, and medicine), arithmetic, music, and astronomy (including astrology). The studies also covered philosophical works (such as the writings of Boethius), Church doctrine, patristic litera­ ture, and the Bible. Charles died on 4 December 811, Pepin on 8 July 810, and Ro­ trud on 10 June 810. Einhard omits the children who died young. Bernhard was blinded by Louis the Pious and died in 817. Pope Hadrian I died in 796. Einhard here glosses over the numerous court scandals.

Chapter 20 1.

2. 3. 4.

According to Paulus Diaconus and other historical sources her name was Himiltrud; she was perhaps also the mother of Rotheid. Some call her Charles’ legitimate first wife, but since the church was not normally involved in the marriage ceremony until after the middle of the twelfth century, this is a doubtful question in the eighth century. Pepin was probably bom before Charles’ marriage to Hildegard. The conspiracy occurred in 792. The monastery of Prüm lies north of Trier. Pepin the Hunch­ back died in 811. This was the plot of Hartrat in 785-86.

Notes to pages 11 to 83

131

Chapter 22 1.

S u e to n iu s d e s c r ib e s C a e s a r, A u g u s tu s , R o m a n e m p e r o r s in a s im ila r fa s h io n C h a r le s in th is c h a p te r .

T ib e riu s , a n d o th e r as E in h a r d p o r tr a y s

2.

In the poem Karolus Magnus et Leo Papa—ascribed to his minister Angilbert—Charles is said to have towered over all of his friends (cf. Monumenta Germaniae historica, Poet. Lat. 1: 366ff). When his skeleton was exhumed in 1861 it was es­ timated to be that of a man 192 centimeters (6 feet, 3 inches) tall. (See Paul Lehmann, Erforschung des Mittelalters [Leipzig, 1941], 1: 166).

3.

E v e n in R o m a n tim e s A a c h e n w a s f a m o u s f o r its h o t s p rin g s .

Chapter 23 1.

2.

3.

4.

Einhard calls them feminalia linea, which means linen clothes covering the thighs. J. Hoops describes them as a kind of short knee pants (cf. Reallexikon der Germanistischen Alter­ tumskunde [Strassburg 1918/1919], 4: 357). It is very possible that the feminalia (the word could also be used for diapers!) consisted of bands or bandages which were wound around the thighs (see P. E. Schramm, Denkmale der deutschen Könige und Kaiser [München 1962], p. 44). Whether or not the femi­ nalia of the Carolingian period were identical with the ones worn by the Romans is difficult to say. These tunics were pulled over the head like a shirt and had long sleeves; above the waist they were tightly fitted; below it they were somewhat wider cut and reached to the knee (see J. Hoops, Reallexikon, 4: 348 and P. E. Schramm, Die deutschen Könige und Kaiser in Bildern ihrer Zeit, I, Tafelband, Berlin, 1928). Limbus sericus means silk border at the bottom of the tunic. Silk was a very expensive material which at Charles’ time had to be imported from Constantinople, where it had been produced since the sixth century (cf. Schramm, Denkmale, p. 42). The tibialia were a piece of cloth, which was wound around the lower part of the leg from the knee to the ankles. The knee (between the feminalia and tibialia) was not covered but remained free. Thus the tibialia were not strictly speaking stockings but rather a kind of legging, and they were fastened

132

Notes to pages 81 to 89

5.

6. 7.

8. 9.

from the outside by a small band called fasciola. These bands were tied in crosswise fashion around the calves from the ankles to the knees (see Hoops, Reallexikon , 4: 350 and Schramm, Denkmale , p. 45). Einhard seems to differentiate between calciamentum and cal­ ceus. Both mean footwear, shoes, or boots. Since the Romans did not wear boots, in older Latin both words referred to types of shoes, in contrast to the solea which were sandals. It is probable that Einhard uses calciamentum for boots, cal­ ceus for shoes. Thorax (actually chest but later also extended to mean armor, coat of mail, etc.) is a tightly fitting vest which originally was worn directly beneath the armor. While pellis lutrina are quite clearly fish otter pelts, it is difficult to translate pellis murina (from mus = mouse), which could _be either ermine, sable, or marten fur. According to Notker Balbulus ( Gesta Caroli Magni II, 17) Charles used sheepskin fur when hunting, while his nobles wore expensive furs. This could indicate that the frugal Charles had his vests made of the most inexpensive of these furs, perhaps mar­ ten skins. The sagum was a relatively short cloak or cape, which was loosely thrown over the body and held together at the right shoulder by a clasp or brooch (buttons were unknown). Charles obviously did not want to appear ridiculous, still he was expected to look the part of an emperor. His don­ ning the imperial regalia at Hadrian’s and Leo’s request was a symbolic act (cf. P. E. Schramm, “Die Anerkennung Karls des Grossen als Kaiser,” Historische Zeitschrift 172 [1951]: 471-74). The longa tunica was a tunic reach­ ing to the ankles; the chlamys or dalmatic, originally a Greek cloak of war worn over the armor and held together by a clasp on the right shoulder, was wider and longer than the sagum. The tunic, chlamys, and Roman shoes were the costume traditionally worn by the Byzantine emperors (see Schramm, Denkmale , p. 45). For a picture and description of the chlamys supposedly worn by Charle­ magne on the occasion of his imperial coronation see Maurizio Calvesi, Treasures of the Vatican, introd. by Deoclecio Redig de Campos (Cleveland, 1962), pp. 23, 25. Jacob Grimm in his Deutsche Rechtsalterthümer (Göttingen, 21954) says on page 239: “The oldest kings and princes were but little distinguished in dress and clothing from the other freemen of the people.”

Notes to page 89

1 33

Chapter 24 1.

2.

Literally Greek ακρόαμα means “something heard with plea­ sure.” Since acting had become a lost art in Charles' time the word probably meant singing, playing of music, as well as reciting. The historiae and res gestae read to him may have been in part the exploits of his own ancestors but were chiefly the older heroic legends (cf. chap. 29 below).

Chapter 25 1. 2. 3.

See first note on chapter 19. His works have not been preserved. Charles found him during the occupation of Pavia in 774 (see chap. 6 above) and he became a teacher at Charles’ court in Aachen. Alcuin was bom in 735 in York, England, and joined Charles' court in 782. It was chiefly he who brought Anglo-Saxon learn­ ing to the continent. He was a teacher at the palace school in Aachen and under his guidance it developed into a famous center of learning. Alcuin wrote works on grammar, orthog­ raphy, and rhetoric. He became abbot of the monastery of St. Martin in Tours, where he died in 804 (see S. E. Duckett, Alcuinj Friend of Charlemagne [New York, 1951]). One of his pupils, Hrabanus Maurus, was later abbot of Fulda and became an intellectual leader in East Franconia.

Chapter 26 1. 2.

These portals are still in existence and can be seen in Aachen. This is confirmed in a letter by Pope Hadrian I to Charles (see Monumenta Germaniae historica, Epistolae Merowingici et Karolini A evi , 1: 614).

3. 4.

Mass was only held in the early morning. But Charles went also to the morning, evening, and late-night hours. The Catholic clergy consisted of seven grades of men charged with the divine services. The lowest were the doorkeepers, called ianitores or ostiarates (from Lat. ostium = portal).

1 34

Notes to pages 91 to 95

Chapter 21 1.

2.

This is largely based on unfounded rumors. Although in gen­ eral Christians held positions inferior to Moslems, they were not persecuted in the Near and Middle East. Some of them even held state positions at times. Charles visited Rome in 774 during the siege of Pavia; in 781 on the occasion of the coronations of his sons Pepin and Louis as kings of Lombardy and Aquitaine respectively; in 787 at Easter as the guest of Pope Hadrian I; and from 24 Novem­ ber 800 to 25 April 801, during which time Pope Leo III crowned him emperor.

Chapter 28 1. 2. 3.

Pope Leo III was assaulted on 25 April 799. Actually, Leo was not mutilated in this attack but rather managed to flee to Charles’ camp at Paderborn. Charles was crowned emperor on 25 December 800. Much has been written about Charles’ acceptance of the im­ perial title, an act of tremendous importance for the subsequent history of Europe, and particularly for Central Europe (see es­ pecially P. E. Schramm, “Die Anerkennung Karls des Grossen als Kaiser,” Historische Zeitschrift 172 [1951]: 483ff and 501ff). It is probably true that Charles was dubious about the wisdom of accepting the title at the time. The power and prestige of the papacy were at a low ebb in 800. Furthermore, Charles wanted to avoid trouble with the emperors of Con­ stantinople, who rightfully considered themselves the sole heirs to the Roman emperors. In 800 Irene was empress of Constanti­ nople. Before the rule of the East Roman Emperor Philippicus Bardanes (711-13), who was branded a heretic by Pope Constan­ tine, the Roman popes had dated their documents according to the imperial years, minted imperial coins, encouraged pic­ tures, images, and statues of the emperors in churches, as well as references to the imperial power in church services. After the reign of Philippicus these practices were gradually restored, but the Franconian kings slowly began to replace the Eastern emperors. Schramm traces the steps leading to the eventual rec-

Notes to pages 91 to 99

1 35

ognition of Charles as emperor: the last pope to ask the Eastern emperor for his confirmation was Gregory III in 731; starting in 753 the Frankish kings swore an oath to protect and help the pope; Pope Paul I formally announced his election to the Frankish king in 757; in 798 Pope Leo III started to use Charles’ system of dating and included Charles’ name. Thus the actual coronation of Charles as emperor was only a symbol and cul­ mination of the attitude of the Roman church toward Frankish power. The old Roman Imperium became the Frankish Kaiser­ tum, retaining its Roman designation. The reasons why Einhard never refers to Charles as emperor are discussed in the Intro­ duction to this book.

Chapter 29 1. 2. 3.

4. 5.

The laws of the Salian Franks and of the Ripuarian Franks. The common laws of the Saxons, Thuringians, and Frisians. Heroic songs of epic nature in the Old High German dialects for Charles was very proud of his native tongue. Unfortunately, they are not preserved. His son Louis, however, frowned upon such documents and discouraged their collection and preserva­ tion. Likewise no longer extant. The names of the months are here given in Old High German according to the tenth-century Vienna manuscript no. 510. Their English translations and equivalents are as follows: uuintarmanoth = winter month, January; hornung (ON. homung = bastard, whose inheritance is diminished because of his ille­ gitimacy; OHG. horn = corner, angle; hom ung = little “horn”) = the shorter month of February with fewer days than the rest of the months of the year; lenzinmanoth (OHG. lenzo = spring, cf. Modem English lent ) = spring month, March; ostarmanoth — Easter month, April; uuinnemanoth (OHG. uuinna — pasture, then confused with OHG. uuunna = rap­ ture, joy) = month of joy, May; brachmanoth (OHG. brähha, MHG. bräche — breaking of the soil) = month of plowing, June; heuuimanoth = hay month, July; arcmmanoth (OHG. ar(a)n, MHG. ern, erne = harvest) = harvest month, August; uuitumanoth (OHG. uuitu = wood, cf. Modern English w ood) = wood month, September; uuindumemanoth (Lat. vindemia, OHG. uuindemon = gathering of grapes) = month of the wine harvest, October; herbistmanoth (cf. Modern English

1 36

Notes to pages 99 to 101

harvest) = harvest

6.

month, November; heilagmanoth = holy month, December. It is interesting to note that £inhard mentions twelve winds corresponding to twelve points on the compass. In Charles’ time the rosa ventoram or “wind-rose” traditionally showed only eight principal winds. The compass now has thirty-two subdivisions or rhumbs, probably introduced by the Flemish na­ vigators during the later Middle Ages. When Einhard says that there had been barely four names for the winds prior to Charles’ naming them he is referring to words in Old High German.

Chapter 30 1. 2. 3. 4.

Louis’ twin Lothar had died as a young child in 780. Pepin died on 8 July 810 and Charles on 4 December 811. Louis was crowned on 11 September 813 in the Basilica in Aachen. Einhard is mistaken here. Actually, Charles had been hunting during the summer of 813 and had become ill. Because of this he summoned Louis and crowned him. Einhard says that Charles died “in the third hour of the day.” Since 6 a .m . was the first hour, this means that the emperor died between eight and nine o’clock in the morning. If it is correct that Charles was in his seventy-second year when he died then his epitaph in the following chapter in which he is called a “septuagenarius” would mean “a man between seventy and eighty.” Actually, he reigned only forty-five years.

Chapter 31 1.

An indiction is the cycle of taxation in the Roman Empire. Since fifteen years constituted one indiction the statement here means in the seventh year of such a period.

Chapter 32 1.

Suetonius, too, mentions similar omens in his Lives of Augustus, Caligula, and Claudius. In the Annales regni Francorum the

Notes to pages 101 to 105

137

2. 3. 4.

following eclipses are mentioned: for the years 806 and 807 three of the moon and one of the sun; in 809 one of the moon; in 810 two of the moon and two of the sun; in 812 one of the sun. Furthermore, in 807 there was a spot on the sun lasting eight days. Actually, the portico did not collapse until 817. The bridge burned down in May 813. In the year 810.

Chapter 33 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

8.

There were actually twenty-two metropolitan cities. Finhard omits Narbonne. Cividale del Friuli was the seat of the patriarch of Aquilea. Grado is an island seaport of Aquilea. Moutiers-en-Tarantaise is in Savoy. Embrun is in the Dauphine. There is no evidence that the table with the plan of Constanti­ nople ever reached the Vatican, nor is anything known about the table intended for Ravenna. On this table a representation of the Ptolemaic system of the world was traced. Thegan reports in the fourth chapter of his De gestis Domini Lodewici Imperatoris that Louis kept only this table from among his father’s possessions. Bishop Pruden­ tius of Troyes says that Lothar removed the table from the palace in Aachen in 842 and had it cut to pieces, which he distributed among his followers. It is noteworthy that the clergy precedes the nobles. Bishops: Hildebald was archbishop of Cologne from 785 to 818 and administered the last sacrament to Charles; Richolf was arch­ bishop of Mainz from 787 to 813; Arno was archbishop of Salzburg; Wolfar was archbishop of Rheims; Bernoin was arch­ bishop of Clermont from 811 to 813; Laidrad was archbishop of Lyons; John was archbishop of Arles; Theodolf was bishop of Orleans from 788 to 821; Jesse was bishop of Amiens from 799 to 836; Heito was bishop of Basle from 802 to 822 and died in 836; and Waltgaud was bishop of Liege. A bbots : Fridugis was abbot of either St. Martin in Tours or St. Bertin in St. Omer; Adalung was abbot of Lorsch; Angilben was abbot of St. Riquier in Picardy and the father of the illegitimate children of Charles’ daughter Benha; Irmino was abbot of St. Germaindes-Pres in Paris from 812 to 817. Counts : Walach was later

1 38

Notes to pages 105 to 111

abbot of Corbie under Louis the Pious and died in 835; Meginher is mentioned in the Annales regni Francorum in 817 as sonin-law of Hartrat, who conspired against Charles in 785-86; Otolf may be identical with the Bavarian Count Audulf; Ste­ phan, perhaps identical with a count in Paris; Unruoch was the father of the Margrave Eberhard of Friuli, who later be­ came the son-in-law of Louis the Pious; Burchard is mentioned in the Annales in 807 and 811 as comes stabuli; Meginhard was an envoy to the Danish king in 810; Rich win may have been count of Padua; Edo may have accompanied Meginhard in 810; Gerold is perhaps identical with the Lord of the Eastern Marches from 811 to 832; Bero may have been count of Barce­ lona; we know nothing of either Hildegern or Hroccolf. According to Thegan’s De gestis Domini Lodeivici Imperatoris (chap. .8) and Nithart’s De dissensionibus filiorum Loduvici Pity I, 2, Louis was anything but scrupulous in carrying out his father’s last will.

Notes to page 111

139

Selected BiHiocjraphy

Editions EinbarduSy Vita Caroli Magni edidit Philipp Jaffe. Editio altera

curante W. Wattenbach. Berlin, 1876. EinbarduSy Vita Caroli imperatoris edidit Alfred Holder. (Germa­ nistischer Bücherschatz 2.) Freiburg i.B., 1882. EinbarduSy Vita Karoli Magni post G. H. Pertz recensuit G. Waitz. Editio sexta curavit O. Holder-Egger (Monumenta Germaniae historica. Scriptores rerum Germanicarum 25). Hannover and

Leipzig, 1911, reprinted, 1927, 1947. Einhard's Life of Charlemagne. The Latin text edited with intro­

duction and notes by H. W . Garrod and R. B. Mowat. Oxford, 1915. Eginhardy Vie de Charlemagne editee et traduite par Louis Halphen. Paris, 1923.

Translations E N G L ISH Life of Emperor Karl the Great. Translated from Eginhard by W il­

liam Glaister. London, 1877. The Life of Charlemagne by Eginhard. Translated from the text of the Monumenta Germaniae by Samuel Epes Turner, with notes

and a map. New York, 1880. Reprint with a foreword by Sidney Painter. University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, 1960. Early Lives of Charlemagne by Eginhard and the M onk of St. Gall. Translated and edited by A. J. Grant. (The King's Classics.) Lon­

Selected Bibliography

14 1

1922.

don,

N ew

e d itio n .

(The Medieval Library .)

N ew

Y o rk ,

1966. Einhard and N otker the Stcmrmerer: T w o Lives of Charlemagne. T ra n s la te d w ith a n in tr o d u c tio n b y L e w i s T h o r p e . (Penguin Classics L213.) 1969. F RE N C H S ee a b o v e u n d e r E d itio n s th e tra n s la tio n o f L o u is H a lp h e n .

GERM AN Kaiser Karls Leben von Einhard übersetzt von Otto Abel. 2. Auf­ lage bearbeitet von Wilhelm Wattenbach. (Die Geschichts­ schreiber der deutschen Vorzeit , 2. Gesamtausgabe.) Leipzig, 1888. Now reprinted in: Rau, Reinhold ed., Quellen zur Karolingischen Rechtsgeschichte , 1. Teil: Die Reichsannalen, Einhards Leben Karls des Grossen , zwei uLebenn Ludwigs , Nithartgeschichten . Berlin, 1955. And in: Leben und Taten Karls des Grossen von Ein­ hard und N otker dem Stammler. Nachwort von Hermann Schnei­

der. Munich, 1965. Einhard , Vita Karoli Magni. Das Leben Karls des Grossen.

L a te in isc h u n d D e u ts c h . Ü b e rs e tz u n g , N a c h w o r t u n d A m m e rk u n g e n v o n E v e l y n S c h e r a b o n C o l e m a n . (Reclams Universal-Bibliothek 1966.) S t u t t g a r t , 1968, s e c o n d p r i n t i n g 1969.

Books and Articles Baesecke, Georg. “Die Schlacht von Roncesval in Einhards Leben Karls des Grossen.” Festschrift Paul Kluckhohn und Hermann Schneider. Tübingen, 1948, pp. 32-45. Bernheim, Emst. “Die Vita Caroli Magni als Ausgangspunkt zur lite­ rarischen Beurtheilung des Historikers Einhard.” Historische Aufsätze dem Andenken Georg W aitz gewidmet. Hannover, 1886, pp. 73-96. Beumann, Helmut. “Topos und Gedankengefüge bei Einhard.” A rchiv für Kulturgeschichte 33 (1951): 337-50. Beumann, Helmut. “Einhard und die karolingische Tradition im ottonischen Corvey.” Westfalen , Mitteilungen des Vereins für Geschichte 30 (1952): 150-74. Beumann, Helmut. Ideengeschichtliche Studien zu Einhard und ande­ ren Geschichtsschreibern des früheren Mittelalters. Darmstadt, 1962.

142

Selected Bibliography

Buchner, Max. Einhard als Künstler. Forschungen zur karolingischen Kunstgeschichte und zum Lebensgange Einhards. (Studien zur deutschen Kunstgeschichte 210.) Strassburg, 1919. Buchner, Max. Einhards Künstler-und Gelehrtenleben. (Bücherei der Kultur und Geschichte 22.) Bonn and Leipzig, 1922. B u l l o u g h , D o n a l d . The Age of Charlemagne. L o n d o n , 1965. Duckett, S. E. A lcuin , A Friend of Charlemagne. New York, 1957. von Dümmler, Ernst. “Ein Nachtrag zu Einhards Werken.” Neues A rchiv der Gesellschaft für ältere deutsche Geschichtskunde 48

(1929-30): 1-32. Ebert, A. Histoire general de la litterature du moyen age en occi­ dent. Tome 2. Paris, 1884, pp. 105-118, 186. Esselborn, Karl. “Einhards Leben und Werke. Einführung in die Verdeutschung seiner Schrift ‘Übertragung und Wunder der Heili­ gen Marzellinus und Petrus.’ ” A rchiv für hessische Geschichte und Altertumskunde , N. F. 15 (1928): 24-^6. Folz, Robert. Le Souve­ nir et la legende de Charlemagne dans Vempire germanique medieval. Paris, 1950.

Ganshof, Francis L. “Notes critiques sur Eginhard, biographe de Charlemagne.” Revue Beige de Philologie et d'Histoire 3 (1924): 725-58. G a n s h o f , F r a n c i s L. “ E g i n h a r d , b i o g r a p h e d e C h a r l e m a g n e . ” Biblio theque d’Humanisme et Renaissance 13 (1951): 217-30. H a lp h e n , L o u is .

Etudes critiques sur Γhistoire de Charlemagne.

P a r is ,

1921. E i n h a r d s . ” Neues A rchiv der Gesellschaft für ältere deutsche Geschichtskunde 21 (1896): 601-31. Hampe, Karl. “Einhard.” Reallexikon der germanischen Altertumskunde , hrsg. v. J. L. Hoops, 1, Band. Strassburg, 1911, pp. 538-41. Hellmann, Sigmund. “Einharts literarische Stellung.” Historische Vierteljahrschrift 27 (1932): 40-110. Herwegen, Ildefons. Beiträge zur Geschichte des alten M önchtums und des Benediktiner Ordens. Münster, 1940. H a m p e , K a rl. “Z u r L e b e n s g e s c h ic h te

Holder-Egger, O. “Zur Überlieferung von Einhards Vita Caroli Mag­ ni.” Neues A rchiv der Gesellschaft für ältere deutsche Geschichts­ kunde 37 (1911): 395-414. Kleinclausz, Arthur J. Eginhard. Paris, 1942. Kurze, Friedrich, ed. Annales regni Francorum. Hannover, 1895. Kurze, Friedrich, ed. Einhard. Berlin, 1899. L e h m a n n , P a u l . “ D a s l i t e r a r i s c h e B i ld K a r l s d e s G r o s s e n v o r n e h m l i c h i m l a t e i n i s c h e n S c h r i f t t u m d e s M i t t e l a l t e r s . ” Erforschung des M it­ telalters. B a n d 1. L e i p z i g , 1941, p p . 154-207.

Leo, Friedrich. Die griechische-römische Biographie nach ihrer literarischen Form. Leipzig, 1901.

Selected Bibliography

143

Levison, Wilhelm and Heinz Löwe. Die Karolinger vom Anfang des 8. Jahrhunderts bis zum Tode Karls des Grossen. Weimar, 1853 (2. Heft of Wattenbach-Levison, Deutsche Geschichtsquellen im Mittelalter. Vorzeit und Karolinger ), especially chapter 9, pp. 226-80. Lintzel, Martin. “Der Sachsenfrieden Karls des Grossen.” Neues A rchiv der Gesellschaft für ältere deutsche Geschichtskunde 48 (1929-30): 1-32. Lintzel, Martin. “Die Zeit der Entstehung von Einhards Vita Karoli.” Kritische Beiträge zur Geschichte des Mittelalters, Festschrift für Robert Holtzmann. (Historische Studien 238.) Berlin, 1933, pp. 22-

42. Manitius, Max. “Die Annales Sithienses, Laurissenses minores und Enharti Fuldenses.” Dissertation, Leipzig. Dresden, 1881. Manitius, Max. “Einhards Werke und ihr Stil.” Neues A rchiv der Gesellschaft für ältere deutsche Geschichtskunde 7 (1881): 519-68. Pyritz, Hans. “Das Karlsbild Einharts.” Deutsche Vierteljahrsschrift 15 (1937): 167-88. Scheibe, F. C. “Geschichtsbild, Zeitbewusstsein und Reformwille bei Alcuin.” Archiv für Kulturgeschichte 41 (1959): 35-62. Schneider, Karin. “Die deutsche Legende Karls des Grossen.” Zeit­ schrift für deutsche Philologie 86 (1967) (Sonderheft): 46-63. Schramm, P. E. Die zeitgenössischen Bildnisse Karls des Grossen. Leipzig, 1928. Schramm, P. E. “Die Anerkennung Karls des Grossen als Kaiser. Ein Kapitel aus der Geschichte der mittelalterlichen ‘Staatssymbo­ lik.’ ” Historische Zeitschrift 172 (1951): 449-515. Winston, Richard. Charlemagne. From the Hammer to the Cross. Indianapolis, 1954.

14 4

Selected Bibliography

(continued from front flap)

he abandoned his first wife ‘/ for un­ known reasons” after a year of mar­ riage and thereafter had several wives and concubines, A sincerely and deeply religious man, Charlemagne suffered silently because of the ques­ tionable behavior of his unmarried daughters. The biography contains many other details of the private life of Charlemagne without neglecting to describe his activities as a ruler of men and nations. This new translation is presented side-by-side with the original Latin text and is enhanced by the trans­ lators’ introduction, which tells us about Einhard’s life and clarifies ques­ tions that have been posed about his work. About the Translators: Evelyn S. Firchow, born in Vienna, studied at the universities of Vienna, Texas, Manitoba, and Harvard, where she received her Ph.D. Presently a professor of German at the University of Minnesota, Dr. Firchow has pub­ lished numerous articles and books, including a German translation of Einhard’s Vita Karoli Magni. Edwin H. Zeydel, professor of German languages and literature and fellow of the Graduate School at the University of Cincinnati, received his Ph.D. from Columbia University. Dr. Zeydel is the author of over forty books. University of Miami Press Coral Gables, Florida