The Life of Charlemagne

Rating:
Summary: Remarkable Biographical Work from the Ninth Century
Review: Charlemagne's reign was a brief flash of light in the dark centuries that followed the collapse of the Roman empire. As king of the Franks, Charlemagne unified much of Western Europe - what today is northeastern Spain, all of France, and parts of Germany and Italy. He revived education and learning, repaired existing churches and built new ones, and helped strengthen the position of the Pope in Rome. In the year 800 Charlemagne was crowned Emperor Augustus, ruler of the new Roman empire.

This new empire was short lived, but Charlemagne became legend. Einhard, a scholar in Charlemagne's court and author of this short biography, was faced with a difficult question: how does one write a balanced and honest biography of a revered king, a king that had become legendary in his own time?

Einhard had few examples to follow. The religious biographies of saints were not entirely appropriate. He turned to a classical source, The Lives of the Caesars by the Roman historian Seutonius. Einhard devotes about half of his work to Charlemagne's extensive military campaigns, but his focus remains on Charlemagne the leader and Charlemagne the man, not on military tactics and strategy.

The modern reader will find it helpful to read between the lines. Einhard obviously admired Charlemagne, and his criticisms are muted. Also, Einhard's writing reflects a world view very different from today.

For example, Einhard in discussing the continual uprising of the Saxons says: he never allowed their faithless behavior to go unpunished, but either took the field against them in person, or sent his counts with an army to wreak vengeance and exact righteous satisfaction.

Wreak vengeance? Exact righteous satisfaction? The editor's footnote explains that at the time of a revolt in 782 Charlemagne had 4,500 Saxons beheaded in one day at Verden. Similarly, after a formidable conspiracy in Germany was put down, "all the traitors were banished, some of them without mutilation, others after their eyes had been put out".

Einhard provides many details of Charlemagne's character and private life. Charlemagne enjoyed the exhalations from natural hot springs. He often practiced swimming; few could surpass him in this sport. Einhard carefully describes the clothing worn by Charlemagne. He apparently disliked foreign costumes, and was most comfortable in the common dress of the Frankish people.

He was temperate in eating, and especially drinking. He was particularly fond of roast meat prepared on a spit and disregarded medical advice to eat only boiled meat. He could speak Latin fluently. St. Augustine's The City of God was among his favorite books. He never developed proficiency at writing, although he practiced regularly during his later years.

Einhard's biography was immensely popular and more than eighty manuscripts still exist today.

My copy of The Life of Charlemagne was published by Ann Arbor Paperbacks, University of Michigan Press. The foreword by historian Stanley Painter was quite helpful in establishing the historical context. My copy includes a ninth century map of Europe, footnotes, and a genealogical table for the family of Charlemagne and Hildegard.

Rating:
Summary: An easy-reading biography of Charlemagne
Review: Contrary to popular belief, the "Dark Age," (AD 476-c.1200) was "dark" not because of the alleged backward nature of the time, but rather because of the lack of historical sources from the period. This biography, written by Einhard, who was a friend of the most famous monarch from the Dark Age, sheds some much-needed light into the political and military history of the period. Written soon after the death of Charlemagne in 814, Einhard tells us of his rise to power, his military campaigns, his dealings with the scheming Byzantines, his coronation as Holy Roman Emperor, and his unruly daughters. Throughout the narrative, Einhard strives to portray his King and friend in the best possible light. I highly recommend this book to any student of Medieval history, as well as to those who might have an interest in European monarchy. It is informative, easy-reading, and a great primary source for those who study the history of the period.

Rating:
Summary: Two personas of Charlemagne
Review: Einhard's depiction of Charlemagne is one portraying his private and public life. For those of you thinking that this book was only written so that Einhard could honor Charlemagne, please look again. At first glimse this book does seem to be a superficial accounting of the life and times of Charlemagne, however, it is only after you begin to peel back the layers that the truth comes out. Einhard's depiction of charlemagne humanizes the great ruler by balancing the brutal warrior persona with his private, loving father and friend, persona. It is important to note that Einhard's book would have been read before the court, so it was imperative that the content be pleasing to those in attendance. With that in mind as well as the fact that Einhard revered Charlemagne, he manages to shed light onto Charlemagne's character and it's not always flattering. This is a biography or hagiography of Charlemagne's character. Einhard depicts a man, Charlemagne, motivated by human desires, not unlike any one of us. He was guilty of wrath, lust, gluttony, and greed and gave the church huge sums of money to be exonerated from his sins. This book shows that Charlemagne loved the institution of the church,not necessarily the church itself, because it brought him wealth and power. Charlemagne wanted to unify the cultures around him, but only after he conquered the peoples and re-settled them away from their homeland did he accept them. He smoothed the edges. He only wanted cultures that had been 'watered down'. People didn't want to be near Charlemagne, he was militaristic, oppressive, and aggressive. In fact to quote from the book "Have the Frank for your friend, but not for your neighbor" (43). Einhard exposes many of Charlemagne's flaws in this work, so read it with a critical eye.

Rating:
Summary: Unsatisfactory history!
Review: When I purchased this book I failed to notice (or was not informed!) that it is scarcely 70 pages long &, through the use of a central type system, even these pages are only half full. It is a wooden, lack-lustre account providing a minimum of detail about Charlemagne's reign, conquests & family. It reads like a homework report! Einhard is a contemporary of the man so the account is at least probably believable. However, this is nothing more than an appetite-whetter & anyone with an interest in the subject should definitely be looking for something with a little more meat. This is just not good value!

Rating:
Summary: Two personas of Charlemagne
Review: With all respect to Robert Jarvis, I must say that his review is off. Charlemagne died in the year 814, and Einhard knew the great emperor personally. Einhard's biography was written in the decade following Charlemagne's death, so readers must be aware of the style and purposes ninth-century writers had when they approached their works. Einhard's work is brief indeed, as it omits details such as one will find in Roger Collins's fine work, _Charlemagne_ (U of Toronto Press, 1998), but giving the minutiae of the emperor's life was not Einhard's purpose. Instead, basing his work on that of the Roman Suetonius, who wrote lives of Roman emperors, Einhard tried to convey what kind of man and ruler Charlemagne was. We learn here what kind of father he was--that information is not found in any other primary source. We know that Charlemagne initiated a kingdom-wide reform of education, but only Einhard tells us that the king himself was familiar with Latin and struggled late in life to learn to write. Readers who want to find the "In this year, this happened..." type of 'facts' in writings from the period of Charlemagne's lifetime, I suggest tracking down P.D. King's _Charlemagne: Translated Sources_, which is a sampling of annals, letters, and legislation (among other sources) dating from the eighth and ninth centuries. When read properly, Einhard's _Life_ can teach us much. Be careful, though, because Einhard also wanted to portray Charlemagne in a good light; balance his testimony against what you find in King's _Translated Sources_.

Happy Reading!

Rating:
Summary: An excellent book when approached correctly
Review: With all respect to Robert Jarvis, I must say that his review is off. Charlemagne died in the year 814, and Einhard knew the great emperor personally. Einhard's biography was written in the decade following Charlemagne's death, so readers must be aware of the style and purposes ninth-century writers had when they approached their works. Einhard's work is brief indeed, as it omits details such as one will find in Roger Collins's fine work, _Charlemagne_ (U of Toronto Press, 1998), but giving the minutiae of the emperor's life was not Einhard's purpose. Instead, basing his work on that of the Roman Suetonius, who wrote lives of Roman emperors, Einhard tried to convey what kind of man and ruler Charlemagne was. We learn here what kind of father he was--that information is not found in any other primary source. We know that Charlemagne initiated a kingdom-wide reform of education, but only Einhard tells us that the king himself was familiar with Latin and struggled late in life to learn to write. Readers who want to find the "In this year, this happened..." type of 'facts' in writings from the period of Charlemagne's lifetime, I suggest tracking down P.D. King's _Charlemagne: Translated Sources_, which is a sampling of annals, letters, and legislation (among other sources) dating from the eighth and ninth centuries. When read properly, Einhard's _Life_ can teach us much. Be careful, though, because Einhard also wanted to portray Charlemagne in a good light; balance his testimony against what you find in King's _Translated Sources_.

Happy Reading!