Other editions of book The Life of Charlemagne

Einhard served Charlemagne, king and Holy Roman Emperor, for 23 years. From that experience, combined with his in-depth research, Einhard penned this biography of Charlemagne in the style of Suetonius' Lives of the Caesars. Because he felt indebted to Charlemagne, Einhard wrote in a partial tone, exalting the man's achievements and overlooking certain unflattering details about his life. Despite this, historians regard The Life of Charlemagne as an important historical account that, while not far-reaching, is largely reliable.

SINCE I have taken upon myself to narrate the public and private life, and no small part of the deeds, of my lord and foster-father, the most lent and most justly renowned King Charles, I have condensed the matter into as brief a form as possible. I have been careful not to omit any facts that could come to my knowledge, but at the same time not to offend by a prolix style those minds that despise everything modern, if one can possibly avoid offending by a new work men who seem to despise also the masterpieces of antiquity, the works of most learned and luminous writers. Very many of them, l have no doubt, are men devoted to a life of literary leisure, who feel that the affairs of the present generation ought not to be passed by, and who do not consider everything done today as unworthy of mention and deserving to be given over to silence and oblivion , but are nevertheless seduced by lust of immortality to celebrate the glorious deeds of other times by some sort of composition rather than to deprive posterity of the mention of their own names by not writing at all.Be this as it may, I see no reason why I should refrain from entering upon a task of this kind, since no man can write with more accuracy than I of events that took place about me, and of facts concerning which I had personal knowledge, ocular demonstration as the saying goes, and I have no means of ascertaining whether or not any one else has the subject in hand.In any event, I would rather commit my story to writing, and hand it down to posterity in partnership with others, so to speak, than to suffer the most glorious life of this most excellent king, the greatest of all the princes of his day, and his illustrious deeds, hard for men of later times to imitate, to be wrapped in the darkness of oblivion.But there are still other reasons, neither unwarrantable nor insufficient, in my opinion, that urge me to write on this subject, namely, the care that King Charles bestowed upon me in my childhood, and my constant friendship with himself and his children after I took up my abode at court. In this way he strongly endeared me to himself, and made me greatly his debtor as well in death as in life, so that were I unmindful of the benefits conferred upon me, to keep silence concerning the most glorious and illustrious deeds of a man who claims so much at my hands, and suffer his life to lack due eulogy and written memorial, as if he had never lived, I should deservedly appear ungrateful, and be so considered, albeit my powers are feeble, scanty, next to nothing indeed, and not at all adapted to write and set forth a life that would tax the eloquence of a Tully [note: Tully is Marcus Tullius Cicero].I submit the book. It contains the history of a very great and distinguished man; but there is nothing in it to wonder at besides his deeds, except the fact that I, who am a barbarian, and very little versed in the Roman language, seem to suppose myself capable of writing gracefully and respectably in Latin, and to carry my presumption so far as to disdain the sentiment that Cicero is said in the first book of the Tusculan Disputations to have expressed when speaking of the Latin authors. His words are: "It is an outrageous abuse both of time and literature for a man to commit his thoughts to writing without having the ability either to arrange them or elucidate them, or attract readers by some charm of style." This dictum of the famous orator might have deterred me from writing if I had not made up my mind that it was better to risk the opinions of the world, and put my little talents for composition to the test, than to slight the memory of so great a man for the sake of sparing myself.

Charles I or Charlemagne united most of Western Europe during the Middle Ages and laid the foundations for modern France and Germany. He was the first recognized Roman emperor in Western Europe since the collapse of the Western Roman Empire three centuries earlier and ruled absolutely over a vast domain for thirteen years.Einhard’s biography of the Carolingian Empire’s founder The Life of Charlemagne: Vita Karoli Magni is one of the most famous pieces of literature on the early Middle Ages. It is both an epic and personal account of the legendary warrior king who was known as the Father of Europe, providing a fascinating insight into his political success, battlefield strategy, foreign and domestic policies, friends, enemies, and personal habits. For scholars of military science, it is an essential bridge text linking the masterworks of ancient strategy like The Art of War and Commentarii de Bello Gallico with the future writings of Machiavelli, Clausewitz, et al.

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The Prologue of Walafrid He was born in eastern Frankland, in the district that is called Moingewi, and it was in the monastery of Fulda, in the school of Saint Boniface the Martyr, that his boyhood received its first training. Thence he was sent by Baugolf, the abbot of the monastery, to the palace of Charles, rather on account of his remarkable talents and intelligence, which even then gave bright promise of his wisdom that was to be so famous in later days, than because of any advantage of birth. Now, Charles was beyond all kings most eager in making search for wise men and in giving them such entertainment that they might pursue philosophy in all comfort. Whereby, with the help of God, he rendered his kingdom, which, when God committed it to him, was dark and almost wholly blind (if I may use such an expression), radiant with the blaze of fresh learning, hitherto unknown to our barbarism. But now once more men’s interests are turning in an opposite direction, and the light of wisdom is less loved, and in most men is dying out. And so this little man—for he was mean of stature—gained so much glory at the Court of the wisdom-loving Charles by reason of his knowledge and high character that among all the ministers of his royal Majesty there was scarce anyone at that time with whom that most powerful and wise King discussed his private affairs more willingly

Einhard's 'The Life of Charlemagne: Vita Karoli Magni' is one of the most famous pieces of literature on the early Middle Ages. It is both an epic and personal account of the legendary warrior king who was known as the Father of Europe, providing fascinating insight into his political success, battlefield strategy, foreign and domestic policies, friends, enemies and personal habits. For scholars of military science it is an essential bridge text linking the masterworks of ancient strategy like 'The Art of War' and 'Commentarii de Bello Gallico' with the future writings of Machiavelli, Clausewitz, et al.

Einhard's 'The Life of Charlemagne: Vita Karoli Magni' is one of the most famous pieces of literature on the early Middle Ages. It is both an epic and personal account of the legendary warrior king who was known as the Father of Europe, providing fascinating insight into his political success, battlefield strategy, foreign and domestic policies, friends, enemies and personal habits. For scholars of military science it is an essential bridge text linking the masterworks of ancient strategy like 'The Art of War' and 'Commentarii de Bello Gallico' with the future writings of Machiavelli, Clausewitz, et al.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

If becoming the King of the Franks in 768 and the King of Italy six years later wasn't impressive enough, it is also worth remembering that Charlemagne was the very first Holy Roman Emperor to be crowned. After the fall of the Roman empire, the void of power in Europe was quickly filled by this ambitious and learned leader who sought to unite large parts of the entire continent under his rule. Charlemagne is known throughout history as one of the greatest leaders and most influential figures to ever rule in Europe.Since Charlemagne sought to surround himself with scholars from all fields, it stood to reason that he would also appoint historians, one of whom was given the trying and honored task of recording a detailed account of the King's life and accomplishments. However, Einhard was no ordinary scholar. His background allowed him to be educated by the monks of Fulda - one of the most prestigious learning institutions on the Old Continent - and he quickly became a master of language, as well as a worthy history scholar whose literary model was the Roman historian Suetonius.Einhard was given the task to write the Vita Karoli Magni, or The Life of Charlemagne, by the King's son, who would later become his successor, Louis the Pious. He was appointed court historian due to his exceptional knowledge and skill, and soon came to be friend to one of the most remembered and influential leaders of the Dark Ages.Shedding light on the reign of Charlemagne, as well as his character, life choices, ambitions and accomplishments, this book is one of the most thorough and well-written historical biography you will find. It offers ample details about Charlemagne, both as a leader and as a man, and can be counted among the most valuable historical manuscripts to outline what life was like in an age that still remains to this day quite lacking in accurate and relevant historical sources.