Ebook: Two Lives of Charlemagne

Translated with an Introduction by Lewis Thorpe.

These two 'Lives' provide a fascinating contrast. Einhard, who spent twenty-three years in Charlemagne's service, chose to approach his 'Vita Caroli' as a public history and, in beautifully expressed language, recounts Charlemagne's personal life and his achievements in warfare, learning, art, building, and in the skilful administration of the state.

Notker the monk's 'De Carolo Magno' is a collection of anecdotes rather than a presentation of historical facts, and his main delight seems to stem from the ingenious ways in which Charlemagne subdued proud o corrupt bishops and other men of power. In these stories, which merge into fiction, Charlemagne is already half-way to becoming the legendary figure of the epics in the later Middle Ages.