The Life of Charlemagne [antikvár]

1. Charlemagne's Biographer - EinhardA lot of things we know about the Frankish king Charlemagne arewritten down in the Vita Karoli Magni", The Life ofCharlemagne". The author of this contemporary account of theemperor is the Frankish noble Einhard, who wrote the biographyabout his beloved master and friend posthumously.Einhard was born in 770 as the son of a wealthy landowner in a litt-le village on the lower river Main. He is described as a nimble litt-le man, but in spite of his small body he had a mighty spirit and wasone of the best Latinists of his time. Furthermore, he had very con-siderable technical and artistic skills, combining engineer, crafts-man, scribe and architect in his person. Einhard is even supposed tohave been involved in the task of building the Palace Chapel inAachen.Einhard was a very close friend of Charlemagne and his family, andhe was one of the king's most trusted counsellors. He outlived theemperor for twenty-six years, during which he wrote the VitaKaroli Magni". The biographer took Suetonius's Life ofAugustus" as an example for his own account, and he substitutedhis own material in the model. In fact, he borrowed terms of hisdescription from Suetonius. But nevertheless, posterity owes anincalculable dept to Einhard and can adore the clarity of his work.The Vita" gives the background of Charlemagne's dynasty, descri-bes how the Carolingians succeeded to the Frankish throne, andtells about the wars of conquest both the successful and the unsuc-cessful ones. It also portrays the king's character and his outerappearance. But while reading Einhard's biography, today's readeralways has to remember that the master and his man were on veryintimate terms, and that Einhard wanted to glorify Charlemagne'sperson as well as his deeds. Thus it is necessary to consult othersources, too, if one wants to get a complete picture of the Frankishking.