Einhard
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Einhard (also Eginhard or Einhart) (c. 775 – March 14, 840 in Seligenstadt, Germany) was a Frankish courtier, a dedicated servant of Charlemagne, of whom he wrote his famous biography, and Louis the Pious.
Einhard wrote a number of works, the most famous of which was produced at the request of Charlemagne's son and successor Louis the Pious. Most notable of these is his biography of Charlemagne, the Vita Karoli Magni, "The Life of Charlemagne" (c. 817–836), which provides much direct information about Charlemagne's life and character. In composing this he relied heavily upon the Annals of the Frankish Kingdom. Einhard's literary model was the classical work of the Roman historian Suetonius, the Lives of the Caesars. His work was written as a praise of Charlemagne, whom he regarded as a foster-father and to whom he was a debtor "in life and death". The work thus contains an understandable degree of bias, Einhard taking care to exculpate Charlemagne in some matters, not mention others, and to gloss over certain issues which would be of embarrassment to Charlemagne, such as the morality of his daughters. However, it appears to be a fairly accurate description of events.
Einhard was from the eastern, German speaking part of the Frankish kingdom. He was educated at Fulda which was one of the most impressive centres of learning in the Frankish lands. He was accepted into the court of Charlemagne around 791 or 792. Charlemagne actively sought to amass scholarly men around him and established a royal school led by the Northumbrian scholar Alcuin. Alcuin evidently was a talented builder and construction manager, because Charlemagne put him in charge of the completion of several palace complexes including Aachen and Ingelheim. Despite the fact that Einhard was on intimate terms with Charlemagne he never achieved office in his reign. In 814, on Charlemagne's death his son Louis the Pious made Einhard his private secretary. Einhard retired from court during the time of the disputes between Louis and his sons in the spring of 830.
Contents |
[edit] Local lore
Local lore from Seligenstadt portrays Einhard as the lover of Emma, one of Charlemagne's daughters, and has the couple elope from court. Charlemagne found them at Seligenstadt (then called Obermühlheim) and forgave them. This account is used to explain the name "Seligenstadt" by a folk etymology. The story has been popularised by poet Wilhelm Busch.[1]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Vita Karoli Magni -- Einhard's Life of Charlemagne, Latin text at The Latin Library
- Early Lives of Charlemagne -- Einhard's Life of Charlemage and an anonymous monk's of St. Gall's Life of Charlemagne. 1922 English translation by Arthur James Grant, London : Chatto & Windus, via Internet Archive.
- Life of Charlemagne -- Einhard's Life of Charlemagne, 19th century English translation.
- Einhard at the Catholic Encyclopedia
- Einhard-Preis Literature prize awarded by the Einhard-Foundation of Seligenstadt to authors for writing an outstanding biography
- Opera Omnia by Migne Patrologia Latina with analytical indexes
