Charlemagne was crowned emperor, but was he really one of the successors of Augustus? Einhard (Excerpt 1) thought so. An anonymous poet at Charlemagne’s court claimed still more (Excerpt 2): the king was the “father of Europe.” Even while these secular views of Charlemagne were being expressed, other people—both in and outside the court—were stressing the king’s religious functions and duties. Later on, these views became even more grandiose, as Notker the Stammerer’s statement (Excerpt 3) reveals.
1. Charles as Emperor
Probably at some point in the mid-820s, Einhard, who had spent time at the Carolingian court and knew Charlemagne well, wrote a biography of the emperor that took as its model the Lives of the Caesars by Suetonius (c. 70–130). Although he did not emphasize Charlemagne’s imperial title per se, Einhard stressed the classical moral values of his hero, including his “greatness of spirit” and steadfast determination.
It is widely recognized that, in these ways [i.e., through conquests, diplomacy, and patronage of the arts, Charlemagne] protected, increased the size of, and beautified his kingdom. Now I should begin at this point to speak of the character of his mind, his supreme steadfastness in good times and bad, and those other things that belong to his spiritual and domestic life.
After the death of his father [in 768], when he was sharing the kingdom with his brother [Carloman], he endured the pettiness and jealousy of his brother with such great patience, that it seemed remarkable to all that he could not be provoked to anger by him. Then [in 770], at the urging of his mother [Bertrada], he married a daughter of Desiderius, the king of the Lombards, but for some unknown reason he sent her away after a year and took Hildegard [758–783], a Swabian woman of distinct nobility. . . .
[Charlemagne] believed that his children, both his daughters and his sons, should be educated, first in the liberal arts, which he himself had studied. Then, he saw to it that when the boys had reached the right age they were trained to ride in the Frankish fashion, to fight, and to hunt. But he ordered his daughters to learn how to work with wool, how to spin and weave it, so that they might not grow dull from inactivity and [instead might] learn to value work and virtuous activity. . . .
Source: Charlemagne’s Courtier: The Complete Einhard, ed. and trans. Paul Edward Dutton (Peterborough, Ont.: Broadview Press, 1998), 27–28.
2. The “Father of Europe”
Shortly after Pope Leo III fled northward to seek Charlemagne’s help (799), an anonymous poet at the royal court composed an extremely flattering poem about the king. Here Charlemagne’s virtues became larger than life.
The priests and the joyful people await the pope’s advent.
Now father Charles [i.e., Charlemagne] sees his troops arrayed on the wide field;
He knows that Pepin [his son] and the highest pastor [the pope] are fast approaching;
He orders his people to wait for them.
He divides his troops into a ring-like shape,
In the center of which, he himself, that blessed one, stands,
Awaiting the advent of the pope, but higher up than his comrades
On the summit of the ring; he rises above the assembled [Franks].
Now Pope Leo approaches and crosses the front line of the ring.
He marvels at the many peoples from many lands whom he sees,
At their differences, their strange tongues, dress, and weapons.
At once Charles hastens to pay his reverent respects,
Embraces the great pontiff, and kisses him.
The two men join hands and walk together, speaking as they go.
The entire army prostrates itself three times before the pope,
And the suppliant throng three times pays its respects.
The pope prays from his heart for the people three times.
The king, the father of Europe, and Leo, the world’s highest pastor,
Walk together and exchange views,
Charles inquiring as to the pope’s case and his troubles.
He is shocked to learn of the wicked deeds of the [Roman] people.
He is amazed by the pope’s eyes which had been blinded,
But to which sight had now returned,
And he marveled that a tongue mutilated with tongs now spoke.
Source: Paul Edward Dutton, ed., Carolingian Civilization: A Reader, 2nd ed. (Peterborough, Ont.: Broadview Press, 2004), 64–65.
3. The Chief Bishop
A monk at the Swiss monastery of St. Gall, Notker the Stammerer, wrote a biography of Charlemagne in 884 at the request of Charlemagne’s great-grandson Charles the Fat. Here the emphasis is on Charlemagne’s religious authority.
The Devil, who is skilful in laying ambushes and is in the habit of setting snares for us in the road which we are to follow, is not slow to trip us up one after another by means of some vice or other. The crime of fornication was imputed to a certain princely bishop—in such a case the name must be omitted. This matter came to the notice of his congregation, and then through tale-tellers it eventually reached the ears of the most pious Charles, the chief bishop of them all. . . . Charlemagne, that most rigorous searcher after justice, sent two of his court officials who were to turn aside that evening to a place near to the city in question and then come unexpectedly to the bishop at first light and ask him to celebrate Mass for them. If he should refuse, then they were to compel him in the name of the Emperor to celebrate the Holy Mysteries in person. The bishop did not know what to do, for that very night he had sinned before the eyes of the Heavenly Observer [God], and yet he did not dare to offend his visitors. Fearing men more than he feared God, he bathed his sweaty limbs in ice-cold spring-water and then went forward to offer the awe-inspiring sacraments. Behold, either his conscience gripped his heart tight, or the water penetrated his veins, for he was seized with such frosty chill that no attention from his doctors was of use to him. He was brought to his death by a frightful attack of fever and compelled to submit his soul to the decree of the strict and eternal Judge.
Source: Einhard and Notker the Stammerer: Two Lives of Charlemagne, trans. Lewis Thorpe (Harmondsworth, England: Penguin, 1969), 121–22.
Questions to Consider