Charlemagne

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Charlemagne

The two lives of Charlemagne as told by Einhard and Notker the Stammerer are very different accounts of the life of the great Emperor. Einhard gives us a historical overview of the life of Charlemagne who lived from 742 to 814 A.D. Charlemagne was also known as Charles the Great and the King of the Franks.Charles was one of four children born to Pepin the Short, A Mayor of the Palace of the Carolingian Empire. He had one brother, Carloman and two sisters, Gisela and Pepin.Since women at the time didn’t inherit power, when Pepin the Short died, the kingship of the Carolingian Empire was divided and shared by Charlemagne and his brother, Carloman. Unfortunately, Carloman died early and unexpectedly as a young man and the entire land of the Franks was given to Charlemagne. This kingdom was vast and covers what would today include parts of the countries of Germany, Holland, Belgium, Switzerland and France.

Charlemagne took very good care of his mother who lived with him at the palace and died at a ripe old age. His brother Pepin died as a child and his sister Gisela spent her entire life as a religious in a nunnery. Charlemagne had four wives and four concubines. From these relationships he had fourteen children. He insisted on educating all of his children both the boys and the girls. The boys leaned how to hunt and use arms while the girls learned womanly things like weaving. Charlemagne was a devoted father and when he wasn’t fighting a war and was at home, he insisted on eating dinner with his children and also took them with him on many of his journeys. He was so attached to his daughters that he refused to give them away in marriage with the result that two of them ended up having illegitimate...

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...ut who lost heart at the last moment and succeeded only in slashing him across the eyes. The pope summoned Charlemagne to Rome and bestowed the crown of Emperor and Augustus upon him. The Pope’s attackers fled when they heard that Charlemagne was coming but they were found and punished some were imprisoned and other condemned to death.

The Charlemagne of Einhard is a man of many notable characteristics and accomplishments. Einhard gives a sense of what the important events and people in Charlemagne’ s life were. Einhard gives a more detailed and colorful background to many of the events even if some of his descriptions and stories are not believable.

In Einhard, we learn the facts. In Notker, we see Charlemagne’s sense of humor, and his compassion; his forgiveness; his sense of equality and fairness. In the many anecdotes

Of Notker, Charlemagne comes alive.

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