Charlemagne and Louis the Pious: Lives by Einhard, Notker, Ermoldus, Thegan, and the Astronomer

by Thomas F. X. Noble (Editor)

Overview

Carolingian historical texts have long stood at the base of our modern knowledge about the eighth and ninth centuries. The ninth century gave birth to a new revival of secular biography, which has come to be recognized as one of the brightest bands in the spectrum of Carolingian historical writing. This collection brings together, for the first time in one volume, the five royal/imperial biographies written during the Carolingian period.

Thomas F. X. Noble’s new English translations of these five important texts—Einhard’s Life of Emperor Charles, Notker’s Deeds of Charles the Great, Ermoldus Nigellus’s Poem in Honor of Louis, Thegan’s Deeds of Emperor Louis, and the Life of Louis by “the Astronomer”—are each accompanied by a short introduction and a note on “Essential Reading.” Offering details on matters of style, sources used by the author, and the influence, if any, exerted by the text, Noble provides a context for each translation without compromising the author’s intended voice. By “reuniting” these five essential medieval texts in an English translation, this volume makes these voices accessible to scholars and non-experts alike throughout the Anglophone world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780271035734
Publisher:	Penn State University Press
Publication date:	10/13/2009
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Thomas F. X. Noble is Professor and Chair, Department of History, at the University of Notre Dame.

Table of Contents

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Einhard, the life of Charles the Emperor

Introduction

The Life of Charles the Emperor

Notker the stammerer, the Deeds of Emperor Charles the Great

Introduction

The Deeds of Emperor Charles the Great

Ermoldus Nigellus, in Honor of Louis

Introduction

In Honor of Louis, the Most Christian Caesar Augustus,

by Ermoldus Nigellus, an Exile

Thegan, the Deeds of Emperor Louis

Introduction

The Deeds of Emperor Louis

The Astronomer, the Life of Emperor Louis

Introduction

The Life of Emperor Louis

Index

Editorial Reviews

“The new translations of these five lives and their very useful introductions and notes make this work a prodigious achievement and an extremely valuable and most welcome contribution to Carolingian studies.”

—Steven Fanning The Historian

“Noble’s book has a very specific thematic focus that makes it especially appealing for use in lower-division classes. . . . Noble has presented us with lucid translations of five important works of secular biography from the Carolingian period, each adorned with learned . . . introductions and up-to-date bibliographies.”

—Scott Bruce The Medieval Review

From the Publisher