Everything about Einhard totally explained
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.
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.
Further Information
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