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

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. "Translations of ninth-century lives of the emperors Charlemagne (by Einhard and Notker) and his son Louis the Pious (by Ermoldus, Thegan, and the Astronomer). Presented chronologically and contextually, with commentary" -- Provided by publisher