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Paper Abstract: Compares two versions of life of medieval king & accuracy of political, private & military experiences. Paper Introduction: This study will compare the two versions of the life of Charlemagne by Einhard and by Notker the Stammerer. The study will consider the relative accuracy of the two accounts in terms of the medieval king's political, private and military experiences, and will consider as well the reason for the differences in the two authors' perceptions of him. There are a number of stark differences between the two versions of Charlemagne's life. In the first place, Einhard's work at least tries to stick to the facts of that life, although there are questions about his accuracy, while Notker openly presents a "much more discursive and anecdotal" account. In any case, translator Thorpe refers to both works as "biographies, or pseudo-biographies" (p. 2). We might expect a "fact"-based account to be more accurate Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. The Einhard work "seems deliberately to obscure the truth,always in favor of Charlemagne" (p. 61). In political affairs, Charlemagne is shown by Notker in specificinstances to be wise and insightful, settling disputes with a firm buthumane hand (p. We are not merely told that he iscompassionate, as in Einhard, but we are shown by Motker a number ofspecific instances in which he practiced that compassion, as in the sceneof the poor boy brought to the castle to learn and prosper (p. 96). There are a number of stark differences between the two versions ofCharlemagne's life. In general, then, we find such subjective and adoring statements asthis from Einhard: "Charlemagne was by far the most able and noble-spiritedof all those who ruled over the nations in his time" (p. Nevertheless, the Charlemagne of Notker is a much more human andaccessible character than that of Einhard. . However, we are warned that "Our first danger is thatwhen we put (Einhard's and Notker's works side by side) we may be comparing. Notker's work can hardly be called a critical biography, even incomparison with the river of praise for the king -from Einhard. He was, saysEinhard, a wonderful family man, highly educated, articulate, a greatsportsman, religious, moderate in his behavior, compassionate, etc. It is true that Notker's workis anecdotal, full of "witty tales" and perhaps closer to outright fictionthan Einhard's work. quite dissimilar (works); and our second (danger is) that we may becriticizing both Einhard and (Notker) for failing to achieve what they didnot set out to do" (p. 114). Notkerimmediately establishes that we are about to be shown a portrait of a manand leader of thorough excellence: "He who ordains the fate of kingdoms andthe march of the centuries, the all-powerful Disposer of events, havingdestroyed one extraordinary image, that of the Romans, which had, it wastrue, feet of iron, or even feet of clay, then raised up, among the Franks,the golden head of a second image, equally remarkable, in the person of theillustrious Charlemagne" (p. Wecannot say the same of Notker, "who seems to have spent the whole of hisadult life in (a) . Accordingly, in allcategories --- personal, political and military --- Charlemagne isportrayed by Einhard as a flawless hero and a wonderful man. Einhard is true to his word, for he shows Charlemagne to be aremarkable man in every category of his private life. For example, Einhard leaves out anumber of instances in which the king's mistreatment of others wasapparently all too obvious. 25). .. 28). In short, Einhard gives the reader in substance what he promised togive --- a portrait of an extraordinary man and a great and powerfulleader. In the first place, Einhard's work at least tries tostick to the facts of that life, although there are questions about hisaccuracy, while Notker openly presents a "much more discursive andanecdotal" account. 137). He was writing from the same perspective takenby the historians of ancient Rome who "considered themselves free to writeimaginary speeches for their historical characters, and to include or evento invent anecdotes about them; their account of events was subjective,literary, and often deliberately inaccurate" (p. 15). Einhard spends little time evaluating Charlemagne's social andpolitical efforts, emphasizing the fact that the king was indeed primarilya military leader. Einhard shows Charlemagne to be a masterly and efficient warmaker.He is compared favorably to his father, who had left a number of disputesunsettled. For example, the scene in which the clerkdisappears, turning into a hunk of coal, is hardly believable, but it doesemphasize the spiritual humility of Charlemagne. At the same time, while he certainly portrays a much more accessibleCharlemagne than does Einhard, Notker is not afraid to paint scenes whichcan hardly be called accurate. References Einhard and Notker the Stammerer. Einhard was in fact living on land given tohim by the son of Charlemagne at the time of his writing. Notker's account is probably the least accurate of thetwo, simply because he does not even pretend to be trying to present athoroughly factual account. Nevertheless, if we are determined to assess the two works first onthe basis of their accuracy, then we have to conclude that both works havetheir shortcomings. 93). Accordingly, "Wemust be warned that his information is not always reliable and that he willoccasionally omit matters which it suits him to suppress, but we should notbe surprised to find this in 'a book which perpetuates the memory of thegreatest and most distinguished of men'" (p. 12-13). . Einhard, on the other hand, has the facts at hand, having accompaniedCharlemagne in many of the events described, but he plays with themsubjectively. I shall now speak of his intellectual qualities, his extraordinarystrength of character, whether in prosperity or adversity, and all theother details of hid personal and domestic life" (p. On the private and personal front, Einhard is effusive in his praiseof the king: "What has gone before is a fair picture of Charlemagne - andall that he did to protect and enlarge his kingdom, and indeed to embellishit. 63). . We might expect a "fact"-based account to be more accurate than onebased on anecdotes, but another factor complicates our assessment.Einhard, we read, "tells us that Charlemagne was his master and patron . Einhard thereby sets the standards bywhich his work should be judged. 51). 18). (1969). Perhaps in aroundabout apology for having left out unpleasant or unflattering detailsof Charlemagne's military experiences, Einhard writes that "in this presentwork I am determined to offer the modern reader a description ofCharlemagne's way of life and not day-to-day details of his wars" (p. 73). Einhardhimself had no false modesty about his qualifications as Charlemagne'sbiographer: "I am very conscious of the fact that no one can describe theseevents more accurately than I, for I was present when they took place and,as they say, I saw them with my own eyes" (p. Einhard is somewhat more tempered in his praise of the politicalefforts of Charlemagne, but even here he avoids criticism: "However muchenergy Charlemagne may have expended in enlarging his realm and conqueringforeign nations, and despite all the time which he devoted to thispreoccupation, he nevertheless set in hand many projects which aimed atmaking his kingdom more attractive and at increasing public utility" (p.71). However, it is difficult to accept the accuracy of a book which waswritten by a man who was an indebted admirer of the subject. He could have written an accurate work,for he did have access to facts out of reach for Notker, but Einhard choseto portray Charlemagne positively at each point. His two immediate reasons for writing were the personal knowledge whichhe possessed of Charlemagne, and the debt of gratitude which he owed to theremarkable king and emperor, who had helped him to continue his educationand with whom he had long lived on friendly terms" (pp. 2). 27). 6 ). Two lives of Charlemagne.New York: Penguin.----------------------- 7 The study will consider therelative accuracy of the two accounts in terms of the medieval king'spolitical, private and military experiences, and will consider as well thereason for the differences in the two authors' perceptions of him. Of one such war, Einhard writes: "Although the reason for hisundertaking the war was similar to that which had inspired his father, andindeed identical, it is clear that Charlemagne fought it with much moreenergy and brought it to a different conclusion" (p. . In any case, translator Thorpe refers to both works as"biographies, or pseudo-biographies" (p. With respect to accuracy, we can argue --- as Thorpe does incomparing Einhard's account with others' works --- that Einhard is guiltyof leaving out details of Charlemagne's life which reflect negatively onthe king. 17). It is perhaps too kind of translator Thorpe to claim that Einhardshould not be judged harshly for his inaccuracies because Einhard wasdeliberately writing a work of praise for his beloved Charlemagne.However, Einhard declares outright that "no one can describe these eventsmore accurately than I" (p. On the other hand, at least we can say that Einhard was present, orat least claims to have been present, at the events he describes. In short, neither work is truly accurate, but both accomplish,generally, what they set out to accomplish. This study will compare the two versions of the life of Charlemagneby Einhard and by Notker the Stammerer. We are not merely told thatCharlemagne is wise, as in Einhard, but are rather shown in Notkerprecisely how he practices his wisdom, as in the opening anecdote in whichthe Scots visit the coast of Gaul. In the military sphere, we are shown a Charlemagne in Notker who isnot merely heroic and courageous and strategically superior, we are alsoshown a man who takes time out to apply his wisdom and his sense ofpersonal justice, as in the granting of rewards to fellow soldiers whodisplayed their own heroism (p. monastery" (p. 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