Charlemagne the Man
Where to start? Here is a review of a
number of recent biographies of
Charlemagne, each supplementing the
other
1214 Europe celebrates (once more) its so-called founding father, Charlemagne who died in Aachen on
the 28th of January 814. But who was the man beneath the myth, how should we view his efforts and his
contributions to the wider history of Europe, and what was the exact character of his legacy?
After WW2 Charlemagne attracted a number of biographers. Later – after the realization of the European
Union – the historians once more began to write huge biographies of the man; a remarkable trend in view
of the general socioeconomic flavour of Marxist history writing in the second half of the 20th century,
which led to what the anthropologist Mary Douglas famously called “missing persons”.
Once more a number of biographies are being pushed to market. Here is a list of the best from the last
fifteen years, hopefully providing an introduction to the next wave of European fixation upon
Charlemagne in a year, where the European federalists and secessionists have once more taken up arms.
In this political game it is perhaps not without interest to note that the current president of the European
Parliament, Martin Schulz, who is not only a frontrunner in the race for the presidency of the
Commission, is also a former bookseller from Aachen heavily engaged in promoting his former hometown as the epicentre of future Europe, vis. the upcoming exhibitions in Aachen 2014. In this perspective
it is not only important to know of the history of Charlemagne, but also of the different scholarly
traditions framing the history of the man (and thus outlining his impact) in the 21st century.
But first a very good introduction for the
uninitiated
Charlemagne: Empire and Society
Ed. by Joanna Story
Manchester University Press 2005
ISBN: 978-0-7190-7089-1
This introduction to the age of Charlemagne is the result of a conference in Oxford in 2000. On this basis
Joanna Story assembled fifteen, primarily British, scholars to examine key issues of the life and times of
Charlemagne. The result is a unusually uniform collection of papers, which – although wide-ranging –
delivers a focused overview of different aspects concerning his reign: the prehistory, the man, the form of
his government, his officials, diplomatic and political relations, the church, culture and learning, the
Roman renewal, coinage as well as the rural and urban context of the Carolingian empire.The articles
represent a number of original approaches to their subjects, from the fields of archaeology and
numismatics to thoroughly researched essays on key historical texts. The essays are embedded in the
scholarship of recent decades but also offer insights into new areas and new approaches for research.
A full bibliography of works in English as well as key reading in European languages is provided, making
the volume essential reading for experienced scholars as well as students. Highly recommended.
The biographies – the best first
Charlemagne: The Formation of a European Identity
By Rosamond McKitterick.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008.
ISBN 978-0-521-71645-1.
Key to this magisterial work is the subtitle: The formation of European Identity. It may of course be
argued to what extent Charlemagne succeeded in bringing such an “identy” (aka “imagined community”
about). However, it is not up for discussion that exactly this was the overarching project of Charlemagne
and his officials (whether lay or learned). Opening up with a very qualified reading of the extant sources,
she moves on to argue for the complexities inherent in the Carolingian expansion and to examine the
networks of regional centres of power within the orbits of Charlemagne. From this she moves on to
consider the actual workings of the empire as administered by his royal officials and to his use of physical
reordering of landscapes to promote his rule. Finally she tackles the cultural formation of orthodoxy,
whether implemented through the writing-system, the liturgical or theological reforms or in the
development of the arts.
The book is in some ways a truly exemplary read: highly thoughtful, well written and a general delight.
However, it is also dense and demanding. This is not where a student should begin. Perhaps better saved
for a concentrated reading after having been acquainted with the basics of the story of Charlemagne
elsewhere.
Karl der Große. Gewalt und Glaube
By Johannes Fried
C.H. Beck Verlag, München 2013
ISBN 978-3-406-65289-9
With more than 736 pages, Johannes Fried’s new biography rambles all over the place. However, that is
exactly its quality. Johannes Fried is professor at the University in Frankfurt and has been a president of
the German Society of Historians. He is primarily know for his radical reevaluation of the events
surrounding the famous Walk To Canossa plus his insistence on carrying out his “Memorik”, basically a
psychologizing and neuro-cognitive approach towards history (also termed “neuro-cultural history”). In
short this approach seeks to highlight the way in which the history of “chroniclers” (be they writing,
painting or of performing or otherwise memorizing) has been infused by not only their cultural
upbringing but also their experience as children. By seeking to reflect upon these parameters while at
the same time taking into account the “sitz im Leben” of the “memorians” (from whom our sources stem),
Fried tries to open for a better understanding of why we remember the way we do – and in this case why
and how Charlemagne and people in his surroundings thought about his project and how it was
remembered by his court and collaborators in his endeavors to create the Carolingian Empire. And what
was tacitly forgotten about…what we are treated with is thus a series of “modulations of memories”.
Sounds droll and difficult to understand? Don’t worry! Johannes Fried has received prizes for his
innovative form of writing and anyone familiar with German should indeed take the time to read this
lively and enormously refreshing view of the man, Charlemagne, and his times. Already in its second
imprint, the biography has hit the shelves of the German Books-shops with a bump.
The book is brand new and has as such not received scholarly reviews as yet. We shall watch out.
However, it is well worth noting that Die Zeit has opened its pages for a short introduction, written by
Fried to his magnum opus.
Karl der Große: Leben und Wirkung, Kunst und Architektur
Michael Imhof (Autor), Christoph Winterer (Autor)
Gebundene Ausgabe: 240 Seiten
Imhof Verlag, Petersberg 2005; 2013
ISBN-10: 3932526619
ISBN-13: 978-3932526619
This biography was published in 2005 on the prestigious publisher, Michael Imhof Verlag. In the best
German tradition it presents and overview of the history of Charlemagne plus an itinerary of the places,
where we might have met him. Richly illustrated it is well worth a perusal on a wintry night.
Charlemagne
By Roger Collins
Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1998
ISBN-10: 0802082181
ISBN-13: 978-0802082183
This biography offers a general political account, strictly source-based, of the unfolding of the reign of
Charlemagne from 768 -814. Characterised through conquests, expansion and later intellectual and
religious reforms it is less a biography, than a very readable introduction to the political endeavors of
Charlemagne. As such it looks less upon the context, in which he ruled, than the actual business of ruling
per se. As source-based it provides the reader with a very well-written introduction to at least some of the
pitfalls engendered by the disparate, rudimentary and “alien” character of the chronicles, capitularies,
letters and charters as well as the liturgical handbooks, theological treatises etc. In short: this biography
is about sources – and as such a must!
Karl der Grosse
Stefan Weinwurter.
Piper Verlag 2013
ISBN-10: 3492055826
ISBN-13: 978-3492055826
Stefan Weinfurter is professor in Heidelberg. Apart from his active career as a medievalist he has been
active in a number of the very large exhibitions during the last ten years in Germany – latest Otto the
Great in Magdeburg (link). Until now his research has focused on political history and the study of rituals
and power. His latest work, however, focus on a period a bit earlier and has resulted in a brand new
biography of Charlemagne. This carries the subtitle: The holy Barbarian, pointing to the special interests
of this historian: the political power-play of what he sees as a ruthless, barbaric and hedonistic – and very
mighty –ruler. But also, and not least, his focus on creating a world subsumed by unambiguity, as
witnessed by his wish to regulate everything from the names of the months to the liturgies and the
systems of writing.
Charlemagne.
By Jean Favier.
Fayard 1999
ISBN-10: 2213604045
ISBN-13: 978-2213604046
Jean Favier is a renowned late-medieval French historian and former Director of the National Archives
and president of the Bibliothèque Nationale in France. He is best known for his biography of Philip the
Fair. In the late 90’es he was inspired to write a massive French biography of Charlemagne. Formed in
the tradition of the Annales-school he organized his biography more as an introduction to the times of
Charlemagne than the life of the emperor, considering amongst others such topics as rural society,
warfare, government, the legal system, religion and the Carolingian Renaissance. This is an approach,
which must be applauded. However, as many of these topics have been extensively treated in a series of
special studies both before and after its publication and since it appears from the bibliography that
secondary literature consulted was predominantly French, it does not really live up to the standards
nowadays. A bit dated…
Karl der Grosse
By Matthias Becher
C.H. Beck Verlag 1999 (2000, 2002, 2004 and 2007).
Translated into Italian in 2000, Spanish in 2001 and English in 2003 by
Yale University Press.
ISBN 978-3-406-43320-7
ISBN-10: 0300107587
ISBN-13: 978-0300107586
This biography is generally considered a splendid introduction to Charlemagne’s life and legend.
Matthias Becher describes Charlemagne’s rise to emperor and traces his political and military
maneuvering against the Saxons, the Lombards, and others, as Charlemagne incorporated these lands
into his own realm. Becher points out that under Charlemagne, jury courts were introduced, the laws of
the Franks revised and written down, new coinage introduced, weights and measures reformed, and a
Frankish grammar begun. In short, Becher tries to give a rounded-up version of Charlemagne and his
reign. Not much controversy to chew on here. Granted, it might serve well as an introduction to the
official (German) understanding of the emperor. Unfortunately it is also a bit bland and maybe even dull
Charlemagne: Father of a Continent.
By Alessandro Barbero
Translated by Allan Cameron from Carlo Magno. Un padre dell’Europa
Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2000. ISBN 88-420-6054-2.
Berkeley, Los Angeles, and London: University of California Press,
2004.
ISBN 0-520-23943-1
The biography of Alessandro Barbero belongs to the more popular genre. He is known both as a historian
and a novelist. But he started out as a medieval historian of high and late medieval Italy. (He has e.g.
worked with Chiara Frugoni on the Dizionario del Medioevo). The biography by Barbero is meant to be
read by a wider audience as for instance witnessed by the discursive bibliography appended to his work.
In it he surveys the standard topics of the reign of Charlemagne: The conquests, the family life, the socalled Carolingian Renaissance, the religious reformations and the political and diplomatical relations
with the wider Empire and its neighbours. He also provides a treatment of the economy and the daily life
among the peasants of the realm. In this biography we are treated to the portrait of a lively and
aggressive ruler obviously in charge of the “ruling of an Empire” built upon the institutional framework;
this perhaps reflects not only the selection of sources, upon which this biography is built, but also its
Italian (imperial) roots. This is a wide-angled introduction and as such not without its limitations.
Karl der Große. Herrscher des Abendlandes
Dieter Hägermann
Propyläen-Verlag, Berlin 2000, (2003)
ISBN-10: 3548602754
ISBN-13: 978-3548602752
Dieter Hägermann was a German historian of the old school, who ended his career as a professor in
Bremen. His biography on Charlemagne appeared in 1999 and has thus made this list. However, it is
another of these massive German biographies, which read more like a modern rendering of a medieval
chronicle – or rather an embellished travel-calendar cum diary. Thus it can be revered for its
comprehensive and careful use of the available sources, but not for its content. It is mentioned here, not
because it can be recommended, but because it represents “the old school”.