Charlemagne In Einhard's Life Of Charlemagne

Hailed as a prominent work of the Carolingian Renaissance, Einhard’s Life of Charlemagne recounts not only the great deeds of the august emperor but also describes his person and life. Einhard, in his preface, makes known the sense of duty with which he seeks to preserve the laudable accomplishments and intimate character of his “lord and foster father.” Indebted by the “foster care” bestowed upon him and moved by the “constant friendship” which he received from the great king, he composes his biography of Charlemagne in a spirit of filial devotion and with the knowledge of one who is clearly ingrained in the life of the imperial court. This close relationship between Charlemagne and Einhard offers a personal understanding of the emperor,
Written “under the patronage of Charlemagne’s heir,” Einhard certainly sought not only to magnify the image of Charlemagne but also to preserve the Carolingian line through Louis the Pious. He illustrates this twofold purpose in his acknowledgement of Louis the Pious as heir in a narrative that specifically concerns the life of Charlemagne: “He established Louis as the co-ruler of the entire kingdom and the heir to the imperial title.” At the same time, however, Einhard fails to mention the once proposed division of the empire upon the death of Charlemagne. Even though Louis the Pious’s brothers had died earlier and so the division of the kingdom is no longer practical, the failure to mention the intended plan delineates the correspondence of the narrative with regard to actual historical truth. As in Charlemagne’s will, Einhard in his writing “enhanced his [Louis’s] powerful reputation and filled foreign peoples with great fear.” In this respect, Einhard creates a continuity within the Carolingian line. In glorifying the life of Charlemagne, he celebrates his heir. Thus, it becomes clear that Einhard, aware of the political implications, wrote the biography for posterity and with political
Modeled off of Suetonius’s Lives of the Caesars, Einhard’s Life of Charlemagne seeks to paint Charlemagne as the model emperor. As shown in his carefully vague reasoning for the family of Carloman’s flight into Lombardy and in his consolidation of Louis the Pious as the ordained and appropriate heir to the throne, Einhard constructs the image of Charlemagne into that of a historical hero. Charlemagne, through Einhard’s influence, becomes nothing less than the imperial