EINHARD

Einhard

• Historian, born c. 770 in the district watered by the River Main in the eastern part of the Frankish Empire; d. 14 March, 840, at Seligenstadt

Catholic Encyclopedia.Kevin Knight.2006.

Einhard

    Einhard

    ^{† Catholic_Encyclopedia ► Einhard}

    (Less correctly EGINHARD), historian, born c. 770 in the district watered by the River Main in the eastern part of the Frankish Empire; d. 14 March, 840, at Seligenstadt. His earliest training he received at the monastery of Fulda, where he showed such unusual mental powers that Abbot Baugulf sent him to the court of Charlemagne. His education was completed at the Palace School, where he was fortunate enough to count among his masters the great Alcuin, who bears witness to his remarkable talent in mathematics and architecture, and also to the fact that, in spite of his unattractive person, he was among the emperor's most trusted advisers. Charlemagne gave Einhard charge of his great public buildings, e.g. the construction of Aachen cathedral and the palaces of Aachen and Ingelheim, for which reason he was known in court circles as Beseleel, after the builder of the tabernacle (Ex., xxi). Charlemagne also availed himself of Einhard's tact and prudence to send him on various diplomatic missions. Thus, in 802 he placed in his hands the negotiations for the exchange of distinguished Saxon hostages, and in 806 he was dispatched to Rome to obtain papal approbation for the partition of the empire the emperor had just decided upon.

    During the reign of Louis the Pious he retained his position of trust, and proved a faithful counsellor to Louis's son Lothair. Unsuccessful, however, in his attempts to settle the contests for the crown which had been stirred up by Empress Judith, and unable to bring about a lasting reconciliation between Louis and his sons, Einhard, in 830, withdrew to Mühlheim (Mulinheim) on the Main, which he had been granted as early as 815, together with other estates, as a mark of imperial favour. He transferred thither the Relics of Sts. Marcellinus and Peter, and called the place Seligenstadt. Moreover, between 831 and 834 he established here a Benedictine abbey, where, after the death of his wife, Emma (or Imma), sister of Bishop Bernhar of Worms (not daughter of Charlemagne), he spent the rest of his life as abbot. It is not certain whether he was ordained priest. His epitaph was written by Rabanus Maurus.

    The most important of Einhard's works is the "Vita Caroli Magni." This, the best biography of the whole period of the Middle Ages, written in close imitation of Suetonius, particularly his "Vita Augusti", shows the emperor from the standpoint of the most intimate personal acquaintance with all sides of his character, and with a genuine attempt at truth of portrayal. The diction is in general elegant, though not polished. The annals of the Carlovingian Empire, which have been handed down as Einhard's (ed. Kurze, 1895), are, in their present form, older materials worked over. Those for the years between 796 and 820 may date back to Einhard. In addition, we have from is hand the "Translatio et Miracula SS. Marcellini et Petri", containing data which are important for the history of culture. The seventy-one letters, written by Einhard between 825 and 830 in a clear, simple style, constitute an important source for the history of Louis the Pious.

    PATRICIUS SCHLAGER

    Transcribed by Michael C. Tinkler

The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume VIII. — New York: Robert Appleton Company.Nihil Obstat.1910.

(ca. 770–840)

   The life of the Frankish emperor CHARLEMAGNE is best recorded by the Benedictine monk Einhard in his biography, Vita Karoli Magni Imperatoris (ca. 830). Einhard was born around 770 in Seligenstadt in the area of the Maingau as the son of an East Frankish aristocratic family.He received his education in the famous monastery of Fulda, which had been founded by St. Boniface in 744.Working in the scriptorium, between 788 and 791, Einhard copied a number of manuscripts. To further his education, Einhard was sent to the court of Charlemagne, where he became the student of ALCUIN who gave him the nickname Nardulus (Little Nard) because of his small stature.His outstanding abilities in the areas of architecture and painting were soon recognized since he was put in charge of building palatial residences in Aachen and elsewhere, and accepted into the group of the king’s intimate advisers in 996 or 997.Charlemagne also employed him as his spokesperson and diplomat. For instance, in 813 Einhard went to Rome to get the pope’s approval for the elevation of Charlemagne’s son Louis the Pious, who had been his own student, to the rank of co-emperor. After Charlemagne’s death in 814, Einhard continued to serve in his highly esteemed functions at court and received from Louis, together with his wife Imma (who died in 836), an estate in Michelstadt in 815. In 827 he had the relics of the saints Marcellinus and Peter transferred from Rome to his abbey in Michelbach in the Odenwald, and later to Mühlhaim (today east of Frankfurt). This transfer, which basically amounted to theft, Einhard discussed in 830 in his Translatio et Miracula S. Marcellini et Petri (The translation of the saints Marcellinus and Peter). Einhard also seems to have composed a number of poems while he studied under Alcuin, but none has survived.

   Einhard is most famous for his Vita Karoli Magni Imperatoris, which he based on the Annales royals (The royal annals), diplomatic, and juridical writings, and, of course, on his personal experiences with the emperor. This Vita was the first of its kind in the Middle Ages and was highly praised by Einhard’s contemporaries WALAFRID STRABO and Lupus of Ferriore, and was copied throughout the entire Middle Ages. Einhard glorifies Charlemagne and praises him above all for his magnanimitas (generosity) and constantia (constancy). The author drew much rhetorical material from classical sources, such as Suetonius’s lives of the emperors, but the Vita still offers a detailed and more or less realistic portrait of Charlemagne and his life, discussing his military accomplishments, his family, his hospitality to foreigners, his personal lifestyle, his patronage of the liberal arts, his religiosity, charity, building programs, his coronation as emperor in 800, and finally Charlemagne’s death in 814, along with his last will. Einhard also composed many letters, 58 of which have survived, the earliest dating from 823. He continued to write treatises and other texts until his old age, such as his Questio de adoranda cruce (On worshiping the cross).He died in 840 in Seligenstadt.

   Bibliography

   ■ Einhard. Charlemagne’s Courtier: The Complete Einhard. Edited and translated by Paul Edward Dutton. Readings in Medieval Civilizations and Cultures 3. Peterborough, Ontario: Broadview Press, 1998.

   ■ Tischler,Matthias M. Einharts Vita Karoli: Studien zur Entstehung, Überlieferung und Rezeption. 2 vols. Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Schriften 48. Hannover, Germany: Hahnsche Buchhandlung, 2001.

   Albrecht Classen

althochdeutscher Ursprung, Bedeutungszusammensetzung aus: »allein« und »stark«. Namensträger: Einhard von Mainfranken, Künstler am Hofe Karls des Großen.

aus dem gleich lautenden Rufnamen (ein + harti) entstandene Familiennamen.