艾因哈德

艾因哈德（Einhard，770年—840年3月），法兰克王国史学家，“卡洛林文艺复兴”的代表人物之一。

生平

出生于法兰克东部的莫因格维，家境殷实。779年，9岁的他被送进富尔达修道院(Fulda)学习，791年或792年被院长鲍古尔富斯推荐至查理宫中供职，受到阿尔昆的教益，成为卡洛林文艺复兴的后起之秀。

794年当上了查理的侍从秘书，并参预机要。查理死后，他继续留在其子虔诚者路易的宫廷，恩宠不衰。830年，由于他不愿意卷入路易的3个儿子之间的混战，毅然离开了宫廷，来到他自己创建的塞利根施塔特修道院隐居，潜心著述，直至840年3月14日去世。

他曾破例同时兼领过几个修道院的院长职务，这原是教会宗规所不容许的事情。

《查理大帝传》

艾因哈德流传下来五种著作，其中以《查理大帝传》（Vita Karoli Magni or Life of Charlemagne ）最有价值。此书在写作上模仿了古罗马史学家苏埃托尼乌斯的《罗马十二帝王传》的文风。艾因哈德在自序中说道：“我认为没有人能够比我更真实地记述这些事情，而且我也不能肯定有没有别人会写出它们。”

《查理大帝传》写成后，获得很高声誉，是这一历史时期最重要的史料。同时代人瓦拉夫里德·斯特拉博也称赞它“提供了丝毫不假的真情实况”。有人夸奖它的优雅文笔直逼古典作家。该书从中世纪流传下来的手抄本，多达六十部。

也评价认为此书有许多对查理大帝美化的描述。

Einhard (also Eginhard or Einhart; Latin: E(g)inhardus; c. 775 – 14 March 840) was a Frankish scholar and courtier. Einhard was a dedicated servant of Charlemagne and his son Louis the Pious; his main work is a biography of Charlemagne, the Vita Karoli Magni, "one of the most precious literary bequests of the early Middle Ages".

Public life

Einhard was from the eastern German-speaking part of the Frankish Kingdom. Born into a family of landowners of some importance, his parents sent him to be educated by the monks of Fulda, one of the most impressive centers of learning in the Frank lands. Perhaps due to his small stature, which restricted his riding and sword-fighting ability, Einhard concentrated his energies on scholarship, especially the mastering of Latin. He was accepted into the hugely wealthy court of Charlemagne around 791 or 792. Charlemagne actively sought to amass scholarly men around him and established a royal school led by the Northumbrian scholar Alcuin. Einhard was evidently a talented builder and construction manager, because Charlemagne put him in charge of the completion of several palace complexes including Aachen and Ingelheim. Despite the fact that Einhard was on intimate terms with Charlemagne, he never achieved office in his reign. In 814, on Charlemagne's death, his son Louis the Pious made Einhard his private secretary. Einhard retired from court during the time of the disputes between Louis and his sons in the spring of 830.

He died at Seligenstadt in 840.

Private life

Einhard was married to Emma, of whom little is known. There is a possibility that their marriage bore a son, Vussin. Their marriage also appears to have been exceptionally liberal for the period, with Emma being as active as Einhard, if not more so, in the handling of their property. It is said that in the later years of their marriage Emma and Einhard abstained from sexual relations, choosing instead to focus their attentions on their many religious commitments. Though he was undoubtedly devoted to her, Einhard wrote nothing of his wife until after her death on 13 December 835, when he wrote to a friend that he was reminded of her loss in ‘every day, in every action, in every undertaking, in all the administration of the house and household, in everything needing to be decided upon and sorted out in my religious and earthly responsibilities’.

Religious beliefs

Einhard made numerous references to himself as a "sinner" according to his strong Christian faith. He erected churches at both of his estates in Michelstadt and Mulinheim. In Michelstadt, he also saw fit to build a basilica completed in 827 and then sent a servant, Ratleic, to Rome with an end to find relics for the new building. Once in Rome, Ratleic robbed a catacomb of the bones of the Martyrs Marcellinus and Peter and had them translated to Michelstadt. Once there, the relics made it known they were unhappy with their new tomb and thus had to be moved again to Mulinheim. Once established there, they proved to be miracle workers. Although unsure as to why these saints should choose such a "sinner" as their patron, Einhard nonetheless set about ensuring they continued to receive a resting place fitting of their honour. Between 831 and 834 he founded a Benedictine Monastery and, after the death of his wife, served as its Abbot until his own death in 840.