Charlemagne and Louis the Pious

Charlemagne and Louis the Pious, Volume 1, offers a vital collection of Carolingian historical texts that form the foundation of our understanding of the eighth and ninth centuries. Thomas F. X. Noble provides new English translations of five significant royal and imperial biographies, including Einhard’s Life of Emperor Charles and Notker’s Deeds of Charles the Great. This medieval history volume reunites these essential secular biographies, making them accessible to scholars and readers of European history.

This scholarly work includes Ermoldus Nigellus’s Poem in Honor of Louis, Thegan’s Deeds of Emperor Louis, and the Life of Louis by the Astronomer. Each translation is accompanied by an introduction and notes on style, sources, and influence. As a key resource in the study of medieval biography and French history, Charlemagne and Louis the Pious, Volume 1, provides necessary context for these influential Carolingian voices.