Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Note on the Text
- Introduction: From the Early Middle Ages to the Late Sixteenth Century
- 1 The Kaiserchronik: The Emergence of Charlemagne in Chronicle Literature
- 2 Priest Konrad’s Rolandslied and the Glorification of Charlemagne
- 3 The Stricker’s Karl der Große: Adaptation and Innovation of the Myth of Charlemagne in the Thirteenth Century
- 4 The Myth of Charlemagne in Fourteenth-century German Literature: The Karl Meinet Compilation
- 5 Elisabeth von Nassau-Saarbrücken’s Königin Sibille: the Double-edged Sword in the German and the Dutch Prose Version
- 6 Charlemagne in the Dutch and German Tradition of Malagis
- 7 Charlemagne as Saint. The Religious Transmutation of the Early Medieval Myth: the Zürcher Buch vom Heiligen Karl (Fifteenth Century)
- 8 Charlemagne in Middle Dutch and Middle Low German Literature
- Afterword
- Bibliography
- Index
- Bristol Studies in Medieval Cultures
Introduction: From the Early Middle Ages to the Late Sixteenth Century
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 December 2020
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Note on the Text
- Introduction: From the Early Middle Ages to the Late Sixteenth Century
- 1 The Kaiserchronik: The Emergence of Charlemagne in Chronicle Literature
- 2 Priest Konrad’s Rolandslied and the Glorification of Charlemagne
- 3 The Stricker’s Karl der Große: Adaptation and Innovation of the Myth of Charlemagne in the Thirteenth Century
- 4 The Myth of Charlemagne in Fourteenth-century German Literature: The Karl Meinet Compilation
- 5 Elisabeth von Nassau-Saarbrücken’s Königin Sibille: the Double-edged Sword in the German and the Dutch Prose Version
- 6 Charlemagne in the Dutch and German Tradition of Malagis
- 7 Charlemagne as Saint. The Religious Transmutation of the Early Medieval Myth: the Zürcher Buch vom Heiligen Karl (Fifteenth Century)
- 8 Charlemagne in Middle Dutch and Middle Low German Literature
- Afterword
- Bibliography
- Index
- Bristol Studies in Medieval Cultures
Summary
The Genesis of the Charlemagne Myth
THIS STUDY focuses on the myth of the Emperor Charlemagne (d. 814) and its profound impact on medieval and early modern, specifically German and Dutch, literature. Einhard, who composed his highly popular biography of Charlemagne shortly after the latter's death (the text has survived in approximately 129 manuscripts, of which 108 date from the Middle Ages), and Notker der Stammler (Notker of St Gall), who completed his Gesta Karoli Magni in c. 855 in St Gall, together laid the foundation for a generally positive image of this ruler, supported by many legendary anecdotes about his personal care for and dedication to the well-being of his country. This image has basically survived until today, despite some critical works produced by clerics who viewed Charlemagne more negatively. Notker in particular pursued the strategy of compiling anecdotes and exemplary tales about Charlemagne, apparently with deliberate disregard for chronology.
Naturally, the corpus of relevant research literature, and also of more popular texts, about Charlemagne and his time, art, literature, religion and so on is legion, and has been produced in a variety of languages. As Karen Pratt points out:
Charlemagne studies are flourishing at present […] Since the various stories which circulated about Charlemagne, whilst fictional, were nevertheless presented as ‘truthful’ and were generally received as such by medieval audiences, the legend of Charlemagne analysed in these studies affords us rich insights into the mentalités of the Middle Ages.
Nineteenth-century research already realized the centrality of this Frankish ruler in the history of medieval European literature, as demonstrated most impressively by Gaston Paris's comprehensive monograph Histoire poétique de Charlemagne (1865).5 Many other scholars have followed his model. However, the need remains, as ever, for new investigations reflecting innovative theoretical and conceptual models and methods, for we are dealing with a myth based on a historical narrative that has inspired the European imagination throughout the Middle Ages and beyond.
Myths of historical figures continue to exert their influence on us today, whether we think of Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, or Napoleon Bonaparte, or, much less positively, of Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin.
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- Information
- Charlemagne in Medieval German and Dutch Literature , pp. 1 - 18Publisher: Boydell & BrewerPrint publication year: 2021