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EINHARD: THE SINNER AND THE SAINTS1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 November 2003

Julia M.H Smith
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Abstract

This essay offers a major reassessment of the career of Einhard, biographer of Charlemagne, and an analysis of elite lay piety in the Carolingian era. Einhard's life (c. 770–840) is discussed in terms of childhood, youth, marriage and old age, with emphasis on the significance of his wife, Imma. His personal relationship with the relics which he had translated from Rome to Seligenstadt and his self-description as a ‘sinner’ offer insights into his religiosity. Einhard and Imma are also situated in a broader discussion of the religious activities of other elite married couples of their day. Monastic foundations, relic collecting, Christian household morality and close engagement with the Psalter characterise a distinctive conjugal Christianity in the Carolingian period.

Type
Research Article
Information
Transactions of the Royal Historical Society , Volume 13 , December 2003 , pp. 55 - 77
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Historical Society2003

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References

1 I dedicate this paper with affection to the memory of Donald Bullough, whose help with an early version it is a pleasure to acknowledge. I am also grateful to Peter Brown, John Contreni, Mayke de Jong, David Ganz, Matthew Innes, Guy Halsall, Jinty Nelson, Janneke Raaijmakers, Barbara Rosenwein and Sidney Tibbetts for comments and advice. Preliminary versions of this paper were delivered at Loyola University, Chicago, and the Davis Center at Princeton University.