Charlemagne

by Matthias Becher

Charlemagne was the first emperor of medieval Europe and almost immediately after his death in 814 legends spread about his military and political prowess and the cultural glories of his court at Aix-la-Chapelle. This biography reconstructs Charlemagne's life from documentary sources, charting his conquests of Saxon and Lombard land, the establishments of a new form of government with laws, coinage and a polished language. Intended for the general reader.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Medieval History, European History, Biography, France, Medieval

170 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[Gabrielle Dubois · Rating 5 out of 5]

Matthias Becher
« During the course of his reign Charlemagne kept developing the notion of his relation to his people. At the beginning he relied on the loyalty of the nobles already linked to him and achieved his first success in war due to their help. With the time, though, he aimed at a more distinct definition of this relation. As a reaction to the riot of the Thuringian count Hardard, he demanded a general oath of allegiance for the first time in 789. The imperial coronation of Charlemagne lead to a new adjuration, this time on the nomen Cesaris. Inspired by his new gained position he intensified the concept of loyalty connecting it to the aspired reform of his empire. He therefore proved to be a ruler who was not only satisfied with his position and title but also had quite precise notions of his own rule and the position of his subjects. »

This book is perfectly documented, clear, as objectively historic as possible. I recommend it for everyone who’s interested in Charlemagne.
Personlay, it’s not my kind of reading, unless I would need it as a bibliography for a novel. The problem is that I like to know the character and thoughts of people ; for me, dates, wars, marriages, battles for more land are only interesting if it leads me to learn about people. But we don’t have enough material frm this period to really learn who were the people who lived then.
So 5 stars, Mr Becher deserves them. for this precise work, even if it lacks life.

[Jodi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Von Karl dem Grossen hatte ich immer mal wieder gehört, hatte aber nie die Möglichkeit oder die Musse, mehr über ihn in Erfahrung zu bringen. Schön, dass es die Beck'sche Reihe gibt, um die schlimmsten Wissenslücken zu schliessen.

Denn Karl der Grosse ist eine wirklich faszinierende Persönlichkeit und auch die Umstände, die sein Leben bestimmten, sind spannend zu lesen. Eigentlich wie "Game of Thrones" - nur in der Realität. Was da eins intrigiert und verheiratet wurde liest sich teilweise fast schon unterhaltsam.

Ich gestehe mit jedem Band ein grösserer Fan dieser Reihe zu werden, da sie einen guten Einstieg in ein bestimmtes Thema darstellen. Dank der Lektüre habe ich nun ein klareres Bild davon, wer hinter dem Namen "Karl der Grosse" steckt, der übrigens viele Dinge ins Rollen gebracht hat, die noch heute Verwendung finden.

[Michael K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charlemagne, by Matthias Becher, is a history book that details the very interesting life of Charlemagne. Charlemagne was a king in the late 8th and early 9th centuries that ruled the Frankish Kingdom. He was the first Holy Roman Emperor and is considered the father of europe as he controlled the most of western europe that has been held since the Western Roman Empire. The book covers a bit of world politics before Charlemagne was born, the events leading up to him becoming King of the Franks and later the events leading up to the end of his life in 814.

I really like how he managed to detail Charlemagne’s life as history wasn’t recorded as much back then. Other things that I liked was how the author included depictions of Charlemagne, his family and events in the lifetime. Though it did feel like it took a while to get through the book as it just didn’t feel all that interesting sometimes. The book was brief, so I recommend reading this before reading anything else about Charlemagne. As the book is brief, but still gives you enough details for you to decide whether or not to continue learning about Charlemagne. The author also has a section of recommendations for other Charlemagne related books to read.

The rating I would give this book is a four. While it can be a bit boring at times I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who has not yet read anything relating to Charlemagne, but not recommend to anyone who is very familiar with Charlemagne.

[Chris Jaffe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good, brief overview of Charlemagne. I especially like the relations between him and the Byzantines and the duel for respectability. It's also interesting to see Charlemagne try to enforce his will on his land, and keep running into trouble doing so, despite all his success in battle. There is also a really nice overview on the Franks before Charlemange. (In particular, that helped clarify some things I was fuzzy on after reading "Before France and Germany." All the bits of Frankish later in the latter parts of the book wore on me, causing my eyes to glaze over. Here, Becher notes that the war made the kings more dependent on their nobles, until there were often de facto states).

One problem with this book: the opening chapter doesn't work. It's on the most famous event in Charlemagne's life: his crowning. I get why you start like this - it's the notion of a hook. Start with a hook to draw the reader in and elucidate some key themes. It's sensible, but it's botched up here. It doesn't really draw the reader in. It's just a story that feels like it was dumped in 50 pages before it's time.

Overall, though, it's a very informative short book on its subject matter.

[Jillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brief and unfortunately somewhat uninspired chronicle of the intriguing emperor. It does work as an educational overview of an interesting period, and I did learn a fair amount, but I was hoping for a more engaging and well described account. Or if the author was indeed going for a flat, utterly straightforward approach, then it should have been truly chronological and included either a glossary or a more detailed index. Also (and yes, fine, I'm nitpicking now) since when is a "span" a full 12 inches?

[Reedin Rainbough · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked this book up on a lark. All I've ever really known about Charlemagne is that he was a Frankish king but knew next to nothing of his deeds or influence in history. This slim volume provides a little more information but is very dryly written. I feel that rather than recommend this as an introduction to Charlemagne, this book should instead accompany another text on medieval history. If you are as unfamiliar with the time period as I am, you might find yourself at a loss with some of the information. The tone of the book is very textbook and probably not intended for the layman. It's not a difficult read but it isn't a super engaging one either. I'd rate this book a 2/5 stars for overall enjoyment but because I'm giving it 3 stars because it was short and informative.

[Jose · Rating 1 out of 5]

I own a hardcover with dustjacket copy of this book, this is sadly another biased look at Charlemagne a Great Warrior and Defender of Christendom. Midway through the book you get the sense the author does not care much for The Great King nor his achievements despite being in the book those achievements. The professor does not credit Him with Saving the West from heretics and barbarians and of course criticizes the Church then concludes the book by the well-deserved mythology of him and goes about lambasting that. A too critical look at The Man, only good thing was it was short therefore I did not have to torture myself more reading over 130 pages of this short yet unfair diatribe.

[Thomas Warren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Succinct but well researched overview of Charlemagne’s life. Makes me want to read Vita Karoli.

[Kronprinz Willi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Matthias Becher - Karl der Grosse -
1999/2021

Dieses Buch war doch super interessant. Ein sehr informatives Buch über Karl.

[John David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charlemagne is unique in being one of a set of historical figures whose best biographers write short, pithy, insightful works about them. Einhart's "Vita Karoli Magni," contemporaneous with Charlemagne, set the model. Notker Balbulus' "Gesta Caroli Magni," written later in the ninth century, set begin a long trend of mythologizing Charlemagne's role in Frankish history. This volume, a very serviceable contribution by Matthias Becher, adds to this "tradition of brevity," while never falling into Notker's tendency to apotheosize.

The story begins on Christmas Day of the year 800, when Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne "Emperor of the Romans," an event which will lay the formation for the rise of medieval Europe. In a Europe where the Roman Emperor had been gone for centuries, how was it that Charlemagne had consolidated the disparate Merovingian territories into a united Frankish kingdom? This question is at the heart of the book.

When Charlemagne's father, Pippin the Short died, he left Charlemagne and his brother Carloman I as co-emperors. After just a few years of rule, however, Carloman died unexpectedly at the age of twenty, leaving his older brother as the sole ruler from 771 until his death 43 years later. Becher covers many of the most interesting topics of Charlemagne's reign in detail: the conquering of the Saxons, Avars, and Bavarians, the political influence of Leo III, his vastly influential educational reforms (due in part to his brilliant librarian at Aachen, Alcuin), and changes in ecclesiastical structure. Becher ends the discussion with "Epilogue: Hero and Saint," discussing how Charlemagne's complex role in Frankish history has been taken up by historians over the past twelve centuries, from Notker to Ranke.

This book, along with Einhart and Notker, serve as a wonderful introduction to Charlemagne's life and times. For the more sophisticated student who wishes to fill in the gaps left by these three accounts, Rosamond McKitterick's much more extensive "Charlemagne: The Formation of a European Identity" comes highly recommended.

[Ed Callahan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my second time reading Becher's work, and my reread was part of preparation for a lesson on Charlemagne. Since Becher wrote this text in German, we are relying on a translation which is succinct and very readable. Overall I am very satisfied with the book and believe that it provides a helpful summary of Charlemagne's life and his legacy. This book would serve well as a supplement to Western Civilization classes and for high school teachers who are interested in highlighting the legacy of Charlemagne.

[Leroy Seat · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is a lot of information in this book, but I gave it only three stars because of its organization. I would have profited more from it, I think, had the information been done more chronologically. Still, I learned far more about Charlemagne than I had ever known before, and I am happy for what I learned from this detailed book.

[Max · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, profound introduction inclusive the important literature.
He tells not only the biography of Charlemagne, but also cultural and historical context and draws a vivid picture of 8th century central Europe

[Tlaloc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Relatively small, but still has enough room to discuss elementary Frankish socioeconomics and military in addition to a serviceable biography of Charlemagne. Definitely worth getting.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Überblick insgesamt gut, chronologisch geordnet, aber weniger umfassend als Überblick von Hartmann (dort mehr Quellen und Forschungsansätze)

[Tiffany · Rating 3 out of 5]

not too bad. mostly attempting to justify or contradict Einhard's work

[Daniel Chen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brief, comprehensive overview of Charlemagne, his empire, and his legacy. Exactly what you expect it to be, and written very scholarly. Coming in clutch for that end of semester paper.