''Vita Hludovici'' or ''Vita Hludovici Imperatoris'' (The Life of Louis or the Life of the Emperor Louis) is an anonymous biography of
Louis the Pious
Louis the Pious (german: Ludwig der Fromme; french: Louis le Pieux; 16 April 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair, and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aqui ...
,
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...
and
King of the Franks
The Franks, Germanic-speaking peoples that invaded the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century, were first led by individuals called dukes and reguli. The earliest group of Franks that rose to prominence was the Salian Merovingians, who con ...
from AD 814 to 840.
Author
The work was written in Latin in or soon after AD 840 by an anonymous author who is conventionally called ''Astronomus'', the Astronomer or sometimes the
Limousin
Limousin (; oc, Lemosin ) is a former administrative region of southwest-central France. On 1 January 2016, it became part of the new administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It comprised three departments: Corrèze, Creuse, and Haute-Vienn ...
Astronomer. This is due to his many detailed comments on
astronomical
Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, galaxies ...
matters in the work upon which he describes himself as "one credited with having knowledge of this subject." He held office at the court of Louis the Pious, and his cultural and religious references suggest that he was not a churchman. It has been conjectured, based on evidence within the text, that the author was born around AD 800 and that his nationality was not
Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
or
Frankish
Frankish may refer to:
* Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture
** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages
* Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany
* East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...
.
The author's attitude to his subject is clearly subordinate and one of admiration, yet he does not idealise Louis in the same way as, for example,
Einhard
Einhard (also Eginhard or Einhart; la, E(g)inhardus; 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 ...
does in his
Life of Charlemagne. It has been suggested that the author exhibits a degree of disapproval towards
cleric
Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...
s and the workings of the Frankish Church, lending weight to the view that he was not formally connected to the Church. Nevertheless, the most popular recent ideas (see below) do identify him as a cleric.
Identification
Various attempts have been made to identify the author with a particular individual. In 1729, Von Eckhart thought he was a notary attached to Louis' court between 816 and 839. Von Simson in 1909 attempted to identify him as Archdeacon Gerolt, a cleric at court. Max Buchner, the author of one of the most influential modern studies of the Astronomer's work in 1940, identified him as
Hilduin
Hilduin (c. 785 – c. 855) was Bishop of Paris, chaplain to Louis I, reforming Abbot of the Abbey of Saint-Denis, and author. He was one of the leading scholars and administrators of the Carolingian Empire.
Background
Hilduin was from a pr ...
, the chancellor of
Pippin II of Aquitaine
Pepin II, called the Younger (823 – after 864 in Senlis, Oise, Senlis), was King of Aquitaine from 838 as the successor upon the death of his father, Pepin I of Aquitaine, Pepin I. Pepin II was eldest son of Pepin I and Ingeltrude, daughter ...
and
Charles the Bald
Charles the Bald (french: Charles le Chauve; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as Charles II, was a 9th-century king of West Francia (843–877), king of Italy (875–877) and emperor of the Carolingian Empire (875–877). After a ser ...
.
Ernst Tremp supports this view in his important 1995 study, although Buchner and Tremp differ by about a decade in their dating of the work.
Tischler has most recently tried to make a case that the Astronomer was
Jonas of Orleans
Jonas may refer to:
Geography
* Jonas, Netherlands, Netherlands
* Jonas, Pennsylvania, United States
* Jonas Ridge, North Carolina, United States
People with the name
* Jonas (name), people with the given name or surname Jonas
* Jonas, one of ...
but the Hilduin theory remains more popular amongst historians. Recently, Courtney Booker suggested
Walafrid Strabo
Walafrid, alternatively spelt Walahfrid, nicknamed Strabo (or Strabus, i.e. "squint-eyed") (c. 80818 August 849), was an Alemannic Benedictine monk and theological writer who lived on Reichenau Island in southern Germany.
Life
Walafrid Strabo ...
was the Astronomer.
See also
* ''
Gesta Hludowici Imperatoris Thegan of Trier (or Degan of Treves) (before 800 – ca. 850) was a Frankish Roman Catholic prelate and the author of ''Gesta Hludowici imperatoris'' which is a principal source for the life of the Holy Roman Emperor Louis the Pious, the son and su ...
'' by
Thegan of Trier Thegan of Trier (or Degan of Treves) (before 800 – ca. 850) was a Frankish Roman Catholic prelate and the author of ''Gesta Hludowici imperatoris'' which is a principal source for the life of the Holy Roman Emperor Louis the Pious, the son and suc ...
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
* {{cite book , last=Tremp , first=Ernst , title=Thegan, Die Taten Kaiser Ludwigs/Astronomus, Das Leben Kaiser Ludwigs , url=http://daten.digitale-sammlungen.de/~db/bsb00000712/images/index.html?seite=2 , access-date=2009-03-26, year=1995 , publisher=Hahnsche Buchhandlung, location=Hannover , language=de
External links
Full text in Latinfrom Tremp's 1995 edition.
on the siege of
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
from P.D. King's 1989 edition.
9th-century Latin books
Biographies (books)
Biographies about royalty
Latin biographies
Carolingian historiography
9th-century Latin writers
Writers from the Carolingian Empire
9th-century astronomers