Historical Propaganda:
Comparing Life of Wilfrid to Life of CharlemagneWhen comparing the Life of Wilfrid by Eddius Stephanus with the Life of Charlemagne by Einhard the contrariety in content and style of the books are apparent. From how each author treats his subjects to the specific details given to the main themes of their lives, Stephanus and Einhard approach their works in very different manners. Yet, no matter how different the subject matters and styles of the books, the two authors have a parallel goal; both are writing propaganda type histories. when keeping this in mind as well as other biases of the writers, the content of the works, and the period in which the main characters live, dissecting the information found within the sources can produce accurate historical representations.
The authors of Life of Wilfrid and Life of Charlemagne bring to their works distinct biases. It is therefore necessary to review the basic prejudices of the writer in order to determine the particular slant he uses in his work. From the beginning, Eddius Stephanus lets the reader know that his book is for an ecclesiastical audience. In his preface Stephanus states that the Bishop Acca and the Abbot Tatberht, Wilfrid's successors, demanded he write about Wilfrid and out of obedience to them and the church he did. In addition, the author is a priest in Wilfrid's congregation who shows a great amount of respect and awe for his subject, as seen when he states that preserving the saints' memory and knowing his mettle would lead to virtue. Einhard also lets the reader know from the beginning where his loyalty lies. Uniike Stephanus, Einhard is not "demanded" to write his history, he chose to write it. Yet like Stephanus, he is paying a debt of obedience to both his superiors and his subject. In his introduction, Einhard explains that he is indebted to Charlemagne both for the education and for the friendship he received from the king. In addition, he continued to circulate in the Carolingian court of Louis the Pious, Charlemagne's son, after the death of Louis' father. The fact that he was still in the political sphere of the Carolingians did not allow him the freedom, even if he desired it, to write a disparaging account of Charlemagne's life.
While it is the intent of both authors to create a noble history of their subject, each accomplishes his goal in very different manners. Stephanus systematically creates a narrative, hagiographic text of Wilfrid's life. The author tells Wilfrid's story with colorful miracles and "verbatim" conversations in order to give an authentic tone to his work. The fact that Stephanus stresses the miracles surrounding Wilfrid's life and death play to the idea that he is justifying Wilfrid's sainthood. Through miracles, the church establishes the rights of canonization. From the first chapter, with the miracle of Wilfrid's birth and sanctioning from God, to the closing chapter, which included the white rainbow miracle after his death, Stephanus is substantiating Wilffid's sainthood. His full account of the saint is set to glorify and exemplify the good deeds and personal charisma of Wilfrid.
Likewise, Einhard writes in order to venerate and exalt the deeds and charisma of Charlemagne, but he intends his work to be a "public history" and therefore presents his information with that in mind. His introduction states that he can not be sure that anyone else will write of Charlemagne and for posterity sake, he has undertaken the task. Both Einhard and Stephanus are acquainted with their subjects and as such are eye witnesses to parts of their subjects lives. Contrary to Stephanus though, who chooses to incorporate dialogues and accounts that are questionable, Einhard appears to write about topics only if he has first-hand information or written documentation on it. In chapter four, for example, Einhard states that he will not begin with Charlemagne's childhood because of two reasons. First he was not there and second, no one has written about it, therefore any details of Charlemagne's youth are hearsay and he will not use them within the body of his text, Einhard keeps the historical tone of his work by distancing himself from his writings.
Aside from the tone and style of the writers, each presents the contents in his unique way. Wilfrid's history, for example, is a broad view of his entire life with specific treatment given to items pertaining to the church and the role Wilfred plays in it. Charlemagne's on the other hand is a more detailed account of his day to day life while still depicting the major themes within. From the saints' birth to his death, Stephanus recreates the general details of his life while emphasizing particular church themes. In chapter ten, the author recounts the issues of and decision made at the Council of Whitby. Stephanus shows how Wilfrid convinced King Oswiu that the Roman version of Easter and tonsure was correct. Filled with the numerous excursions of Wilfrid, the text in particular depicts his exiles caused by the Anglo-Saxon Church. Stephanus gives commonplace accounts of Wilfrids' journeys and rarely, if ever, precise information on what life was like on a daily basis. Yet, in regards to the people Wilfrid encountered, such as kings, bishops, and the popes in particular, Stephanus supplies detailed accounts of explicit conversations or documents received from them. For instance, all through chapters 50-60, Stephanus takes great pains to show the proceedings involved with Wilfrid's final journey to Rome. He shows the documents Wilfrid presented to the pope when the saint first came to the papal court. He describes the convening of the synod in Rome, the presentation of the appeal, the reply of Pope John and the journey home. He also describes the amoniosity of King Aldfrith towards Wilfrid and finally the convening of the syuod of Nidd and its subsequent ruling in Wilfrid favor. All of this is done because to Stephanus, the public church life coupled with the Christian piety and sainthood of Wilfrid is the history worth saving, not the daily items.
Einhard on the other hand feels both Charlemagne's private life and his public achievements are worthy of history. The kings' ability in battle and diplomacy along with the personal aspects of his life make Charlemagne a praiseworthy subject. Einhard takes pleasure in describing both the great public victories as well as teh little private details of Charlemagne's life. In his chapters on teh wars of Charlemagne Einhard dipicts not only the battles but the diplomatic choices the king made as well. To illustrate, Einhard captures the Frankish monarchs' intelligence and strength as a ruler when he describes the incident of Benevento. When the Duke Areghis sent his sons as hostages instead of coming himself; Charlemagne decided that it was better for the people if he did not take insult at the stubbornness of the duke. Instead of causing a war, he took Areghis' younger son, returned the elder one to his father, and accepted tribute.
Throughout his work, Einhard is able to seize the main themes of Charlemagne's life while capturing the spirit of the man. Einhards' desire to show Charlemagne in all aspects of life gives rise to the section entitled "The Emperor's Private Life." The aim of these chapters, as stated at the beginning of the section, is to show Charlemagne's "intellectual qualities, his extraordinary strength of character, whether in prosperiry or adversity, and all the other details of his personal and domestic life." For instance, in Chapters 18 and 19, the authors' objective is to reveal the parental side of Charlemagne. Einhard goes beyond retelling the lineage of the children to show the love and personal interest the king had for them. It is apparent that Einhard wishes to give a well-rounded view of Charlemagne, which includes both public and private items. Einhard even writes of the kings' physical stature, his hobbies, and his intellectual and theological interest.
The nature of both books is to pay homage to their subjects through the personal charisma and accomplishments of each. As stated previously, Stephanus is writing for religious patrons. The Bishop Acca and Abbot Tatberht, both of whom received financial and social advancement from Wilffid after his death, wished to immortalize the saints' life. Not only did they wish to preserve the holiness of this reverent one, but also solidify his rights to the lands, monasteries and wealth that were return to him. No doubt, they were also thinking of the financial gains, through pilgrimages and noble patronage, their churches would receive through the glorification of their patron saint. Accordingly it is Stephanus' duty and obligation to create an idolizing account of Wilfrid's life, and he accomplishes it with such relish. He uses his entire book as a propaganda tool for his church. In it, Wilfrid is the ideal of sanctity, piety and moral fortitude. He is the epitome of righteousness. From beginning to end, the author gives Wilfrid the characteristics associated with a saint and he never places guilt of wrongdoing at Wilfrid's door. In chapter three Stephanus describes Wllfrid as "pleasant to all, of keen mind, strong in body, willing to do any good work, with never a sad look to cloud his face." Later, in chapter nine Wilfrid is shown as "huumble, peaceable, given to prayer and fasting, kind temperate, discreet, compassionate, full of power and grace of God, modest, prudent, no wine-bibber, pure and open of speech, willing to learn and a good teacher." These qualities exemplify Wilfrid's sainthood. Through all his exiles and imprisonment, Stephanus keeps the image of Wilfrid pure by passing blame onto his enemies. Stephanus' view is that Wilfrids' righteousness and power given to him by God causes his enemies to torment him. Stephanus indicates that Wilfrids enemies can not substantiate any crimes against the saint. A case in point, during the conflict with Archbishop Theodore, the public replied to Wilfrid, "We do not find you guilty of any crime whatsoever; none the less our decrees against you are to remain unchanged."
Similar to the Lift of Wilfrid, the Life of Charlemagne has a propaganda-based agenda. As far as is known, King Louis the Pious did not commission Einhard to write about his father. Nevertheless, Einhard is still bound to the court of Louis and as such adapts his writing to please the new king. That aside, Einhard would have written a glowing report of Charlemagne's life not matter what. It was his intention from the start to create a model history of his "most distinguished and deservedly most famous king." In his introduction, Einhard declares that he will not allow "the greatest man of all those living in his own period, to sink in the shades of oblivion." It is interesting to point out that many of the characteristics of the ideal Christian man as shown in the Life of Wilfrid crosses over to Einhards' writing. While Wilfrids' portrayal is that of an ideal saint, Charlemagne is as the perfect Christian king. In Einhards' history Charlemagne fought battles for Christian causes and had an incessant desire to advance the church. His devotion to the church is the reason he built the great church in Aachen! , attended mass morning and evening, and protected teh papacy against its enemies. Einhhard parallels Stephanus when he gives his king the winning qualities of a pious and learned man. Charlemagne is patient, strong, sober, devout, caring, charitable, diplomatic and learned. Throughout his work, Einhard lets nothing tarnish the image of his great king and his "selective" memory shows this. When Charlemagne's brother dies and his widow flees to Italy, Einhard tells his readers that the only reason she would leave is out of scorn for the king. He fails to show that in the politacally turbulent sphere of the Frankish court her life and that of her children could be in danger. When Einhard does mention the unsavory items in Charlemagne's life, he blames others for the kings' failings. For example, the cruelty of Queen Fastrada causes the king to "have taken actions wich were fundamentally opposed to his normal kindliness and good nature."
As with any historical source, it is necessary to examine the strength and weakness of both texts to determine their worth. When examining the two, it is easy to discount Stephanus Life of Wilfrid because of it's hagiographic ideology, but to do so would be a mistake. While this author weakens his work through his biases and by using detailed dialogues, miracles and blatant biblical references, he strengthens it with the fact that he was a contemporary of Wilfrid and traveled with him to Rome on his final journey. As a member of Wilfrid's community, Stephanus had access to people who could recount their stories and to information regarding the main issues surrounding his subjects' life. His use of papal letters and documents give credibility to his work. Stephanus is also writing soon after Wilfrid's death and therefore the information is still fresh in his mind. As for historical accuracy in reflecting the time period of Wilfrid, Stephanus does an excellent job in prtraying the political turmoil surrounding the Anglo-Saxon church in the seventh century. Likewise, he accurately depicts how the pope must depend on the moral forthrightness of his churches, not physical force, to uphold his rulings and as such had no real control over his churches in England. Stephanus indicates that for "twenty-two years... they [the Anglo- gaxons] had shamefully opposed the authority of the pope." Concurrently, through his account of King Oswiu's ruling at Whitby, Stephanus vividly shows how the Anglos-Saxon church and state were beginning to merge.
Due to Einhard's authoritative plainspoken presentation, it is easy to venerate his work above the Life of Wilfrid as a historical source. Just as with Stephanus' history though, to do so is a mistake. Many of the strengths and weaknesses of Stephanus' work apply to Einhards' as well. Like Stephanus, he has eye witness accounts of Charlemagne's life, but unlike him, Einhard refuses to weaken his work with colorful dialogues that possibly existed, but were not preserved. The fact that the author was an intimate friend of the king and wrote his work shortly after the events likewise strengthens his work. Einhard is able to use his personal knowledge to give credence to his history. As with Stephanus, Einhard gives credibilily to his work through the documents he has access to, such as Charlemagne's last will and testament. In his history, Einhard represents early Carolingian France well. He describes the revival of learning and the civic reforms instituted in Francia, including the scholars that attended the court and the public building and utilities created at the time. In his work, Einhard also shows the incorporation of the Roman church into the Frankish kingdom. As an example, in conquering other nations, the Franks required their enemies to adopt the sacraments of the Christian church and become part of the Frankish nation. The authors' description of the politics and wars of the period stay true to the times with the exception that Einhard does not display Charlemagne's defeats well. For example, Einhard refuses to acknowledge the failure of the Spanish campaign. In his version of this campaign, he states that Charlemagne "marched over a pass across the Pyrenees, received the surrender of every single town and castle...except for the fact that for a brief moment on the return journey... he was! ! given a taste of Basque treachery." Instead of telling about Charlemagne's retreat at the hands of the Muslims, and the loss of his entire rearguard at the hands of the Basque people, Einhard either lies or gives a half-truth.
In Life of Wilfrid and the Life of Charlemagne, the authors have created distinct histories evolving around their main characters and the key points in their lives. They begin with the intent on developing a story that will glorify their subjects and distort some of the facts in the process. The distortions found in the text causes some problems, but when examined with the biases and style of the writers in mind, each work does produce also some useful historical information. In the end, the works of Stephanus and Einhard gives their audience an excellent taste of the historical periods in which Wilfrid and Charlemagne lived.
Please take a moment to either sign my guestbook or email me:
or
you may email me if you prefer.
You are guest number
to enter this page since April 20, 1998
Home, Kaeli, Free Background Sets,
Historical Term Papers,
Historical Costumes,
About My Family and Me, My Best Friend,
My Pregnancy Page,
The Baby's Ultrasound,
Family Pictures, Our Wedding Pictures,
The Wolf Page
This page hosted by Get your own Free Home Page
