The main argument of this paper is to decipher how the specific circumstances for Einhard and Notker, such as audience and time in history influenced what they emphasized in their writings on Charlemagne, and to interpret who Charlemagne was. Einhard’s piece is more of a biography on the chronology, and customs spanning Charlemagne’s life, while Notker emphasizes Charlemagne’s importance to Roman Catholicism, his divine yet humble virtues, and the overall importance of God. Upon reading Einhard and Notker’s works on Charlemagne, it is clear that the two men’s intentions were to write on the successes of Charlemagne’s regime, however the two certainly do it in different ways. Within the latter came the reign of one of if not the most infamous European King, Charlemagne. By taking aspects of Roman, Christian, and “barbarian” culture the middle age period in Western Europe was able to foster intellectual and cultural developments like the Northumbrian and Carolingian Renaissance. The Middle Ages was a time where Europe, specifically Western Europe was recreating itself.
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