Page:Readings in European History Vol 1.djvu/184

 148 Readings in European History The Royal Annals. Annals of Einhard. The capitu- laries. often taken from monastery to monastery, copied, combined, and con- tinued in such a way that errors and inconsistencies crept in which have greatly puzzled scholars in our own day. The annals are sometimes named from the abbey where a copy was found, -although, as in the case of the Greater Annals of Lorsch, they may not have originated there ; or they may be named for the person who discovered a copy, or from the region to which they oftenest refer and where it is assumed that they were written. By far the most important of the annals for Charlemagne's time are the so-called Royal Annals. These were apparently drawn up by per- sons who resided at the king's court; for the writers were evidently devoted to the interests of the reigning family, and were in a position to follow closely the course of public events. The Royal Annals cover the period from 741 to 829 and are the work of several chroniclers. In the first place, some unknown ecclesiastic undertook, apparently about 787, to bring together as full an account as he could of the deeds of Charlemagne's house since the death of Charles Martel (741). This was the origin of the so-called Greater Annals of Lorsch. These were later brought down to 80 1. The work was then rewritten in better Latin and considerably modified, and a continuation was added, bring- ing the history down to 829. This revision, together with the continuation, was long attributed to Einhard, Charlemagne's secretary, but many scholars now agree in thinking that if Einhard had a hand in the work at all he was only one of several writers. See a discussion of the annals in general in WATTENBACH, pp. 154 sqq. ; for the Royal Annals, pp. 210 sqq. See also MOLINIER, pp. 211- 215 and 224 sqq. (The text of the various early annals including the Royal is in Monumenta Germaniae Historica. A better edition of the Royal Annals in octavo edition (1895) ; translation in the Geschichtschreiber.) The laws, the so-called capitularies, issued by Charlemagne, are of great importance to one who wishes to form an idea of his government and the conditions within his empire. There is a recent edition of the capitularies in the Monumenta, edited by BORETIUS, 1883 sq. EINHARD'S Vita Caroli may be found in the octavo edition of the Monumenta ; also edited by HOLDER, Freiburg, 1882 (60 Pf.). For Eng- lish translation, see above, section B. " Einhard," says Ranke, " enjoyed singular good fortune in finding in his great contemporary the most worthy subject for an historical work. Out of gratitude he erected a monument to one to whom he was peculiarly indebted for his early education, and thereby provided that he himself should be remembered for all time."