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Einhard: Chartae

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These six charters relate to Einhard, the courtier and biographer of Charlemagne. In the first, Einhard and his wife Imma, quoting the Lord’s command to give alms, grant for the salvation of their souls the cell of Michelstadt in the Odenwald on the river Mümling, which Emperor Louis the Pious had given them. The second describes the boundaries of the estate of Michelstadt. Others record transactions as lay abbot of Saint-Servais at Maastricht and Saint-Bavo and Blandinium at Ghent: an exchange of serfs with an abbess and grants of land in precarial tenure to individuals, as well as a manumission granting full freedom to a former serf, who may go where he wishes like other Roman citizens.

Einhard is best known for his Life of Charlemagne, but these documents show him as a landowner and holder of several abbeys under Louis the Pious. The Michelstadt donation, made to the abbey of Lorsch, reflects the religious concerns of a lay aristocrat and his wife, and the boundary description is an early example of its kind for the Odenwald. The charters are useful sources for Carolingian landholding, the status of dependants, and the use of abbeys as rewards for royal servants.

About this edition. The Latin text comes from Corpus Corporum, the Latin text repository of the University of Zurich (edition: Jacques-Paul Migne, Patrologia Latina, vol. 104, Parisiis 1851), reused with attribution for non-commercial purposes (CC BY-NC-SA). Every word has been analyzed with LatinCy, a neural language model for Latin — click or tap any word for its dictionary form, part of speech, and complete morphology, together with the full entry from Lewis & Short’s A Latin Dictionary.

Latin · Law
Chartae
Einhard · I. Charta qua Eginhardus, annuente Imma uxore sua, cellam Michelstadt cum… · every word parsed
BookI. Charta qua Eginhardus, annuente Imma uxore sua, cellam Michelstadt cum…II. Descriptio locorum terminorumque villae Michelstadt ab ipso Eginhardo factaIII. Charta Eginhardi, monasterii S. Servatii confessoris abbatis, qua…IV Commutatio mancipiorum inter Eginhardum abbatem et Theodradam monasterii…V. Charta Eginhardi S. Blandinii Gandensis abbatis qua Nordberto praestarie…VI. Charta ejusdem argumenti pro Engelhardo
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Dominus ac Redemptor noster corporaliter in terris conuersatus, homines, uariis sordibus peccatorum inquinatos, admonere dignatus est, dicens: Date eleemosynam, et ecce omnia munda sunt uobis; et iterum: Facite uobis amicos de mammona iniquitatis, qui uos recipiant in aeterna tabernacula. Idcirco nos, in ipsius Dei omnipotentis et ista iubentis nomine, Eginhardus et Imma, simul de salute animarum nostrarum cogitantes, et de abolendis peccatis nostris, beataeque ac perpetuae uitae praemiis consequendis pari deuotione tractantes, hoc testamentum facere decreuimus. Per quod spontanea et integra uoluntate donamus, quod ab hodierna die donatum esse uolumus, id est, cellam nostri iuris uocabulo Michlenstat, sitam in pago Plumgowe, in silua quae dicitur Odenewalt super fluuium Mimilingum, quam nobis gloriosissimus princeps domnus Hludowicus imperator largissima liberalitate concessit, et de iure suo in nostrum ius solemni donatione transtulit, ac praecepti sui auctoritate in proprietatem nobis confirmauit. Hanc, ut diximus, cellam sub integritate cum omnibus appendiciis et terminis suis, et cum omnibus ad se pertinentibus, id est, basilicis, domibus, caeterisque aedificiis, terris, pratis, siluis, campis, pascuis, aquis, aquarumue decursibus, cultis locis et incultis, mobilibus rebus et immobilibus, ac seipsas mouentibus, mancipiis diuersi sexus et aetatis, numero centum, donamus et tradimus ad basilicam siue monasterium uenerandi martyris Christi Nazarii, quod uocatur Lauresham, et est constructum in pago Rhenense, in ripa fluminis quod dicitur Wisgoz, ubi tempore praesenti uir uenerabilis Adalungus abba Deo deseruientis congregationis pastor et rector esse cognoscitur. Ea uidelicet ratione memoratam donationem atque traditionem facientes, ut, quamdiu in hac mortalitate diuina iussione uixerimus, habeamus praedictam cellam in nostra potestate, et sub nostra ordinatione, absque ullius personae aut potestatis contradictione uel impedimento, tam simul, quam singillatim per successionem, si, uno superstite, alter e nobis ante decesserit. Filios quoque si nos habere contigerit, unus ex eis in eadem possessione nobis iure precario succedat. Post obitum uero nostrum, memorata cella cum omni integritate ad praenominatum uenerabile monasterium absque ullius contradictione recipiatur, et in eius potestate atque dominio perpetuo permaneat. Et si aliquis contra hoc nostrae donationis testamentum resultare uoluerit, aut illud conuellere atque euacuare temptauerit, primitus Christum et sanctum martyrem eius Nazarium nefandis ausibus suis contrarium sentiat, et insuper, fisco distringente, mulctam de rebus propriis parti praedicti uenerabilis monasterii coactus exsoluat, auri uidelicet libram unam, argenti pondo XII. Et hoc testamentum, atque haec donatio nostra firma et inuiolata permaneat. Et si, quocunque tempore, a quolibet homine aliud instrumentum in nostro nomine prolatum fuerit, quod huic nostro testamento contrarium sit, indicium datorum anterius uel posterius habens, etiamsi manu nostra uideatur uel dicatur esse firmatum, uacuum et inane remaneat, et nullum effectum obtineat; sed, ut praediximus, haec donatio nostra perenni stabilitate firma et inuiolabilis perseueret, stipulatione subnixa. Et ut hoc testamentum, iuxta legis consuetudinem, integram firmitatem accipiat, propriae manus subscriptione illud firmare decreuimus, et idoneorum testium, qui ipsam donationem uiderunt, signaculis roborari fecimus.–Facta donatio in Laureshamo monasterio, II Idus Septembris, anno UI regni domini nostri Hludowici gloriosissimi imperatoris in Dei nomine feliciter.
Ego Eginhardus peccator et donator recognoui et manu propria subscripsi. Ego Imma consensi et subscripsi. +Signum Rabangarii. +Signum Warbotonis. +Signum Wolfberti et aliorum.
Ego Hirmimarus diaconus et notarius imperialis, rogante Eginhardo, hoc testamentum scripsi et subscripsi.
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Text: Perseus Digital Library, licensed CC BY-SA. Dictionary: Lewis & Short (Perseus, CC BY-SA). Morphology: LatinCy — machine parsing, corrected against the AGDT & PROIEL treebanks and Morpheus.
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