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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 · V. Charta Eginhardi S. Blandinii Gandensis abbatis qua Nordberto praestarie… · 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
1
Uenerabile in Christo Eginhardus abbas. Dum non est incognitum qualiter res tuas quod tu comparasti et ad monasterium nostrum tradidisti et ad opus fratrum nostrorum delegasti atque firmasti, sed postea tua fuit petitio, et nostra non denegauit uoluntas, ut ipsam rem et illa terra, quod Thiodsumda habuit, per beneficium nostrum tibi Nordberto hoc prestitissemus. Quod ita et fecimus; et ad onorem tuum quando aliquantis temporibus ad monasterium nostrum uenires, tibi prouendam dare faciamus, et pro usu fructuario de ipsas res nobis censum leuasti ut annis singulis, ad festiuitatem sancti Martini, dare debeas denarios II, et ipsum censum debent fratres accipere. Et sic nobis conplacuit atque conuenit ut ipsas res nec uenderis, nec donaris, nec alienaris, nec concambiaris, nec in ullo naufragio mittere licentiam non habeas; nisi tantum, dum diu aduixeris, usitare et emeliorare facias. Et, post obitum tuum, quod tu comparasti et in beneficio nostro habuisti, et illa alode quod antea tradidisti, ab illo die has res fratres hoc habere debeant ad mensam et ad opus eorum. Et Odbertus liceat percensire hoc clero uel d. II, et ipsum censum debent fratres accipere, qui infra monasterio sunt, in anniuersaria tui pro anima tua. Facta prestaria in monasterio Blandinio publico sub die XII kal. Febr. anno XUI regnante domno nostro Hludowico gloriosissimo imperatore.
+Ego Eginhardus abbas recognoui et subscripsi.–Sign. Egeshario uicedomino.–Sign. Badurico custus ( sic ) presbytero.–Sign. Wincgario decano presbytero.–Sign. Fletuualdo presbytero.–Sign. Ermenlando presbytero.–Sign. Regenmundo presbytero.–Sign. Thegenlando presbytero.–Sign. Hrodgario diacono.–Sign. Iohannus ( sic ) subdiacono.–Sign. Odric subdiacono.–Sign. Teutmundo clerico.–Sign. Folcuuinzo clerico.–Sign. Sigeberto clerico.–Sign. Brunhardo clerico.–Sign. Adalgario diacono.–Sign. Egelmundo presbytero. –Sign. Erchenmaro presbytero.–Ego Rinhadus presbyt. scripsi.
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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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