Nithard

Nithard

Nithard ca. (800 - 844), a Frankish historian, was the grandson of Charlemagne, by Bertha, a daughter of the emperor. His father was Angilbert.

Contents

Life and career

Nithard was born sometime before Charlemagne was crowned Imperator Augustus in December 800. He was probably raised either at the imperial palace, where his mother continued to live until the death of the emperor, or at the monastery of St. Riquier, where his father was lay abbot. He would have been educated most likely at the imperial schola, which offered the kind of high-quality instruction in both military and literary training he is known to have received.[1]

Nithard himself later became lay abbot of St Riquier in commendam. He served his cousin Charles the Bald in both war and peace, carrying out two missions to Lothar during the Carolingian Civil War and fighting at Fontenoy in June 841. It is probable that he died as the result of wounds received whilst fighting for him against the Northmen near Angoulême. The date of his death is disputed among scholars, but consensus is now for June 14, 844.[2] In the 11th century his body, with the fatal wound still visible, was found in the grave of his father, Angilbert.

Works

Nithard's historical work consists of four books on the history of the Carolingian empire under the turbulent sons of the emperor Louis I, especially during the turbulent period between 838 and 843. The Historiae or De dissensionibus filiorum Ludovici pii (On the Dissensions of the Sons of Louis the Pious) is valuable for the light which it throws upon the causes which led to the disintegration of the Carolingian empire. The first three of these books were written before Nithard's appointment as lay-abbey of St-Riquier in the winter of 842, the fourth and final in spring of 843 after taking up office there. Although rough in style, partisan in character and sometimes incorrect in detail, the books are the work of a man who had an intimate knowledge of the events which he relates, who possessed a clear and virile mind, and who above all was not a recluse but a man of action. They are dedicated to Charles the Bald, at whose request they were written.

His work as a military intellectual places him in the tradition of Xenophon, Julius Caesar, Ammianus Marcellinus, and Flavius Merobaudes. For the military historian, Nithard's description of the complex exercises of cavalry in Gaul is particularly valuable as a supplement to the account in the Tactical Handbook of Arrian as well as for its insight into Carolingian techniques.[3]

Only two manuscripts of the Historiae survived, one roughly contemporary and an incomplete Renaissance-era text useless in the reconstruction of the text.

  • The standard critical edition of Nithard (with French translation) is that of Philippe Lauer, Histoire des fils de Louis le Pieux, Paris: Champion, 1926.
  • The 1907 Latin edition of Ernst Müller was republished in 1965 as part of the Monumenta Germaniae Historica series.
  • An English translation by Bernhard Walter Scholz and Barbara Rogers is available in Carolingian Chronicles: Royal Frankish Annals and Nithard’s Histories (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan, 1972).

See also

References

  1. ^ Bernard S. Bachrach, Early Carolingian Warfare: Prelude to Empire (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2001), p. 125 online.
  2. ^ NITHARD, son of Angilbert Foundation for Medieval genealogy
  3. ^ Bernard S. Bachrach, Early Carolingian Warfare: Prelude to Empire (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2001), pp. 125–130.

Further reading

  • Nelson, J. (1985), "Public Histories and Private History in the Work of Nithard", Speculum (Medieval Academy of America) 60 (2): 251–293, doi:10.2307/2846472, JSTOR 2846472 
  • Nelson, J. (1992), Charles the Bald, London: Longman, ISBN 978-0582055841 
  • Scholz, B. (1972), Carolingian chronicles : Royal Frankish annals and Nithard's Histories, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, ISBN 978-0472061860 

External links

  • Bibliotheca Augustana edition of Nithardus, Latin text
  • Nithardi Historiarvm libri qvattvor ("The Four Books of Nithard's Histories"), edited by Alfred Holder (1895), full text in Latin, downloadable as pdf
  • Bernhard Walter Scholz and Barbara Rogers, Carolingian Chronicles: Royal Frankish Annals and Nithard's Histories (University of Michigan Press, 1972), English translation in limited preview
  • Opera Omnia by Migne Patrologia Latina with analytical indexes

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  • Nithard — († 845) war ein fränkischer Geschichtsschreiber. Seine Historiae stellen eine sehr wichtige Quelle für das frühe 9. Jahrhundert dar. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Leben 2 Ausgaben 3 Literatur 4 Weblinks …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Nithard — • Frankish historian and grandson of Charlemagne (d. 843) Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Nithard     Nithard     † …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Nithard — puede referirse a: Nitardo, historiador, nieto de Carlomagno (siglo IX) Juan Everardo Nithard, jesuita, valido de la reina Mariana de Austria durante la minoría de Carlos II de España (siglo XVII) Esta página de desambiguación cataloga artículos… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Nithard — Nithard,   fränkischer Geschichtsschreiber, ✝ 844; Sohn Angilberts und Berthas, der Tochter Karls des Großen, Abt von Centula und Diplomat Ludwigs des Frommen; schildert in seinen vier Büchern »Historiae« aus eigener Kenntnis die Kämpfe zwischen… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Nithard — Nithard, Sohn des Abtes Angelbert zu St. Riquier u. der Bertha, der Tochter Karls d. Gr., geb. gegen Ende des 8. Jahrh.; er war 841 Karls des Kahlen Gesandter an Lothar, stritt bei Fontenay gegen Lothar u. war 842 unter der Commission, welche das …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Nithard — Nithard, fränk. Geschichtschreiber, Enkel Karls d. Gr., Sohn von dessen Tochter Berta und deren Geliebten Angilbert, diente als Staatsmann und Feldherr Ludwig dem Frommen und Karl dem Kahlen, für den er sich bei den Streitigkeiten zwischen… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Nithard — Nithard, fränk. Geschichtschreiber des 9. Jahrh., Enkel Karls d. Gr., schrieb die Geschichte (»Historiarum libri IV«, deutsch 1851) der Kämpfe der Söhne Ludwigs des Frommen, in denen er selbst 843 fiel …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • Nithard — Pour le Père Nithard, voir Johann Eberhard Nithard. Pour le prince évêque de Liège, voir Nithard de Liège. Nithard[1] (vers 800 † 844 / 845 ou …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Nithard — (c. 800 844)    Carolingian count and historian, Nithard was an active figure in the affairs of his day. A lay abbot, grandson of the great king and emperor Charlemagne, and participant in the civil wars between the sons of Louis the Pious,… …   Encyclopedia of Barbarian Europe

  • Nithard — ▪ Frankish historian born 790? died June 14, 844       Frankish count and historian whose works, utilizing important sources and official documents, provide an invaluable firsthand account of contemporary events during the reign of the West… …   Universalium

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