Nithard
Encyclopedia
Nithard ca. a Frankish
historian
, was the grandson of Charlemagne
, by Bertha, a daughter of the emperor. His father was Angilbert
.
, 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.
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. In the 11th century his body, with the fatal wound still visible, was found in the grave of his father, Angilbert
.
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.
Only two manuscripts of the Historiae survived, one roughly contemporary and an incomplete Renaissance-era text useless in the reconstruction of the text.
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
, was the grandson of Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
, by Bertha, a daughter of the emperor. His father was Angilbert
Angilbert
Saint Angilbert was a Frank who served Charlemagne as a diplomat, abbot, poet and semi-son-in-law. He was of noble Frankish parentage, and educated at the palace school in Aquae Grani under Alcuin...
.
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. RiquierSaint-Riquier
Saint-Riquier is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:The commune is situated northeast of Abbeville, on the D925 and D32 crossroads.-Abbey:...
, where his father was lay abbot
Lay abbot
Lay abbot is a name used to designate a layman on whom a king or someone in authority bestowed an abbey as a reward for services rendered; he had charge of the estate belonging to it, and was entitled to part of the income.This custom existed principally in the Frankish Empire from the eighth...
. He would have been educated most likely at the imperial schola
Scholae
Scholae is a Latin word, literally meaning "schools" that was used in the late Roman Empire to signify a unit of Imperial Guards. The unit survived in the Byzantine Empire until the 12th century...
, which offered the kind of high-quality instruction in both military and literary training he is known to have received.
Nithard himself later became lay abbot of St Riquier in commendam. He served his cousin Charles the Bald
Charles the Bald
Charles the Bald , Holy Roman Emperor and King of West Francia , was the youngest son of the Emperor Louis the Pious by his second wife Judith.-Struggle against his brothers:He was born on 13 June 823 in Frankfurt, when his elder...
in both war and peace, carrying out two missions to Lothar
Lothar
Lothar is a modern form of the Old High German name Clotaire or Lothair. Notable people with the surname include:* Ernst Lothar, German writer* Mark Lothar , German composer* Rudolf Lothar , German writer...
during the Carolingian Civil War and fighting at Fontenoy
Battle of Fontenay (841)
The three year Carolingian Civil War culminated in the decisive Battle of Fontenay-en-Puisaye, also called the Battle of Fontenoy, fought at Fontenoy, near Auxerre, on the 25 June 841...
in June 841. It is probable that he died as the result of wounds received whilst fighting for him against the Northmen near Angoulême
Angoulême
-Main sights:In place of its ancient fortifications, Angoulême is encircled by boulevards above the old city walls, known as the Remparts, from which fine views may be obtained in all directions. Within the town the streets are often narrow. Apart from the cathedral and the hôtel de ville, the...
. The date of his death is disputed among scholars, but consensus is now for June 14, 844. In the 11th century his body, with the fatal wound still visible, was found in the grave of his father, Angilbert
Angilbert
Saint Angilbert was a Frank who served Charlemagne as a diplomat, abbot, poet and semi-son-in-law. He was of noble Frankish parentage, and educated at the palace school in Aquae Grani under Alcuin...
.
Works
Nithard's historical work consists of four books on the history of the CarolingianCarolingian
The Carolingian dynasty was a Frankish noble family with origins in the Arnulfing and Pippinid clans of the 7th century AD. The name "Carolingian", Medieval Latin karolingi, an altered form of an unattested Old High German *karling, kerling The Carolingian dynasty (known variously as the...
empire under the turbulent sons of the emperor Louis I
Louis the Pious
Louis the Pious , also called the Fair, and the Debonaire, was the King of Aquitaine from 781. He was also King of the Franks and co-Emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813...
, 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
Xenophon
Xenophon , son of Gryllus, of the deme Erchia of Athens, also known as Xenophon of Athens, was a Greek historian, soldier, mercenary, philosopher and a contemporary and admirer of Socrates...
, Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
, Ammianus Marcellinus
Ammianus Marcellinus
Ammianus Marcellinus was a fourth-century Roman historian. He wrote the penultimate major historical account surviving from Antiquity...
, and Flavius Merobaudes
Flavius Merobaudes
Flavius Merobaudes was a 5th-century Latin rhetorician and poet, probably a native of Baetica in Spain.He was the official laureate of Valentinian III and Aetius...
. For the military historian, Nithard's description of the complex exercises of cavalry in Gaul
Gaul
Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...
is particularly valuable as a supplement to the account in the Tactical Handbook of Arrian
Arrian
Lucius Flavius Arrianus 'Xenophon , known in English as Arrian , and Arrian of Nicomedia, was a Roman historian, public servant, a military commander and a philosopher of the 2nd-century Roman period...
as well as for its insight into Carolingian techniques.
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 HistoricaMonumenta Germaniae HistoricaThe Monumenta Germaniae Historica is a comprehensive series of carefully edited and published sources for the study of German history from the end of the Roman Empire to 1500.The society sponsoring the series was established by the Prussian reformer Heinrich Friedrich Karl Freiherr vom...
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).
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