July 26, 2025 • 16 mins
Dive into the intriguing life of Emperor Charlemagne through the eyes of Notker, a monk who spun tales filled with amusing anecdotes and witty narratives. Despite traditional historians dismissing Notker as ill-informed, a number of his tales, including the enigmatic story of the nine rings of the Avar stronghold, have found their way into modern Charlemagne biographies. Written for Charles the Fat, Charlemagnes great-grandson, during his visit to Saint Gall in 883, this podcast presents a unique perspective on a monumental historical figure. (Summary abstracted from Wikipedia by Karen Merline.)
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Section eight of the Life of Charlemagne. This is a
LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain.
For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org.
The Life of Charlemagne by Natger the Stammerer, translated by
(00:24):
Arthur James Grant, Section eight, Book two, Part four. It
happened too, that on his wanderings, Charles once came unexpectedly
to a certain maritime city of Narbonensian Gaul. When he
was dining quietly in the harbor of this town, it
(00:45):
happened that some Norman scouts made a piratical raid when
the ships came in sight. Some thought them Jews, some
African or British merchants, but the most wise Charles, by
the build of the ships and their speed, knew them
to be not merchants but enemies, and said to his companions,
(01:05):
these ships are not filled with merchandise, but crowded with
our fiercest enemies. When they heard this, in eager rivalry,
they hurried in haste to the ships. But all was
in vain, for when the Northmen heard that Charles, the Hammer,
as they used to call him, was there, fearing lest
their fleet should be beaten back or even smashed in pieces.
(01:27):
They withdrew themselves by a marvelously rapid flight, not only
from the swords, but even from the eyes of those
who followed them. The most religious, just and devout Charles
had risen from the table and was standing at an
eastern window. For a long time, he poured down tears
(01:49):
beyond price, and none dared speak a word to him.
But at last he explained his actions and his tears
to his nobles in these words. Do you know why
I weep so bitterly, my true servants. I have no
fear of those worthless rascals doing any harm to me,
But I am sad at heart to think that even
(02:10):
during my lifetime, they have dared to touch this shore.
And I am torn by a great sorrow because I
foresee what evil things they will do to my descendants
and their subjects. May the protection of our Master Christ
prevent the accomplishment of this prophecy. May your sword tempered
(02:32):
already in the blood of the NORDOSTRANI resist it. The
sword of your brother Carloman will help which now lies
idle and rusted, not for want of spirit, but for
want of funds, and because of the narrowness of the
lands of your most faithful servant, Arnulf, if your might
wills it, if your might orders it, it will easily
(02:53):
be made bright and sharp again. These in the little
shoot of Bernard form the only branch that is left
of the once prolific root of Lewis, to flourish under
the wonderful growth of your protection. Let me insert here therefore,
in the history of your namesake, Charles, an incident in
(03:13):
the life of your great great grandfather Pippin, which perhaps
some future little Charles or Lewis may read and imitate.
When the Lombards and other enemies of the Romans were
attacking them, they sent ambassadors to this same Pippin and
asked him, for the love of Saint Peter, to condescend
to come with all speed to their help. As soon
(03:37):
as he had conquered his enemies, he came victoriously to Rome,
and this was the song of praise with which the
citizens received him. The fellow citizens of the Apostles and
the servants of God have come to day, bringing peace
and making their native land glorious. To give peace to
the heathen, and to set free the people of the Lord.
(04:01):
Many people, ignorant of the meaning and origin of this song,
have been accustomed to sing it on the birthdays of
the apostles. Pippin feared the envy of the people of Rome,
or more truly, of Constantinople, and soon returned to Frankland.
When he found that the nobles of his army were
accustomed in secret to speak contemptuously of him, he ordered
(04:25):
one day a huge and ferocious bull to be brought out,
and then a savage lion to be let loose upon him.
The lion rushed with tremendous fury on the bull, seized
him by the neck, and cast him on the ground.
Then the king said to those who stood round him,
now drag off the lion from the bull, or kill
(04:47):
the one on top of the other. They looked on
one another with a chill at their hearts, and could
hardly utter these words amidst their sobs. Lord, what man
is there under heaven who dare attempted? Then Pippin rose
confidently from his throne, drew his sword, and at one
blow cut through the neck of the lion, and severed
(05:09):
the head of the bull from his shoulders. Then he
put back his sword into its sheath, and sat again
upon his throne and said, well, do you think I
am fit to be your lord? Have you not heard
what the little David did to the giant Goliath, or
what the child Alexander did to his nobles? They fell
(05:31):
to the ground as though a thunderbolt had struck them,
and cried, who but a madman would deny your right
to rule over all mankind. Not only was his courage
shown against beasts and men, but he also fought an
incredible contest against evil spirits. The hot baths at x
(05:52):
had not yet been built, but hot and healing waters
bubbled from the ground. He ordered his chamberlain to see
that the water was clean, and that no unknown person
was allowed to enter into them. This was done, and
the king took his sword, and, dressed only in linen
gown and slippers, hurried off to the bath. When lo
(06:14):
the old enemy met him and attacked him as though
he would slay him. But the king, strengthened with the
sign of the cross, made bare his sword, and, noticing
a shape in human form, struck his unconquerable sword, threw
it into the ground so far that he could only
drag it out again after a long struggle. But the
(06:37):
shape was so far material that it denied all those
waters with blood and gore and horrid slime. But even
this did not upset the unconquerable Pippin. He said to
his chamberlain, do not mind this little affair. Let the
defiled water run for a while, and then when it
(06:58):
flows clear again, I will take my bath without delay.
I had intended, most noble Emperor, to weave my little
narrative only round your great grandfather Charles, all of whose
deeds you know well. But since the occasion arose which
made it necessary to mention your most glorious father, Lewis
(07:19):
called the illustrious, and your most religious grandfather Lewis called
the Pious, and your most warlike great great grandfather Pippen
the younger, I thought it would be wrong to pass
over their deeds in silence, for the sloth of modern
writers has left them almost untold. There is no need
to speak of the elder Pippin, for the most learned
(07:41):
bead in his ecclesiastical history has devoted nearly a whole
volume to him. But now that I have recounted all
these things by way of digression, I must swim swanlike
back to your illustrious namesake, Charles. But if I do
not curtail somewhat his feet in war, I shall never
come to consider his daily habits of life. Now I
(08:05):
will give with all possible brevity, the incidents that occurred
to me, when, after the death of the ever victorious Pippin,
the Lombards were again attacking Rome. The unconquered Charles, though
he was fully occupied with business to the north of
the Alps, marched swiftly into Italy. He received the Lombards
(08:27):
into his service after they had been humbled in a
war that was almost bloodless, or one might say, after
they had surrendered of their own free will, and to
prevent them from ever again revolting from the Frankish Kingdom
or doing any injury to the territories of Saint Peter.
He married the daughter of Desidereus, chief of the Lombards,
(08:49):
but no long time afterwards, because she was an invalid
and little likely to give issue to Charles, she was,
by the counsel of the holiest of the clergy, put aside,
even as though she were dead, whereupon her father in
wrath bound his subjects to him by oath, and shutting
himself up within the walls of Pavia, he prepared to
(09:13):
give battle to the invincible Charles, who, when he had
received certain news of the revolt, hurried to Italy with
all speed. Now it happened that some years before one
of the first nobles called Otgar, had incurred the wrath
of the most terrible Emperor, and had fled for refuge
(09:34):
to Desiderius. When the near approach of the dreaded Charles
was known, these two went up into a very high tower,
from which they could see any one approaching at a
very great distance. When therefore the baggage wagons appeared, which
moved more swiftly than those used by Darius or Julius,
Desiderius said to Otgar, is Charles in that vast army?
(09:58):
And Otgar answered not yet. Then, when he saw the
vast force of the nations gathered together from all parts
of his empire, he said with confidence to Otgar, surely
Charles moves in pride among those forces. But Otgar answered
not yet, not yet. Then Desiderius fell into a great
(10:19):
alarm and said, what shall we do if a yet
greater force comes with him? And Otgar said you will
see what he is like when he comes. What will
happen to us? I cannot say? And behold. While they
were thus talking, there came in sight Charles's personal attendants,
who never wrested from their labors, and Desiderius saw them
(10:42):
and cried in amazement, there is Charles. And Otgar answered,
not yet, not yet. Then they saw the bishops and
the abbots and the clerks of his chapel with their attendants.
When he saw them, he hated the light and longed
for death, and sobbed and stammered. Let us go down,
(11:03):
to hide ourselves in the earth from the face of
an enemy so terrible. And Otkar answered, trembling, For once
in happier days, he had thorough and constant knowledge of
the policy and preparations of the unconquerable Charles. When you
see an iron harvest bristling in the fields, and the
(11:24):
poe and the tacchino pouring against the walls of the
city like the waves of the sea, gleaming black with
a glint of iron, then know that Charles is at hand.
Hardly were these words finished, when there came from the
west a black cloud, which turned the bright day to
horrid gloom. But as the Emperor drew nearer, the gleam
(11:46):
of the arms turned the darkness into day, a day
darker than any night. To that beleaguered garrison, then could
be seen the iron Charles, helmeted with an iron helmet,
his hands clad in iron gauntlets, his iron breast and
broad shoulders protected with an iron breastplate. An iron spear
(12:07):
was raised on high, and his left hand his right
always rested on his unconquered iron falchian. The thighs, which
with most men are uncovered that they may the more
easily ride on horseback, were in his case clad with
plates of iron. I need make no special mention of
his grieves, for the grieves of all the army were
(12:28):
of iron. His shield was all of iron, his charger
was iron colored, and iron herded all who went before him,
all who marched by his side, all who followed after him,
and the whole equipment of the army imitated him as
closely as possible. The fields and open places were filled
(12:49):
with iron. The rays of the sun were thrown back
by the gleam of iron. A people harder than iron
paid universal honor to the hardness of iron. The horror
of the dungeon seemed less than the bright gleam of iron. Oh,
the iron. Woe for the iron was the confused cry
(13:10):
that rose from the citizens. The strong walls shook at
the sight of the iron. The resolution of young and
old fell before the iron. Now, when the truthful Otgar
saw in one swift glance all this which I, with
stammering tongue, in the voice of a child, have been
(13:30):
clumsily explaining with rambling words, he said to Desiderius, there
is the Charles that you so much desired to see.
And when he had said this, he fell to the
ground half dead. But as the inhabitants of the city,
either through madness or because they entertained some hope of resistance,
(13:54):
refused to let Charles enter on that day, the most
inventive emperor said to his men, let us build to
day some memorial so that we may not be charged
with passing the day in idleness. Let us make haste
to build for ourselves a little house of prayer, where
we may give due attention to the service of God.
(14:17):
If they do not soon throw open the city to us.
No sooner had he said it than his men flew
off in every direction, collected lime and stones, wood and paint,
and brought them to the skilled workmen who always accompanied him.
And between the fourth hour of the day and the
twelfth they built, with the help of the young nobles
(14:38):
and the soldiers, such a cathedral, so provided with walls
and roofs, with fretted ceilings and frescoes, that none who
saw it could believe that it had taken less than
a year to build. But how on the next day
some of the citizens wanted to throw open the gate,
and some wanted to fight against him, even without hope
(14:59):
of victory, or rather to fortify themselves against him. And
how easily he conquered, took and occupied the city, without
the shedding of blood, and merely by the exercise of skill.
All this I must leave others to tell, who follow
your Highness not for love, but in the hope of gain.
(15:22):
Then the most religious Charles marched on and came to
the city of Friuli, which the pedants call Forum Julie.
Now it happened just at this time that the bishop
of that city, or to use a modern word, the patriarch,
was drawing near to the end of his life. Charles
made haste to visit him in order that he might
(15:43):
designate his successor by name. But the bishop, with remarkable piety,
sighed from the bottom of his heart and said, Sir,
I have held this bishopric for a long time without
any use or prophet, and now I leave it to
the judgment of God and your disposal. For I do
not wish, at the point of death to add anything
(16:06):
to the mountain of sin that I have heaped together
during my life, for which I shall have to make
answer to the inevitable and incorruptible judge. The most wise,
Charles was so pleased with these words that he rightly
thought him the equal in virtue of the ancient fathers.
(16:28):
End of Section eight.
Section eight of the Life of Charlemagne. This is a
LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain.
For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org.
The Life of Charlemagne by Natger the Stammerer, translated by
(00:24):
Arthur James Grant, Section eight, Book two, Part four. It
happened too, that on his wanderings, Charles once came unexpectedly
to a certain maritime city of Narbonensian Gaul. When he
was dining quietly in the harbor of this town, it
(00:45):
happened that some Norman scouts made a piratical raid when
the ships came in sight. Some thought them Jews, some
African or British merchants, but the most wise Charles, by
the build of the ships and their speed, knew them
to be not merchants but enemies, and said to his companions,
(01:05):
these ships are not filled with merchandise, but crowded with
our fiercest enemies. When they heard this, in eager rivalry,
they hurried in haste to the ships. But all was
in vain, for when the Northmen heard that Charles, the Hammer,
as they used to call him, was there, fearing lest
their fleet should be beaten back or even smashed in pieces.
(01:27):
They withdrew themselves by a marvelously rapid flight, not only
from the swords, but even from the eyes of those
who followed them. The most religious, just and devout Charles
had risen from the table and was standing at an
eastern window. For a long time, he poured down tears
(01:49):
beyond price, and none dared speak a word to him.
But at last he explained his actions and his tears
to his nobles in these words. Do you know why
I weep so bitterly, my true servants. I have no
fear of those worthless rascals doing any harm to me,
But I am sad at heart to think that even
(02:10):
during my lifetime, they have dared to touch this shore.
And I am torn by a great sorrow because I
foresee what evil things they will do to my descendants
and their subjects. May the protection of our Master Christ
prevent the accomplishment of this prophecy. May your sword tempered
(02:32):
already in the blood of the NORDOSTRANI resist it. The
sword of your brother Carloman will help which now lies
idle and rusted, not for want of spirit, but for
want of funds, and because of the narrowness of the
lands of your most faithful servant, Arnulf, if your might
wills it, if your might orders it, it will easily
(02:53):
be made bright and sharp again. These in the little
shoot of Bernard form the only branch that is left
of the once prolific root of Lewis, to flourish under
the wonderful growth of your protection. Let me insert here therefore,
in the history of your namesake, Charles, an incident in
(03:13):
the life of your great great grandfather Pippin, which perhaps
some future little Charles or Lewis may read and imitate.
When the Lombards and other enemies of the Romans were
attacking them, they sent ambassadors to this same Pippin and
asked him, for the love of Saint Peter, to condescend
to come with all speed to their help. As soon
(03:37):
as he had conquered his enemies, he came victoriously to Rome,
and this was the song of praise with which the
citizens received him. The fellow citizens of the Apostles and
the servants of God have come to day, bringing peace
and making their native land glorious. To give peace to
the heathen, and to set free the people of the Lord.
(04:01):
Many people, ignorant of the meaning and origin of this song,
have been accustomed to sing it on the birthdays of
the apostles. Pippin feared the envy of the people of Rome,
or more truly, of Constantinople, and soon returned to Frankland.
When he found that the nobles of his army were
accustomed in secret to speak contemptuously of him, he ordered
(04:25):
one day a huge and ferocious bull to be brought out,
and then a savage lion to be let loose upon him.
The lion rushed with tremendous fury on the bull, seized
him by the neck, and cast him on the ground.
Then the king said to those who stood round him,
now drag off the lion from the bull, or kill
(04:47):
the one on top of the other. They looked on
one another with a chill at their hearts, and could
hardly utter these words amidst their sobs. Lord, what man
is there under heaven who dare attempted? Then Pippin rose
confidently from his throne, drew his sword, and at one
blow cut through the neck of the lion, and severed
(05:09):
the head of the bull from his shoulders. Then he
put back his sword into its sheath, and sat again
upon his throne and said, well, do you think I
am fit to be your lord? Have you not heard
what the little David did to the giant Goliath, or
what the child Alexander did to his nobles? They fell
(05:31):
to the ground as though a thunderbolt had struck them,
and cried, who but a madman would deny your right
to rule over all mankind. Not only was his courage
shown against beasts and men, but he also fought an
incredible contest against evil spirits. The hot baths at x
(05:52):
had not yet been built, but hot and healing waters
bubbled from the ground. He ordered his chamberlain to see
that the water was clean, and that no unknown person
was allowed to enter into them. This was done, and
the king took his sword, and, dressed only in linen
gown and slippers, hurried off to the bath. When lo
(06:14):
the old enemy met him and attacked him as though
he would slay him. But the king, strengthened with the
sign of the cross, made bare his sword, and, noticing
a shape in human form, struck his unconquerable sword, threw
it into the ground so far that he could only
drag it out again after a long struggle. But the
(06:37):
shape was so far material that it denied all those
waters with blood and gore and horrid slime. But even
this did not upset the unconquerable Pippin. He said to
his chamberlain, do not mind this little affair. Let the
defiled water run for a while, and then when it
(06:58):
flows clear again, I will take my bath without delay.
I had intended, most noble Emperor, to weave my little
narrative only round your great grandfather Charles, all of whose
deeds you know well. But since the occasion arose which
made it necessary to mention your most glorious father, Lewis
(07:19):
called the illustrious, and your most religious grandfather Lewis called
the Pious, and your most warlike great great grandfather Pippen
the younger, I thought it would be wrong to pass
over their deeds in silence, for the sloth of modern
writers has left them almost untold. There is no need
to speak of the elder Pippin, for the most learned
(07:41):
bead in his ecclesiastical history has devoted nearly a whole
volume to him. But now that I have recounted all
these things by way of digression, I must swim swanlike
back to your illustrious namesake, Charles. But if I do
not curtail somewhat his feet in war, I shall never
come to consider his daily habits of life. Now I
(08:05):
will give with all possible brevity, the incidents that occurred
to me, when, after the death of the ever victorious Pippin,
the Lombards were again attacking Rome. The unconquered Charles, though
he was fully occupied with business to the north of
the Alps, marched swiftly into Italy. He received the Lombards
(08:27):
into his service after they had been humbled in a
war that was almost bloodless, or one might say, after
they had surrendered of their own free will, and to
prevent them from ever again revolting from the Frankish Kingdom
or doing any injury to the territories of Saint Peter.
He married the daughter of Desidereus, chief of the Lombards,
(08:49):
but no long time afterwards, because she was an invalid
and little likely to give issue to Charles, she was,
by the counsel of the holiest of the clergy, put aside,
even as though she were dead, whereupon her father in
wrath bound his subjects to him by oath, and shutting
himself up within the walls of Pavia, he prepared to
(09:13):
give battle to the invincible Charles, who, when he had
received certain news of the revolt, hurried to Italy with
all speed. Now it happened that some years before one
of the first nobles called Otgar, had incurred the wrath
of the most terrible Emperor, and had fled for refuge
(09:34):
to Desiderius. When the near approach of the dreaded Charles
was known, these two went up into a very high tower,
from which they could see any one approaching at a
very great distance. When therefore the baggage wagons appeared, which
moved more swiftly than those used by Darius or Julius,
Desiderius said to Otgar, is Charles in that vast army?
(09:58):
And Otgar answered not yet. Then, when he saw the
vast force of the nations gathered together from all parts
of his empire, he said with confidence to Otgar, surely
Charles moves in pride among those forces. But Otgar answered
not yet, not yet. Then Desiderius fell into a great
(10:19):
alarm and said, what shall we do if a yet
greater force comes with him? And Otgar said you will
see what he is like when he comes. What will
happen to us? I cannot say? And behold. While they
were thus talking, there came in sight Charles's personal attendants,
who never wrested from their labors, and Desiderius saw them
(10:42):
and cried in amazement, there is Charles. And Otgar answered,
not yet, not yet. Then they saw the bishops and
the abbots and the clerks of his chapel with their attendants.
When he saw them, he hated the light and longed
for death, and sobbed and stammered. Let us go down,
(11:03):
to hide ourselves in the earth from the face of
an enemy so terrible. And Otkar answered, trembling, For once
in happier days, he had thorough and constant knowledge of
the policy and preparations of the unconquerable Charles. When you
see an iron harvest bristling in the fields, and the
(11:24):
poe and the tacchino pouring against the walls of the
city like the waves of the sea, gleaming black with
a glint of iron, then know that Charles is at hand.
Hardly were these words finished, when there came from the
west a black cloud, which turned the bright day to
horrid gloom. But as the Emperor drew nearer, the gleam
(11:46):
of the arms turned the darkness into day, a day
darker than any night. To that beleaguered garrison, then could
be seen the iron Charles, helmeted with an iron helmet,
his hands clad in iron gauntlets, his iron breast and
broad shoulders protected with an iron breastplate. An iron spear
(12:07):
was raised on high, and his left hand his right
always rested on his unconquered iron falchian. The thighs, which
with most men are uncovered that they may the more
easily ride on horseback, were in his case clad with
plates of iron. I need make no special mention of
his grieves, for the grieves of all the army were
(12:28):
of iron. His shield was all of iron, his charger
was iron colored, and iron herded all who went before him,
all who marched by his side, all who followed after him,
and the whole equipment of the army imitated him as
closely as possible. The fields and open places were filled
(12:49):
with iron. The rays of the sun were thrown back
by the gleam of iron. A people harder than iron
paid universal honor to the hardness of iron. The horror
of the dungeon seemed less than the bright gleam of iron. Oh,
the iron. Woe for the iron was the confused cry
(13:10):
that rose from the citizens. The strong walls shook at
the sight of the iron. The resolution of young and
old fell before the iron. Now, when the truthful Otgar
saw in one swift glance all this which I, with
stammering tongue, in the voice of a child, have been
(13:30):
clumsily explaining with rambling words, he said to Desiderius, there
is the Charles that you so much desired to see.
And when he had said this, he fell to the
ground half dead. But as the inhabitants of the city,
either through madness or because they entertained some hope of resistance,
(13:54):
refused to let Charles enter on that day, the most
inventive emperor said to his men, let us build to
day some memorial so that we may not be charged
with passing the day in idleness. Let us make haste
to build for ourselves a little house of prayer, where
we may give due attention to the service of God.
(14:17):
If they do not soon throw open the city to us.
No sooner had he said it than his men flew
off in every direction, collected lime and stones, wood and paint,
and brought them to the skilled workmen who always accompanied him.
And between the fourth hour of the day and the
twelfth they built, with the help of the young nobles
(14:38):
and the soldiers, such a cathedral, so provided with walls
and roofs, with fretted ceilings and frescoes, that none who
saw it could believe that it had taken less than
a year to build. But how on the next day
some of the citizens wanted to throw open the gate,
and some wanted to fight against him, even without hope
(14:59):
of victory, or rather to fortify themselves against him. And
how easily he conquered, took and occupied the city, without
the shedding of blood, and merely by the exercise of skill.
All this I must leave others to tell, who follow
your Highness not for love, but in the hope of gain.
(15:22):
Then the most religious Charles marched on and came to
the city of Friuli, which the pedants call Forum Julie.
Now it happened just at this time that the bishop
of that city, or to use a modern word, the patriarch,
was drawing near to the end of his life. Charles
made haste to visit him in order that he might
(15:43):
designate his successor by name. But the bishop, with remarkable piety,
sighed from the bottom of his heart and said, Sir,
I have held this bishopric for a long time without
any use or prophet, and now I leave it to
the judgment of God and your disposal. For I do
not wish, at the point of death to add anything
(16:06):
to the mountain of sin that I have heaped together
during my life, for which I shall have to make
answer to the inevitable and incorruptible judge. The most wise,
Charles was so pleased with these words that he rightly
thought him the equal in virtue of the ancient fathers.
(16:28):
End of Section eight.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.