Astro ( lat. Astrónomus ; died after 842 ) - the provisional name established in historical science by the anonymous author “The ” ( lat. Vita Hludowici imperatoris ). The name is connected with the author's heightened interest in cosmic phenomena and his absolute authority at the court of Emperor Louis I the Pious in interpreting these phenomena [1] .
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There is a long debate about who the author of The Life of the Emperor Louis was. A number of candidates are proposed, but none of the hypotheses satisfies the entire amount of data reported by the author about himself. After analyzing the work of the author, historians found that he probably came from the German regions of the Frankish state , that not later than 814 he came to the court of Emperor Louis I, that he was a cleric and was at the court of Louis, and then at least until November 842. He was a member of the imperial chapel, had knowledge of astronomy , medicine , knew ancient authors and had access to public archives.
The Life of the Emperor Louis, written by an Astronomer, is the only complete biography of this monarch. It combines the features of annals and panegyrics . When writing his essay, the author used a number of sources (including those that have not survived to this day). Despite this, he often makes mistakes in chronology and geography. The astronomer's writing conventionally consists of 3 parts, of which the first (chapters 3-20, describing the reign of Louis the Pious in Aquitaine in 778-814) is the most valuable. This part is the only fairly complete description of the history of Aquitaine during this period. It is based on the notes of the monk Adhemar [2] that have not reached us, as well as on the work of Einhard, The Life of Charlemagne . The second part (chapters 23–43, years 814–830) is based on the “ Annals of the Kingdom of the Franks ” with small additions and is least valuable because of the safety of the original source. The third part (chapters 44–64, years 830–840) was compiled by the author according to his own observations. The entire work is written to glorify the emperor Louis, who for the author is an example of a Christian monarch. To this end, the author, with all the thoroughness of the presentation of events, omits those moments that could damage the reputation of the emperor in the eyes of readers (for example, the cruelty shown by Louis against the King of Italy, Bernard , remains silent). In general, “The Life of the Emperor Louis” is one of the most valuable sources on the history of the Frankish state of the late VIII - first third of the IX centuries .
Editions
- MGH. SS. T.2. P. 604-648 MGH (old edition) (lat.)
- Vita Hludowici imperatoris // MGH. Scriptores rerum Germanicarum in usum scholarum separatim edit 64: Die Taten Kaiser Ludwigs (Gesta Hludowici imperatoris). Astronomus, Das Leben Kaiser Ludwigs (Vita Hludowici imperatoris) . Herausgegeben und ubersetzt von Ernst Tremp. Hannover, 1995. MGH (new edition) (inaccessible link) (it.)
- Anonymous The life of the emperor Louis. Pp. 35—94 // Historians of the Carolingian epoch / executive editor Sidorov AI - Moscow: ROSSPEN, 1999. - 287 p. - ISBN 5-86004-160-8 Preface ; Chapters 1–34 ; Chapters 35—64
Notes
- ↑ The life of Emperor Louis (chap. 58).
- ↑ Historians believe that they were the Frankish commander Gademar, mentioned in 797–812.
Literature
- Lyublinskaya A.D. Source Study of the History of the Middle Ages. - L .: Publishing House of the Leningrad University, 1955. - p. 83. - 374 p.
- An echo of the present: Historical thought in the era of Carolingian revival. - SPb. : Publishing Center "Humanitarian Academy", 2006. - P. 99-125. - 352 s. - ISBN 5-93762-050-X .