Thegan of Trier
Encyclopedia
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...
Louis the Pious
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...
, the son and successor 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...
.
Biography
Very little is known of Thegan's life; he appears to have come from a noble Frankish family in the middle Rhine-MoselleMoselle
Moselle is a department in the east of France named after the river Moselle.- History :Moselle is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
region. All that is certain is that by 825 he was auxiliary bishop
Chorbishop
A chorbishop is a rank of Christian clergy below bishop. The name chorepiscope or chorepiscopus is taken from the Greek and means rural bishop.-History:Chorepiscopi are first mentioned by Eusebius in the second century...
of Trier and probably praepositus of the monastery of St. Cassius in Bonn
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
. He was also a warm friend of Walafrid Strabo
Walafrid Strabo
Walafrid, alternatively spelt Walahfrid, surnamed Strabo , was a Frankish monk and theological writer.-Theological works:...
, who was the earliest editor of Thegan's Gesta and divided it into chapters, just as he did with Einhard
Einhard
Einhard was a Frankish scholar and courtier. Einhard was a dedicated servant of Charlemagne and his son Louis the Pious; his main work is a biography of Charlemagne, the Vita Karoli Magni, "one of the most precious literary bequests of the early Middle Ages."-Public life:Einhard was from the eastern...
's Vita Karoli.
Some poetry and a single letter from Thegan survive. This letter is written to one Hatto who was a count in the Rhine region of Kreuznach, and an important broker in the effort to reconcile Louis the Pious with his son Louis the German
Louis the German
Louis the German , also known as Louis II or Louis the Bavarian, was a grandson of Charlemagne and the third son of the succeeding Frankish Emperor Louis the Pious and his first wife, Ermengarde of Hesbaye.He received the appellation 'Germanicus' shortly after his death in recognition of the fact...
in the mid-830s. This concern to promote accord between Louis and his son is similarly evident in the Gesta.
Thegan died before 853.
Gesta Hludowici Imperatoris
Thegan wrote his history of Louis the Pious, translated as "The Deeds of Emperor Louis," in 836-7. The text is a narrative in unpolished Latin, as judged by the standards of the day, written with hortatory intent and based on personal knowledge and communication with friends. Prefaced by a brief prologue by Walafrid Strabo, the Gesta begins with an account of Saint Arnulf of MetzArnulf of Metz
Saint Arnulf of Metz was a Frankish bishop of Metz and advisor to the Merovingian court of Austrasia, who retired to the Abbey of Remiremont....
, describes the vicissitudes of the brothers of Louis and gives a more detailed account of Louis' reign during the years 814-835. The later narrative is probably a continuation by another author.
The account is clearly partisan. The merits of Louis himself are exalted, though his councillors and Louis' poor judgement in taking their advice, are denigrated, while the actions of Louis' son Lothair and of a number of bishops, especially Bishop Ebbo of Reims, are severely criticised. So virulent is Thegan's depiction of Ebbo that Walafrid feels it necessary to make excuses for it in his short prologue.
Thegan's strong dislike for Ebbo has been attributed by most modern historians to Ebbo's low birth and his contribution to the rebellion which deposed Louis briefly. More recently, Tremp has suggested that Ebbo was making an attempt to reform the chorepiscopate and that this was an additional reason that he incurred Thegan's hatred. Whatever the reason behind it, it is clear from the text that Thegan's dislike for Ebbo is of a very personal nature.
Dissemination
The text was not widely read during Thegan's lifetime but became far more popular during the reign of Charles the BaldCharles 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...
. Rosamund McKitterick has suggested that this can be seen as part of the preoccupation of later Carolingian
Carolingian
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...
kings to construct a historical image for themselves. Indeed, Thegan's text is most frequently found as part of manuscripts containing texts such as the Royal Frankish Annals
Royal Frankish Annals
The Royal Frankish Annals or Annals of the Kingdom of the Franks ,are annals covering the history of early Carolingian monarchs from 741 to 829. Their composition seems to have soon been taken up at court, providing them with markedly official character...
, genealogies of the Carolingians and a history of the Trojans, and very often the Vita Hludovici
Vita Hludovici
Vita Hludovici or Vita Hludovici Imperatoris is an anonymous biography of Louis the Pious, Holy Roman Emperor and King of the Franks from AD 814 to 840.-Author:...
of the anonymous author known as The Astronomer.
Modern editions
The Gesta has been translated into German by Ernst Tremp in the series Monumenta Germaniae HistoricaMonumenta Germaniae Historica
The 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...
: Scriptores in Rerum Germanicarum in usum Scholarum separatim editi. An English translation is available in the volume Carolingian Civilization: A reader by Paul Dutton.
External links
- "Vita Ludovici imperatoris" in MGH Latin with German translation
- Opera Omnia by Migne Patristica Latina with analytical indexes Latin text without Walafrid's prologue
- Vita Hludowici imperatoris Another Latin text without Walafrid's prologue