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Angelbert
Angelbert was a Frankish soldier and poet, possibly from Aquitaine. His "Verses on the Battle that was Fought at Fontenoy" are a first-hand description of the Battle of Fontenoy of 25 June 841, in which he participated with the army of Lothair I. They are an important piece of battle literature from the twilight of the Carolingian Renaissance. Historian Bernard Bachrach has examined them as a source for the emotional effects of battle during the ninth century. According to his poem, Angelbert fought on the front line, stationed on a hill overlooking a stream. He was the only survivor (solus de multis remani) of the men in his unit. The night after the battle is "especially terrible". The day after the battle he cannot hold back tears, but he urges the other survivors to hold them back. This battle, he says, should be forgotten: Laude pugna non est digna, nec canatur melode ("The battle does not deserve to be praised or to be the subject of fine song"). Two major streams of interpretation of Angelbert's poem exist. The first sees it as a "ballad of victory" rooted in vernacular Germanic poetry. Angelbert is assumed to have spoken Old High German, and the imagery of birds and beasts consuming the corpses of the dead has been assumed to be borrowed from Old High German literature.…
Article summary
Angelbert was a Frankish soldier and poet, possibly from Aquitaine. His "Verses on the Battle that was Fought at Fontenoy" are a first-hand description of the Battle of Fontenoy of 25 June 841, in which he participated with the army of Lothair I. They are an important piece of battle literature from the twilight of the Carolingian Renaissance. Historian Bernard Bachrach has examined them as a source for the emotional effects of battle during the ninth century. According to his poem, Angelbert fought on the front line, stationed on a hill overlooking a stream. He was the only survivor (solus de multis remani) of the men in his unit. The night after the battle is "especially terrible". The day after the battle he cannot hold back tears, but he urges the other survivors to hold them back. This battle, he says, should be forgotten: Laude pugna non est digna, nec canatur melode ("The battle does not deserve to be praised or to be the subject of fine song"). Two major streams of interpretation of Angelbert's poem exist. The first sees it as a "ballad of victory" rooted in vernacular Germanic poetry. Angelbert is assumed to have spoken Old High German, and the imagery of birds and beasts consuming the corpses of the dead has been assumed to be borrowed from Old High German literature.…
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
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- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
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