[Item #4894] Charlemagne. Johannes Fried, Charlemagne.
Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne

Charlemagne

Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2016. First American Edition. Hardcover. "The following book is not a novel, but it is a work of fiction all the same--a fiction based on this author's visualization of Charlemagne. And even though the resulting image does, quite properly, adduce all the available evidence from the period in question, it is nonetheless subjectively formed and colored. It is impossible nowadays to fathom the depths of a life lived more than twelve hundred years ago, so the only thing remaining for a writer to fall back on is his own imagination. Not every topic that could have been touched on is touched on. Experts on Charlemagne will no doubt spot these omissions just as surely as critics will point to them as failings. Perhaps those same critics will also censure this author for the way he has chosen to approach his subject, although all they would be able to offer would be a different, no less subjective and fragmentary image. An objective portrayal of the great Carolingian ruler is simply not possible." Self-effacing humility combines with inside-baseball ‘Gauntlet Throwdowns’ in the Preface to Johannes Fried's (b. 1942) impressive biography of Charlemagne, or "Charles the Great...King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and Emperor of the Romans from 800..." as his voluminous Wikipedia entry relates. The "position-staking" Preface reminds this author of similar 'declarations of principled informality' found in other professedly risk-taking biographies. One such example comes from a favorite book of Your Devoted Assistant Curator, the courageous Martin Duberman’s “Black Mountain College: An Exploration in Community.” If Fried’s authorial intimation at all presages or colors the content of his “Charlemagne,” one can rest assured this tome will quake with legitimate & inventive biographical authority. Originally composed in Fried’s native German, this First American Edition was translated by the respected & prolific translator, Peter Lewis. Your Devoted Assistant Curator additionally recommends (as a levity-filled partner-piece to this admittedly bulky addition to the scholarly literature) the "Charlemagne was Wild!" episode of Chris DiStefano & Yannnis Pappis' "History Hyenas' podcast (available on YouTube). Hardcover in unclipped dust-jacket: First American Edition, with no reference to previous English-language editions at copyright page; First Printing, as stated beneath copyright notice thereon. Book in very fine condition, virtually as new & evidently unread by previous owner. Dust-jacket in similarly very fine condition with only slightest shelf-wear to fine-edges & corners of front, back covers & spine. An extra handling fee will be added for shipping due to the weight of this item. Very Fine / Very Fine. [Item #4894]

Price: $30.00

See all items in Biography, History & Biography
See all items by ,