Vita Hludovici

Author

The work was written in Latin in or soon after AD 840 by an anonymous author who is conventionally called Astronomus, the Astronomer or sometimes the Limousin Astronomer. This is due to his many detailed comments on astronomical matters in the work upon which he describes himself as "one credited with having knowledge of this subject." He held office at the court of Louis the Pious, and his cultural and religious references suggest that he was not a churchman. It has been conjectured, based on evidence within the text, that the author was born around AD 800 and that his nationality was not Gothic or Frankish.

The author's attitude to his subject is clearly subordinate and one of admiration, yet he does not idealise Louis in the same way as, for example, Einhard does in his Life of Charlemagne. It has been suggested that the author exhibits a degree of disapproval towards clerics and the workings of the Frankish Church, lending weight to the view that he was not formally connected to the Church. Nevertheless, the most popular recent ideas (see below) do identify him as a cleric.

Identification

Ernst Tremp supports this view in his important 1995 study, although Buchner and Tremp differ by about a decade in their dating of the work.

Tischler has most recently tried to make a case that the Astronomer was Jonas of Orleans but the Hilduin theory remains more popular amongst historians. Recently, Courtney Booker suggested Walafrid Strabo was the Astronomer.

References

Bibliography

References

1. The Astronomer. "Vita Hludovici".
2. The Astronomer. "Vita Hludovici".
3. (2000). "The Uses of the Past in the Early Middle Ages". Cambridge University Press.
4. Ganz, David. (1997). "Review: Ernst Tremp "Thegan, Die Taten Kaiser Ludwigs (Gesta Hludowici imeratoris). Astronomus, Das Leben Kaiser Ludwigs (Vita Hludowici imperatoris) "". Francia.
5. Ganz, David. (2003). "Review: M. Tischler "Einharts 'Vita Karoli'. Studien zur Entstehung"". Francia.
6. Booker, C.. (2009). "Past Convictions: The Penance of Louis the Pious and the Decline of the Carolingians". [[University of Pennsylvania Press]].