We Need to Talk about Charlemagne: A #MedievalTwitter Thread.

So. Some medieval German literature claims Emperor Charlemagne was into necrophilia. And briefly men. And then attracted to a swamp. Perhaps sexually. It's WILD.

[TW: necrophilia. obviously]

(BL, MS Royal, f. 141v)

So this is almost certainly not historically true. It seems to have come from a 10th-century Latin saint's life of St. Gilles, that claimed that the saint absolved Charlemagne of a nameless, terrible sin. Well, later authors tried to guess.

(BL, MS Egerton 3028, f. 83v)

The later French authors decided that Charlemagne's nameless sin was incest. The *German* authors decided it was necrophilia with the body of his wife. They agreed that the great king must have been enchanted by the devil.

(Avignon, Bibliothèque municipale, MS 136, f. 343v)

The various stories--including one RHYMING POEM--about Charles' necrophilia agreed that the devil had placed a magic charm (usually a ring) under the dead wife's tongue that compelled Charlemagne to visit her every night.

(Stockholm, Kungliga biblioteket, X 118)

In one version of the story, by Jans Enikel, God *SENDS A LETTER*, delivered by a dove, to the bishop, about Charlemagne's sin and the bishop quickly confronts the king about his necrophilia with the dead queen (who is never given a name).

(BL, MS Royal 16 G II, f. 8)

Unable to get Charles to give up his necrophilia, the bishop asks "Does her mouth smell good, my lord?" Charlemagne admits that it does and the bishop searches the dead queen's mouth and finds the magic charm the devil put there.

At once, the spell is broken. Charlemagne cries, "She stinks like a foul hound! / Her wickedness is revealed to me!" And the horror is over...in this version of the tale.

In the rest, this was only the beginning for poor Charlemagne.

(BL, MS Harley 3736, f. 20)

In the Weihenstephan Chronicle, the magic charm is a ring and it just goes on making Charlemagne attracted to whoever has it: first the knight that removes it from the corpse's mouth, then the SWAMP that the knight throws it into. Charlemagne builds his palace on the swamp.

In a version by Petrarch (!), Charlemagne locked himself away in a chamber with his wife's body and the Bishop of Cologne had to break in and take the magic ring, which made Charlemagne attracted to the bishop. Then to the swamp the bishop threw the ring into. Very attracted.

So. ONE version of the founding of the city of Aachen and its palace and church was because Charlemagne fell in love with the Aachen swamp because the magic ring from his dead wife's mouth fell there. It's...a lot.

I have been to Aachen and not once did they mention this!

So that's the story of Charlemagne!

Karl der Grosse indeed.

(I'm sorry)

(Chantilly, Musée Condé, MS 334, f. 260v)

If you're curious about this history more, Susanne Hafner's article is the most comprehensive account. My translations and screenshots are from there.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/3252039 

I would like to thank @DanielleGAllor for first introducing me to this story. This is all her fault!