Charlemagne (image created with AI).
When people think of Charlemagne (742–814), they usually picture the ruler who united much of Western Europe through conquest and diplomacy. Yet one of the most fascinating portraits of the emperor tells a different story. It is not about battles or military victories, but about government.
This portrait comes from Notker the Stammerer (Notker Balbulus), a monk at the Abbey of Saint Gall in present-day Switzerland. Around AD 884—roughly seventy years after Charlemagne's death—Notker wrote the Gesta Karoli Magni ("The Deeds of Charlemagne"). Rather than producing a chronological biography, he collected memorable stories that illustrated the emperor's character. Modern historians recognise that some episodes are embellished or even legendary, but together they reveal how Charlemagne was remembered by later generations.
The following stories, drawn from different chapters of the Gesta Karoli Magni, show what Notker believed made a ruler truly wise. Good government, he suggests, depends not only on military strength, but on education, wise advisers, fair appointments, personal involvement, and a constant concern for the common good.
A King Who Sought Wise Advisers (Book I, Chapter 2)
One of the first qualities Notker praises is Charlemagne's willingness to learn from others.
When the famous English scholar Alcuin of York heard that Charlemagne welcomed learned men from across Europe, he travelled to the Frankish court. The king not only received him warmly but even described himself as Alcuin's pupil, despite being the most powerful ruler in Western Europe.
Rather than seeing scholarship as something separate from politics, Charlemagne made it part of government itself. Under Alcuin's influence, learning flourished throughout the kingdom, so much so that Notker claims the Franks became the equals of the ancient Romans and Athenians.
For Notker, wise government begins with a ruler who is willing to learn.
Education Builds Better Government (Book I, Chapter 3)
The next story moves from the royal court to Charlemagne's palace school.
After returning from a military campaign, the emperor inspected the work of the pupils. To everyone's surprise, the finest essays and poems had been written not by the sons of powerful nobles but by boys from ordinary families who had worked hard.
Charlemagne praised these students and promised that their dedication would one day be rewarded. The noble boys, by contrast, received a sharp rebuke. They had relied on their family status instead of applying themselves.
For Notker, the lesson is clear. A kingdom prospers when education identifies talent and prepares capable people for future responsibility rather than simply preserving inherited privilege.
Choosing the Right People (Book II, Chapter 2)
Education alone is not enough. Good government also requires wise appointments.
During one of the Saxon campaigns, two ordinary soldiers displayed exceptional courage while attacking a heavily defended fortress. Charlemagne noticed their bravery immediately.
Instead of overlooking them because of their humble background, he promoted one of them to an important command responsible for the frontier between the Rhine and the Alps.
Notker uses this story to show that leadership should be entrusted to those who have proved themselves through courage and ability. A ruler who appoints the right people strengthens the whole kingdom.
Justice Creates Confidence (Book II, Chapter 3)
Wise government also depends on public trust.
Notker illustrates this with the story of the sons of two powerful dukes. While guarding the royal camp, they neglected their duty by becoming drunk and falling asleep.
The following morning Charlemagne assembled his leading nobles and asked what punishment such negligence deserved. Only after they had given their judgement did he reveal that the offenders were their own sons.
Although the young men were ultimately spared, the point had already been made. Justice could not depend on wealth or family influence. When rulers apply the same standards to everyone, confidence in government grows stronger.
Governing for the Common Good (Book I, Chapter 13)
Another story illustrates how Charlemagne viewed the ruler's responsibility towards ordinary people.
Notker describes the emperor intervening when those with influence abused their position. Rather than automatically siding with the powerful, Charlemagne listened carefully before reaching a decision and sought to protect those who had little influence of their own.
Whether the individual events happened exactly as described is impossible to know. Together, however, they reveal the kind of government Notker admired: one in which authority exists to serve the whole community instead of a privileged few.
Good government, in this view, is measured not by the comfort of the powerful but by the protection it offers to ordinary people.
A Ruler Who Remained Personally Involved (Book II, Chapter 17)
Notker's final lesson is that wise rulers cannot govern from a distance.
One story describes Charlemagne personally checking on the conduct of those entrusted with authority instead of assuming that officials would always perform their duties faithfully. He believed that responsibility could be delegated, but accountability could not.
Throughout the Gesta, Charlemagne appears as a ruler who wanted to see things with his own eyes, hear reports for himself, and intervene whenever necessary. Good government required constant attention rather than occasional supervision.
For Notker, this personal involvement distinguished an excellent ruler from an ordinary one.
The Charlemagne People Remembered
Modern historians rightly caution that Notker's stories should not always be read as literal history. They are moral narratives as much as historical memories. Yet that is precisely why they remain valuable.
Taken together, these stories form more than a collection of entertaining anecdotes. They describe a coherent philosophy of government. A wise ruler seeks good advice, invests in education, promotes ability rather than privilege, applies justice fairly, protects ordinary people, and remains personally engaged in the work of governing.
The Charlemagne who emerges from these pages is remembered not simply as a conqueror, but as a ruler who believed that strong government begins with wise leadership.
More than eleven centuries later, these stories still raise a timeless question: what makes government wise?
For Notker, military victories may have built an empire, but wise government was what gave that empire its strength and enduring reputation.
Further Reading
Notker Balbulus. Gesta Karoli Magni Imperatoris (The Deeds of Charlemagne), written around AD 884.
Recommended scholarly edition:
Hans F. Haefele (ed.), Notkeri Balbuli Gesta Karoli Magni Imperatoris, Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Scriptores rerum Germanicarum, Nova Series 12. Berlin: Weidmann, 1959.
