Two revealingly different accounts of the life of the most important figure of the Roman Empire Charlemage aknown as the father of Europeawas one of the most powerful and dynamic of all medieval rulers. The biographies brought together here provide a rich and varied portrait of the king from two perspectives: that of Einhard, a close friend and adviser, and of Notker, a monastic scholar and musician writing fifty years after Charlemagneas death.