PART I
INTRODUCTION
4. The Poem King Pippin’s Victory over the Avars
The author of this poem, narrating the 796 expedition led by Charlemagne’s son, Pippin, against the Avars, is anonymous. [174] Yet, unlike other coeval Frankish sources, he mentions the name of the Avar sovereign’s wife [175] and provides the title by which the Avar dignitaries
174. Manacorda believes that the poet was a Frank living at Pippin’s court. Manacorda, Ricerche sugli inizii della dominazione, p. 16.
175. The author relates that the khagan’s wife was called Catuna. In reality, this was not a name, but the title held by Avar rulers’ consorts. De Pippini regis victoria, lines 17-18. Cf. Pohl, Die Awaren, pp. 305-306.
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were known, [176] which leads to the supposition that the poet himself participated in the campaign or that he may have interviewed someone who had taken part in it.
In the first part of the work the poet highlights that the Avars had not been converted to Christianity and mentions numerous misdeeds they carried out to the detriment of churches. Emphasized in particular is that, at the devil’s suggestion, the Avars carried out the blasphemous gesture of handing the ecclesiastics’ clothing to their women. [177] The author then recounts that the Lord sent Saint Peter to assist Pippin, who, with God’s help, encamped with his own troops alongside the Danube. [178] The most original part of the work comes at this point. The poet describes the Avars’ reaction to the news of Charlemagne’s son’s arrival, and reports the words addressed by the Avar Unguimeri to the khagan [179] and to his wife. Unguimeri told them that the Avars’ reign was over and that, if they wanted to live, they would have to go immediately to Pippin, pay homage, and bring him gifts. [180] The khagan, terrified by this threat, submitted to Charlemagne’s son and begged him to withdraw his army. [181] The author concludes his piece by thanking God for the victory over the pagans, praising Pippin for having created a kingdom that not even Caesar or the pagans had managed to establish, and wishing the sovereign a long life and numerous children. [182]
No other work was written to celebrate the campaigns against the Avars. For this reason, it is possible to make a comparison only with the Frankish Annals, which are generally less descriptive than Carolingian poems. It is noteworthy that the anonymous poet highlights above all the edifying aspects of Pippin’s feat, i. e. that he was supported by God and aimed at punishing the pagans who had destroyed numerous churches and monasteries and carried out blasphemous acts. No aspect of war is mentioned. [183] The author says only that the Avars surrendered immediately, implicitly emphasizing Pippin’s power. The Frankish Annals, however, report that Charlemagne’s son drove the Avars further back than the river Theiss and that he razed their camp, the Ring, where the khagan resided, to the ground taking possession of the numerous riches stored there. He then went to his father’s court in Aachen to show him the plunder. [184]
Unless the poet composed his work before the destruction of the Ring, it seems that he wished to make Pippin’s campaign appear as a feat driven by noble ideals and not by material interests. The lack of any information about the author unfortunately does not enable us to determine whether this attitude was his choice or whether it represented the will of Pippin who probably commissioned these verses. [185]
176. De Pippini regis victoria, line 29. Cl. Pohl, Die Awaren, pp. 301-302.
177. De Pippini regis victoria, lines 3-9.
178. De Pippini regis victoria, lines 10-15.
179. The rulers of the Avars held the title of khagan. Pohl, Die Awaren, pp. 293-300.
180. De Pippini regis victoria, lines 10-27.
181. De Pippini regis victoria, lines 28-36.
182. De Pippini regis victoria, lines 37-46.
183. R. Bezzola is therefore wrong when he states that this poem has «un accent guerrier.» Bezzola, Les origines et la formation de la litterature courtoise, p. 130.
184. Annales regni Francorum, year 796.
185. Rosamond McKitterick has hypothesized that this poem was sent to the court of Charlemagne «as a form of report and homage for his son.» McKitterick, Charlemagne, p. 367.