As I say, there’s no real sign that this happened but the story is a good one.ġ6th-century Persian miniature illustration of the philosopher Ibn al-Arabī with some students, author unknown –, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons He is leaning on the originally mistreated envoy, and abject apologies and grovelling therefore ensue, moral victory for the Franks and the clear model to follow is established. He was clad in gold and precious stones and he glittered himself like the sun at its first rising.” “Charlemagne, of all kings the most glorious, was standing by a window through which the sun shone with dazzling brightness. This gimmick is replayed several times, with the Count of the Palace, then the Master of the King’s Table, then his steward, each one more splendidly caparisoned than the last, but eventually they finally get taken to the boss man: The moment the envoys saw him, they fell to the ground and wanted to worship him… Those who were present said: ‘That is not the emperor! That is not the emperor!’ and hit them to compel them to move on.’ “When the envoys finally arrived, ordered the official in charge of the stables to sit on a lofty throne in the midts of his ostlers, in such pomp that it was impossible to believe that he was anyone else but the emperor. Charlemagne was supposedly trying to make a point to the ‘other’ emperor about the mistreatment of some of his envoys, so had had the incoming delegation escorted by the longest possible route so that their money ran out, then brought them to Aachen.
1 One of these stories is about a Byzantine embassy to Charlemagne, and its basic thrust is this. This supposed biography of Charlemagne was written for one of Charlemagne’s grandsons, Charles the Fat about whom we have spoken here, and really contains very little factual information at all it’s basically a set of kingship parables for the young Charles, using Charlemagne as its ideal monarch. So, let’s start where I started, with the Gesta Karoli by the Frankish monk Notker. St Gall illustration of Notker the Stammerer, from Wikimedia Commons
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