A Foundation to honor the memory of Einhard

In 1998 a group of Seligenstadt citizens organized in the” Order of the Knights on the Spoon” decided to establish a foundation to honor the memory of Einhard. To bring the idea of European unification - which so far all too often has remained at the level of an intellectual, rather bloodless construct - closer to the hearts of the population by showing the roots of that idea in history.

The foundations purpose as per the constitution has been formulated as follows: To bring the idea of European unification - which so far all too often has remained at the level of an intellectual, rather bloodless construct - closer to the hearts of the population by showing the roots of that idea in history.  This purpose is achieved by:

1. The award of the Einhard literature prize for biography
2. Furthermore, the foundation purpose is realized by the scientific advancement of the memory on Einhard and the research of Einhard and his epoch.

1. Einhard prize

The prize is awarded to the present-day author of an outstanding biography of a personality whose scientific, religious, political, artistic or economic lifetime achievements are related to Europe in a broad sense. In this context, Europe is not only to be understood in the political sense (i. e. in the form of the Brussels based European Union), but much rather as a much larger space with common historical roots and shared values and philosophical ideas.

While the person depicted in the biography to be honored should have a European reference in the above-mentioned sense, the author does not necessarily have to be a European; he or she can come from any country on the globe.

Einhard whose “Vita Karoli Magni” found an extraordinarily wide distribution in Europe, paved the way for the impact of Charlemagne up to our present days by describing the life-time achievements of that towering Franconian emperor who gave a whole historical period, the Carolingian Age, his name. By creating his realm reaching from Denmark in the north to the middle of Italy in the south and from the Atlantic coast of France in the west to what is today the Polish border in the East, he created a political entity which we contemporaries want to recreate with our means and in our way, because we believe that these countries belong together and can only handle the problems of their future if they join forces. To support these efforts with their own modest means, the citizens of a small town in the middle of this European space have created the Einhard-Prize.

1.2 Details of the award

t is the intent of the Foundation to award the Prize every other year, a rhythm that has so far been maintained: During the last eight years, the Prize has been awarded four times. The amount of Euro 10.000 that every laureate receives is fed by the proceeds of the capital stock provided by the Foundation members. These proceeds are supplemented by additional ad hoc donations from persons and institutions that believe in the aims of the Foundation. This way of financing the Prize demonstrates that the Foundation prides itself rightfully in being a self-sufficient citizen’s initiative that does not receive any public funding.  It can also be noted that after every award ceremony new members join the Foundation. As a result, the membership has doubled since its creation.

The selection of the laureates and the biography to be honored is the task of a jury that consists of three outside international experts in the field of biography with high scholarly standing and two representatives of the Foundation.

1.3. Award Ceremony

The Prize has been conferred the first time 1999, then in 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2007. The award ceremony is always held on or around the day Einhard died, i. e. March 14. The ceremony commences with a “Memento Einhardi” (Einhard Remembered) at his tomb in Einhard’s church, the Basilica Saint Marcellinus and Petrus in Seligenstadt. This “Memento” in the venerable Basilica has given the award ceremony a distinctive touch. The program of the event is composed of a series of readings from the writings of Einhard or one of his contemporaries. They are followed by a majestic piece of music especially composed for the Basilica: The “Engelsturm” for organ, trumpets and bells by Thomas Gabriel.

Thereafter, the festive assembly moves to the City Hall that is located near the historical Market Square. There the handing over of the Prize takes place and a distinguished guest speaker delivers the “laudatio” on the laureate.

Outstanding young interpreters conduct the musical accompaniment at the award ceremony. This course of events has found widespread approval.

In addition, the mayor of Seligenstadt, Ms. Dagmar B. Nonn-Adams, hosts a formal reception for the award winner and his/her personal guests. At this time the laureate is asked to sign the “Golden Book” of the town.

2. Scientific advancement of the memory and the research of Einhard and his epoch.

2.1. Authenticity of the remains of Einhard and his wife Imma´

In cooperation between the Einhard Foundation, Einhard Project Group as well as the Brotherhood “Order of the Knights of the Spoon” the coffin was opened on October 4th, 2004 and bone samples were collected. age of 70; therefore he must have been born about 765. The man was only 1, 62 meter in height and was of normal build and not crippled. Einhard’s date of birth is uncertain, but it is estimated to be around 760, his date of death was 14 March 840 in Seligenstadt. Several documents state that he was of small statue. With this in mind, there exists a “remarkable similarity”.

The year of death of the woman was dated at about 840 by the researchers. Her documented time of death was in the year 836. Therefore, it is emphasized that in all probability there can be no doubt that the remains were those of Einhard and Imma.

2.2. Seligenstadt biography discussions

One of the activities to further advance the memory on Einhard is the active support of biographic literature. On March 14th, 2008 the Einhard foundation, together with the Kulturring in Seligenstadt, organized their first biography discussion. Uwe Wittstock, a literature critic and culture correspondent of the WELT, presented his book „Marcel Reich Ranicki – Geschichte eines Lebens“. A subsequent discussion followed with Bernt Ture von zur Mühlen, author, literature scientist and a teacher at the school  “des Deutschen Buchhandels”, about the possibilities and border lines of a biography.

2.3. Contribution to the Einhard symposium

In Sept. 2008 the 2nd international symposium on the life and activities of Einhard was organized in Seligenstadt. Under the patronage of the Governor of Hessen, Roland Koch, this scientific meeting was organized by the Administration for the castles and gardens in Hessen and the City of Seligenstadt together with the Einhard project group, the promotion group historic Seligenstadt and the Einhard foundation. Dr. Herman Schefers, a member of the Administration for the castles and gardens in Hessen and also a member of the steering committee of the Einhard foundation, was responsible for the scientific leadership of the symposium. One of the lectures presented the coroners results regarding the authenticity of the remains of Einhard and Imma in Seligenstadt, where the scientific work was co-sponsored by the Einhard foundation. Furthermore, the foundation presented a poster about their activities.