Charles Martel ● Karl der Hammer [Old-Frankish song][+English translation]

Skaldic Bard wrote this song in Old Frankish, the language of the Franks, a Germanic tribe who would play a vital role for the genesis of Germany ... and France!
Frankish was about to merge into Old High German at the time. The specific dialect used here is an Austrasian one, named after a historical region.

Karl Martell/ Karl der Hammer, or Charles Martel in English, was a Frankish nobleman who lived from ~688 to 741. "Martel(l)" is not his family name, it is a term for a hammer. He earned that monicker in the event that is covered in this song: the 732 Battle of Poitiers/Tours, in which Karl Martell defeated an army of the Umayyad Caliphate. Later generations, especially after the Middle Ages, considered him a savior of the western, Christian world and Europe as we know it because of this feat, although more recent studies have contested the weight of his achievement.
In any case, Karl Martell was a very important historical figure. He was not king (which is why I translated "kuning", normally "König" in German and "king" in English) as ruler instead. You could also call him "leader" or "Princeps" or something. In any case, the term "kuning" covers more than just "king", although it would have been fair to call Karl a "de facto" king: the ruling dynasty, the Merovingians, had gradually lost their power over the course of generations, and the men holding the title "Mayor of the Palace" had become the actual most powerful people in the realm. They were in control of the royal treasury, dispensed patronage, and granted land and privileges in the name of the figurehead king.

Karl's father, Pippin/Pepin, had held that title and amassed more power than any Mayor of the Palace before him, but once Pippin had died in 714, Karl had to fight and win a civil war against own family members and other opponents before he could consolidate his power. Karl was not a formally acknowledged son of Pippin at first, he was originally not supposed to come to power. But once he had conquered the throne, Karl proved to be an effective military and political leader who expanded his own power. He would go down in history as the namesake of the Carolingian dynasty, his son Pippin "the younger/the short" would finally take the title of king from the Merovingians. The son of this Pippin was Charles the Great/Charlemagne. Karl Martell's legacy is a very powerful and lasting one, as his grandson would be considered the founder of the Holy Roman Empire by reviving the title of emperor in western Europe after centuries. The Carolingians ruled for many more generations, and it was Karl who had laid the groundwork.

The song takes inspiration from other works, most notably the Ludwigslied/Song of Ludwig: It's a 9th century text praising a later Carolingian king named Ludwig for defeating a heathen army (of Northmen). It will also be uploaded on this channel at some point. Another bit comes from a 9th century German translation of the Diatesseron, a gospel harmony written by a man called Tatian in the 2nd century. The Odo mentioned is Duke Odo of Aquitania, whose territory was attacked by the Umayyads.

Disclaimer: All videos are apolitical and this channel is against any form of extremism or hatespeech!
●▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬✠❈ SUPPORT ❈✠▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬●
●▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬♬❈ LYRICS ❈♬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬●
Heidine man sluogun nahgibura ioh bruoder unse
Abur thes hoisten megin biscatuit euwih
Ir selbo Christ ist Got ioh druhtin
Fora dhemu sindun dheodun ioh riihi chihneigidu

Karl dher hamar frankono kuning
Ir willon Gotes deda
Karl dher hamar frankono kuning
Ir Frankonolant nerida

Quad Otto dhem kuninge hilf minan liudin
Heigun heidine man harto bidwungan
Huob Karl gundfanon uf dher muotago wigant
Dhen ir almahtic Got sendida

Ir nam skild indi sper Gote lob sageda
Chinemnet sinan namon Heilant
Suman thuruhsluog ir suman thuruhstah
Sin warth dher sigikamf

Karl dher hamar frankono kuning
Ir willon Gotes deda
Karl dher hamar frankono kuning
Ir Frankonolant nerida

Hwer ist dher druhtin
Thaz lioht in finstarnessin ist
Ni forhti thu thir
After guotliihhin quimit ir
So regonoda druhtin ubar Sodomam indi Gomorram
Swebil indi fyur
So bim ih ubar fianta Frankonolantes chisendit

Karl dher hamar frankono kuning
Ir willon Gotes deda
Karl dher hamar frankono kuning
Ir Frankonolant nerida

[Yartrax-]

France and Germany are two brothers, sons of Charlemagne (Charles the Great, Karl der Große), grand-sons of Charles Martel (Karl der Hammer), separated by history and raised as enemies.

[rolandxor]

In most Germanic languages France is called Frankreich or the realm of the Franks. The reason you have such a sharp language divide in Belgium is due to one part of the Franks adopting Latin which became French and the other maintaining the (low) Frankish language which evolved into Dutch. If you travel on holiday in France you can tell that below Paris people start to take on more rounded facial features and darker hair and complexion this is because these are peoples of Gaulish origin and not Germanic as further north.

[Jürgen_von_Schumacher]

I didn't know you listened to the Skaldic Bard! He'd definitely be proud to know you uploaded his song on your channel!

[mario_]

Dr. Ludwig überrascht immer wieder mit solchen Perlen! Dieser Kanal ist ein Schatz! Danke für das Bewahren Deutscher Kultur!
Man kann sich vorstellen, dass so ein Lied damals wirklich gesungen wurde und nun in den Zeiten verschwunden ist.

[liamh]

Wow this is unbelievably cool! Love the sound of the old Frankish. I would love to see more songs like this for other old languages too like Old English, particularly as there aren't really any songs surviving in the language.

[DerWahnsinnige]

Ein sehr interessanter Künstler! Und wir dürfen dieser Tage auf keinen Fall vergessen, was Karl und seine Männer geleistet haben.

[Real-Agent-Meta]

Ah yes, The Skaldic Bard. The channel that broadened my understanding of Germanic languages. Nice choice Dr. Ludwig

[WilliamCooper-lf]

We need more men to embrace the patriotic fervor of Charles Martel and clean house. There is a real reason why the world these new arrivals come from are destroyed and dysfunctional, it happens to deal with character found only in a belief in the true faith. If you have it, then you build the best civilizations ever seen in history and without it, you only have misery.

[Robespierre]

Despite the historical rivalry, our peoples, in many ways, have similar roots. Peace and prosperity to my eastern neighbors 🇲🇫🤝🏻🇩🇪
God bless you!

[bonniebunny]

Absolutely amazing. The beat of the drums and the strums of the guitar just sounds lovely. Thank you my friend 🙂

[lukefriesenhahn]

This is a very nice edition to your channel! I love this song. It sounds so powerful, and encouraging. Hurrah to you Herr Ludwig and Skaldic Bard!

[mariamirabella]

🌄💞Guten Morgen Dr.Ludwig und zusammen! 🎵🎶 Die BESTE und SCHÖNSTE 💪⚔️💪👑🍃 Lied und sehr schönes Video!!!!❤️❤️❤️ Herzliches DANKE !🍹🍦🍹🍦💞💟 Ich wünsche Ihnen einen sehr wundervolles Wochenende!!🌸

[kspls]

My 9% teutonic ancestry activating at this sound.

[타니타AndthisisGilbert]

Oh, ich habe wahrscheinlich schon einmal von diesem Musiker gehört? Aber dieser Autor schreibt auch in altrussischer und lateinischer Sprache ... Was für ein erstaunliches Verständnis ewiger innerreligiöser Widersprüche! ! Vielen Dank, Herr Ludwig! Das ist einfach unglaublich, aber die alte Sprache dieses Liedes ist überraschend klar!

[Jehan-David_de_Saint_Mars]

Old Frankish is also a direct ancestor of (Old) Dutch and has had a noticable influence on Luxemburgish 🇳🇱🇱🇺

[ingemayodon]

Gesang und Bild einfach sagenhaft.
Vielen Dank. Wünsche Ihnen, lieber Herr Doktor, sowie allen Ihren Zuhörern einen angenehmen Sonntag und sende viele lbe Grüße nach München aus Montréal.

[Indoraptoranimagus]

Des Timing ist recht amüsant, weil genau heute sind an der Universität Würzburg (Haupstadt von Unterfranken) die Vorträge für die Neubesetzung der Professur für Fränkische Landesgeschichte.

[AMM-bsku]

Good morning Ludwig,
You changed the time, but what you just downloaded is wonderful, congratulations. Magnificent song and thank you very much for the explanations on the roots of the German and French people, which are somehow common, the Franks coming from the Germanic tribes. History has taken another turn, but these countries remain neighbors. Thank you and have a good first day of summer 😊❤🎼🎵🎶🌞🌞🌞🇩🇪🤝🤝🤝🇫🇷

[SuperPepecharlie]

Franceses y alemanes tienen más en común de lo que pudieran imaginar!

[BardsInExileFolkRevival]

That's a gem! Thanks for sharing!