Note 40 — PART II PRIVATE LIFE AND CHARACTER OF CHARLEMAGNE
A. J. (Arthur James) Grant translation
Fastrada is regarded by Eginhard elsewhere as the evil influence on Charles’s life, urging him against the natural bent of his character to acts of cruelty and violence. Dr Hodgkin, however, points out that the most cruel act of his reign—the massacre of 4500 Saxons—took place before his marriage with Fastrada.