Charlemagne

Charlemagne recounts the rise of the Carolingian ruler who expanded Frankish power across much of western and central Europe. It follows his wars against the Saxons, Lombards and other neighbours, his alliance with the papacy and his coronation as emperor in Rome in 800.

The biography also examines government, law, monasteries, education and the cultural programme known as the Carolingian Renaissance. It considers the violence of conquest alongside the administrative and religious institutions that made Charlemagne a model for later European kingship and empire.