Charlemagne: Father of a Continent / Edition 1

by Alessandro Barbero, Allan Cameron

Overview

The most important study of Charlemagne in a generation, this biography by distinguished medievalist Alessandro Barbero illuminates both the man and the world in which he lived. Charles the Great—Charlemagne—reigned from a.d. 768 to a.d. 814. At the time if his death, his empire stretched across Europe to include Bavaria, Saxony, parts of Spain, and Italy. With a remarkable grasp of detail and a sweeping knowledge of Carolingian institutions and economy, Barbero not only brings Charlemagne to life with accounts of his physical appearance, tastes and habits, family life, and ideas and actions but also conveys what it meant to be king of the Franks and, later, emperor. He recounts how Charlemagne ruled his empire, kept justice, and waged wars. He vividly describes the nature of everyday life at that time, how the economy functioned, and how Christians perceived their religion. Barbero's absorbing analysis of how concepts of slavery and freedom were subtly altered as feudal relations began to grow underscores the dramatic changes that the emperor's wars brought to the political landscape. Engaging and informed by deep scholarship, this latest account provides a new and richer context for considering one of history's most fascinating personalities.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780520239432
Publisher:	University of California Press
Publication date:	09/10/2004
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	426
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.40(d)
Age Range:	14 - 18 Years

About the Author

Alessandro Barbero is Professor of Medieval History at the University of Piemonte Orientale, Italy. In addition to writing about medieval society and culture, he is the author of the historical novel Bella vita e guerre altrui di Mr. Pyle, gentiluomo, which won the Strega Prize in 1996. Over a period of twelve years, Allan Cameron has translated some twenty books on history, philosophy, and other academic disciplines, including works by leading Italian philosopher Norberto Bobbio and President of the European Commission Romano Prodi.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Paderborn, Summer of 799

1. The Frankish Tradition
2. The War against the Lombards
3. Wars against the Pagans
4. The Rebirth of Empire
5. Charlemagne and Europe
6. The Man and His Family
7. Government of the Empire: The Institutions
8. Government of the Empire: The Resources
9. Government of the Empire: The Justice System
10. An Intellectual Project
11. The Frankish Military Machine
12. A New Economy
13. Patronage and Servitude
14. Old Age and Death

Notes
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

Vivid descriptions and careful research combine to paint a picture of a bygone era that entertains the reader as much as edifies her. Charlemagne: Father of a Continent is not just another biography but a fascinating and immensely useful one.

Envoi: A Review Journal of Medieval Literature

Cameron’s translation makes the book lively an readable, and he has captured Barbero’s wit, keen eye for detail, and sharp analysis of sources. . . . Accessible to a wide audience and educated non-specialists, and it would be an excellent addition to required texts in a survey class.

Canadian Journal Of History

"This book has been vividly and compellingly translated by Allan Cameron, and is an enjoyable and informative read." 

Reading Religion

Charles the Great, crowned emperor by the pope on Christmas Day A.D. 800, has at least three claims to be the progenitor of Europe. First, as this excellent translation of Barbero's text indicates, he was the grand orchestrator of a supranational, continental Europe that pre-empted the rise of nationalist allegiances and shaped the cultural underpinnings of today's EU. Second, he attempted to weld together a specifically Christian unity, building on the Franks' long tradition of Catholicism and their close strategic alliance with the papacy. And third, as Italian medievalist Barbero makes quite clear, Charlemagne paved the way for brutal forms of Western colonial aggression conducted in the name of religion. In the course of a war of "unparalleled ruthlessness," 4,500 Saxon rebels were decapitated in a single day. The author of this rich, scholarly but accessible study provides an intimate portrait of the man-right down to his shirt and underpants-and a sensitive analysis of his government and times. Particularly intriguing is Charles's instrumental role in the formation of Catholic doctrine. The apparent paradoxes of Charlemagne's character-his deep intellectual curiosity; his drive to reform Christian practice; and a degree of brutality criticized even by some of his closest supporters-are at root explained by a conviction in his divinely ordained mission that was both culturally productive and deeply destructive. 1 map. (Sept.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

[Professor Barbero] ... has a lightness of touch indispensable in approaching a subject which has constipated generations of continental scholars. He is particularly good in following through the repercussions of war down the social scale to the peasants who made up at least 90 per cent of the population. . . . Barbero is also a historical novelist, and knows how to hold the attention with arresting details.

Spectator

Judiciously avoids scholarly arcana and long-winded digressions into source-criticism and historiographical debates. . . . and effectively communicates to a wider audience the essentials of these debates, both within the text and in the discursive bibliography, with elegance, wit, and attitude.

H-France Review of Books

“Vivid descriptions and careful research combine to paint a picture of a bygone era that entertains the reader as much as edifies her. Charlemagne: Father of a Continent is not just another biography but a fascinating and immensely useful one.

Envoi: A Review Journal of Medieval Literature