Charlemagne's Dream: The Rise and Fall of the Carolingian Empire

A sweeping, definitive history of the dynamic, expansionist dynasty that forged the Middle Ages—and Europe—as we know it

Today, the Carolingians are best known as the dynasty of Charlemagne. In a few remarkable decades spanning the late eighth and early ninth centuries, Charlemagne united much of modern-day Europe through conquest and diplomacy, establishing the continent’s first empire since the fall of Rome.

In Charlemagne’s Dream, historian James T. Palmer looks beyond Charlemagne alon...