Charlemagne and the Carolingian Empire (800-87 CE)

Charlemagne’s renown is indicated partly by his name alone – and there can be little doubt that ‘Carolus Magnus’ (‘Charles the Great’) was indeed considered great by friend and foe alike in the late 8th and early 9th centuries. But how did he come to power and how did the family to which he belonged (the Carolingians) manage to dominate much of western and central Europe for more than a century? This course explores these questions by way of charters, diplomas and narrative sources, focusing on the peculiar admixture of pious learning and brute force that underpinned Carolingian success.