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.

“Historical scholarship, and historical storytelling, at its finest.” —Matthew Gabriele, coauthor of The Bright Ages and Oathbreakers

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 alone to tell the full story of the rise and fall of the massively consequential Carolingian dynasty—the men and women who laid the foundations for his achievements, and the colorful heirs who squandered his legacy. Carolingian rulers established the royal court as a place of learning, attracting scholars and philosophers and driving a cultural and intellectual renaissance. They fought and traded with power centers as far-flung as Córdoba, Constantinople, and Baghdad. In allying with the pope, they forever changed the relationship between church and state in the West. And they dispatched the first missionaries to northern Europe, expanding Christendom’s reach farther than ever before.

Charlemagne’s Dream details the powerfully human stories of the Carolingians, showing how their pursuit of ever-greater power built one of the world’s great empires.