Charlemagne
by Johannes Fried
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Description
"When Charlemagne died in 814 CE, he left behind a dominion and a legacy unlike anything seen in Western Europe since the fall of Rome. Distinguished historian and author of The Middle Ages Johannes Fried presents a new biographical study of the legendary Frankish king and emperor, illuminating the life and reign of a ruler who shaped Europe's destiny in ways few figures, before or since, have equaled. Living in an age of faith, Charlemagne was above all a Christian king, Fried says. He made show more his court in Aix la Chapelle the center of a religious and intellectual renaissance, enlisting the Anglo Saxon scholar Alcuin of York to be his personal tutor, and insisting that monks be literate and versed in rhetoric and logic. He erected a magnificent cathedral in his capital, decorating it lavishly while also dutifully attending Mass every morning and evening. And to an extent greater than any ruler before him, Charlemagne enhanced the papacy's influence, becoming the first king to enact the legal principle that the pope was beyond the reach of temporal justice a decision with fateful consequences for European politics for centuries afterward. Though devout, Charlemagne was not saintly. He was a warrior king, intimately familiar with violence and bloodshed. And he enjoyed worldly pleasures, including physical love. Though there are aspects of his personality we can never know with certainty, Fried paints a compelling portrait of a ruler, a time, and a kingdom that deepens our understanding of the man often called "the father of Europe."-- Provided by publisher. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
2014 marked the 1200th anniversary of one of Europe's most famous, Charlemagne who died on 28th January 814 in Aachen after a tumultuous life. This huge biography carries the subtitle "Gewalt und Glaube" (Power/Violence and Faith). The emphasis of the book is on the second part. Charlemagne as a man of the church who created institutions and started Europe on the way to recovery from the breakdown of the Roman Empire and the Dark Ages. Apart from this churchy approach, the book suffers from its length. A good editor could easily have cut out two hundred pages.
This is a dense, heavily researched biography of a figure for whom little is known, thus Fried's work is, in many respects, much more of an exploration into 8th and 9th century Europe than it is into the life of one man.
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Author Information
27+ Works 507 Members
Johannes Fried was, until his retirement, Professor of Medieval History at the University of Frankfurt. His books include Charlemagne (Harvard).
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Charlemagne
- People/Characters
- Charlemagne
Classifications
- Genres
- History, Nonfiction, Biography & Memoir, General Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality
- DDC/MDS
- 944.0142092 — History & geography History of Europe France and Monaco France Early history -987 751-987
- LCC
- DC73 .F7513 — History of Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania France – Andorra – Monaco History of France History By period Early and medieval to 1515 476-1328. Merovingians. Carlovingians. Capetians
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 165
- Popularity
- 197,779
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (3.70)
- Languages
- English, German
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 11
- ASINs
- 4
