History of France. From Charlemagne to Joan of Arc

The narrative covers one of the key periods in French history—five centuries of the Middle Ages, the time of forming France as we know it today. The fragmented Frankish Empire of Charlemagne was mired in the infighting of heirs and enemy raids. The Crusades, feudal, dynastic and religious quarrels, the confrontation between knights and urban commoners... The country took a long time to establish a centralized state. This era ended with the Hundred Years' War, and France entered the Modern Age as one of the leading European powers.