Oathbreakers. How the Dispute of the Descendants of Charlemagne Shaped Medieval Europe

By the beginning of the 9th century, Frankish King Charlemagne had united vast territories, from the Pyrenees in the west to the Danubian Slavs in the east, from the Danish March in the north to Italy in the south. The Roman Pope proclaimed him emperor. However, the empire did not last long. Under Charlemagne's son Louis the Pious, it began to wobble, and his sons Lothair, Charles the Bald, and Louis the German fought each other in a bloody battle at Fontenoy, shattering their father and grandfather's legacy into three parts. This is how the political landscape of medieval Europe was formed. Some call the Frankish empire an attempt to revive Ancient Rome, while others see it as the first project of the European Union. What it really was and why it perished, along with the Carolingian dynasty, are questions you will find answers to in the fascinating book by historians and medievalists Matthew Gabriel and David M. Perry.