Book description
A truly European monarch, Charlemagne was king of the Franks from 768
to 814 and for some of that time king of the Lombards, too. From 800,
when at Mass on Christmas day in Rome, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne
Imperator Romanorum (Emperor of the Romans) he became the renewer of the
Western Empire, which had expired in the 5th century. His dual role as
Emperor and King of the Franks provided the historical link between the
Imperial dignity and the Frankish kingdoms and later Germany. Today both
France and Germany look to him as a founding figure of their respective
countries. His nephew, Roland, was also renowned for his prowess in
battle and was the inspiration for the Chanson de Roland which recounts
the story of the battle of Roncesvalles, in which he died. Allan
Massie is the author of eighteen highly praised novels, as well as
non-fiction works on Muriel Spark, a study of twelve emperors of ancient
Rome, a history of crime in 19th-century Edinburgh and the acclaimed
Glasgow: Portraits of a City. Born in Singapore in 1938, he was brought
up in Aberdeenshire and educated at Glenalmond School and Trinity
College, Cambridge, where he read history. He is a Fellow of the Royal
Society of Literature and has been a judge of the Booker Prize. He is
also a journalist contributing to the Scottish and English press. He is
married, has three children and lives in the Scottish Borders.
