Böcker av Rosamond (University of Cambridge) McKitterick

Charlemagne is often claimed as the greatest ruler in Europe before Napoleon. In this magisterial study, Rosamond McKitterick reexamines Charlemagne the ruler and his reputation. This is a major contribution to Carolingian history which will be essential reading for anyone interested in the medieval past.

A remarkable quantity and variety of history was written in Frankish realms of Western Europe in the eighth and ninth centuries. This 2004 work examines the understanding of the past and use of history contained in these books and their role in forming political ideologies and senses of identity within Europe.

This pioneering book studies the function and status of the written word in Carolingian society in France and Germany in the eighth- and ninth-centuries. Key topics discussed include law and the use of the written word, the economic and social status of the book in Carolingian society and the whole question of lay literacy.