The year is A.D. 781. King Charles of the Franks is crossing the Alps with his family and court on a journey to meet with Pope Hadrian. One frosty night he spea
Charles I, often known as Charlemagne, is one of the most extraordinary figures ever to rule an empire. Driven by unremitting physical energy and intellectual c
Third in Allan Massie's celebrated Dark Ages series A truly European monarch, Charlemagne was king of the Franks from 768 to 814 and for some of that time king