Charlemagne

By: Johannes Fried, Peter Lewis

Narrated by: James Cameron Stewart

When the legendary Frankish king and emperor Charlemagne died in 814 he left behind a dominion and a legacy unlike anything seen in Western Europe since the fall of Rome. Johannes Fried paints a compelling portrait of a devout ruler, a violent time, and a unified kingdom that deepens our understanding of the man often called the father of Europe.

©2016 The President and Fellows of Harvard College (P)2017 Tantor

Critic reviews

"This is a magisterial study of the life and times of the Frankish king who became the first Holy Roman Emperor." ( Publishers Weekly)

Great scholarship

Great scholarship, but perhaps not exactly an enthralling book to listen to. If you are interested in Early Medieval Europe, it is a must.

Way too much detail

As a history buff, I came across Charlemagne’s name. I really didn’t know anything about the man and was looking for a book to enlighten me. I was inundated with a very comprehensive book of the world of years 700 - 800s CE . I learned much but had to skip parts so I could finally finish the middle age course. Very detailed book for someone looking for that kind of information.

Great research and lots of latin...

What did you like best about Charlemagne? What did you like least?

The references to ancient sources, mostly in latin. Really appreciate the author's research.

Did James Cameron Stewart do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

The narration was probably my biggest issue with the book, though I'm not sure you could read this book in an upbeat and exciting way.

Was Charlemagne worth the listening time?

Gave up listening after the 2nd part.

Any additional comments?

If you knew latin, you would probably appreciate this book a lot more. Definitely well researched and the sources were old and amazing. But difficult for me to get excited about the story and the narration was a bit dry, which didn't help.

Lifeless and sometimes awkward reading

Interesting scholarship. Poor reading at points with phrase-by-phrase reading sometimes hard to folliw. Contents scholarly but interesting. Not convinced that Charlemagne would have accepted homosexual relations in his court. No unambiguous evidence of this brought out.

Strictly academic; horrifically boring

Fried approached this work with strict adherence to fact based analysis. His extrapolations are limited, based on evidence, and entirely reasonable. There is no doubt that this account of Charlemagne’s life is of the highest standards for accuracy possible with the available source material.

That being said… the life of the person who conquered Western Europe and shaped much of what Christianity would become is presented with as much intrigue as a pious accountant organizing his sock drawer.

Charlemagne; A barbarian grows a conscience.

The arch of the life of Charlemagne is well worth a modern look as provided by this well documented tome. The author takes pains to inform you how difficult it is to look at a historical figure so deep in history and lore without significant proof that the stories and historical accounts are not reinterpretation for the benefit of the time that they are written. Nonetheless it is a fascinating arc of life that clearly shows a powerful man coming to terms with his conscience In a time of barbarism.
It is impossible not to view at least the fable of Charlemagne as not being a man who came to the renaissance before the world was ready. I highly recommend spending the time required to get to know my relative Charlemagne!
As I like to read or should I say listen via Audible the cadence of the reader provides an odd cadence that becomes a touch annoying at times. I do listen at 2.5 speed and at normal speed you may not find this to be the case. Good listening.

Interesting historical perspectives

If you are looking for historical timeline along with detailed event descriptions befitting an academic dissertation, then this is not your book. It is, rather, a presentation of well researched historical perspectives sense making of a mythic historic figure.

I thoroughly enjoyed it.

excellent overview in a quite unbiased fashion.

The content is rich with historical perspective on the person and age of Charles. His involvment with the world of his age is fascinating.

Education Reform

Perhaps I should have known, but a lot of Charlemagne's history is wondering what actually happened. It was well read, and he has had a huge impact on our society. It's just such a large impact from so long ago it's hard to tell exactly how much.

Among other biographies I've listened to it was harder to continue listening. Maybe Europeans will be able to relate more.

Brilliant biography and narration!

Highly recommended and detailed biography of the most important ruler of the Early Middle Ages. The narration by James Cameron Stewart is simply superb. I really hope J. Fried's "The Middle Ages" becomes available as an audiobook soon also narrated by JCS.