Emperor of the West

Through his foreign conquests and internal reforms, Charlemagne is a defining figure of both Western Europe and the Middle Ages. Crowned king of the Franks in 768, he expanded their kingdoms into an empire that incorporated much of western and central Europe, recreating a single Christian imperium in the heartlands of the old Western Roman empire for the first time since the decline and fall of that polity in the late fifth century AD. After his imperial coronation Charlemagne was seen as a rival, in power and majesty, of the Byzantine Emperor in Constantinople.

Charlemagne's empire, and the cultural golden age that is associated with it, encouraged the formation of a common European identity. In this magisterial new study, Hywel Williams explores every facet of the rule and legacy of one of the most remarkable rulers in European history. Emperor of the West is a major contribution to early medieval history, and is essential reading for anyone interested in the wider history of Europe.

“'This scholarly and meticulously researched biography is a book one really does want to read' Simon Heffer, Sunday Telegraph.”

'a substantial and worthwhile volume ... a valuable book' Journal of Ecclesiastical History. Journal of Ecclesiastical History
'A magisterial survey of the great European emperor, of the Latin culture of his court and the political extent of his domains' A.N. Wilson, Observer. Observer
Sunday Telegraph
'Excellent and thought-provoking ... tells the story of an iconic figure for the new Europe' Tom Shippey, Times Literary Supplement. Times Literary Supplement

Hywel Williams is a historian, journalist and broadcaster. He is the author of the political expose Guilty Men, Cassell's Chronology of World History (2005) and Britain's Power Elites (2006). His Quercus credits include Days that Changed the World (2006) and Sun Kings (2007).

The achievements and legacy of the emperor Charlemagne have had an enduring impact on Europe's history and civilization for over a thousand years. Crowned a king of the Franks in 768, he expanded their kingdom into an imperial order that incorporated much of western and central Europe. Charlemagne recreated a single Christian imperium in the heartlands of the western Roman empire for the first time since the decline and fall of that power in the fifth century. The military campaigns and programmes of reform inspired by Charlemagne make him a defining figure in the history of the Middle Ages, and of Western Europe as a whole. Charlemagne's empire, and the cultural golden age associated with it, encouraged the formation of a common European identity. In this magisterial new study, Hywel Williams explores every facet of the rule and legacy of one of the most remarkable rulers in European history. Both in its sweep and its detail, Emperor of the West is a major contribution to early medieval history and is essential reading for anyone interested in the wider history of Europe.

Through his foreign conquests and internal reforms, Charlemagne is a defining figure of both Western Europe and the Middle Ages. Crowned king of the Franks in 768, he expanded their kingdoms into an empire that incorporated much of western and central Europe, recreating a single Christian imperium in the heartlands of the old Western Roman empire for the first time since the decline and fall of that polity in the late fifth century AD. After his imperial coronation Charlemagne was seen as a rival, in power and majesty, of the Byzantine Emperor in Constantinople. Charlemagne's empire, and the cultural golden age that is associated with it, encouraged the formation of a common European identity. In this magisterial new study, Hywel Williams explores every facet of the rule and legacy of one of the most remarkable rulers in European history. Emperor of the West is a major contribution to early medieval history, and is essential reading for anyone interested in the wider history of Europe.

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