The Frankish Kingdoms Under the Carolingians, 751-987

This is the first modern book in any language to examine the entire history of the Carolingian 'dynasty' in western Europe in its full social, political and cultural context. Rosamond McKitterick's account of the Carolingian kings from Pippin III (751-768) to Louis V (986-987) is not told simply in terms of the rise and fall of a line which made, but could not hold, an empire; rather, she presents the Carolingian kings as remarkable succession of, for the most part, able rulers who raised themselves above their peers, extended their authority and landed wealth, and were only gradually ousted by contemporaries similarly hungry for power.