CHARLEMAGNE

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CHARLEMAGNE/ The Great Adventure. Derek Wilson. Charles the Great towers over every notion we have of national heroes & semi-mythical champions. His military conquests exceeded those of Julius Caesar. He had the sagacity & dedication to public service of Marcus Aurelius. In ruthlessness, as in dedication to personal culture he was reminiscent of Augustus. Yet, Charlemagne was a semi-civilised barbarian chief, with no knowledge of classical culture. This looming monolith was a man of contradictions: a champion of the Christian Church who sat loose to its rules; an enthusiast for scholarship who never learned to write; a great conqueror whose empire barely survived his own death. 228pp H/B (rrp £20)