Charlemagne,, Emperor

The image of Charlemagne represents one of the most highly developed historical and literary legends of the Middle Ages. His representation ranges from the majestic to the bland; from grandiose to weak and from a saint to a despot. He exemplified the greatest of military heroes …

This dissertation studies the ways the Old French Chanson de Roland has been read and taught since the famous Oxford manuscript was rediscovered and published in 1837. It analyzes the ways nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century readings have contributed to a sense of French nat…

This dissertation investigates how an eleventh-century ideal of religious and political universality, found in sources of the Charlemagne legend, shaped the origins of and response to the First Crusade. Eleventh-century authors saw in Charlemagne's reign an exemplar of Christian…