Simon MacLean is Lecturer in History at the University of St Andrews, Scotland.

'… MacLean provides an important rereading of the reign of the last Carolingian emperor which has far reaching consequences for historians of post-Carolingian Europe … his arguments have important implications for the prevailing interpretations of the tenth century …' History

• List of maps and figures; Acknowledgements; List of abbreviations; Note on names, terminology and citations; Outline chronology; 1. Introduction; 2. Un-Frankish activities: Charles the Fat in the eyes of contemporary annalists; 3. The men who would be kings: the 'supermagnates' and the 'rise of the aristocracy'; 4. Royal politics and regional power in the late Carolingian empire; 5. The end of the Empire I: politics and ideology at the east Frankish court; 6. The end of the Empire II: response and failure; 7. History, politics and the end of the empire in Notker's Deeds of Charlemagne; 8. Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.

Simon MacLean is Lecturer in History at the University of St Andrews, Scotland.

'… MacLean provides an important rereading of the reign of the last Carolingian emperor which has far reaching consequences for historians of post-Carolingian Europe … his arguments have important implications for the prevailing interpretations of the tenth century …' History

• List of maps and figures; Acknowledgements; List of abbreviations; Note on names, terminology and citations; Outline chronology; 1. Introduction; 2. Un-Frankish activities: Charles the Fat in the eyes of contemporary annalists; 3. The men who would be kings: the 'supermagnates' and the 'rise of the aristocracy'; 4. Royal politics and regional power in the late Carolingian empire; 5. The end of the Empire I: politics and ideology at the east Frankish court; 6. The end of the Empire II: response and failure; 7. History, politics and the end of the empire in Notker's Deeds of Charlemagne; 8. Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.

Simon MacLean is Lecturer in History at the University of St Andrews, Scotland.

'… MacLean provides an important rereading of the reign of the last Carolingian emperor which has far reaching consequences for historians of post-Carolingian Europe … his arguments have important implications for the prevailing interpretations of the tenth century …' History

• List of maps and figures; Acknowledgements; List of abbreviations; Note on names, terminology and citations; Outline chronology; 1. Introduction; 2. Un-Frankish activities: Charles the Fat in the eyes of contemporary annalists; 3. The men who would be kings: the 'supermagnates' and the 'rise of the aristocracy'; 4. Royal politics and regional power in the late Carolingian empire; 5. The end of the Empire I: politics and ideology at the east Frankish court; 6. The end of the Empire II: response and failure; 7. History, politics and the end of the empire in Notker's Deeds of Charlemagne; 8. Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.