The birth of the Holy Roman Empire—and the unlikely king who ruled it. The fall of Rome led to chaos in Western Europe. Enter Carolus Magnus, more commonly known as Charlemagne, who sought to ...

Imperial Splendor: The Art of the Book in the Holy Roman Empire, 800-1500 by Jeffrey F. Hamburger and Joshua O’Driscoll, published by D Giles Limited, is available online.

“So the Holy Roman Empire had been around for a long time—we’re talking practically back to the Roman Empire. Was it the succession to the Roman Empire? That’s a little bit sketchy.

The Holy Roman Empire, which evolved from Charlemagne's Carolingian Empire, continued to exist under a series of emperors until 1806, almost a millennium after Charlemagne's death.