Oathbreakers: The War of Brothers That Shattered an Empire and Made Medieval Europe by David M. Perry, Matthew Gabriele (2025)
Warnings from the Carolingian Empire about our current era. To be familiar with 2025, we get Brinkmanship, bloody battles, and family infighting deconstructed and reexamined. Charlemagne’s offspring did not honor him.
Perry and Gabriele are dynamic public historians, deploying a lively narrative and sharp scholarship. The use of poetry and participant reflections builds empathy for players in this epic soap opera.
I appreciate the reminder that egos, power-mad schemers, and an endless supply of nepobabies are centuries-old tropes. The authors spare no one as they posit elites can be the stupidest of us, then and now.
Place a library hold.
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