Gabriele's analysis of the understanding of Frankishness from c. 800 to c. 1100 results in a thoughtful and thought-provoking monograph. Charting the development of communities’ identification of themselves as Franks and the place that this memorialising has in discourses about remembering, this book is highly successful. In its insistence on a link between being a Frank and being part of a populus christianus, its emphasis is on the Christian element of imperium, putting Charlemagne and subsequent attachment to his empire within a wider religious conception of shared identity that is intriguing and convincing. Gabriele links association with this Frankish past with prophetic understandings of the fate of the world. A good case is made for Charlemagne's image becoming fused with that of the last king in apocalyptic thought. His association with Jerusalem and a parallel growth of interest in the Holy Land and its relics adds potency to this link. Gabriele's concluding argument is that Urban ii inspired participation in the First Crusade by appealing to this complex sense of identity. The argument that crusaders were the ideological successors to the Frankish populus christianus and perceived themselves as part of an apocalyptic narrative is sound in reference to the preceding analysis, but the suggestion that Urban deliberately manipulated this sense of identity is perhaps too bold an interpretation. It may be that the idea of progression is taken too far here. As Gabriele points out, Urban leaves no absolute record of the words which were designed to inspire this crusade. Nevertheless, the depth of analysis on offer here and its relevance to debates about memory makes this a hugely welcome addition to a growing body of research.

The title Emperor of the west suggests a focus on the nature and conception of empire that is comparable. Williams's book is, however, a far more traditional history of Charlemagne and his empire than an investigation of these issues. At 460 pages, it is a substantial and worthwhile volume, and would serve as a useful introduction to the Carolingians. Williams charts their rise, Charlemagne's expansions, the governance of the realm, and the collapse of Carolingian hegemony in Europe, setting it all in a wider chronological framework. As such this is a valuable book, but a tendency to situate the Carolingians in a wider German history, with some unfortunate resonances, hints at its flaws. It is also unfortunate that there is no room for footnotes throughout the text as this disengages the reader from some controversial debates with which Williams deals. It would perhaps have been better to avoid the grand historical questions that he flirts with throughout. Discussion of the rise of nations, the decline of the Carolingian empire, its modern inheritance and the eighth-century shift from the Mediterranean to the north-west of Europe indicates a desire to place this work in a much broader context. This, surely, is a desire that is misplaced, drawing Williams away from intricate analysis towards a type of historiography that cannot sufficiently achieve its aims due to the controversy on the issues involved.