Oathbreakers Book Review
Synopsis
By the early ninth century, the Carolingian empire was at the height of its power. The Franks, led by Charlemagne, had built the largest European domain since Rome in its heyday. Though they jockeyed for power, prestige, and profit, the Frankish elites enjoyed political and cultural consensus. But just two generations later, their world was in shambles. Civil war, once an unthinkable threat, had erupted after Louis the Pious’s sons tried to overthrow him—and then placed their knives at the other’s neck. Families who had once charged into battle together now drew each other’s blood.
The Carolingian Civil War would rage for years as kings fought kings, brother faced off against brother, and sons challenged fathers. Oathbreakers is the dramatic history of this brutal, turbulent time. Medieval historians David M. Perry and Matthew Gabriele illuminate what happens when a once unshakeable political and cultural order breaks down and long suppressed tensions flare into deadly violence. Drawn from rich primary sources, featuring a wide cast of characters, packed with dramatic twists and turns, this is history that rivals the greatest fictional epics—with consequences that continue to shape our own world.
Oathbreakers offers lessons of what deep cracks in a once-stable social and political fabric might reveal, and the bloody consequences of disagreeing on facts and reality. The Civil War at the heart of this tale asks: who is “in” and who is “out”? And what happens when things fall apart?
REVIEW
Anyone else have some perhaps… unhinged thoughts while reading a book? Because I could not wait for freakin’ Bernard of Septimania over here to die. Ha! Also, fair warning: this book review is for my history nerds.
The long and short of it? Oathbreakers: The War of Brothers That Shattered an Empire and Made Medieval Europe starts off rough (SO much information—names, details, locations, etc.—thrown at you), but if you stick with it, it’s super, super interesting; definitely a real-life Game of Thrones! I only wish the end hadn’t felt so rushed compared to the rest of the book. Like, what was Charles the Bald’s reign like once he was the last one left standing? Also, what kind of name is THAT? Poor guy. Who was that final battle against? What happened to the empire after HIS death? I want to knowww.
That said, overall, this is an excellent and fairly easy read for those who want to learn more about the Franks and early medieval period!
Thanks so much to Harper Perennial for the gifted copy.
Original publication date was 10 December 2024.
Author Profile
Matthew Gabriele is a Professor of Medieval Studies at Virginia Tech. He completed an Honors BA in history at the University of Delaware and then his M.A. and Ph.D in medieval history at the University of California, Berkeley.
Author Profile
David Perry is a freelance journalist covering politics, history, education, and disability rights. Perry’s work appears at CNN, the New York Times, The Atlantic, The Guardian, Washington Post, The Nation, Los Angeles Times, and many others. Perry was a professor of Medieval History at Dominican University from 2006-2017, working on Venice, the Crusades, and the Mediterranean World. He is the Senior Undergraduate Advisor for the University of Minnesota’s History department and lives in the Twin Cities with his wife and two children.
