Most historians agree that the Carolingian Age, from the 8th to the 10th centuries AD, represented one of the most important turning points in European history. The adoption of the stirrup and subsequently of early versions of the high-framed war saddle, plus the pressure of rival and essentially non-western European cultures, combined to give birth to what are popularly regarded as mediaeval European styles of warfare. This text explores the organization and history of the Carolingian Empire during the age of one of history's most romanticized and heroic figures - Charlemagne.