While the Roman empire continued on in the East, in the Byzantine empire, Late Antiquity was a time of tremendous change for the western Roman Empire and Europe. Germanic tribes, Roman culture, and Christianity blended, clashed, and intertwined, creating the medieval period and the foundation of the Europe we know today. In this episode, we’ll use Charlemagne’s story to explore this time of change, reinvention, and creation, where the church and political sphere mutually reinforce each other, while also simultaneously struggling to be the one really in charge.