Rome and Greece recorded their history almost day by day, and it is no trouble at all to reconstruct the pictures of the forums and marketplaces of their great cities. We are as familiar, too, with their great men and women as we are with those of our own times. We can know through their arts what they thought and said, how they dressed, and what they looked like. As the Roman Empire crumbled away, however, the deep shadows of the Dark Ages engulfed the arts, the crafts, and the written word. The lights of Europe were extinguished, for those who came as invaders could not read or write. For a long time few records were kept.

A story from this period such as the life and times of Charles Martel-and even up to the time of Charlemagne—has to be put together from fragments. As an archaeologist puts together a Grecian vase from the broken shards which he has dug out of the earth and assembled, so it was in putting together the incidents that make up this story. The main facts are few; details are even more scarce and what few contemporary chronicles there are give the figures of those times the legendary quality of sheer mythology.

Yet in painstakingly fitting the fragments together with their dates and places, a surprisingly consistent pattern emerges that throws the figure of Charles Martel into relief. By implication, Charles, leader of the Franks, and St. Boniface, "Apostle of Germany," were men who dealt realistically with the situation of their times. The fruits of their efforts are with us today and tell their own story.

From the Author's Note