"This book is about the economy of the Carolingian empire (753-877), which extended from the Pyrenees and the northern shores of the Mediterranean to the North Sea, and from the Atlantic coast to the Elbe and Saale rivers. It is the first comprehensive evaluation of the topic in English in over twenty years." "The study of the Carolingian empire as an economic rather than a political entity can be justified both because of the major interference of political authority in the economy, and because of the distinctive economic characteristic of growth; and while some regions within the empire had a much more developed economy than others, the whole period is basically one of economic expansion, in parallel with the cultural upheaval of the 'Carolingian Renaissance'." "This economic and cultural flowering raises the question of its causes - and of its limits. Moreover, this positive evaluation contrasts with the generally accepted idea of the Carolingian period as lacking in commerce and dominated by a purely agrarian economy. By contrast, this book aims to show not only the diversified agrarian roots of Carolingian society, but also their significance for manufacture, industry and commerce."--Jacket.