"This work focuses on a wholly new, historically and physically credible explanation for this melodramatic discovery of Charlemagne's body by studying historical traditions and cultural contexts. Topics such as Charlemagne's legacy and Alfred Rethel's Karlsfresken, Sainte-Foy as an imperial effigy and as an apocryphal figure, and contexts for and the meaning of Charlemagne's Karlsgrab are all examined. "--Provided by publisher.