Book excerpt: The Annals of Fulda are the principal narrative source written from a perspective east of the Rhine for the period in which the Carolingian Empire gave way to a number of successor kingdoms, including the one which was to become Germany. Timothy Reuter's translation of the Annals and his accompanying commentary is now back in print, making accessible in English the history of this east Frankish kingdom, which due to the paucity of available written material and the scarcity of secondary writings has been a relatively neglected area.The text covers the period from the last years of unitary Frankish rule under Louis the Pious up to the end of effective Carolingian rule in east Francia with the accession of Louis the Child in 900. It does not confine itself to high politics, but also includes much material of interest for social and ecclesiastical history. Drawing on the latest scholarship, Dr Reuter places The Annals of Fulda in their full historical context, pointing to those things the authors of the Annals chose not to record or could not know about, as well as exploring the fascinating insights that are offered by the material.