Christopher Lee -- the actor with the magnificent voice who starred as Dracula in all those Hammer films, and who younger audiences will recognize as Saruman the White from Lord of the Rings and Count Dooku from Star Wars -- has produced a "symphonic metal music" album entitled Charlemagne: By the Sword and the Cross. This concept album was composed by Marco Sabiu and written by Marie-Claire Calvet, and tells the story of the great king looking back at his life on his deathbed. It is available today.

Of course I had to buy it. It's about Charlemagne, after all. And I could definitely stand to listen to Christopher Lee's voice for an hour or so. I can honestly say I'm not sorry I did.

Far and away the best thing about the album is Lee's performance. Now that he's in his 80s, his voice doesn't have the clarity it once had, but it still has extraordinary power and depth. The narration by his daughter, Christina, is quite good. The music is listenable, although there isn't a single track I felt compelled to listen to again, and some of the melodies stay with you. And, miracle of miracles, the content is historically accurate. I don't want Mr. Lee thinking I doubted his and his associates' ability to pull together an accurate portrayal of a medieval figure; it's just that I'm so used to popular culture falling short that it's a delightful surprise when somebody gets it right.

Unfortunately, although the lyrics were interesting as well as factual, they lacked poetry; and while the music was enjoyable, it wasn't as exciting as I'd anticipated. Of course, this is only my own personal opinion; music critics who know more about these things will probably think differently. I'm simply an extreme history enthusiast, and as such I can only tell you that, yes, Charlemagne did have trouble with his brother Carloman in the early years of his reign; and yes, according to Einhard he was betrayed by the Gascons on his Spanish expedition; and yes, he did have more than 4000 Saxons brutally executed when they refused to convert to Christianity.

More about Charlemagne: By the Sword and the Cross can be found at Christopher Lee's Website; samples can be found at his Myspace page; and you should be able to find the album for sale on CD or as an mp3 download at your favorite online music store.

Will you get Lee's album? Have you listened to any of it yet? What do you think of it? Let me know in the comments section.

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Actually, he may have been a few years younger or older; it is uncertain when Einhard was born. But we do know that this contemporary and friend of Charlemagne, who witnessed many of the significant events of the late 8th and early 9th centuries and wrote the great king's biography, died on March 14, 840 C.E.

See what else took place on March 14th in medieval times through our This Date in Medieval History resource.

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Born into a Roman senatorial family, Felix III was a widower with two children when he was elected to succeed Pope Simplicius. Once pope, Felix had to deal with a controversy over Monophysitism that led to the Acacian Schism. The papacy of Felix III began on March 13, 483.

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Archaeologists working at Prague Castle have unearthed portions of a rampart which dates to the 10th or 11th century and part of a moat that may date as far back as the 9th century. Jana Marikova-Kubkova of the Archaeological Institute of the Academy of Science informed journalists that an unusual illustration of the castle's buildings had also been discovered, calling it "the first find of this type in Prague." Find out more in the item at Czech-Netz.com.

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