The Normans in Britain (Historical Association Studies)

by David Walker (Author)

• Used

  Paperback
  1995

  $4.65

  The defeat of King Harold at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 remains one of the major landmarks in English history, heralding the establishment of the line of Norman kings and their Angevin successors that ruled the country for centuries to come. The pattern of conquest and settlement in England is well charted, but the Norman impact in Wales, Ireland and Scotland has generally been analyzed within the limits of national history alone. In this overview of the Anglo-Norman period, David Walker examines Norman influences in all parts of the British Isles as a unified theme. The book opens with an explanation of the background to events in 1066, and discusses the successful military campaigns of William the Conqueror and his heirs in subduing Anglo-Saxon England and establishing political legitimacy and loyalty in the conquered realm. The author shows, however, that the experience of England cannot be seen as the model for the rest of the British Isles. England was a defeated country which the Normans could exploit at will, but in Wales and Ireland they were denied conquest on that scale and their tenure was frequently challenged. In Scotland the Anglo-Normans were the allies of the ruling dynasty, dependent upon patronage, not on force of arms. In each of these areas, the nature of Norman involvement was determined by the interplay between the political interest of the newcomers and the particular responses of the region. The diversity of the Norman impact is explored in all its aspects, from the government of Church and state, and society at large, to military and ecclesiastical architecture. This book should be useful for students interested in the complex nature of Norman conquest and settlement in the British Isles.