This is an introduction to the history of England and Normandy in the 11th and 12th centuries. Within the broad field of cultural history, there are discussions of language, literature, the writing of history and ecclesiastical architecture.
1066 is the one date in British history that every schoolchild knows. The victory of William the Conqueror over King Harold at Hastings, and the subsequent imposition of Norman rule over the whole of England and Wales, effectively marked the creation of the country as we know it today. A surprising number of historic sites from this turbulent period survive: battlefields, castles, churches, monasteries. Peter Bramley's beautifully illustrated field guide and companion to the Norman Conquest gives full details of both the events and the personalities associated with each of these sites, together with the historical background and the reasons for the end of Anglo-Saxon rule. Arranged by region, it covers England, Wales and Normandy, and provides invaluable information for anyone visiting or planning to visit any of the sites connected with the Conquest, as well as anyone interested in the history of this period in general.
`A wise, learned, gracefully written account of the Anglo-Norman world and its most remarkable chronicler.' SPECULUM Orderic Vitalis, born near Shrewsbury in 1075 and sent as a child oblate to the Norman abbey of Saint-Evroult, wrote one of the most vivid and important medieval chronicles. His world encompassed Shropshire in the aftermath of theConquest, Normandy in civil war and at peace, and, briefly, the wider French perspective of the priory of Maule. Saint-Evroult was open to all the cross-currents of a changing society, and Orderic witnessed fundamental changes inchurch organisation, patterns of aristocratic inheritance, attitudes towards knighthood, and Christian militancy towards non-Christians. This book is concerned with monastic life and culture and its interaction with the life of courts and Norman families. It also describes the life of Orderic himself, and an appendix gives a translation of his own moving account of his life, an epilogue to the Historia.MARJORIE CHIBNALL is a Fellow of Clare Hall, Cambridge. She has written many booksand articles about the Anglo-Norman world, including an edition of Orderic's Ecclesiastical History.
This book is an anthology with a difference. It presents a distinctive variety of Anglo-Norman works, beginning in the twelfth century and ending in the nineteenth, covering a broad range of genres and writers, introduced in a lively and thought-provoking way. Facing-page translations, into accessible and engaging modern English, are provided throughout, bringing these texts to life for a contemporary audience. The collection offers a selection of fascinating passages, and whole texts, many of which are not anthologised or translated anywhere else. It explores little-known byways of Arthurian legend and stories of real-life crime and punishment; women’s voices tell history, write letters, berate pagans; advice is offered on how to win friends and influence people, how to cure people’s ailments and how to keep clear of the law; and stories from the Bible are retold with commentary, together with guidance on prayer and confession. Each text is introduced and elucidated with notes and full references, and the material is divided into three main sections: Story (a variety of narrative forms), Miscellany (including letters, law and medicine, and other non-fiction), and Religious (saints' lives, sermons, Bible commentary, and prayers). Passages in one genre have been chosen so as to reflect themes or stories that appear in another, so that the book can be enjoyed as a collection or used as a resource to dip into for selected texts. This anthology is essential reading for students and scholars of Anglo-Norman and medieval literature and culture. Wide-ranging and fully referenced, it can be used as a springboard for further study or relished in its own right by readers interested to discover Anglo-Norman literature that was written to amuse, instruct, entertain, or admonish medieval audiences.
Fruits of the most recent research on the worlds of the eleventh and twelfth centuries are presented in this collection. It features several articles on textual criticism with important revisions to controversial texts and their readings, as well as pieces on cultural history, an investigation into monetary history, and analyses of the legal and political mechanisms of conquest. Contributors: MARTIN AURELL, NICHOLAS PAUL, ROBERT F. BERKHOFER III, STEFAN JURASINSKI, JULIE KERR, KIMM STARR-REID, TARA GALE, JOHN LANGDON, NATALIE LEISHMAN, ALAN M. STAHL, KENNETH PENNINGTON
Living through Conquest is the first ever investigation of the political clout of English from the reign of Cnut to the earliest decades of the thirteenth century. It focuses on why and how the English language was used by kings and their courts and by leading churchmen and monastic institutions at key moments from 1020 to 1220.
This volume focuses on phenomena, structures and constellations of power and rule in the 12th century from a comparative perspective. Comparing England and the Empire is a promising research project, because the Staufen and the Plantagenets ruled over more than one kingdom and claimed hegemony. Therefore, the divergence between legality and the demands of ruling over diverse lordships can be explored. The examples of extended royal rule in different constellations, treated by international authors, show how the practice of power and the structures of rule based on legitimate claims diverge.
The acclaimed biography of the eldest son of William the Conqueror, whose failure to secure the kingdom of England has overshadowed his role in capturing Jerusalem during the First Crusade. This detailed biography offers a reappraisal of the career of Robert Curthose, William the Conqueror's eldest son and duke of Normandy from 1087 to 1106, locating the duke's career in the social, cultural and political context ofthe period. Robert's relationship with members of his family shaped the political landscape of England and Normandy for much of the late eleventh and early twelfth centuries: indeed, even after his incarceration, from 1106 to 1134, his son William Clito (d. 1128) continued the fight against Robert's brother, Henry I. Twice driven into exile, Robert defeated his father in battle and eventually succeeded to the duchy of Normandy, although the throne of England was seized by William Rufus and then Henry I. For twenty years Robert successfully defended Normandy, developing policies to counter the vastly superior English resources at the disposal of his brothers. Robert's leading role in the success of the First Crusade [1095-99] also made him one of the most famous warriors of his age. He returned to Western Europe in 1100, a chivalric hero with a reputation that stretched from Scotland to Palestine. This bookreturns Robert Curthose to centre stage in the bloody drama of this period, a drama so often dominated by accounts from a royal and English perspective. Dr William M. Aird is Lecturer in History, School of History, Classics and Archaeology, University of Edinburgh.
This book uses Somerset as a case study to contribute to a broader understanding of how the Church developed across the British Isles during the transition from the post-Roman Church to the 11th century. It collates and cross-references all earlier research and offers the most up-to-date study of Somerset’s post-Roman churches.