This revised edition of the classic text of the period provides both the student and the specialist with an informative account of post-Roman English society. After a general survey of the main developments from the fourth century to the eleventh, the book offers analysis of: * social organization * the changing character of kingship, of royal government and the influence of the church * the history of settlement * the making of the landscape * the growth of towns and trade * the consequences of the Norman Conquest. The author also considers the various influences; British, Frankish, Viking and Christian that helped shape English society and contributed to the making of a united kingdom.
This book examines the late sixteenth- and early seventeenth-century engagement with a crucial part of Britain's past, the period between the withdrawal of the Roman legions and the Norman Conquest. A number of early modern plays suggest an underlying continuity, an essential English identity linked to the land and impervious to change. This book considers the extent to which ideas about early modern English and British national, religious, and political identities were rooted in cultural constructions of the pre-Conquest past.
This revised edition of the classic text of the period provides both the student and the specialist with an informative account of post-Roman English society. After a general survey of the main developments from the fourth century to the eleventh, the book offers analysis of: * social organization * the changing character of kingship, of royal government and the influence of the church * the history of settlement * the making of the landscape * the growth of towns and trade * the consequences of the Norman Conquest. The author also considers the various influences; British, Frankish, Viking and Christian that helped shape English society and contributed to the making of a united kingdom.
This celebrated account of society and economy in England from the first Anglo-Saxon settlements in the fifth century to the immediate aftermath of the Norman Conquest has been a standard text since it first appeared in 1962. This long-awaited second edition incorporates the fruits of 30 years of subsequent scholarship. It has been revised expanded and entirely reset.
Essay from the year 2005 in the subject History of Europe - Middle Ages, Early Modern Age, grade: 2,0, University of Birmingham, language: English, abstract: I. Introduction In the centuries before 1066 England had experienced a number of invasions from oversee. But none was as lasting as the Norman Conquest after the battle of Hastings. Although William the Conqueror claimed to be the legitimate heir on the throne of England and was interested in retaining English institutions and customs, the difference in culture and political practice was obvious. Thus, it is likely to assume that the installation of a foreign hierarchy in England could only be achieved with a great effort and was accompanied by certain changes. This essay investigates how profoundly changed England was through the Norman Conquest. Therefore, in examining the influence on major features of the Anglo-Saxon hierarchy, the investigation first focuses on changes in the English language and society, then on the Norman government in England and, finally, on the structure of landholding in Anglo-Norman England. II. Language and Society It often is assumed that the Norman Conquest in 1066 brought an immense change in the society of England. And indeed, there is some evidence for a foreign influence on people's cultural habits and everyday life. Thus, the status of the English language seems to be profoundly affected, as it was superseded by the Latin language in the years after the conquest. Latin, which had already been very influential before 1066, replaced English as the universal and official centralizing language in England. However, this is only true for the written language of the government records and literature. With an estimated number of at the most 10,000 Normans that settled in England as a result of the conquest and a native English population of at least 1,000,000 people , it is unlikely that the use of language changed profoundly for the majority of the native speakers after the conquest. Gradually, the new language was assimilated by the English language. It can, therefore, be argued, that the Norman influence gave "new life" to the English language by "releasing it from official constraints and then by enriching its vocabulary with numerous words derived from French and Latin" ; but it did not cause a radical change in the language's use or structure. This argument is confirmed by the fact, that, with the mass of people having problems to understand the new leading churchmen from the Normandy, a rapid production of collections of homilies and other religious writings in English was necessary during the years after the Norman
The series, planned to contain eight volumes, presents a supplement to conventional history texts with biographical sketches of about a page each. The entries are arranged chronologically, with similar classes of people grouped together to facilitate research on a particular subject or event. The treatment is appropriate to general readers or undergraduate students but refers to more specific and detailed material. The subjects include political and religious leaders, intellectuals, writers, and artists. Each volume is separately indexed. (See also following entries.) Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
