The English and the Norman Conquest
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The English and the Norman Conquest by Ann Williams
Most books on the Norman conquest concentrate on the conquerors, the Norman settlers who became the ancestors of the medieval English baronage. This book is different, setting out to examine the experience of the lesser English lords and landowners, which has been largely ignored. Ann Williams shows how they survived the conquest and settlement, adapted to foreign customs, and in the process preserved native tradition and culture. Though the great earls and magnates fell with Harold, some of their dependents secured a place in the entourages of their supplanters, or were too useful to the royal administration (based largely on English procedure) to be completely displaced; in the Church, too, a reservoir of English sentiment survived. The testimony of the Anglo-Norman historians who chronicled the Conquest, together with other evidence, including the Domesday Book (based on the English system of local government), are an important source for our knowledge of how the lesser aristocracy and the free landholders felt about, and reacted to, their new masters.Dr ANN WILLIAMSwas until her retirement Senior Lecturer in medieval history at the Polytechnic of North London.
Applies a critical and scholarly approach to a topic that has long commanded attention.. Williams's book represents a remarkable scholarly achievement. TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENTAn important contribution to critical re-examination of the effects of the Norman Conquest on English society and in particular its landowners...meticulously documented...an impressive depth of coverage...in a word, comprehensive. ALBIONThis study of the reaction of the conquered to their fate fills a significant gap in an admirable fashion... a book which will have a long shelf-life. HISTORYIn its treatment of ordinary English people the book is unparalleled in its breadth and scope. * SPECULUM *
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780851155883 |
| ISBN 10 | 085115588X |
| Title | The English and the Norman Conquest |
| Author | Ann Williams |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Boydell & Brewer Ltd |
| Year published | 1995-09-01 |
| Number of pages | 280 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |