Judith A. Green
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780197265871
- eISBN:
- 9780191772030
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265871.003.0013
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Early Modern History
E. A. Freeman’s History of the Norman Conquest was the work which he hoped would cement his academic standing and, at the time it was begun, finally secure a chair at Oxford. The work was initially ...
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E. A. Freeman’s History of the Norman Conquest was the work which he hoped would cement his academic standing and, at the time it was begun, finally secure a chair at Oxford. The work was initially conceived as a single volume which grew to five and an index volume. It exhibits both Freeman’s strengths and weaknesses: on the one hand his knowledge of the printed sources and topography of the sites discussed and, on the other, his stress on the Teutonic descent of the English, his over-readiness to see the present in the past, his narrow focus on political and constitutional history, and his overblown language. This essay explores the work in the context in which it was written, and its place in the historiography of the Norman Conquest.Less
E. A. Freeman’s History of the Norman Conquest was the work which he hoped would cement his academic standing and, at the time it was begun, finally secure a chair at Oxford. The work was initially conceived as a single volume which grew to five and an index volume. It exhibits both Freeman’s strengths and weaknesses: on the one hand his knowledge of the printed sources and topography of the sites discussed and, on the other, his stress on the Teutonic descent of the English, his over-readiness to see the present in the past, his narrow focus on political and constitutional history, and his overblown language. This essay explores the work in the context in which it was written, and its place in the historiography of the Norman Conquest.
J. R. Maddicott
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199585502
- eISBN:
- 9780191723148
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199585502.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Medieval History, Political History
This chapter traces the evolution of assemblies from the Norman Conquest to the death of Henry II. It shows that the Norman kings took over the Anglo‐Saxon institution of the witan, but transformed ...
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This chapter traces the evolution of assemblies from the Norman Conquest to the death of Henry II. It shows that the Norman kings took over the Anglo‐Saxon institution of the witan, but transformed it in two ways: by making attendance depend on tenure (those present were the leading tenants of the crown), and by demanding counsel as a feudal right, to which the lord‐king was entitled. It analyses the king's reasons for wanting counsel—it spread responsibility for major decisions and promoted political harmony—and the magnates' reasons for attending councils to give it. Though notions of restraints on the crown were very much in the air, promoted by the coronation charters which some kings granted at the start of their reigns, there was as yet no sense that councils were able to impose those restraints. But at the end of the period the introduction of national taxation was beginning to give rise to the need for magnate consent for taxes. This was to be one of the roots of parliament.Less
This chapter traces the evolution of assemblies from the Norman Conquest to the death of Henry II. It shows that the Norman kings took over the Anglo‐Saxon institution of the witan, but transformed it in two ways: by making attendance depend on tenure (those present were the leading tenants of the crown), and by demanding counsel as a feudal right, to which the lord‐king was entitled. It analyses the king's reasons for wanting counsel—it spread responsibility for major decisions and promoted political harmony—and the magnates' reasons for attending councils to give it. Though notions of restraints on the crown were very much in the air, promoted by the coronation charters which some kings granted at the start of their reigns, there was as yet no sense that councils were able to impose those restraints. But at the end of the period the introduction of national taxation was beginning to give rise to the need for magnate consent for taxes. This was to be one of the roots of parliament.
James Kirby
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780197265871
- eISBN:
- 9780191772030
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265871.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Early Modern History
One of the most striking features of E. A. Freeman’s life and thought is the contrast between the young Tractarian student of architecture and the mature liberal, even radical, historian. This essay ...
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One of the most striking features of E. A. Freeman’s life and thought is the contrast between the young Tractarian student of architecture and the mature liberal, even radical, historian. This essay explains that the transition from the one to the other was not a process of sudden conversion or rupture, but rather a natural development. To understand the crucial years c.1846–50, when Freeman’s thought was most in ferment, a number of his early, hitherto unidentified, publications have been tracked down, including his earliest published study of the Norman Conquest. From these sources, among others, it has been possible to reconstruct how his early medievalism and anti-Erastianism evolved into a general commitment to liberty, democracy, and republicanism, without repudiating the High Anglicanism of his youth. Though apparently idiosyncratic, this intellectual development was shared to some extent by a number of prominent Victorian liberals, not least Gladstone himself.Less
One of the most striking features of E. A. Freeman’s life and thought is the contrast between the young Tractarian student of architecture and the mature liberal, even radical, historian. This essay explains that the transition from the one to the other was not a process of sudden conversion or rupture, but rather a natural development. To understand the crucial years c.1846–50, when Freeman’s thought was most in ferment, a number of his early, hitherto unidentified, publications have been tracked down, including his earliest published study of the Norman Conquest. From these sources, among others, it has been possible to reconstruct how his early medievalism and anti-Erastianism evolved into a general commitment to liberty, democracy, and republicanism, without repudiating the High Anglicanism of his youth. Though apparently idiosyncratic, this intellectual development was shared to some extent by a number of prominent Victorian liberals, not least Gladstone himself.
Stephen Baxter
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199230983
- eISBN:
- 9780191710940
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199230983.003.0007
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Medieval History
This chapter describes the events which led to the fall of the house of Leofwine. It also concludes the book's treatment of the power of earls by showing how Eadwine and Morcar were deprived of it ...
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This chapter describes the events which led to the fall of the house of Leofwine. It also concludes the book's treatment of the power of earls by showing how Eadwine and Morcar were deprived of it between 1066 and 1071. They lacked influence at the Conqueror's court; their political alliances were smashed; they gradually lost their ability to exercise meaningful power in the shires and towns which lay within their earldoms; they were forced to cede territory and property to the Conqueror's followers; their family's network of religious patronage fell apart; and they proved unable to provide good lordship to their men. In short, all of the power structures which had supported the house of Leofwine between 994 and 1066 buckled and collapsed during the first five years of the Conqueror's reign, and this explains why the house itself eventually fell.Less
This chapter describes the events which led to the fall of the house of Leofwine. It also concludes the book's treatment of the power of earls by showing how Eadwine and Morcar were deprived of it between 1066 and 1071. They lacked influence at the Conqueror's court; their political alliances were smashed; they gradually lost their ability to exercise meaningful power in the shires and towns which lay within their earldoms; they were forced to cede territory and property to the Conqueror's followers; their family's network of religious patronage fell apart; and they proved unable to provide good lordship to their men. In short, all of the power structures which had supported the house of Leofwine between 994 and 1066 buckled and collapsed during the first five years of the Conqueror's reign, and this explains why the house itself eventually fell.
Sarah Rees Jones
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780198201946
- eISBN:
- 9780191746338
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198201946.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Medieval History
This chapter examines the relationship between the city and royal government. Prior to the Norman Conquest the kings of England never visited York and did not maintain a royal household there. The ...
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This chapter examines the relationship between the city and royal government. Prior to the Norman Conquest the kings of England never visited York and did not maintain a royal household there. The first three Norman kings attempted to rebuild the city as a royal capital in the north and the impact of Norman colonization has been underestimated by previous historians. The chapter shows that many features of the later medieval city were the result of re-planning under the Normans, who built a royal palace, endowed new monasteries and hospitals and turned the surrounding countryside into royal forest. This royal presence was not to last. The chapter traces its disintegration and the replacement of royal institutions of personal government by both national and civic systems of bureaucratic administration. The chapter also traces the resettlement of French knights in York as part of a process of Norman colonization through which northern barons controlled the county city. It then analyses changes in the patterns of aristocratic residence in the city through the next two hundred years, culminating in a new influx of royal administrators as York temporarily became a capital base for the Edward I and Edward II in their wars against Scotland between 1298 and 1336.Less
This chapter examines the relationship between the city and royal government. Prior to the Norman Conquest the kings of England never visited York and did not maintain a royal household there. The first three Norman kings attempted to rebuild the city as a royal capital in the north and the impact of Norman colonization has been underestimated by previous historians. The chapter shows that many features of the later medieval city were the result of re-planning under the Normans, who built a royal palace, endowed new monasteries and hospitals and turned the surrounding countryside into royal forest. This royal presence was not to last. The chapter traces its disintegration and the replacement of royal institutions of personal government by both national and civic systems of bureaucratic administration. The chapter also traces the resettlement of French knights in York as part of a process of Norman colonization through which northern barons controlled the county city. It then analyses changes in the patterns of aristocratic residence in the city through the next two hundred years, culminating in a new influx of royal administrators as York temporarily became a capital base for the Edward I and Edward II in their wars against Scotland between 1298 and 1336.
Stephen Baxter
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199230983
- eISBN:
- 9780191710940
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199230983.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Medieval History
This book constitutes a major reappraisal of the late Anglo-Saxon state on the eve of its demise. Its principal focus is the family of Ealdorman Leofwine, which obtained power in Mercia and retained ...
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This book constitutes a major reappraisal of the late Anglo-Saxon state on the eve of its demise. Its principal focus is the family of Ealdorman Leofwine, which obtained power in Mercia and retained it throughout an extraordinary period of political upheaval between 994 and 1071. In doing so it explores a paradox: that earls were extraordinarily wealthy and powerful yet distinctly insecure. The book contains the first extended treatment of earls' powers in late Anglo-Saxon England and shows that although they wielded considerable military, administrative and political powers, they remained vulnerable to exile and other forms of political punishment including loss of territory. The book also offers a path-breaking analysis of land tenure and the mechanics of royal patronage, and argues that the majority of earls' estates were held from the king on a revocable basis for the duration of their period in office. In order to compensate for such insecurities, earls used lordship and religious patronage to construct local networks of power. The book uses innovative methods for interpreting the representation of lordship in Domesday Book to reconstruct the affinity of the earls of Mercia. It also examines how the house of Leofwine made strategic use of religious patronage to cement local power structures. All this created intense competition between the earls of Mercia and their rivals for power, both at court and in the localities, and the book explores how factional rivalry determined the course of politics, and ultimately the fate of the late Anglo-Saxon state.Less
This book constitutes a major reappraisal of the late Anglo-Saxon state on the eve of its demise. Its principal focus is the family of Ealdorman Leofwine, which obtained power in Mercia and retained it throughout an extraordinary period of political upheaval between 994 and 1071. In doing so it explores a paradox: that earls were extraordinarily wealthy and powerful yet distinctly insecure. The book contains the first extended treatment of earls' powers in late Anglo-Saxon England and shows that although they wielded considerable military, administrative and political powers, they remained vulnerable to exile and other forms of political punishment including loss of territory. The book also offers a path-breaking analysis of land tenure and the mechanics of royal patronage, and argues that the majority of earls' estates were held from the king on a revocable basis for the duration of their period in office. In order to compensate for such insecurities, earls used lordship and religious patronage to construct local networks of power. The book uses innovative methods for interpreting the representation of lordship in Domesday Book to reconstruct the affinity of the earls of Mercia. It also examines how the house of Leofwine made strategic use of religious patronage to cement local power structures. All this created intense competition between the earls of Mercia and their rivals for power, both at court and in the localities, and the book explores how factional rivalry determined the course of politics, and ultimately the fate of the late Anglo-Saxon state.
Nicholas von Maltzahn
- Published in print:
- 1991
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198128977
- eISBN:
- 9780191671753
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198128977.003.0007
- Subject:
- Literature, Milton Studies
The final three books of the History of Britain cover the period from the Saxon invasions to the Norman Conquest. They have often disappointed students of Milton. Milton's position on the Saxons ...
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The final three books of the History of Britain cover the period from the Saxon invasions to the Norman Conquest. They have often disappointed students of Milton. Milton's position on the Saxons needs situating in the longer history of Saxon studies. His failure to achieve more stems in part from his characteristic response to the study of Saxon history as it had developed in the preceding century. This is the first subject tackled in this chapter, after a preliminary note on the date of the later books of the History. Milton's greater difficulties in addressing the complexities of constitutional reform in the 1650s are also explained. He is sceptic about the Saxons' religious and civil discipline. It is stated that the Milton of the History and poetry finds little to cheer in Saxon history and culture.Less
The final three books of the History of Britain cover the period from the Saxon invasions to the Norman Conquest. They have often disappointed students of Milton. Milton's position on the Saxons needs situating in the longer history of Saxon studies. His failure to achieve more stems in part from his characteristic response to the study of Saxon history as it had developed in the preceding century. This is the first subject tackled in this chapter, after a preliminary note on the date of the later books of the History. Milton's greater difficulties in addressing the complexities of constitutional reform in the 1650s are also explained. He is sceptic about the Saxons' religious and civil discipline. It is stated that the Milton of the History and poetry finds little to cheer in Saxon history and culture.
Loyn Henry
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197263952
- eISBN:
- 9780191734083
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197263952.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Medieval History
This chapter examines British research on the history of Anglo-Saxon England. There are about two hundred significant books and a thousand or so significant articles wholly or partly devoted to the ...
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This chapter examines British research on the history of Anglo-Saxon England. There are about two hundred significant books and a thousand or so significant articles wholly or partly devoted to the history of England between c. 450 and 1066 written by British scholars. One of the most pioneering works was Anglo-Saxon England by F.M. Stenton which covers the period from 500 to 1087. Other notable British publications during the twentieth century include The History of England from the Earliest Times to the Norman Conquest by Thomas Hodgkin and England before the Norman Conquest by Sir Charles Oman.Less
This chapter examines British research on the history of Anglo-Saxon England. There are about two hundred significant books and a thousand or so significant articles wholly or partly devoted to the history of England between c. 450 and 1066 written by British scholars. One of the most pioneering works was Anglo-Saxon England by F.M. Stenton which covers the period from 500 to 1087. Other notable British publications during the twentieth century include The History of England from the Earliest Times to the Norman Conquest by Thomas Hodgkin and England before the Norman Conquest by Sir Charles Oman.
Bradin Cormack
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- February 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226116242
- eISBN:
- 9780226116259
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226116259.003.0006
- Subject:
- Literature, 16th-century and Renaissance Literature
This chapter addresses the question of English legal nationalism by analyzing England's relation to France in terms of competing accounts of law French, the much-ridiculed professional language of ...
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This chapter addresses the question of English legal nationalism by analyzing England's relation to France in terms of competing accounts of law French, the much-ridiculed professional language of the common law. It argues that legal Normanism can best be understood as the historical and structural internalization of France in English institutional life and, indeed, in the English language. Legal humanists and common lawyers worked to overpower the potentially embarrassing implications of law French for English national law by relating the common law to an exemplary classical past and by remaking the Norman Conquest itself as its own reiteration and reversal in the Anglo-French wars of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The chapter argues that William Shakespeare's English histories draw powerfully on their own metadramatic resources to represent France as a continuous historical presence within England, a shadow jurisdiction to the centralizing royal authority they represent in the person of Hal/Henry V. As these plays argue it, national sovereignty, like the power of the stage itself, emerges as the hypothetical projection of jurisdiction in and through its alternatives.Less
This chapter addresses the question of English legal nationalism by analyzing England's relation to France in terms of competing accounts of law French, the much-ridiculed professional language of the common law. It argues that legal Normanism can best be understood as the historical and structural internalization of France in English institutional life and, indeed, in the English language. Legal humanists and common lawyers worked to overpower the potentially embarrassing implications of law French for English national law by relating the common law to an exemplary classical past and by remaking the Norman Conquest itself as its own reiteration and reversal in the Anglo-French wars of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The chapter argues that William Shakespeare's English histories draw powerfully on their own metadramatic resources to represent France as a continuous historical presence within England, a shadow jurisdiction to the centralizing royal authority they represent in the person of Hal/Henry V. As these plays argue it, national sovereignty, like the power of the stage itself, emerges as the hypothetical projection of jurisdiction in and through its alternatives.
Oliver H. Creighton, Duncan W. Wright, Michael Fradley, and Steven Trick
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9781781382424
- eISBN:
- 9781786943996
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5949/liverpool/9781781382424.003.0002
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Historical Archaeology
This chapter covers two areas: it provides a sketch of English society and landscape in the late eleventh and early twelfth centuries, and presents a year-by-year chronology of Stephen’s reign. At ...
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This chapter covers two areas: it provides a sketch of English society and landscape in the late eleventh and early twelfth centuries, and presents a year-by-year chronology of Stephen’s reign. At the point of Stephen’s accession to the throne in 1135, the longer-term impacts of the Norman Conquest on English society and landscape were still being played out. Ethnicity and identity in the period were fluid, and so mid-twelfth-century England was a developing Anglo-Norman state rather that a subjugated dominion. While ‘the Anarchy’ of Stephens reign is frequently styled as a civil war, the conflict was unusually complex and protracted, and involved more than two opposing sides. The period saw persistent asymmetric warfare on the borderlands of Wales, a succession of incursions from Scotland and Angevin invasions from across the English Channel, while a struggle for control of Normandy dominated the wider strategic landscape. The most characteristic feature of conflict during the period was an unprecedented series of internal rebellions, led by disloyal, disenfranchised or marginalised magnates and underlain by regional grievances.Less
This chapter covers two areas: it provides a sketch of English society and landscape in the late eleventh and early twelfth centuries, and presents a year-by-year chronology of Stephen’s reign. At the point of Stephen’s accession to the throne in 1135, the longer-term impacts of the Norman Conquest on English society and landscape were still being played out. Ethnicity and identity in the period were fluid, and so mid-twelfth-century England was a developing Anglo-Norman state rather that a subjugated dominion. While ‘the Anarchy’ of Stephens reign is frequently styled as a civil war, the conflict was unusually complex and protracted, and involved more than two opposing sides. The period saw persistent asymmetric warfare on the borderlands of Wales, a succession of incursions from Scotland and Angevin invasions from across the English Channel, while a struggle for control of Normandy dominated the wider strategic landscape. The most characteristic feature of conflict during the period was an unprecedented series of internal rebellions, led by disloyal, disenfranchised or marginalised magnates and underlain by regional grievances.
Teresa Webber
- Published in print:
- 1992
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198203087
- eISBN:
- 9780191675706
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198203087.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Medieval History, History of Religion
This is a study of the books of Salisbury Cathedral and their scribes in the late eleventh and early twelfth centuries. These manuscripts form the largest collection to have survived from any English ...
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This is a study of the books of Salisbury Cathedral and their scribes in the late eleventh and early twelfth centuries. These manuscripts form the largest collection to have survived from any English centre in the period following the Norman Conquest, and they bear witness to the energetic scribal and scholarly activities of a community of intelligent and able men. The author of this book traces the interests and activities of the canons of Salisbury Cathedral from the evidence of their books. She reveals to us a lively Anglo-Norman centre of scholarship and religious devotion. Her study combines detailed palaeographic research with a keen understanding of medieval cultural and intellectual life.Less
This is a study of the books of Salisbury Cathedral and their scribes in the late eleventh and early twelfth centuries. These manuscripts form the largest collection to have survived from any English centre in the period following the Norman Conquest, and they bear witness to the energetic scribal and scholarly activities of a community of intelligent and able men. The author of this book traces the interests and activities of the canons of Salisbury Cathedral from the evidence of their books. She reveals to us a lively Anglo-Norman centre of scholarship and religious devotion. Her study combines detailed palaeographic research with a keen understanding of medieval cultural and intellectual life.
Sarah Rees Jones
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780198201946
- eISBN:
- 9780191746338
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198201946.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Medieval History
York was one of the most important cities in medieval England. This original study traces the development of the city from the Norman Conquest to the Black Death. The twelfth and thirteenth centuries ...
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York was one of the most important cities in medieval England. This original study traces the development of the city from the Norman Conquest to the Black Death. The twelfth and thirteenth centuries are a neglected period in the history of English towns. This study argues that the period was absolutely fundamental to the development of urban society and that up to now we have misunderstood the reasons for the development of York and its significance within our history because of that neglect. This study argues that the first Norman kings attempted to turn the city into a true northern capital of their new kingdom and had a much more significant impact on the development of the city than has previously been realized. Nevertheless the influence of York Minster, within whose shadow the town had originally developed, remained strong and was instrumental in the emergence of a strong and literate civic communal government in the later twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Many of the earlier Norman initiatives withered as the citizens developed their own institutions of government and social welfare. The primary sources used are records of property ownership and administration, especially charters, and combines these with archaeological evidence from the last thirty years. Much of the emphasis of the book is therefore on the topographical development of the city and the changing social and economic structures associated with property ownership and occupation.Less
York was one of the most important cities in medieval England. This original study traces the development of the city from the Norman Conquest to the Black Death. The twelfth and thirteenth centuries are a neglected period in the history of English towns. This study argues that the period was absolutely fundamental to the development of urban society and that up to now we have misunderstood the reasons for the development of York and its significance within our history because of that neglect. This study argues that the first Norman kings attempted to turn the city into a true northern capital of their new kingdom and had a much more significant impact on the development of the city than has previously been realized. Nevertheless the influence of York Minster, within whose shadow the town had originally developed, remained strong and was instrumental in the emergence of a strong and literate civic communal government in the later twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Many of the earlier Norman initiatives withered as the citizens developed their own institutions of government and social welfare. The primary sources used are records of property ownership and administration, especially charters, and combines these with archaeological evidence from the last thirty years. Much of the emphasis of the book is therefore on the topographical development of the city and the changing social and economic structures associated with property ownership and occupation.
Charity Urbanski
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780801451317
- eISBN:
- 9780801469725
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9780801451317.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, European Medieval History
This chapter examines Benoît de Sainte-Maure's Chronique des ducs de Normandie and why it was commissioned by Henry II. It first compares Chronique des ducs de Normandie with Wace's Roman de Rou ...
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This chapter examines Benoît de Sainte-Maure's Chronique des ducs de Normandie and why it was commissioned by Henry II. It first compares Chronique des ducs de Normandie with Wace's Roman de Rou before discussing Benoît's self-conscious presentation of the history of the Norman dukes based on the belief that that God has orchestrated the ascent of the Norman dynasty. In particular, Benoît attributed the dukes' continued prosperity, especially that of Henry II, and the Norman Conquest as the products of God's plan. Benoît also devoted almost 3,000 lines to William the Conqueror, including his pacification of England. This chapter also considers Benoît's account of Henry I's accession to the English throne and his marriage to Edith-Matilda, the daughter of King Malcolm and Queen Margaret of Scotland.Less
This chapter examines Benoît de Sainte-Maure's Chronique des ducs de Normandie and why it was commissioned by Henry II. It first compares Chronique des ducs de Normandie with Wace's Roman de Rou before discussing Benoît's self-conscious presentation of the history of the Norman dukes based on the belief that that God has orchestrated the ascent of the Norman dynasty. In particular, Benoît attributed the dukes' continued prosperity, especially that of Henry II, and the Norman Conquest as the products of God's plan. Benoît also devoted almost 3,000 lines to William the Conqueror, including his pacification of England. This chapter also considers Benoît's account of Henry I's accession to the English throne and his marriage to Edith-Matilda, the daughter of King Malcolm and Queen Margaret of Scotland.
D. M. Palliser
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- April 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199255849
- eISBN:
- 9780191746871
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199255849.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Medieval History
York was devastated when the conquering Normans suppressed northern revolts, but it recovered quickly to become one of the largest and richest towns after London, a rank it retained until the ...
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York was devastated when the conquering Normans suppressed northern revolts, but it recovered quickly to become one of the largest and richest towns after London, a rank it retained until the sixteenth century. An account of the first century and a half after the Conquest emphasizes its complex society and economy, augmented by a new Jewish community, the largest north of the Trent (and despite a terrible pogrom in 1190). The townscape was transformed by new and more durable buildings, including a rebuilt cathedral (Minster) on a huge scale, two castles, monasteries, new churches, a circuit of defensive walls, and stone houses for the richer churchmen and merchants.Less
York was devastated when the conquering Normans suppressed northern revolts, but it recovered quickly to become one of the largest and richest towns after London, a rank it retained until the sixteenth century. An account of the first century and a half after the Conquest emphasizes its complex society and economy, augmented by a new Jewish community, the largest north of the Trent (and despite a terrible pogrom in 1190). The townscape was transformed by new and more durable buildings, including a rebuilt cathedral (Minster) on a huge scale, two castles, monasteries, new churches, a circuit of defensive walls, and stone houses for the richer churchmen and merchants.
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- June 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780804783620
- eISBN:
- 9780804784580
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804783620.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Early Modern History
This chapter concentrates on historical theory, in particular the perceived role of history as a preparation for government service by the political elite. Historical writing was centered on the ...
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This chapter concentrates on historical theory, in particular the perceived role of history as a preparation for government service by the political elite. Historical writing was centered on the actions of rulers and generals and the changes in political life shaped by war and peace. Historians should be veracious and unprejudiced, though few were thought to conform to the norm. The nature of the Norman Conquest was important to the political discussion. The histories of the Church of England and Rome played significantly in determining English political thinking. It is noted that Old and New Testament accounts were frequently employed to strengthen desired political beliefs and to controvert undesirable ones. Generally, the past played a vital role in the way the English thought about politics, political events, and the state.Less
This chapter concentrates on historical theory, in particular the perceived role of history as a preparation for government service by the political elite. Historical writing was centered on the actions of rulers and generals and the changes in political life shaped by war and peace. Historians should be veracious and unprejudiced, though few were thought to conform to the norm. The nature of the Norman Conquest was important to the political discussion. The histories of the Church of England and Rome played significantly in determining English political thinking. It is noted that Old and New Testament accounts were frequently employed to strengthen desired political beliefs and to controvert undesirable ones. Generally, the past played a vital role in the way the English thought about politics, political events, and the state.
Christopher Cannon
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199230396
- eISBN:
- 9780191696459
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199230396.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, Early and Medieval Literature
The centuries just after the Norman Conquest are the forgotten period of English literary history. In fact, the years 1066–1300 witnessed an unparalleled ingenuity in the creation of written forms, ...
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The centuries just after the Norman Conquest are the forgotten period of English literary history. In fact, the years 1066–1300 witnessed an unparalleled ingenuity in the creation of written forms, for this was a time when almost every writer was unaware of the existence of other English writing. In a series of detailed readings of the more important early Middle English works, the author shows how the many and varied texts of the period laid the foundations for the project of English literature. This richness is for the first time given credit in these readings by means of an innovative theory of literary form that accepts every written shape as itself a unique contribution to the history of ideas. This theory also suggests that the impoverished understanding of literature we now commonly employ is itself a legacy of this early period, an attribute of the single form we have learned to call ‘romance’. A number of reading methods have lately taught us to be more generous in our understandings of what literature might be, but this book shows us that the very variety we now strive to embrace anew actually formed the grounds of English literature — a richness we only lost when we forgot how to recognize it.Less
The centuries just after the Norman Conquest are the forgotten period of English literary history. In fact, the years 1066–1300 witnessed an unparalleled ingenuity in the creation of written forms, for this was a time when almost every writer was unaware of the existence of other English writing. In a series of detailed readings of the more important early Middle English works, the author shows how the many and varied texts of the period laid the foundations for the project of English literature. This richness is for the first time given credit in these readings by means of an innovative theory of literary form that accepts every written shape as itself a unique contribution to the history of ideas. This theory also suggests that the impoverished understanding of literature we now commonly employ is itself a legacy of this early period, an attribute of the single form we have learned to call ‘romance’. A number of reading methods have lately taught us to be more generous in our understandings of what literature might be, but this book shows us that the very variety we now strive to embrace anew actually formed the grounds of English literature — a richness we only lost when we forgot how to recognize it.
David Bates
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780300118759
- eISBN:
- 9780300183832
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300118759.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Medieval History
This book offers a reinterpretation of the life of a pivotal figure in British and European history. This book combines biography and a multidisciplinary approach to examine the life of a major ...
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This book offers a reinterpretation of the life of a pivotal figure in British and European history. This book combines biography and a multidisciplinary approach to examine the life of a major figure in British and European history. Using a framework derived from studies of early medieval kingship, it assesses each phase of William's life to establish why so many trusted William to invade England in 1066 and the consequences of this on the history of the so-called Norman Conquest after the Battle of Hastings and for generations to come. Taking an innovative approach, the book argues for a move away from old perceptions and controversies associated with William's life and the Norman Conquest.Less
This book offers a reinterpretation of the life of a pivotal figure in British and European history. This book combines biography and a multidisciplinary approach to examine the life of a major figure in British and European history. Using a framework derived from studies of early medieval kingship, it assesses each phase of William's life to establish why so many trusted William to invade England in 1066 and the consequences of this on the history of the so-called Norman Conquest after the Battle of Hastings and for generations to come. Taking an innovative approach, the book argues for a move away from old perceptions and controversies associated with William's life and the Norman Conquest.
David Bates
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780300118759
- eISBN:
- 9780300183832
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300118759.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Medieval History
This introductory chapter details the background context behind the making of this book, from the author's motivations and influences to the approaches taken in writing the storied history of William ...
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This introductory chapter details the background context behind the making of this book, from the author's motivations and influences to the approaches taken in writing the storied history of William the Conqueror. As well, the chapter dwells on the issues surrounding such a biography of William the Conqueror—William's life has always been, and will forever remain, a morally difficult subject. It brought about massive changes, but it did so at the expense of thousands of lives and was the cause of much misery. The chapter also sets out the framework for contextualising William's life within the Norman Conquest and the broader history of Europe.Less
This introductory chapter details the background context behind the making of this book, from the author's motivations and influences to the approaches taken in writing the storied history of William the Conqueror. As well, the chapter dwells on the issues surrounding such a biography of William the Conqueror—William's life has always been, and will forever remain, a morally difficult subject. It brought about massive changes, but it did so at the expense of thousands of lives and was the cause of much misery. The chapter also sets out the framework for contextualising William's life within the Norman Conquest and the broader history of Europe.
Patricia Skinner
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- May 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199646272
- eISBN:
- 9780191751493
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199646272.003.0006
- Subject:
- History, European Medieval History
Starting with a discussion of the essential components of medieval rule—access to resources, dynastic legitimacy, and the ability to enforce justice—this chapter surveys the history of the rulers of ...
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Starting with a discussion of the essential components of medieval rule—access to resources, dynastic legitimacy, and the ability to enforce justice—this chapter surveys the history of the rulers of Amalfi from independence to the incorporation of the duchy into the Norman and then Hohenstaufen polities. The impact of marriages between the ducal house of Amalfi and external ruling dynasties is considered, with particular emphasis on the duchy's fluctuating relationship with its Lombard neighbours and the apparent formation of a court circle in the late tenth century. The brief resumption of independence in 1096 is examined, as is the identity of Marinus Sebastos, the ruler at this point. The chapter explores the role of witnesses in supporting ducal candidates, and the development of the role of the judge and ‘good men’ in dispensing justice and providing continuity as regime changes occurred. Dispute settlement is explored in detail as a measure of ducal power and good order in the duchy, as is the opportunity for advancement under new rulers, particularly during the reforms of Frederick II.Less
Starting with a discussion of the essential components of medieval rule—access to resources, dynastic legitimacy, and the ability to enforce justice—this chapter surveys the history of the rulers of Amalfi from independence to the incorporation of the duchy into the Norman and then Hohenstaufen polities. The impact of marriages between the ducal house of Amalfi and external ruling dynasties is considered, with particular emphasis on the duchy's fluctuating relationship with its Lombard neighbours and the apparent formation of a court circle in the late tenth century. The brief resumption of independence in 1096 is examined, as is the identity of Marinus Sebastos, the ruler at this point. The chapter explores the role of witnesses in supporting ducal candidates, and the development of the role of the judge and ‘good men’ in dispensing justice and providing continuity as regime changes occurred. Dispute settlement is explored in detail as a measure of ducal power and good order in the duchy, as is the opportunity for advancement under new rulers, particularly during the reforms of Frederick II.
Oliver H. Creighton, Duncan W. Wright, Michael Fradley, and Steven Trick
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9781781382424
- eISBN:
- 9781786943996
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5949/liverpool/9781781382424.003.0010
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Historical Archaeology
This final chapter presents a self-contained overview of what the material evidence tells us about the twelfth-century civil war and its consequences. Issues with dating archaeological evidence to ...
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This final chapter presents a self-contained overview of what the material evidence tells us about the twelfth-century civil war and its consequences. Issues with dating archaeological evidence to the period in question mean that conclusions must be cautious, but it seems clear that the Anarchy is not obviously identifiable in the material record as a distinct ‘event horizon’. Archaeology has much more to offer us in terms of illuminating the conduct and psychology of Anglo-Norman warfare and in showing how lordly identity was being transformed through the period, and how it was expressed through castle-building and ecclesiastical patronage. Consideration of these research themes and others can help extricate studies of the twelfth-civil war from the ‘anarchy or not?’ debate. In conclusion: the mid-twelfth century is best regarded not as an age of anarchy but as an age of transition.Less
This final chapter presents a self-contained overview of what the material evidence tells us about the twelfth-century civil war and its consequences. Issues with dating archaeological evidence to the period in question mean that conclusions must be cautious, but it seems clear that the Anarchy is not obviously identifiable in the material record as a distinct ‘event horizon’. Archaeology has much more to offer us in terms of illuminating the conduct and psychology of Anglo-Norman warfare and in showing how lordly identity was being transformed through the period, and how it was expressed through castle-building and ecclesiastical patronage. Consideration of these research themes and others can help extricate studies of the twelfth-civil war from the ‘anarchy or not?’ debate. In conclusion: the mid-twelfth century is best regarded not as an age of anarchy but as an age of transition.
