A Companion to the Anglo-Norman World [Hardcover]

Christopher Harper-Bill (Editor), Elisabeth van Houts (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 31, 2002 | ISBN-10: 0851156738 | ISBN-13: 978-0851156736

With its wealth of information and skilful display, the book is a very useful companion for any traveller through this crowded territory. ENGLISH HISTORICAL REVIEW By the time of the Conquest, the Normans had been established in Normandy for over a hundred and fifty years. They had transformed themselves from pagan Northmen into Christian princes; their territories extended from England, southern Italy and Sicily to distant Antioch, and their influence had spread throughout western Europe and the Mediterranean. Duke William's victory at Hastings and the resulting Anglo-Norman union brought England into the mainstream of European history and culture, with far-reaching consequences for Western civilisation. These specially commissioned studies are concerned with the achievements of the cross-Channel realm. They make a major contribution to an understanding of the hundred years that witnessed great change and major developments in English and Norman government and society. There are surveys of the two constituent parts, of Normandy under the Angevin kings, of the place of kingdom and duchy in the politics and culture of the North Sea, and of the parallel Norman achievement in the Mediterranean. There are overviews both of secular administration and of the church, and a study of 'feudalism' and lordship. Within the broad field of cultural history, there are discussions of language, literature, the writing of history, and ecclesiastical architecture. Contributors LESLEY ABRAMS, MATTHEW BENNETT, MARJORIE CHIBNALL, CHRISTOPHER HARPER-BILL, ELISABETH VAN HOUTS, EMMA MASON, RICHARD PLANT, CASSANDRA POTTS, DANIEL POWER, IAN SHORT, ANN WILLIAMS.

Editorial Reviews

Review

With its wealth of information and skilful display, the book is a very useful companion for any traveller through this crowded territory. ENGLISH HISTORICAL REVIEW Interesting and varied collection. HISTORY A richly valuable source of knowledge. MEDIUM AEVUM

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Boydell Press (October 31, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0851156738
• ISBN-13: 978-0851156736
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,870,934 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent introduction to & overview of the subject, October 11, 2005

By 

Michael K. Smith (South Louisiana) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: A Companion to the Anglo-Norman World (Hardcover)

Publishing in Anglo-Norman studies has grown tremendously in the past thirty years, since the Norman Conquest was introduced as a special subject at the University of London, and the editors conceived this anthology as an overview of the present state of the field, with emphasis on topics in politics and culture - and not much at all on military matters, covered in detail by the essays in Strickland's Anglo-Norman Warfare (1992), to which this might be considered a companion volume. The eleven contributors, all well-known specialists, include Marjorie Chibnall on "Feudalism and Lordship" and Lesley Abrams on "England, Normandy and Scandinavia," both of which are excellent. Elisabeth van Houts's survey of historical writing is also very useful.