Customer Reviews

The Norman Conquest of Southern Italy and Sicily

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a fascinating account of how a group of Normans found their way to southern Italy at about the same time as another group was conquering England, and within half a century had prevailed over Lombards, Saracens, Byzantium, and the Papacy to establish themselves as the dominant power in the region. A little-known story, which should be of interest to history buffs, anyone wanting to know about Italy's past, and those wondering where blue-eyed Sicilians come from. Well-researched, but the scholarship does not get in the way of the text. Eminently readable.

This book is well written and interesting throughout. This is how history should be written, not dry and uninspirational but alive and dynamic - things happen in this book. No stagnant and uninteresting analysis of history here!

The topic of this book is the Norman conquest of the south of Italy, a subject that I did not know at all before I picked up this book. It gives you insight on the middle ages and debunks the traditional (and false) idea that Europe in the middle ages was a complete uncultured and chaotic place. The civilization founded by the Normans in the south of Italy was both advanced and thrived for many years.

Great stuff. Anyone with a bit of interest in history should find out about this little known epic undertaking by the Normans.

This is an excellent book written with great clarity by a non-expert. Although the author only deals with the political aspects of the Norman conquest of the region, he writes in such a way as to make the major characters of this period come alive. He ignores the social and cultural aspects (which are fascinating of themselves), but in his own area he is outstanding as he explains the shifting politics of the region. He argues that the Norman superiority on the battlefield was not just due to their mounted charge but the oft ignored fact that they exhibited great discipline on the battlefield with the ability to make difficult tactical shifts of bodies of knights.

The book has very good footnotes, an excellent bibliography, and maps that can even be read on the kindle.

Gordon Brown has written an excellent book covering a subject which most Americans, I suspect, are unaware of. Most of us have heard something about the Norman Conquest of England in 1066; William the Conqueror and the Battle of Hastings are at least somewhat familiar, if only in name. What's not widely known or appreciated is that men from the same area, Normandy, at about the same time traveled down to Southern Italy and ended up ruling it after a more protracted struggle that spanned a couple of generations. Mr. Brown's book is short but rich in detail and dense with information, and for a reader of popular history this book presents a well researched and compelling introduction to the subject. His focus, rightly in my opinion, is on the truly amazing family, literally a band of brothers, that played an integral part in the second Norman conquest, the Hautevilles. Indeed, no history of this period and that location in Italy, and in fact European history of that age in general, would be complete without accounting for their exploits.

The only minor quibble I have with Mr. Brown is his projection forward of the positive aspects of those conquerors. In truth, the Norman Kingdom of Sicily only lasted about 65 years in total. After the death of the last king of Sicily who could claim descent from the Hautevilles, the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II - who was only half Norman through his mother - the Kingdom fell on hard times due to despotism and neglect from its subsequent rulers, in turn the French and then the Spanish, who misruled and essentially plundered the Kingdom until Italy was finally unified in the 19th century.

Readers who are interested in this, to me, fascinating era, are invited to peruse Lord Norwich's more thorough, much longer, and some say fanciful book on the subject "The Normans in Sicily," also available on Amazon. But for anyone with the slightest interest in a remarkable group of men in a remarkable period, this is a superb introduction which stands quite well on its own.

Being of Norman extraction I was engrossed! Before the Norman Conquest of Britain, the Normans were busy in Southern Italy and Sicily. If Normans are in fact "recycled Vikings" it is clear that they knew what they were doing as part of their heritage.

This is a great book but you must be a history freak to appreciate it. Since I am, and was lacking in information about the Normans in this area, it was very illuminating. My friends say I am boring since I read books like this so be aware that you might become boring too!

An accessible account of the Norman occupation and settlement of southern Italy. Gordon does a fantastic job ensuring that this important slice of history and the story of the Hauteville's is highly readable and entertaining while academically sound.

This short history is a well written general guide to the period. It provides a general program of events for anyone who wishes to study this particular episode of Italian or European history. The "other" Norman experiment in conquest and governance deserves more attention than it gets, especially in our current era of ethnic and relegious conflict. Useful and informative.

Great book, gives interesting information about the (Viking) Norman knights'

appearance in Southern Italy, (starting about the time of William's conquest of

Britain, 1266) and their conquest of the area where my family migrated from in

SouthEastern Italy, to New York almost 100 years ago.