Who's Who in Early Medieval England: 1066-1272 (Who's Who in British History) [Hardcover]

Christopher Tyerman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2001 | Series: Who's Who in British History

This volume begins with William the Conqueror, illegitimate son of Robert "the Devil" and first of the Norman Kings of England; and continues through Hereward the Wake, the celebrated outlaw and symbol of anti-French sentiment; the martyr Thomas Becket; and Aaron of York, "the Croesus of thirteenth-century England," brought down by an establishment hostile to Jews.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Highly recommended for all history lovers, students - and indeed historical novelists -- Sarah Broadhurst The Bookseller An eminently readable collection of biographical essays. Good Book Guide --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Christopher Tyerman is a Research Fellow and lecturer at the University of Oxford. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and won the Society's Alexander Prize Medal in 1981. His previously published work, England and the Crusades 1095-1588 (University of Chicago Press, 1988), has now appeared in paperback. He has also contributed reviews, articles and essays to various publications. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 448 pages
• Publisher: Stackpole Books; 1st edition (September 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811716376
• ISBN-13: 978-0811716376
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,474,965 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fine schematic of a strange society at work, December 18, 2008

By 

Robert Fripp "RobertFripp.ca/" (Toronto, ON) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Who's Who in Early Medieval England: 1066-1272 (Who's Who in British History) (Hardcover)

I attest that the copy on the back flap is correct: "...entries of the subjects are placed in the contexts of their time and the chronological arrangements foster a sense of intimacy and narrative, allowing readers to read...from cover to cover and to gain new insights into the particular era's history." Let's underline that reference to "intimacy and narrative". I have only read this single volume from a series of eight. However, after reading Christopher Tyerman's essays in "Who's Who in Early Medieval England..." it is clear that he has a gift for condensing factual information (one might say distilling it) while laying bare the family, social, political and military networks that fashioned this strangest, most brutal, most religious of times.

Alliances were everything. Never forget the meaning of "alliance" in its medieval context: it signified a wedding ring. If Tyerman seems surprisingly detailed in showing who was related to whom, and to what degree, it is because he understands the intricate systems of alliances and hostilities (hatreds, envies and resentments) lubricating the workings of a crazed age. Had the author strayed a few degrees off course this tome could have been pedantic, but it is not. Networks and their obligations drove the restless, mad, often violent, sometimes compassionate feudal machine, and Tyerman demonstrates his fluent command of how wheels within wheels went to work. "Who's Who in Early Medieval England..." occasionally seems to combine the essences of The Plantagenet Chronicles and a sort of medieval People magazine. This is a very effective book.

Robert Fripp, author of
"Power of a Woman. Memoirs of a turbulent life: Eleanor of Aquitaine"