Customer Reviews

William the Conqueror: The Norman Impact Upon England (English Monarchs)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

There is history written in the popular mode, and there is history written in the scholarly mode. David Howarth's "1066" is a fine example of the former--- wrong on many small details, but engaging, thought-provoking in its conjectural recreations of the personalities of men long dead. But Howarth's book suffers from some of the inherent bias of popular history: it pleads the case of the oppressed Saxons and fancifully fleshes out those things for which we lack concrete evidence, often to support the author's own overarching vision of these events.

David C. Douglas is not a prejudicial dilettante. He is one of those hard-nosed, dust-covered, meticulous, and magnificent English historians with the fortitude and knowledge to plumb countless ancient charters and other such arcana in pursuit of fact; in the hall of modern historians, he is in the brilliant company of A.L. Poole, R.W. Southern, Frank M. Stenton, K.B. McFarlane, and other such greats. His book on William is not a character study but a series of tautly-woven analyses of evidence. The problems and contradictions of these limited materials are discussed in the text, in the footnotes, in the copious appendices; and only once a myriad of possible readings of a given event has been mentioned (and referenced, should the reader wish to seek a cogent explication of a contrary thesis) does Douglas offer his own view of the matter.

This book is dense, difficult, slow, and laborious, but its interest is truth, understanding, and genuine illumination: it is not a flight of fancy but a History. People like this preserve the human past for the good of the human present and future. It is to the slow and patient scholar that we owe so much of what we actually know.

The rest of Douglas' oeuvre is out of print. How sad this is for the state of our knowledge on these subjects! Read Howarth and other practitioners of "popular history," that lesser art, for enjoyment, or for an imaginative return to the sights and smells of a lost time. But buy and read this book, and those like it, to be elevated to a greater state of understanding. "William the Conqueror" is a masterpiece.

If you are interested in the Norman history or in the Norman impact upon England or just simply in a very exciting ruler of the eleventh century, this is a must read. The book depicts the complex and vivid life of the eleventh century through the life of one of the greatest monarchs of the eleventh century. I was especially interested in the first two sections of the book: The Young Duke and The Duke in his Duchy. In this chapters you can feel the pulse of the life of this era. It is a very well researched book. Whenever you feel that there is a gap in the story it is instantly filled by the excellent footnotes or by the appendixes. Every question of mine, which were raised out of my mind reading the book, were answered within few pages. The excellent description of the battles is another adventage of the book. Anyway you can say thousands of words boasting this book but you had better read it. It is a real MASTERPIECE with real capital letters.

This book is organized into 4 sections: The Young Duke, The Duke in his Duchy, The Establishment of the Anglo-Norman Kingdom, and The King in his Kingdom. This framework is perfectly logical and helps bring understanding to the life of William the Conqueror, one of the pivotal figures of the past 1000 years. Going into this book I knew about the Battle of Hastings and the Domesday Book; I also knew a little about the struggles between Anglo-Saxons and Normans after the conquest. But I knew nothing about the subject matter of the book's first two sections. Douglas does a terrific job of providing historical context to William's career. He explains the Viking origins of Normandy, and it's relations with the Viking kingdoms, England, France, and the Vatican. These all prove to be vital relations throughout William's life. What surprised me is how much turmoil William endured within Normandy itself, not only during his rise to power, but even after the conquest and until his death. These turmoils include his illegitimate birth, constantly shifting alliances, and the rebellion of his son. I knew of his military prowess, but his political abilities sustained him as much as anything, and Douglas does a good job of illuminating these abilities, particularly during that critical period immediately following the conquest, when Norman institutions were put into effect in England. The book explains not just the Norman influence on England, but the sort of reciprocal relationship that came to exist between kingdom and duchy. The sections of the book concerning battles are very well done, and provide good details on the tactics, strategies, and terrains. The book has the usual appendices of family trees (which help immensely when trying to understand some of the political landscape). It also has a couple of interesting essays in the appendices, my favorite of which is intriguingly titled, "On poisoning as a method of political action in eleventh-century Normandy." In the end, I came away highly impressed with both the accomplishments of William the Conqueror, and the manner in which David Douglas conveyed them.

I noticed and purchased this book on pure whim, in one of those weird moods we sometimes enter when we want to learn about something of which we have absolutely no knowledge. I did absolutely no background reading, and simply jumped right in. Mistake? I think so. And yet I still feel as though I got a great deal out of this read. "William the Conqueror" is quite fascinating, it's a sort of English/Norman/French who's who in the late 11th century, and you get a great feel for the major players and their vacillating loyalties. On the other hand, there are periodic tangents (of biblical proportions, i.e. this duke married the slave girl of this count, whose mother was involved in the treacherous coup d'etatic plot of so and so, and so on for a while). Sans those occasional outburst of, truly, excess info - this is fantastic stuff. William was able to overcome (what I feel to be) more than insurmountable odds at the beginning of his rule to change the entire face and future of the English monarchy. We can only wonder what might Europe be like today had Harold been victorious at Hastings (he almost was!), and what impact it could have on us.

Sure, it's like, forty years old, but it still sets the standard in William the Conqueror scholarship. Here are answers, or at least well-phrased hedges about the most important questions surrounding William's life and conquests: Did William introduce feudalism to England or adapt existing social structures? Was his victory in the Battle of Hastings attributable more to the exhaustion of the English after fighting off the Norwegians or more to William's superior conquest? and so forth.

Douglas has read the primary sources in English and French (and Latin, and Italian, etc), he has read the secondary sources, he has, in short, done his homework. I mean, how many books have you read that have quotes from reviewers on the back that say, "the author has set about to self conciously create a masterpiece on the subject... and he has succeded."

The funny thing about this book is that even though it is supremely scholarly, it is also suitable for the general reader. Provided: that reader has either taken an undergraduate course in Midevial history or has done reading on his/her own on the subject. If you only read one book before this one I would recommend either Feudal Society vol. I by Bloch or the Making of the Middle Ages by Southern.

William the Conqueror overcame enormous odds and political challenges to succeed his father as Duke of Normandy and his cousin, Edward the Confessor, as King of England. Only by defeating the upstart Harold Godwinson in 1066 at the battle of Hastings was William able to claim his throne. From the moment he attained his majority to the time of his death, William was forced to defend his realm in both Normandy and England from multiple opponents. Despite this rather pressing distraction, William is credited with many non-military achievements, not the least of which is the eager and successful sponsorship of ecclesiastical reform and the completion of the remarkably extensive social survey, Domesday Book.

David C. Douglas has presented a substantial volume detailing the life and times of the Conqueror in admirable style. Discussing social, economic, ecclesiastical, cultural and military events with equal aplomb, Douglas brings the reader an in-depth, nearly digestable account of an epic era in european history. As can be expected of any comprehensive attempt at such a biography, recitation of the names, titles, landholdings and shifting objectives of various and sundry aristocrats, both clerical and lay, can send the reader into a bit of a fog. However, this happens seldom enough to allow this book's excellent formulation and pace to shine through. 4 stars.

David C. Douglas provides a scholarly analysis of the period leading up to the Battle of Hastings in 1066. He includes much detail on the complex kinship and political relationsips of the Norman, English and Scandinavian nobility of the period in both France and England. Gives a clear picture of the influence of William's policies and achievements on England after the conquest. Useful for Geneaologists and Historians. If you are looking for the details, this is the book.

This book on the life of William the Conqueror (ca 1028 - 1086 AD) was a college textbook for me. (...Which I read much longer ago than I'd care to admit.) I recently read it again, with a much greater appreciation of the quality and depth of Douglas's research and writing.

This work is a readable, well presented and interesting analysis of Duke William of Normandy's life from his early childhood as the bastard son of the murdered Duke Robert of Normandy, living precariously under the protection of various noblemen loyal to his father; through to the zenith of his career as the most powerful and successful ruler in all of Western Europe: noting the challenges he faced as he fought to maintain his position and power in his later years, and ending with his death and the impact he had upon England, France and most of the rest of Western Europe.

You will come away from readng this book with a much greater appreciation of William, and how his intelligence, courage, military and political leadership and ruthlessness enabled him to attain the pinnacle of European society and politics of the time, and forge a legacy that endures down to the present time. You will see how his success had a huge impact upon the development of Feudal society and institutions throughout Western Europe and England. You will understand the complexities of the political, social and religious institutions and relationships of the time, and will have a solid understanding of William's influence upon the leaders and personalities who helped create and lead those same institutions.

It's clear that Professor Douglas is equally comfortable with researching and explaining events and circumstances on both sides of the English Channel. He carefully avoids biasing the reader either for or against the English or French points of view on the life of this controversial man, and succeeds in providing a holistic view of William's life and the world in which he lived.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book a second time, and was impressed with Douglas's encyclopedic knowledge and careful use of original sources from not only in England and France, but Denmark, Germany, Rome and elsewhere in Europe.

My one reservation about the text is the lack of maps. Near the end of the book there is good map of Normandy and another showing Normandy and England. Yet, maps would have been helpful within the main text to give more detail about spatial relationships and movements at the scenes of battles or major events. Given that the book was written about 45 years ago, having two maps would be about average for that time, so I guess I won't put too much emphasis on this point. The charts showing the familial relationships and lines of descent of the Duke and his contemporaries in France, England and Denmark, and various other appendices, were very helpful and interesting.

Any student of History looking to learn more about the life of William and other great rulers of the time, seeking to learn about development of Feudal society and culture, or interested in learning about the foundations of Anglo-Norman society and impact of the Normans upon Anglo-Saxon England (following William's victory over Harold at Hastings in 1066), will find this book to be very informative and useful. On that basis; given the quality of Douglas's writing and research; and this book's enduring reputation within this field, I have no hesitation in rating this book as 5 stars: well worth reading!

David C. Douglas does an excellent job in his attempt to portray the events of William the Conqueror's life. He performs the task of drawing the many aspects of his life together in a very precise manner. The only drawback is that in some places the book's readability suffers from dense information. The amount of research done had to be tremendous considering all the information you come across in the book. I found the descriptions of the ecclesiastical revival in Normandy and subsequently England to be very fascinating. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about the life behind the legend that is William the Conqueror.

If you are interested in the history of Norman England, or the impact the invasion of 1066 had on England (and the world!), this is the book for you. While not the 'easiest' reading, this is definitely a book for those seeking details and full accounts of the life and times of the one known by his contemporaries as 'William the Bastard'. I would rank this book right up there with Dungeon, Fire, and Sword on like-ability! This book should be on every medieval historian's bookshelf!