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NORMANS IN THE SOUTH, 1016-1130 Paperback
Purchase options and add-ons
- LanguageEnglish
- Publisherfaber & faber
- Dimensions5.12 x 0.98 x 7.87 inches
- ISBN-100571340245
- ISBN-13978-0571340248
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Product details
- Language : English
- ISBN-10 : 0571340245
- ISBN-13 : 978-0571340248
- Item Weight : 11.1 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.12 x 0.98 x 7.87 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #549,042 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #527 in Italian History (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
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Summed - this book is a good read. It is better than the sequel, The Kingdom in the Sun 1130-1194 where the limited focus on events and personalities on Sicily and lack of comparison with external world does make the bias too much strong.
The author is sometimes overtaken by his respect for world of Islam and, limitedly, Byzantium, and his deep suspicion of German/Imperial side of the story.
As all history has a sense of romance about it, details on the communities and habits are always worthwhile.
On the whole a great historical reference of the period and a must for travellers to the south of Italy.
Top reviews from other countries
John Julius Norwich visited Sicily himself, became fascinated with the history, couldn't find any accessible books in English, and so wrote one himself (and went on to write better known classics, on the Byzantines, Venice and the Popes). So he is deliberately telling a fascinating story in a readable way, rather than an academic history - which makes it a reasonably easy read. It sometimes shows its age (using Gibbon's Decline and Fall as a source) but his style means it has dated well.
It is perhaps not an absolute classic - it doesn't have the depth of knowledge and skill of writing of for example Runciman's 'Sicilian Vespers' (more recently, Tom Holland's Millennium covers this and and much more) . And it is quite long. But I would highly recommend it either for anyone interested in early medieval history, or planning a holiday to Sicily and interested in a fascinating period of its history.
Now this book and its successor, Kingdom in the Sun, have given me a burning desire to go to Sicily. I will still need to read each one twice more before I go but it will reward me with a deep understanding of the ancient history of this, the Mediterranean's largest Island. It helps that I have visited Constantinople and most of the Crusader forts in what are now Lebanon, Syria and Jordan but the anticipation of seeing the treasures of Sicily sends a tingle of pleasure down my spine.
If I have a gripe, and this is not a serious one, it is that the two books should be bundled together and it slightly annoyed me having to buy each volume seperately.
The book is a little ‘dated’ but nevertheless very readable. It has become a ‘classic’.







