Synopses & Reviews
This book is the first comprehensive account for twenty years of the interaction between English and Norman traditions and institutions following the Conquest.
The first century of Anglo-Norman feudalism saw the ‘rise of administrative kingship’ under William, his sons, and Stephen and Henry Plantagenet. At the same time the Norman lords came to treat old English traditions as part of their heritage, and the fighting knights of the invading armies took the first steps towards becoming knights of the shire. In examining how these changes occurred, Marjorie Chibnall shows how reform movements in the western church, increasing literacy in government, population growth and changing patterns of trade all played their part in shaping the Anglo-Norman realm.
Review
"Marjorie Chibnall has produced a concise conspectus which makes twenty years of historical research both accessible and intelligible to the general reader."
Times Literary Supplement "Essential reading for anyone studying the period ... throughout its length the book beams powerful shafts of light on many aspects of Anglo-Norman England." History
"This volume will be an ideal introduction for students; its examples will refresh many a jaded lecture course; and for specialists it will be a continuing point of reference." History and Archaeology
"This outstanding work is now reissued in the full-colour livery of the Blackwell series." A History of Medieval Britain
Synopsis
This book is the first comprehensive account for twenty years of the interaction between English and Norman traditions and institutions following the Conquest.
The first century of Anglo-Norman feudalism saw the ‘rise of administrative kingship’ under William, his sons, and Stephen and Henry Plantagenet. At the same time the Norman lords came to treat old English traditions as part of their heritage, and the fighting knights of the invading armies took the first steps towards becoming knights of the shire. In examining how these changes occurred, Marjorie Chibnall shows how reform movements in the western church, increasing literacy in government, population growth and changing patterns of trade all played their part in shaping the Anglo-Norman realm.
Synopsis
Historians have long debated the significance of the Norman Conquest. Did it mark the imposition of an alien and repressive regime on "free Englishmen"? Or did England benefit from the uniting of two separate and disparate cultures and civilizations? Marjorie Chibnall, one of the leading historians of the period, here addresses these issues.
About the Author
Marjorie Chibnall is a Fellow of Clare Hall, Cambridge. Her previous publications include The World of Orderic Vitalis (1984) and The Empress Matilda (Blackwell 1991, paperback edition 1993)
Table of Contents
List of Maps.
Preface.
Introduction.
Part I: Conquest and Settlement:.
1. The First Phases of Conquest.
2. The Moving Frontiers.
3. Settlement and Succession..
Part II: Wealth and Government:.
4. From Doomsday Book to the Pipe Rolls.
5. The Wealth of England.
Part III: Law and Society:.
6. Towards a Common Law.
7. Serfdom and Villeinage: the Manorial Courts.
8. Canon Law and the Church Courts.
9. Normans and English.
Epilogue.
Appendix 1: Claimants to the English Throne 1066-1100.
Appendix 2: The Ancestors of Henry II.
Further Reading.
Bibliography of Abbreviated Titles.
Index.