Synopses & Reviews
This is an important new study of the impact of the Norman Conquest. It provides the first full explanation of how the English and the Normans merged to become the same people. The author draws on anthropological theory, the latest scholarship on Anglo-Norman England, and sources ranging from legal documents to romances.
Review
" Hugh Thomas has written a challenging and rewarding book on a fascinating subject ... Thomas has put us all deeply in his debt even where we disagree with him and his assumptions. His book will henceforth be the starting point for discussions of this fascinating topic."-- English Historical Review
"The English and the Normans is so rich with detail and challenges that no review can do it justice. Thomas synthesizes analyses of previous scholars while rereading the sources and, in doing so, reveals much about the process of cultural creation. It probably will not be the last word on the subject, but it should be central to the debate. If you study the period or any medieval ethnicity, you will want to have this book on your shelf and return to it often."--SPECULUM
Table of Contents
Part I: Theory and Background 1. Introduction
2. English Identity before the Norman Conquest
3. Normanitas
4. Ethnic Identity and Cultural Difference
5. A Chronology of Assimilation
6. A Chronology of Identity
7. Ideology, Prejudice, and Assimilation
Part II: Personal Interaction, Assimilation, and Identity
8. The Interaction of English and Normans: Methodological Considerations
9. The Aristocracy
10. English Women and Norman Men
11. The Peasants and the Middling Sort
12. Townspeople
13. The Religious
Epilogue
Part III: The Reconstruction of English Identity
14. The Defence of English Honour
15. The Image of England and a Sense of Place
16. Royal Government, England, and Englishness
17. The English Church, English Saints, England, and the English
18. Stereotypes and the Image of the English
19. The Image of the Other
20. The Intensification and Politicization of English Identity
Part IV: Identity and Culture
21. History and Identity
22. High Culture, Religious Culture, and Ethnicity
23. Language, Literature, and Ethnic Identity
Conclusion
Appendixes
Bibliography