The Norman Conquest: The Battle of Hastings and the Fall of Anglo-Saxon England

I didn't realize until after I had finished Marc Morris's The Norman Conquest that I had done so shortly after reading another book about a pivotal battle in the history of a nation, Allen Guelzo's new book on Gettysburg, The Last Invasion (see my review here). In that book, as in every account of Gettysburg, there are countless subjects for speculation -- what Robert E. Lee was really thinking; how many effective troops the two armies actually had at their disposal; who really should get the credit for the Union army's retention of Little Round Top (and if that really mattered). But whatever questions may arise about that or any other battle in the American Civil War, the documentary record is immense. We know, for example, what Abraham Lincoln was doing on any given day, often on an hourly basis.In the case of the Battle of Hastings, an epochal event in the making of England, the amount we don't know is vastly greater than what we do. History in such cases rests on the slimmest of written accounts, which often contradict each other. At one point in his narrative, Morris compares such accounts with the visual depiction in the famed Bayeux Tapestry, and then quotes himself on some of the terms he used in preceding sentences: "seems"; "looks very much like"; "appears"; "as if." Though the battle took place was a "mere" 947 years ago, he has less to work with than even some ancient historians.And yet Morris's professed uncertainty gives us confidence in him. He is as attuned to the historiography of his subject as he is the primary source record, which he deconstructs in some cases and affirms in others, often through a process of triangulation. Though clearly intended for a trade audience, and written by a non-academic (Morris is a magazine writer and broadcaster), The Norman Conquest is a tour de force piece of scholarship.It took me a while to figure this out. I got a little impatient in the early going, which reviews a good deal of English history before and during the reign of King Edward the Confessor, a period marked by political instability and foreign occupation in a country where power was relatively decentralized. It was not until about a third of the way through Morris's account that we finally get to hear about one of the more intriguing events that culminated in the Battle of Hastings: Earl Harold Godwinson's unexpected sojourn with William of Normandy -- which apparently happened when the earl's ship blew off course and he found himself a lavishly feted hostage -- that culminated in the Harold's pledge to support William's claim to the throne of England. But upon the death of Edward in January of 1066, Harold of course later took the crown for himself (he clearly regarded his promise, made under duress, not binding). Harold fought off another claimant, that of the invading Scandinavian Harold Sigurdson -- the dreaded Harold Hardrada -- at the Battle of Stamford Bridge in September, and then managed to make it to the other end of England in less than a month to meet William at Hastings, a battle he came within a whisker of winning. Morris's account of these dramatic events is authoritative and fast-paced. It's also complete before the book is half over.One of the things that Morris explains in the remainder of the book -- which you can sort of infer but which he makes vividly clear -- is that however decisive it may have been, the Battle of Hastings was only the beginning of the Norman conquest. It was far from clear that William could actually subjugate the rest of the country, pockets of which resisted him for years. Once he did, he had to contend with outside incursions from Scotland, Wales, and Denmark, all of which he managed to fend off. Once he did that, he had to deal with challenges from within his own family. The sheer unlikelihood that he prevailed becomes increasingly remarkable. Before 1066, successfully invading England wasn't all that difficult. After 1066, it never happened again.The first half of Morris's subtitle is "the Battle of Hastings," which is the main reason why I (and, I suspect most other casual readers) picked it up. But it's the second half -- "the fall of Anglo-Saxon England" -- that's his real subject here. This is a book about a social revolution: a society whose law, language, religion, architecture and much else were transformed over the course of a generation. It wasn't a pretty process; indeed, William could be downright brutal, as in his notorious "Harrying of the North" in which he suppressed an uprising in Yorkshire by inducing a famine. Aristocrats and middling folk were stripped of their possessions, an expropriation codified in his legendary "Domesday Book," one of the most remarkable inventories ever created. But The Norman Conquest is not an account of unmitigated disaster; as Morris points out, the Normans ended slavery, reformed the churches, and took a less murderous stance toward defeated opponents than their predecessors did. In the long run, as he explains in a graceful final chapter, they laid the foundations for a hybrid state that proved remarkably durable and tensile.The Norman Conquest is a highly readable and substantial account of one of the most pivotal events in British history. It is a distinguished contribution to the annals of 1066 and deserves to have a long history of its own.- Jim Cullen: Review of Marc Morris's "The Norman Conquest: The Battle of Hastings and the Fall of Anglo-Saxon England" (Pegasus, 2013)

Cant wait to delve into this Norman Conquest book. Easy transaction, prompt delivery. There's a reason everybody depends on Amazon !!

I’ve been on an English history binge lately and of the number of books that caught my eye, this is one. The Norman Conquest was an event I’ve heard of. William the Conqueror is someone I’ve heard of. However, I’ve never really known the full story of this event and what a time of change the 11th century was for England. This book did a fine job covering all of this. You get background on what lead to the Conquest. William’s rise. What happened in England that lead to this all culminating with the battle of Hastings. Then the endgame. Rebellion. William’s rule. Domesday. Etc… There is a lot of info in this book and you’ll surely come away learning a great deal about this pivotal event and major players who were involved.My only con is the second half of the book is good, but not as good as the first half. A lot of interesting stuff happens during William’s rule after Hastings, but it’s like when you have a TV show. Amazing first season and everything after is good, but not on the same level. However, the author still did a fine job tying everything up.One last thing to add is I do want to praise the author. I think he wrote a nice unbiased book on this event and didn’t veer off into much speculation as we don’t truly know how some things really went down like the death of King Harold. While we do have sources covering these events, some are biased. Some are more negative. Some down right propaganda. The author did fine work weaving all of this together. Letting us know where there might be a bias, who may be more correct on how an event unfolded, giving credit where credits due, etc… Plus I like that he cited his source as he went along. So shoutout to the author!

Hallmarks of a quality presentation of history: the ability to create tension despite the reader already knowing the outcome, events and their impact told from ground level, avoidance of conjecture unless explicitly described as such, and encouraging the positing and examination of theories and how they might apply today.The author's writing style is confident, well-structured, and highly readable. He infuses his analysis with the all too human traits of his subjects, making millennium-past events come alive. Or, in simpler more amusing terms, he has me thinking "save the drama fo ya mama!" at the family dysfunction taken to extremes, from rebellion to assassination and the rest.For me, good history book storytellers present the options for our own interpretation. They give us the pros and cons, the various points of view, available facts, and then provide the conclusions they feel are most logical. This approach allows me to do the same. No spoon feeding here.Here's a thinker: did the English despise so much, did the vulnerability from the humiliation of being invaded and defeated run so deep that, for the next near millennium, they tried to defeat *that* by doing the same to any nation or group of people they were able in creating an ever expanding empire? Something fed the multi-generational mindset. Was the Conquest it?Morris does conclude that the long-term processes of invasion, conquest, rebellion, assimilation, and finally intermingling forever blur the cultural lines while birthing an entirely new one... which become our history. This has been and continues to be demonstrated time and again.Many of the historical actors in this play are direct ancestors of mine. Should be no surprise this adds a lot of fun in reading about everything from the mundane to the insane about them. :)

A good read for any history buff. The nature of the subject and the source material does mean it jumps around at times rather than following a strictly linear chronology and at times is a bit dry.I read this after first reading the authors book on the Anglo Saxons which I found more interesting and easier to read. However, if you want to know about English history this book should definitely be included in your reading list. It is extremely well researched and referenced and takes an honest, “tell it like it is” approach without embellishment (which is why it is at times a bit dry).

This is the second book I have read by this historian. I did, in fact, buy this book because I so enjoyed the previous one, AngloSaxons. I felt The Norman Conquest was a logical follow up and am enjoying it greatly. I shall continue reading other books by this author...

Really enjoyed this book.Great read for any one with interest in the history of England.An interesting view on the conquest.

Although I have read and enjoyed Marc Morris's other history books, I had been hesitant to read this one because I had read so much about the Norman Conquest both as an A level history student and also when I rekindled my interest in this period of history back in the early 1990's. On top of this, my interest in this period had seen me explore many of the relevant sites in Normandy. Over the years, I had read so many books about 1066 that I felt there was nothing new to learn. I therefore would have to say that, in a crowded and competitive market, Marc Morris has delivered the most thorough and lucid account of the Norman Conquest I have encountered. If anyone is new to this topic or wants to explore the subject beyond what they learned at school, Morris has delivered an account which delves back in to the unsettled politics of the 11th century to conjure up a vivid picture of the time which puts King Harold and William the conqueror in their true context whilst also looking at rather shaky political world in which William grew up. Other historians have explained the broader context of the period in England and Morris is not unique in going back to the reign of Cnut to explain the times. Pick up any French guide books from sites in Normandy and the picture offered by Morris can also be found there. Although the combination of these two strands provides an interesting narrative and offers a balanced perspective of the invasion that does serve as a "one stop shop" , I feel that Morris exceeds a lot of other writers by his account of the post-invasion world. Oddly, the account of the battle of Hastings is not dwelt over too long and this battle is not really given any greater attention than Harold's earlier victory against the Vikings at Stamford Bridge. Where the book gets really interesting is the analysis as to why any invasion with much as relatively small force proved to be so successful and why the English resistance was so ineffectual. This is something that I feel many other historians gloss over and Morris's decision to record this in detail certainly covers a lot of new ground that I have never encountered in other histories. I also like the fact that this author looks at his sources such as Oderic Vitalis and manages to put each account in it's own political context so that the reader is able to separate Saxon spin from Norman spin! It is fair to say that elements of the conquest such as the implementation of the feudal system and the Domesday Book tick the A level Economic history boxes but Morris offers a different spin, approaching these topics to look at the social and political aspect so that the reasons for the absence of English landowners is given as much attention as the Norman's gradual abolition of slavery , a over-looked fact of Saxon life. It is true that this book might be considered "populist" yet Morris is a good and rigorous historian. I don't agree with some reviewers suggesting he is pro-William but I feel that he is rightly critical of the ineffectual Saxon opposition. I would concur that the problems the Saxon aristocracy and clergy faced post-Conquest had a lot to do with their immediate actions post-Conquest. William's original intention was work with his Saxon subjects as was attested by the English witnesses to his coronation. In this book, you can gradually see how the political ambitions of the Saxon aristocracy and the greed of the mercenary Normans forced William in to the situation that had evolved by the time of the Domesday Book. Too many historians treat this as a fait accompli yet Morris , in ploughing through the detail of Saxon resistance, comes up with an entirely fresh and fascinating alternative. As good as the first half of the book is, the second , post-Conquest section is hugely compelling because the author addresses some questions that I have had for years about the Conquest and, despite being a topic I felt I had read everything I could possibly know, Morris looks at other Norman campaigns in places like London, Exeter , the Fens and Dover which have been overlooked by others. In his introduction, Marc Morris explains that he felt that too may historians of this period have kept "the best bit of this story to themselves." Having finished the book , you realise just how poorly so many historians have been in covering the period 1066-1086. For my money, this is the "go to" account of this period and if , like me, you secretly wish that the story might have a different ending with Harold victorious, Morris has written some very readable books about Medieval history in the past but I would have to say that he deserves a massive amount of credit for considering the invasion in far more details than any other historian. This is the best book I have read on this subject and a "must read" for anyone interested in English history.

I have learnt so much about this country and how we put up a fight to keep the normans out whereas previously I assumed we just rolled over. The author writes with such authority questions every bit of evidence there is only one word for him BRILLIANT.