Product Description

The history of the Normans began a long time before 1066. Originating from the ‘Norsemen’ they were one of the most successful warrior tribes of the Dark Ages that came to dominate Europe from the Baltic Sea to the island of Sicily and the borders of Eastern Europe. Beginning as Viking raiders in the eighth century, the Normans not only changed the landscape of Europe but were changed by their new conquests. As a military force they became unstoppable; as Conqerors, they established their own kingdom in Normandy from where they set out on a number of devastating campaigns, where they also introduced innovations in politics, architecture and culture. In A Brief History of the Normans Leading French historian, Francois Neveux, gives an accessible and authorative introduction.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #332091 in Books
• Published on: 2008-05-29
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

About the Author
Francois Neveux is the leading medieval historian in France and has written numerous books on the Normans. He is the Professor of History at Caen University.

Customer Reviews

Enjoyable if a little partisan
The Normans dominated Europe from 1000AD to around 1250. This book tells the story of their rise from raiders to statesmen. The first section of the book, detailing the comings and goings of viking raiders I found heavy going; but once the "Norsemen" become "Normans", it is compelling and fast paced.

The book is translated from French and shows a strong pro-Norman bias. For example, the author strongly asserts that Edward the Confessor definitely named William (the Conqueror) as his successor and that this was affirmed by Harold. I have read other histories of the period which dispute this - equally sure it was not the case. The book also glosses over the devastation that William brought to parts of England (for example the harrying of the north), more-or-less saying that William wanted to be a "nice" king but the ungrateful and rebellious English wouldn't let him !.

However, these are fairly minor points in an otherwise enjoyable and interesting read.

Could have been better
There are many British (and American) "popular" history writers who can produce a good "read". Foreign writers without English as their primary language are at the mercy of their translators. Often I find the resulting works to be somewhat flat. Maybe it is the original work being translated unsympathetically missing the nuances of the original, or maybe it was just a dull work to start with, faithfully translated.

Some parts of this book are interesting. In others the writer seems to get bogged down in ecclesiastical trivia, interesting to an "academic" historian maybe but deadly dull to the average reader. Three stars.