The 1066 Norman Bruisers: How European Thugs Became English Gentry

by Helen Kay

Overview

The fascinating story of the social evolution of William the Conqueror’s invaders and the generations that followed: “A great book.” —Medieval Sword School

The 1066 Norman Bruisers conjures up the vanished world of England in the late Middle Ages and casts light on one of the strangest quirks in the nation’s history: how a bunch of European thugs became the quintessentially English gentry.

In 1066, go-getting young immigrant Osbern Fitz Tezzo crossed the Channel in William the Conqueror’s army. Little did he know that it would take five years to vanquish the English, years in which the Normans suffered almost as much as the people they had set out to subdue. For the English, the Norman Conquest was an unmitigated disaster, killing thousands by the sword or starvation. But for Osbern and his compatriots, it brought territory and treasure—and a generational evolution they could never have imagined.

This book follows successive descendants as they fought for monarchs and magnates, oversaw royal garrisons, traveled abroad as agents of the crown, and helped to administer the laws of the land. When they weren’t strutting across the stage of northwestern England, mingling with great men and participating in great events, they engaged in feuds, embarked on illicit love affairs, and exerted their influence in the small corner of the country they had made their own. The 1066 Norman Bruisers represents both a fascinating family history and a riveting journey through post-Conquest England.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781526759399
Publisher:	Pen & Sword Books Limited
Publication date:	07/01/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	273
Sales rank:	613,338
File size:	8 MB

About the Author

Helen Kay has a BA in Jurisprudence and a PhD in English Literature, with a partial focus on Old and Middle English. She grew up in Windsor, where William the Conqueror built one of his many castles, but now divides her time between London and New York.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements vi

A Note on Money, Land and Names vii

List of Maps and Family Trees ix

Introduction 1

1 Winner Takes All 5

2 The Wages of War 21

3 An Undone Land 32

4 What's in a Name? 45

5 Family versus Flock 58

6 The Path of Chivalry 71

7 One Welshman's Head 91

8 Blade and Trade 105

9 On the King's Business 117

10 Floating in Blood 132

11 Illicit Amour 143

12 Cornered and Constrained 154

13 Black Smoke 164

14 An Unequal Contest 172

15 Venom in the Veins 190

16 The Double Legacy 202

17 Fortune's False Wheel 217

18 Ashes and Dust 230

Abbreviations 245

Notes 247

Select Bibliography 258

Index 261

Editorial Reviews

"...a great book, as it gives a different look at a well written about period of English history."

Medieval Sword School