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A reissue of the classic guide to the origins, purpose and identity of the great castles of England and Wales, built after the arrival of the Normans. Castle studies have been shaped and defined over the past half-century by the work of R. Allen Brown. His classic English Castles, renamed here to acknowledge its definitive approach to the subject, has never been superseded by other more recent studies, and is still the foundation study of the English, and Welsh, castles built between the Norman Conquest and the mid 1500s. As the subject evolved, so too did this book, and for the most recent edition a considerable amount of French comparative material was added, though it remains essentially ...
With their flying arrows and familiar chain-mail the Normans not only conquered Anglo-Saxon England, but had an impact on the whole of Europe. Beginning as Viking raiders (`Northmen') who settled in Northern France in the late ninth century, this energetic and enterprising race established themselves as far afield as Syria, Italy, Sicily and Ireland in the course of the next three centuries. As a people they not only produced outstanding leaders, but were inspired exponents of all the social, political and cultural movements of their time, from monasticism to feudalism and chivalry, from theology and secular government to architecture. They showed an astonishing capacity for organisation, simultaneously absorbing and transforming the cultures of the peoples they conquered, scattering superb churches and castles in the lands they settled. Professor Allen-Brown tells the fascinating story of the Norman expansion. Fully revised edition. R. ALLEN BROWNwas professor of history at King's College, London, and founder of the annual Battle conference on Anglo-Norman studies.
Classic work assessing the impact of the Norman Conquest in European context. The introduction of Brown's book should be made compulsory reading- LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKSThe `English' who faced the forces of William duke of Normandy on 14 October 1066 were by no means a pure-bred and unified race, norwas the flower of England's manhood laid low by an army of self-seeking Norman opportunists. R. Allen Brown traces the forces and influences that shaped both England and Normandy in the decades before 1066, and shows how the new order, emerging from the aftermath of the battle of Hastings, produced a degree of political unity and social dynamism previously unknown in England, bringing a reinvigorated nation fully into the mainstream of the dynamic expansion of western Latin Christendom.R. ALLEN BROWN was professor of History at King's College, London and founder of the annual Battle Conference on Anglo-Norman studies.
Originally published in 1973, Origins of English Feudalism suggests that English feudalism has, for a long time, been the most controversial and thereby the most highly technical aspect of English medieval history. The book contains relevant sources that will be of use to readers and will allow them to study documentary, literary and archaeological sources from the medieval period. The debate over the establishment of feudalism in pre-Conquest England involves not only the question of the presence or absence of fief, but also of knights and cavalry, castles and vassilic commendation. This book will be of interest to academics and the ease of use and careful division of sources, will be of interest to students.
Articles fundamental to the study of warfare in England and Normandy in the 11th and 12th centuries collected here in one volume. The influence of war on late Anglo-Saxon and Anglo-Norman society was dominant and all-pervasive. Here in this book, gathered together for the first time, are fundamental articles on warfare in England and Normandy in the 11th and12th centuries, combining the work of some of the foremost scholars in the field. Redressing the tendency to study military institutions and obligations in isolation from the practice of war, equal emphasis is given both to organisation and composition of forces, and to strategy, tactics and conduct of war. The result is not only an in-de...
This annual publication covers not only matters relating to pre- and post-Conquest England and France, but also the activities and influences of the Normans on the wider European, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern stage.
A collection of the most significant articles in castle studies, with contributions from scholars in history, archaeology, historic buildings and landscape archaeology. The castles of the late medieval period represent some of the finest medieval monuments in Britain, with an almost infinite capacity to fascinate and draw controversy. They are also a source of considerable academic debate. The contents of this volume represent key works in castle scholarship. Topics discussed include castle warfare, fortress customs, architectural design and symbolism, spatial planning and the depiction of castles in medieval romance. The contributions also serve to highlight the diversity of approaches to t...
This is the second update of A Cumulative Bibliography of Medieval Military History and Technology, which appeared in 2002. It is meant to do two things: to present references to works on medieval military history and technology not included in the first two volumes; and to present references to all books and articles published on medieval military history and technology from 2003 to 2006. These references are divided into the same categories as in the first two volumes and cover a chronological period of the same length, from late antiquity to 1648, again in order to present a more complete picture of influences on and from the Middle Ages. It also continues to cover the same geographical area as the first and second volume, in essence Europe and the Middle East, or, again, influences on and from this area. The languages of these bibliographical references reflect this geography.