Conquest and Colonisation

The Norman Conquest of 1066 - often described as the last successful foreign invasion of England - is one of the most famous and significant events in English history. William the Conqueror's narrow victory at Hastings was the prelude to the settlement of an alien aristocracy and culture that ultimately affected not only England, but much of Wales and Scotland. Its impact has been a matter of heated controversy since the seventeenth century: was the Conquest merely a continuation under new leadership of established patterns of government and society, or did it result in cataclysmic change? Certainly, the close ties thus established between Normandy and England were to influence Anglo-French relations throughout the Middle Ages, while the emergence of a new dominant establishment culture was indicated not only in 'high politics' but in such areas as language and architecture. Norman colonisation was a long process, hardly complete by 1100, by which time there were already strong signs of assimilation between colonists and natives, and a literature stressing a coherent and integrated Anglo-Norman state. After first providing an analysis of its political context and realisation, this book investigates the Conquest from a number of perspectives. It examines the dynamics of colonisation and explores the effect of the Norman settlement in a number of key areas including government, military organisation and the Church.

Beyond its central premise, the book can be read through the connected lenses of Nonfiction. Those themes offer useful points of attention as the characters, ideas, or world develop, especially where the book complicates the expectations of its primary category.