Le vicende della dinastia normanna ricostruite a partire dalla conquista dell'Inghilterra in seguito alla battaglia di Hastings nel 1066, in cui Guglielmo il Conquistatore sconfisse Aroldo II e impresse un nuovo corso alla storia europea, determinando un maggior coinvolgimento inglese nelle vicende della Francia, destinato a durare cinquecento anni. I Normanni governarono con mano salda, costruirono castelli e chiese, furono temibili guerrieri. Alla morte di Guglielmo seguirono una guerra civile e continue tensioni fra Francia e Inghilterra, fino a un breve periodo di pace durante il regno di Enrico I. Il regno di Stefano di Blois, infine, vide divampare la guerra civile e l'anarchia e segnò l'eclisse della dinastia.

This is a solid and accessible overview of the Norman rulers of England: from the first appearance of their Viking ancestors in northwest France, to William's conquest of England in 1066, to the death of Stephen in 1154. There were some small interpretations of character that one might quibble with, and at least one odd error that I caught (Crouch says that Marie of Boulogne "died in 1182 without issue" (282), but she had two daughters by Mathieu of Alsace), but this is a good introduction to the political history of eleventh- and twelfth-century England. I particularly appreciated the fact that Crouch didn't ignore the contributions of women to the politics of the age, even though I think that he's too influenced by Duby's ideas of patrilineage (For instance, I don't know how much someone in the twelfth century would have agreed that Henry FitzEmpress was "all too obviously not a Norman but a proud member of another lineage, that of the Angevins" (289) just because his descent was in the female line.) ( )