And now for the 'real' story of William the Conqueror, without bias...
Written: Aug 01 '06
Product Rating:
Pros: Well researched and documented history.
Cons: Can be dry at times.
The Bottom Line: This is the most complete history of William the Conqueror to date, and I highly recommend it for those interested in the events of the eleventh century.
ivplay's Full Review: David C. Douglas - William the Conqueror: The Norm...
Reading David Howarth’s 1066: The Year of the Conquest (Read review here) left me with the feeling that I had not been told the whole story, almost as though I had just read the 'lite' and biased version of actual historical events. I went searching for a more complete, less biased accounting of the events of that pivotal time in English history and the research quickly pointed to David C. Douglas's tome, William the Conqueror: The Norman Impact upon England. Where 1066 contains obvious bias William the Conqueror often presents both sides of the argument (appropriately footnoted) followed by Douglas's analysis. Where Howarth took liberties recreating events and personalities, Douglas retells only what his vast research has unearthed. In short, William the Conqueror is the "Mona Lisa" to 1066's "Dogs Playing Poker". Both will give you reading enjoyment, but one should be taken quite a bit more seriously than the other.
William the Conqueror is a very well researched and documented account of the life and times of William the Conqueror. The book starts out with William's minority after he was elevated to Duke of Normandy, during which he was often in hiding or under heavy protection. Due to the feudal nature of Normandy in the 11th century, many relatives of the Duke tried to overthrow him or otherwise unseat him from power. As he comes into his majority, William begins the process of securing the whole of Normandy as his own. This includes many battles and sieges to overthrow rogue counts and the like, and William often inserts young and aristocratic friends into these positions, thus generating a loyal and ruthless following. The feudal system that William maintains in Normandy as well as the loyalty he generates during this time is critical to the success of his later conquest.
At around the same time England has a succession to deal with, as King Edward the Confessor expires without an heir apparent to the throne. The political intrigue and details of the various battles for the King of England are laid out very well, and the eventual turn of events is that Harold Godwinson (newly appointed King of England) is killed on the battlefield thus paving the way for William to rise to the throne after some pillaging and sacking of the countryside.
William the Conqueror goes well beyond the events of 1066, however, both before and after. This exhaustively researched and well footnoted book tells the story of Normandy before the conquest and England and Normandy after the conquest. William changed forever the society and monarchy of England, and this impact is well documented in this book. From his natural leadership ability to his ties to the Catholic Church, this book will explain how William came to power and was then able to hold together a kingdom and an earldom separated by a body of water, something that should have been downright impossible in the eleventh century.
William the Conqueror is not a book that the reader will finish in one sitting. The text is close to 500 pages long, full of footnotes and appendices. Each page must be digested thoughtfully, as this is not light reading by any stretch of the imagination. The information Douglas has unearthed is expertly woven together, and although this is a little dry at times the exercise is well worth the knowledge gained. I highly recommend reading this scholarly tome to anyone who is interested in the English history and how it was dramatically changed during the eleventh century.
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