William the Conqueror : the bastard of Normandy / Peter Rex.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Rex, Peter, 1930-2012.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

William I, King of England, 1027 or 1028-1087.

William.

Great Britain--Kings and rulers--Biography.

Great Britain.

Kings and rulers.

Great Britain--History--William I, 1066-1087.

History.

Normandy (France)--History--To 1515.

Normandy (France).

Genre:

Biographies.

Biographie.

Physical Description:

288 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (chiefly color), maps (some color) ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Stroud : Amberley, 2011.

Summary:

"Of Franco-Scandinavian descent through his father, Duke Robert 'the Magnificent', William the Conqueror's life is set against his true background, the turbulent Norman Duchy which, even after the Conquest of England, remained his primary concern. William is revealed as the brutal and violent product of his time, much given to outbursts of rage, capable of great cruelty, autocratic, avaricious and prone to a sort of grisly humour, yet, with all that he could also be a loyal friend and affectionate husband and father. His military reputation rests mainly on his victory at Hastings and he showed little sign of strategic or tactical genius. He was a competent rather than inspired general, benefiting from the mistakes and disunity of his foes. Only at Hastings did he meet and defeat a man who was his peer as a leader of men. He inspired great loyalty in some and even greater hatred in others. His primary attribute was his ruthless will which made him the driving force behind Norman ambition in North Western Europe. His propagandists shamelessly manipulated the facts to justify his conquest of England, a dubious enterprise if ever there was one."--Publisher.

Contents:

Normandy in the early eleventh century

Birth and upbringing of the bastard

Minority

The struggle for survival

The defeat of the Richardides

Foreign affairs 1047-1061

The duke in church ... and state

The matter of England

William consolidates his hold on Normandy : Harold becomes his prisoner

The Duke versus the King

The Battle of Hastings

Collaboration and continuity

Conflict and contradiction

Revolt, rebellion and repression

Lordship in church and state

The Norman settlement

Dynastic quarrels and foreign perils and the death of William

Character and achievements.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 271-274) and index.

ISBN:

9781848683327

1848683324

OCLC:

751586024

Publisher Number:

99970127481