How the west was won: the Norman dukes and the Cotentin, c.987–1087
This paper addresses a neglected aspect of the political and geographical development of the duchy of Normandy between c.987 and 1087: the expansion of the dukes' authority into the Cotentin peninsula. As narratives conceal more than they reveal about this process, ducal acta are the principal means of understanding it. In particular, the article examines the composition and use of the ducal demesne (and includes an appendix listing the lands that appear as demesne before 1087 and describing their subsequent descent). In addition, the essay looks at the men the duke recruited as supporters, the role of ducal women as ‘deputies’ in the Cotentin, and the motives of the leading rebels who fought against Duke William at the battle of Val-ès-Dunes in 1047, which have not previously been subject to close scrutiny. Comparisons are made with other parts of northern France or England, where appropriate, and the conclusions reached are relevant not just to William the Conqueror's rule in England, but also to wider arguments about how theoretical power was turned into reality.
France in the Middle Ages 987-1460 : from Hugh Capet to Joan of Arc
Translatora s Note. Foreword. List of Illustrations. List of Genealogical Tables. Part I: The Inheritance: . 1. The Empire. 2. The Frankish People. 3. The Principalities. 4. Disturbances. Part II: Lordship:. 5. The Village. 6. The Castle. 7. The Church. 8. King and Lord. Part III: Origins of State and Nation:. 9. The Great Age of Progress. 10. Louis VII. 11. Philip Augustus. 12. The South. 13. The Thirteenth Century. 14. The Fourteenth Century. 15. The Maid of Orleans. Epilogue. Chronology. Bibliography. Index.
The Myth of Norman Administrative Efficiency The Prothero Lecture
ARGUMENT about the consequences of the Conquest is perennial and probably unresolvable. Exponents may be found of the full range of possibilities from essential continuity to catastrophic change. Yet amid all the diversity of opinion there is a piece of common ground: it is generally agreed that the Norman rulers not merely appropriated the governmental system of their.Anglo-Saxon predecessors but ran it more efficiently. Managerial efficiency is indeed commonly regarded as a Norman characteristic. In the early twelfth century the kingdom of Sicily and the kingdom of England were the two most prosperous, orderly, and astutely governed states in Europe. Both were under Norman management. Wherever else we find the Normans in their century of astonishing expansion they appear as irresistible take-over bidders, moving in upon and merging with any society, whatever its traditions and institutions, treating both lordship and government as aspects of business management, exploiting the assets and extracting the profits more effectively than the previous owners. So it seems a wholly reasonable assumption to attribute the development of royal government in the first two generations after the Conquest to a combination of managerial efficiency and the Norman rulers' need to get more out of their kingdom than their predecessors.