Anglo-Norman Studies XLIV: Proceedings of the Battle Conference 2021

The latest research on the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth centuries is presented in this volume, with a special emphasis on the connections between different regions of north-western Europe. It includes studies of the Norman-Angevin duke-kings and the other French nobility, the world of demons and possession in Norman Italy, the York massacre of the Jews in 1190, poverty in London, and the use of comparative history to understand proprietary queenship. Two essays on landscape also show how the physical world is closely linked to the historical.

Format: Hardback
Length: 186 pages
Publication date: 14 June 2022
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer Ltd

The latest and most cutting-edge scholarship on the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth centuries is explored in this comprehensive collection of essays. The essays showcased here provide a vivid testament to the thriving vitality of scholarship in this field. This volume specifically emphasizes the intricate interconnections between various regions of north-western Europe. After an introductory piece on Lotharingia, the reader is presented with detailed examinations of the relationship between Ponthieu and its Norman neighbors, as well as the interactions between the Norman and Angevin duke-kings and other French nobility. The exploration then delves into the realm of demons and possession in Norman Italy, with additional insights into this topic in twelfth-century England.

Meanwhile, the York massacre of the Jews in 1190 is placed within a broader context, illustrating the extent to which crusader enthusiasm fueled the pogroms that severely damaged Anglo-Jewish relations, not just in York but throughout England. Additionally, the book explores poverty in London during the 1190s, examining it through the lens of the life and execution of William fitz Osbert. Another chapter highlights the power of comparative history in illuminating the norms of proprietary queenship, a topic often overlooked by historians studying both kingship and queenship. Two essays focusing on landscape further bring the physical and historical realms into close association: one on the equine landscape of eleventh and twelfth-century England, which significantly contributes to our understanding of the place of the horse in late Anglo-Saxon and early Anglo-Norman societies. The other essay examines the Brut narratives of Geoffrey of Monmouth, Wace, and Laȝamon, arguing that they use realistic landscapes to depict the action embedded in their tales, demonstrating the authors' grasp of the practical realities of contemporary warfare and the role played by landscapes in it.

Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781783277131