Review: The Normans by Judith Green

Synopsis: A bold new history of the rise and expansion of the Norman Dynasty across Europe from Byzantium to England.

In the eleventh century the climate was improving, population was growing, and people were on the move. The Norman dynasty ranged across Europe, led by men who achieved lasting fame like William the Conqueror and Robert Guiscard. These figures cultivated an image of unstoppable Norman success and their victories make for a great story, but how much of it is true?

In this insightful history, Judith Green challenges old certainties and explores the reality of Norman life across the continent. There were many soldiers of fortune, but their successes were down to timing, good luck, and ruthless leadership. Green shows the Normans’ profound impact, from drastic change in England to laying the foundations for unification in Sicily, to their contribution to the First Crusade. Going beyond the familiar, she looks at personal dynastic relationships and the important part women played in what at first sight seems a resolutely masculine world.

I will preface this review by saying - reader beware.! This is not a casual and cursory look at the Normans that will appeal to the general masses; it is a more focused narrative that assumes that you - the reader - have done your due diligence and a sufficient enough grasp of the topic at hand to absorb the information contained therein.

The focus of Green's book is the Normans and their activities as related to a specific time period - the 11th Century - and is narrowed down to particular theatres of war - England, Normandy, Byzantium, Sicily & Southern Italy, Antioch & the Holy Land. It is also a look at how contemporary writers and chroniclers viewed them as well as their own perceptions of self.

Green begins with a look at the various contemporary writers and chroniclers in England (Malmesbury, Worcester, Huntingdon, Monmouth), Normandy (Dudo William of Jumieges, Vitalis, Wace), Southern Italy & Sicily (Malatera, William of Apulia, Amatus of Montecassin), and of course the Crusades (Ralph of Caen). This list is by no means complete as there are a number of others included as well. In this chapter Green also explores the relationships between subject matter and author, the issues of patronage, potential audience and the accessibility of sources.

We next move to Normandy for a look at the structure of Norman society, its emergence, the outward persona of warrior class, and the internal struggles within for dominance. This leads into the next chapter "swords for hire" and a look at the role of Normans as mercenaries throughout Europe and the Baltic. Here Green notes that 11th Century Europe was swarming with armed men who for for wealth, land and prestige. So what made this particular group that much more successful than others - this is what is explored. Green includes a number of prominent families in her narrative, as well as some much lesser ones (which are the ones I am always on the look out for).

Moving south, we explore the activities and personalities of the Normans in Southern Italy and Sicily from their earliest arrival as armed pilgrims to the arrival of Robert Guiscard and the legitimisation of the new kingdom and its conquests. A brief side visit to Byzantium is also covered off for this will have an impact of future relationships.  This is one of my favourite periods of Norman History (and dominates my personal library).

Doubling back, Green takes us to one of the more well know of the Norman conquests - England in 1066. This was no gentle take-over but one that would see years of resistance and rebellion, and the invasions of neighbouring nations of Scotland, Wales and Ireland. This period would also see the creation of the Domesday Book - a survey every shire in England, and some parts of Wales, to list all holdings and calculate the dues owed to William.

And then to our final field of activity - The Crusades and the establishment of the Norman Principality of Antioch. Green provides an assessment of the various Norman leaders (Bohemond, Tancred, Robert of Normandy), their motives for embarking on this great military and religious endeavour, their successes and their failures.

The remaining chapters encompasses a more rounded view of the Normans, covering such topics as government and power, settlement and conquest, church and state, culture and construction. And it is this lasting legacy that Green concludes with, wherein she notes that they were - in essence - "... ruthless opportunists [who] were able to change the political history of Europe ...". But this is merely one one part of who the Normans were - for they were also exceptional strategists, inventive, progressive, militaristic, pious, opportunistic, ruthless - and utterly compelling and unforgettable.

This is definitely one for my own library shelves, and my own personal collection of Norman literature.