1066: A New History of the Norman Conquest

While well written and easy to read, Rex's history of the Norman Conquest is at times a bit dry, especially when he recites the names of endless Norman barons and the lands they appropriated. He can be a bit repetitive, but the book is well researched and I certainly learned a few things I didn't know before.

Rex chronicles the run up to the invasion and the ten year period afterwards when William ruthlessly Normanised Britain. The old ways were swept away and William's supporters were rewarded with Earldoms. The populace was subdued with a combination of Military occupation, heavy taxation and ravaging of the land, which left it barren and uninhabitable for years. Suffice to say that William lived up to his name of The Bastard.

Rex paints William as a usurper with no legitimate claim to the throne of England, a war criminal who used force to gain and hold on to his kingdom. He also tells of the English resistance which fought in vain to throw off the Norman Yoke. There were several revolts during those first ten years but in each case they came to nothing, William either buying off the participants or putting them down with superior military might.

There are useful appendices on the English Succession, The Bayeux Tapestry and an English folk hero called Hereward who led a resistance on the Isle of Ely.

So, a decent history book, well researched and written, but perhaps not as engaging as it could be.