The year of 1066 is one of the crucial points in the history of England that is why it so often becomes the subject of historic discussions and debates. Numerous books dedicated to this period do not stop to be published. Some historians prefer to concentrate on the Battle of Hastings, some discuss the impact which the Norman invasion had on the native population and some of them talk about the leaders of the warring parties. It seldom occurs however that an author concentrates on personalities of the participants of historical events, trying to present them as the men that really lived one day, with faults and advantages, fears and doubts. In the book “1066: The Year of the Conquest” by David Howarth one can find exactly this attitude of the author, as Howarth tries to show the events from the point of view of 11th century people. This book is quite original and provides an interesting view on the events of 1066.
The role of the Norman Conquest in the history of England, as well as in the history of Europe was highly significant. As Brown Allen states in his book: “To set down the results of the Norman Conquest is to write the rest of English history down to the present day and to add the histories of all those countries who were to feel the impact or the influence of post-Conquest England”. 1 The Normans really influenced native English population in many ways. One of the most significant impacts which historians usually highlight is the changes in the English language that happened after the conquest. This point may be arguable though. As one of the researches of this topic, Oliver Christl mentions: “With an estimated number of at the most 10.000 Normans that settled in England as a result of the conquest and a native English population of at least 1.000.000 people, it is unlikely that the use of language changed profoundly for the majority of the native speakers”.2 Christl therefore hints that the changes in the language were not too significant and generally native population in many ways preserved the native language. However, the language changes did take place, particularly regarding the vocabulary. Though grammatical structure of English preserved the characteristic features of Germanic languages, the vocabulary was greatly enriched by new words.
Another important aspect in the consequences of the Norman Conquest was the complete control of the English church which Normans gained. This fact is referred in the book by Thomas Hugh: “The Normans not only seized control of many church offices but they also seized land and plunder from the English Church”.3 Considering the great role which the religion played in the 11th century it becomes clear that through the church Normans received one more opportunity to influence minds of native population. In general, however, England was not considered to be a great land by Norman rulers. Kings preferred not to reside in England for a long time, ruling from cities in Normandy. England remained to be somewhat like cultural backwater. Even William who conquered the land decided to leave his brother-in law in charge of the country, while he himself returned to Normandy. “They were mainly interested in wealth and power and used Englanty. d as a base for foreign adventures that the English had to finance”.4 Therefore, the social changes mainly affected Anglo-Saxon nobility. All the ruling positions were given to Normans. As for the effect which the conquest had on the lowest layers of society, one should mention the elimination of slavery, due to social and economical changes. All in all the consequences of the Norman Conquest were very significant and included changes in social and economical situation of England plus changes in the language. That is why the discussion of the Norman Conquest is so popular and many books dedicated to it do not cease to appear. One of such books is “1066: The Year of the Conquest” written by David Howarth.
Among the greatest advantages of this book one can point out the author’s decision to present the events of 1066 from the medieval point of view. His characters are real men with weaknesses and strengths, fears and prejudices. Not every historian is gifted enough to be able to judge the events with such a hindsight like Howard does. However, this seems to be a right decision. One cannot write a story about the events that took place many centuries ago introducing characters, who think and act like man of twentieth century do, in the plot. Such a story could not have been credited as close to history. In such cases the author must think carefully and put himself on the place of the 11th century man. In 1066 no one heard of technical progress or laws of physics. People believed in divine powers and thought that their fates are predetermined on heavens. The author ventures to introduce the episode, when one of the main characters, Harold, is already sure that is army will lose the battle just because the army of his rival, William marches under the Papal banner. This point of the story may actually seem quite controversial. On one hand, it is quite strange that courageous and strong warrior like Harold is ready to acknowledge his defeat before the actual battle starts. To a contemporary reader this behavior of Harold may seem rather questionable. On the other hand, today the Roman Catholic Church does not have the same influence as in the 11th century. At those times it was very powerful, and even though Harold could have been a great and courageous warrior, he still remained a man of his day. He was prone to superstitions and prejudices as well as all his contemporaries and undoubtedly had the same fear of the might of the Church as other people of the 11th century. Therefore, even there are no historical documents that would prove that Harold thought and felt that way the author’s attempt to assume how a man would think and act almost ten centuries ago is surely worth respect. A reader doesn’t just read about dry facts and historical dates, he or she receives a wonderful opportunity to see real people in the characters of Howard’s book and feel compassion towards them. This liveliness of characters is one of the greatest points of the book. Due to the author’s penetrating hindsight the book is really captivating and interesting to read.
Those who are interested in history should surely add “1066: The Year of the Conquest” to the list of the books they are going to read in the nearest future. This book is something different from the usual account of historical events which can be found in most historical books dedicated to the year of 1066. The book by David Howarth provides the reader not only with the dry facts but with the feel of the year when the Norman Conquest took place.
References
Brown Allen. The Normans and the Norman Conquest. Woodbridge: The Boydell Press,
Christl Oliver. How Profoundly Changed was England Throughout the Norman Conquest?
Munich: GRIN Verlag.
Thomas Hugh. The Norman Conquest: England after William the Conqueror. Plymouth, UK:
Rowman&Littlefield Publishers, 2008.
Kingfisher. The Kingfisher History Encyclopedia. Boston, Massachusetts: Kingfisher
Publications, 2004.
