David Bates provides a wide-ranging modern biography of William the Conqueror, treating him as a Norman duke and European ruler before examining his conquest of England. A multidisciplinary approach is used to explain how William built loyalty, survived repeated crises and persuaded followers to support the extraordinary expedition of 1066.
The book considers the violence of conquest alongside institutional and cultural change, from castle building and aristocratic replacement to church reform and royal government. Bates also explores William’s family, personality and continental wars, presenting the conquest as one phase in a complex life whose consequences extended far beyond England.
Marc Morris
Tracy Borman
4 books
Alison Weir
35 books