Norman Achievement, 1050-1100 [Hardcover]

The Norman Achievement seeks to discuss the conquest made by men of Norman ancestry during the years 1050-1100. David Douglas has written several books on or around this era including a book on William the Conqueror: The Norman Impact Upon England (English Monarchs). Douglas is not trying to tell a complete history on each conquest (of England, Southern Italy, Sicily, and Antioch), but is instead comparing the various conquests, discussing the motivations and the political environment. The first chapter highlights the major historians of the age and discusses their potential biases. The next chapter briefly discusses the origins of Normandy as a province and the ruling family of the Duchy of Normandy. His key point is that while the ruling family of Normandy is of Scandinavian origin, Normandy remained a province of Franks. The Scandinavian element provided the leadership, but assimilated into the culture of the native population. Next Douglas explores the backgrounds of the major Norman players in Italy and Sicily. He explains who they were and how they came to become involved in the Italian struggle for power. Then Douglas gets into the comparisons and contrast between the different conquests including the level of pillaging and destruction wrought by the invaders, use of the Catholic Church to obtain legitimacy for their acquisitions, use of combined infantry and cavalry tactics, evidence for feinted cavalry retreats, use of ships for amphibious operations and for blockades during sieges. His points are not ground breaking, but they are well explained and documented.

Douglas discusses the concept of Holy War. He explains how even before the Crusades, many leaders raised the call for Holy War in the defense of Christian lands. He explains the close connection with the Norman conquests and Holy War or at least how it was portrayed by the contemporary monk historians. The book then goes into the connections of many of the players in the conquests both secular and ecclesiastic. A small number of Norman aristocratic family groups controlled the conquests and occupation. A family group might have lands or church offices in several of the conquered lands. The conquests were quickly followed by promotion of Norman (or pro-Norman) churchmen to powerful positions in the local church structure. This growing influence in Italy together with the prospect of Norman military support enabled the Normans to gain papal support for all their conquests. The mutual assistance of the Normans benefited both parties by expanding Norman secular control and at the same time expanding Roman Catholic ecclesiastic control. I really did not know the extent of Norman influence on the politics of the Roman Catholic Church and the Schism between the Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox Churches. The proportion of Norman participation in the First Crusade was also examined.

The later chapters discuss the Norman government style and its influence on local customs and culture. The efficiency of the Norman feudal system is examined and their flexibility in utilizing local administrative institutions as well as their tolerance of conquered peoples and their beliefs and customs. Douglas discusses the Norman role in the "twelfth century renaissance" and how the freedom they afforded their subjects help foster the advances in medicine, the sciences, and architecture in the West.

The book has fourteen pictures of various places and monuments discussed in the book. There are also four maps and genealogies for the major Norman leaders. The maps have enough detail for you to see the place names of the numerous places described in the book. The genealogies give you a feel for the inter-relation of the Norman leadership of the various conquests. I would recommend the book to those interested in the Normans, European history, or the origin of the Crusades. It does go into a lot of detail when comparing the various conquests that may bore casual readers.