History and Family Traditions in England and the Continent, 1000-1200 (Variorum Collected Studies)

By: E.M.C. van Houts

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Synopsis: The Normans in France and England left a rich legacy in historiography and literature, which is the subject of this volume. Dr van Houts first deals with the Scandinavian inheritance, which together with contacts with Danish England and Byzantium led to an interesting mix of pagan and ecclesiastical themes. Next she analyses the propaganda that followed the Norman conquest of England, in which the panegyrics written by French clerks eager to gain favour contrast markedly with the almost unanimous condemnation of William’s actions on the Continent. Included is the earliest history of the battle of Hastings written in England, here published with a new English translation. The last papers consider the role of women in the transmission of knowledge about the past: in their families they passed on memories, and their importance as commissioners, readers and informants of chroniclers must also not be underestimated.