The Normans

From the Introduction: The first part of the current volume, The Norman Achievement, 1050-1100, was originally published in 1969. The second half, The Norman Fate, 1100-1154, followed in 1976. Douglas's studies of the Normans in Europe will always attract readers because they are well argued and well written. His thesis that the Normans were essentially the same force wherever they triumphed - whether in Britain, France, Italy or Syria - was put forward by Norman historian in the twelfth century, but it is highly contentious, as Douglas knew very well. Nevertheless, it is this tension which makes his chapters so lively, as he leads his readers through one of the great debates of history. How unified the Normans were - and how successful they were - will always be matters for argument, as views differ across the various countries of Europe as well as among individual historians. Within England itself anti-Norman and pro-Norman factions have existed for centuries; did the Normans destroy Anglo Saxon civilisation, or did they rebuild the greatness of England on a new basis? In some areas, too much has certainly been attributed to the Normans: for example, Irish historians hold them rather than the English responsible for the invasion of 1170. On the other hand, going back to the eleventh century, Norman influence over the papacy and the Christian Church in general may have been underestimated. These differing views are reflected in the historians of the eleventh and twelfth centuries themselves. In his epilogue to the first part of this volume, Douglas describes himself as having 'commemorated' the Normans. This suggests that he had come to see his own role rather like that of a Norman chronicle recording for posterity the famous deeds of his people.