History and Family Traditions in England and the Continent, 1000-1200

The Normans in France and England left a wealth of historiography and literature. This book deals with the Scandinavian inheritance, which together with Danish England and Byzantium led to a mix of pagan and ecclesiastical themes. The author then analyzes 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.