Norman Rule in Normandy, 911-1144 - by Mark Hagger (Paperback)

About the Book

A magisterial survey of Normandy from its origins in the tenth century to its conquest some two hundred years later.

Book Synopsis

This book provides a comprehensive revision and analysis of Normandy, its rulers, and governance between the traditional date for the foundation of the duchy, 911, and the completion of the conquest led by Count Geoffrey V of the Angevins, 1144. It examines how the Norman dukes were able to establish and then to maintain themselves in their duchy, providing a new historical narrative in the process. It also explores the various tools that they used to promote and enforce their authority, from the recruitment of armies to the use of symbolism and emotions at court. In particular, it also seeks to come to terms with the practicalities of ducal power, and reveals that it was framed and promoted from the bottom up as much as from the top down. In around 911, the Viking adventurer Rollo was granted the city of Rouen and its surrounding district by the Frankish King Charles the Simple. Two further grants of territory followed in 924 and 933. But while Frankish kings might grant this land to Rollo and his son, William Longsword, these two Norman dukes and their successors had to fight and negotiate with rival lords, hostile neighbours, kings, and popes in order to establish and maintain their authority over it.
This book explores the geographical and political development of what would become the duchy of Normandy, and the relations between the dukes and these rivals for their lands and their subjects' fidelity. It looks, too, at the administrative machinery the dukes built to support their regime, from their toll-collectors and vicomtes (an official similar to the English sheriff) to the political theatre of their courts and the buildings in which they were staged. At the heart of this exercise are the narratives that purport to tell us about what the dukes did, and the surviving body of the dukes' diplomas. Neither can be taken at face value, and both tell us as much about the concerns and criticisms of the dukes' subjects as they do about the strength of the dukes' authority. The diplomas, in particular, because most of them were not written by scribes attached to the dukes' households but rather by their beneficiaries, can be used to recover something of how the dukes' subjects saw their rulers, as well as something of what they wanted or needed from them. Ducal power was the result of a dialogue, and this volume enables both sides to speak.

Mark Hagger is a reader in medieval history at Bangor University.

Review Quotes

Deliberately avoiding theoretical concepts and questions in favor of the practicalities of his topics, Hagger brings to the study his deep knowledge of the primary sources . . . It is this grasp of practicalities that is the strength of Norman Rule in Normandy, 911-1144.-- "AMERICAN HISTORICAL REVIEW"

For those researching any aspect of Norman history in the period covered, it will become essential to consult what Hagger says on the topic....[A] major work of scholarship.-- "ÓENACH"

Establishes a new benchmark for studies of medieval princely government and power, drawing fresh insights from outwardly unrewarding sources and adding much greater depth to the history of ducal Normandy.-- "FRENCH HISTORY"

Hagger provides a solid and illuminating study of Norman rule-political, feudal, and cultural-from the Viking conquest in 911 to the Angevin absorption in 1144. Highly recommended.-- "CHOICE"

Makes a significant and welcome contribution to our understanding of the development of ducal rule and is likely to become an authoritative statement on the topic..[A] magisterial work.-- "PARERGON"