1066: The Year of the Conquest

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Binding: Paperback Dewey Decimal Number: 942.021 EAN: 9780140058505 ISBN: 0140058508 Label: Penguin (Non-Classics) Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics) Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 208 Publication Date: 1981-08-27 Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) Studio: Penguin (Non-Classics)
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Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: The Short Reign of King Harold Comment: David Howarth wrote this popular history to describe the life in 1066 England from contemporary sources (Norman, English, and Scandinavian). Any historian has to decide between contradictory stories (p.8). The people of long ago lived simple lives with less knowledge, yet their thoughts and emotions were the same (p.9). Howarth wrote books about the battles of Waterloo and Trafalgar. The `Contents' list no chapter numbers. New Year's Day 1066 saw a prosperous and peaceful England. The warming phase of those centuries was accompanied by lower taxes (p.11). Villages were self-sufficient except for salt and iron. [No mention of money.] It was peaceful, but men avoided the forests at night (wolves and spirits). Independent farmers were unprotected against Viking raids or other disasters (p.13). Most had come under the protection of the armed nobility. Society was stable and ordered (p.14). The thanes could reject their Earl; even the King could be dethroned. The land was farmed as one open field, divided into strips (p.16). There is a record of those times (p.17). Howarth surmises the lives of the women and children (pp.22-24). Were they better off than their industrialized descendants (p.25)? The death of the King would mean the election of a new King (p.29). These pages tell of the complicated Royal family connections. The "Oath of Godwin" was Norman propaganda (p.40); it never happened. Before he died King Edward the Confessor asked Harold to protect the kingdom (p.48); the witan elected Harold king (p.50). Haworth describes Harold's personality (p.55). The next chapter "Rouen" describes Normany and the violent world when Duke William was young. William had said he expected to be next in line to be King of England (p.75). Harold had made a promise (p.77). Then after Easter a comet appeared in the sky: an omen of doom (p.83). Soon an invasion of England was led by Tostig, Harold's brother; it was unsuccessful. William decided to challenge Harold in battle to claim the kingdom (p.91). Transporting thousands of knights and horses in the boats of that era was an untried experiment (p.92). Lanfranc got Papal support for William's invasion (pp.101-102). Soldiers were promised wealth if they won, heaven if they died. The English aristocracy banned ordinary men from owning bows and arrows (p.105). Bows had a longer range than spears. English knights could not fight on horseback (p.106). King Harald Hardrade of Norway planned to invade England ("Norway"). King Harold's forced a march to York and destroyed King Harald's army (p.141). A week later William's army landed unopposed. King Harold sent a courier to ask the Duke to leave (p.59). Howarth suggests Harold was shocked by the news that William now had Papal support (p.161)! Harold made two mistakes: he fought before his whole army was assembled, and, assembled them too close to the enemy (p.163). The battle is described ("Hastings"). The defeat of King Harold led to "death, destruction, robbery and bewilderment" (p.185). William was the only surviving adult claimant to the throne (p.188). William destroyed thousands of square miles that were uninhabitable for a generation (p.192). The last chapter says about 20% of the English were killed over the next 20 years (p.198). There were 5 years of active revolts. William looted treasures and raised taxes because of his greed (p.199). Castles were built to oppress the English people. The taxable value of villages tell of the destruction (pp.199-200). Customer Rating: Summary: William advantageously uses his papal,"window of righteousness Comment: Ther are alot of new books out about Hastings,particularly ones that cover the Viking invasions of 1066 and the Godwin family.Howarth seems to sink into an idyllic Anglo-Saxon past (which probably never existed)in his work. There are alot of descriptions of rural domesticity particularly in the first part of the book which seemed too pastoral for my liking.(Time for someone or something to shake them up there)!The price for losing contact, even to a lesser degree as the Anglo-Saxons did,with the European continent---A Norman invasion complete with a professional army with some Vikings in the north picking up some table scraps.This tale doesn't say much for Harald's Fyrd(the middle age equivalent of today's militia).So much for Anglo-Saxon fantasyland.Read Bloodfeud and you'll get a more true picture of what Anglo-Saxon was like.Mongrels are usually much smarter dogs anyway. Anyway Howarth's thesis seems to be that William's attack on the Anglo-Saxons was the result of papal machinations in Europe.The pope had granted William an,"I'm in the right and Harold's wrong" stamp in the summer of 1066.As a result William knew he had to act quickly before the Saxon rulers had a chance to send a delegation to Europe to dispute the pope's decision. Harold indeed was duly elected by the Saxon government of England but William also had a claim due to inheritance rights.With the pope's cyclical against Harold,Harold was diminished in the hearts and minds of the common folk as well as a few of Harold's Saxon and norman enemies.If it's any consolation,anglo-norman England repays Normandy in 1337 with the start of the hundred years wars. Customer Rating: Summary: 1066: The year of the Conquest Comment: Very readable history. Shows how naive we Americans are because we have been so poorly taught real history. Customer Rating: Summary: A quick read of a world changing event Comment: Like sitting on a star, looking down on the continental world, we get a broad, quick, and enjoyable view of this critical year. Yes, as some reviewers say, it is biased by the author. But what history is not? "History is what men have decided upon," Napoleon said. My view is that what makes a people is geography and religion, and in the end it is geography. "1066" certainly reinforces that concept. What if the wind had blown from the East -- for just one day in the summer, that history would have been written in French perhaps. For those wanting scholarly treatises with lots of footnotes, there are plenty of other big thick books. Howarth has made a valuable historical contribution to the rest of us. A great and welcome read. Frederick R. Andresen, Author of "Walking on Ice, An American Businessman in Russia." Customer Rating: Summary: Entry Level Work Comment: David Howarth's 1066 is really an essay. There are no end notes, nor learned rabbit trails to follow. Instead, it is a well-written, informative, and at times, personal re-telling of one of Britain's more compelling stories. He deftly reviews the players, sets the stage, and in just a few pages poignantly relates Harold's defeat. All in all, he is kind to Harold and the Godwins but we, English readers, tend to lean in that direction. All the politics and intrigue lie with William and his allies and we only see part of that. However, for what it is, it is excellent. More Reviews