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

by Elisabeth van Houts

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.

374 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Elisabeth Maria Cornelia van Houts (born 1952) is a historian specializing in medieval European history. She is an Honorary Professor of Medieval European History in the Faculty of History and a Fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge.

Van Houts was elected a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society in 1983. She has published and lectured on Anglo-Norman history, medieval historiography and literature and the history of gender in the Middle Ages. She has been an expert panelist on In Our Time for "The 12th Century Renaissance" and "The Domesday Book".