The battles on English soil in 1066 (and a couple in 1065) served as the catalyst that not only changed Britain, but the whole of Europe. William the Bastard's (later Conqueror) success not only changed the English political landscape, but its geographic one as well. Try finding an Anglo-Saxon stronghold anywhere in England. There are none to be had. Even Time Team (R.I.P.) had difficulty locating evidence of a Saxon edifice. Finding a Norman building though, not hard at all. The Queen lives in one part time at Windsor.
Record keeping was another Norman strength, unfortunately, more-so after the events of 1066 than about those battles. A shame really as the little actual documentation that does exist is primarily on a 'tapestry' probably commissioned by one of William's relatives. However, much can be inferred, and that is where Frank McLynn comes in.
McLynn does a few things in this monograph. He gives the personal and political backgrounds of not just the reigning monarch and the three contenders, but how past conflicts for leadership of England, France and Scandinavia were heavily intertwined with intrigue, deceit, missed opportunities, betrayal and sheer dumb luck. As a result, 1066 was simply a very dense microcosm of Europe's then past and present. Those events served to provide each Harald Hadrada, Harold Godwinson, and William of Normandy with notions of entitlement and familial vindication. With three strong-willed men, all with battle experience want the same thing, two are bound to end disappointed in the very least, dead at the worst. Which is exactly what happened.
The way in which McLynn divides the information and offers evidence makes keeping track of all the key players and their aims quite straight. He establishes a firm foundation for each of the three claimants no matter how outrageous and supports his assertions with nearly boundless references and offers his own opinions on why he either supports or argues against certain theories. What some might have difficulty with is the use of some, arguably archaic terms. To be honest, while some I didn't care for, others I felt should be used more often.
I highly recommend this text to anyone who is looking for a good history of the three battles that took place on English soil in 1066.
Review originally appeared on the non defunct Paternoster Row Legacy blog.
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