The 1066 Norman Bruisers

Book excerpt: The fascinating story of the social evolution of William the Conqueror’s invaders and the generations that followed: “A great book.” —Medieval Sword School The 1066 Norman Bruisers conjures up the vanished world of England in the late Middle Ages and casts light on one of the strangest quirks in the nation’s history: how a bunch of European thugs became the quintessentially English gentry. In 1066, go-getting young immigrant Osbern Fitz Tezzo crossed the Channel in William the Conqueror’s army. Little did he know that it would take five years to vanquish the English, years in which the Normans suffered almost as much as the people they had set out to subdue. For the English, the Norman Conquest was an unmitigated disaster, killing thousands by the sword or starvation. But for Osbern and his compatriots, it brought territory and treasure—and a generational evolution they could never have imagined. This book follows successive descendants as they fought for monarchs and magnates, oversaw royal garrisons, traveled abroad as agents of the crown, and helped to administer the laws of the land. When they weren’t strutting across the stage of northwestern England, mingling with great men and participating in great events, they engaged in feuds, embarked on illicit love affairs, and exerted their influence in the small corner of the country they had made their own. The 1066 Norman Bruisers represents both a fascinating family history and a riveting journey through post-Conquest England.