England under the Norman and Angevin Kings

This lively and far-reaching account of the politics, religion, and culture of England in the century and a half after the Norman Conquest provides a vivid picture of everyday existence, and increases our understanding of all aspects of medieval society.
This was a period in which the ruling dynasty and military aristocracy were deeply enmeshed with the politics and culture of France. Professor Bartlett describes their conflicts, and their preoccupations - the sense of honour, the role of violence, and the glitter of tournament, heraldry, and Arthurian romance. He explores the mechanics of government; assesses the role of the Church at a time of radical developments in religious life and organization; and investigates the peasant economy, the foundation of this society, and the growing urban and commercial activity. There are colourful details of the everyday life of ordinary men and women, with their views on the past, on sexuality, on animals, on death, the undead, and the occult. The result is a fascinating and comprehensive portrayal of a period which begins with conquest and ends in assimilation.

- Introduction - 1: Political Patterns: The Struggle for the Succession, 1075-1225; The Cross-Channel Realm; Court Politics; Predatory and Punitive Rule; Rebellion - 2: England and Beyond: England and the British Isles; England and the Wider World - 3: Lordship and Government: Kingship and Lordship; Regality; The Household and Household Administration; Itineration; Assemblies; Territorial Administration; Royal Finances; Courts and Judgements; Records and Record-Keeping - 4: The Aristocracy: The Structure of the Aristocracy; The Aristocratic Estate; The Life of the Aristocracy - 5: Warfare: Waging War; Recruitment; Castles - 6: The Rural Foundations: The Physical Framework; Population; Settlement Patterns; Land Use and Agricultural Techniques; The Manorial Economy; Rural Social Structure - 7: Towns and Trade: Urbanization; Town Law; Urban Self-Government; London; Urban Unrest; The Jews; Trade, the Framework; Commodities; Coinage and Monetization - 8: The Institutional Church: The Hierarchy; Kingly Power and Priestly Power; The Religious - 9: Religious Life: Concepts of the Holy; Devotion; Saints and their Cults; Overseas Pilgrimage; Dissent - 10: Cultural Patterns: Languages and Literature; Education and Higher Learning; The Visual Arts; Performance; The Value of the Arts - 11: The Course of Life: Childhood; Naming Patterns; Love, Sex, and Marriage; Manners; Medicine and Healing; Death and the Dead - 12: Cosmologies: Time; The World; The Chain of Being; Beings Neither Angelic, Human, nor Animal - Chronology of Political Events - Bibliography - Index - Introduction - 1: Political Patterns: The Struggle for the Succession, 1075-1225; The Cross-Channel Realm; Court Politics; Predatory and Punitive Rule; Rebellion - 2: England and Beyond: England and the British Isles; England and the Wider World - 3: Lordship and Government: Kingship and Lordship; Regality; The Household and Household Administration; Itineration; Assemblies; Territorial Administration; Royal Finances; Courts and Judgements; Records and Record-Keeping - 4: The Aristocracy: The Structure of the Aristocracy; The Aristocratic Estate; The Life of the Aristocracy - 5: Warfare: Waging War; Recruitment; Castles - 6: The Rural Foundations: The Physical Framework; Population; Settlement Patterns; Land Use and Agricultural Techniques; The Manorial Economy; Rural Social Structure - 7: Towns and Trade: Urbanization; Town Law; Urban Self-Government; London; Urban Unrest; The Jews; Trade, the Framework; Commodities; Coinage and Monetization - 8: The Institutional Church: The Hierarchy; Kingly Power and Priestly Power; The Religious - 9: Religious Life: Concepts of the Holy; Devotion; Saints and their Cults; Overseas Pilgrimage; Dissent - 10: Cultural Patterns: Languages and Literature; Education and Higher Learning; The Visual Arts; Performance; The Value of the Arts - 11: The Course of Life: Childhood; Naming Patterns; Love, Sex, and Marriage; Manners; Medicine and Healing; Death and the Dead - 12: Cosmologies: Time; The World; The Chain of Being; Beings Neither Angelic, Human, nor Animal - Chronology of Political Events - Bibliography - Index