The History of the Norman Conquest of England, Its Causes and Its Results, in Six Volumes

Complete in six hardcover volumes. xxiv, 523; xxiii, 467; xx, 519; xxiv, 559; xxxi, 604; 291 pp. 8vo. Red-orange pebbled cloth, blind-stamped borders, gilt titles and rules, top edges gilt. Includes fold-out hand-colored maps of Britian in 597; Gaul; the English Empire in the 10th and 11th centuries; the Diocese of England under Edward the Conqueror; the voyage and campaign William the Conqueror; the Battle of Senlac (this one is not hand-colored). Also includes single page maps of other battles. An authoritative work on the Norman conquest led by William the Conqueror, whose victory made him the first Norman King of England. The original British edition was released one volume at a time beginning in 1867. Volumes I & II went into a second edition in 1869 to accompany the release of volume III, which delayed the publication of the fourth volume until 1871. In 1873 the revision of these four volumes was completed, and then the British and American editions of volume V and the index were released simultaneously. The revised American edition offered here is, as such, the first complete American edition of the work. "The Norman conquest of England began in 1066 with the invasion of the Kingdom of England by the troops of William, Duke of Normandy, and his victory at the Battle of Hastings. This resulted in Norman control of England, which was firmly established during the next few years. The Norman Conquest was a pivotal event in English history for several reasons. It largely removed the native ruling class, replacing it with a foreign, French-speaking monarchy, aristocracy, and clerical hierarchy. This, in turn, brought about a transformation of the English language and the culture of England. By subjecting the country to rulers originating in France it linked England more closely with continental Europe, while lessening Scandinavian influence, and set the stage for a rivalry with France that would continue intermittently for many centuries. It also had important consequences for the rest of the British Isles, paving the way for further Norman conquests in Wales and Ireland, and the extensive penetration of the aristocracy of Scotland by Norman and other French-speaking families, with the accompanying spread of continental institutions and cultural influences."