Image of Aristocracy

by David Crouch

David Crouch provides a broad definition of aristorcracy by examining the ways aristocrats behaved and lived between 1000 and 1300. He analyses life-style, class and luxurious living in those years. A distinctive feature of the book is that it takes a British, rather than Anglocentric, view - looking at the penetration of Welsh and Scottish society by Anglo-French ideas of aristocracy.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

408 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

David Bruce Crouch, FRHistS, FBA, was Professor of Medieval History at the University of Hull, where he taught from 2003 until his retirement in 2018.

Reviews

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the last paragraph of this book Crouch states: "But the whole concern of the book has been to show how complicated the developments in the aristocracy were between 1000 and 1300 . . .".
Unfortunately Crouch's approach does not make it easy to understand how complicated the developments were. One academic reviewer stated that "the book is not always as easy to follow as one could have wished." Another found it touched on the "unnecessarily encyclopaedic where detail crowds argument." I agree with these assessments.
Nevertheless it is a very interesting discussion of the evolution of elite "status levels" in British society over the period concerned. Even though the title refers to aristocracy in "Britain" most of the discussion concerns England and Wales, with only minor references to Scotland, to round out the British perspective.
Crouch necessarily incorporates a lot of evidence of European influences, particularly French, on the evolution of the British aristocracy. After all England was invaded by the Normans only 66 years into the period he deals with and the whole of Britain was transformed by them in the ensuing 234 years.
I read most of the book. I skipped over most of Chapter 6 The Greater Insignia and all of Chapter 7 Insignia Defining Aristocracy. Perhaps I'll get back to them some other time. I found that insignia aren't something that particularly interests me just now, although I'm sure they're important in contributing to the definition of status levels with which this book is concerned.

[Michael Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

David Crouch, an Anglican priest and professor of medieval history at the University of Hull, is one of the most influential scholars working these days in the area of Anglo-Norman studies, and this widely-cited volume brings together most of his ideas and observations on the origins of feudalism and the nobility in Britain — although he prefers "aristocracy" to "nobility" and explains why in convincing detail. He also has some cogent things to say on the present state of research and those doing it, and on the useful place of genealogy in pursuing it. The "prehistory" of the English peerage, he says, goes back to the Welsh princes, though the concept of "knight" is definitely Norman; the blending of the two streams of sociopolitical development led to a unique system in Britain. The later chapters on the insignia of rank — banner, coronet, etc — in defining the aristocrat, and the role of the castle (beyond its military purpose) and the manor in enforcing that status also are excellent. The twenty-page bibliography should be taken as a guide to further reading.