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1066: The Year That Changed Everything
If you were to look back at hundreds of years of history in search of the one critical moment after which the history of the English-speaking world would never be the same again, it would undoubtedly be the year 1066.
It was during this pivotal time that an event occurred that would have untold ramifications for the European continent: the Norman Conquest of England.
But why does this moment matter so much, both for the medieval world and for us today in the 21st century? While the true meaning and importance of the Norman Conquest has been sharply debated, medievalist and award-winning Professor Jennifer Paxton of Georgetown University argues that the Norman Conquest, and the entire year of 1066, matters deeply for two key reasons.
It turned England away from a former Scandinavian orientation toward an orientation with mainland Europe, making the island nation a major player in Europe's political, social, cultural, and religious events.
It created a rich hybrid between English and French culture that had a profound impact on everything from language and literature to architecture and law.
In fact, it was only with the tumultuous events of the year 1066 that England was equipped to become a full participant in the unprecedented developments of the Middle Ages and the centuries that followed.
With 1066, Professor Paxton's exciting and historically rich six-lecture course, you can experience for yourself the drama of this dynamic year. Taking you from the shores of Scandinavia and France to the battlefields of the English countryside, 1066 will plunge you into a world of fierce Viking warriors, powerful noble families, politically charged marriages, tense succession crises, epic military invasions, and much more.
This is #8422 in The Great Courses series of lectures.
It was during this pivotal time that an event occurred that would have untold ramifications for the European continent: the Norman Conquest of England.
But why does this moment matter so much, both for the medieval world and for us today in the 21st century? While the true meaning and importance of the Norman Conquest has been sharply debated, medievalist and award-winning Professor Jennifer Paxton of Georgetown University argues that the Norman Conquest, and the entire year of 1066, matters deeply for two key reasons.
It turned England away from a former Scandinavian orientation toward an orientation with mainland Europe, making the island nation a major player in Europe's political, social, cultural, and religious events.
It created a rich hybrid between English and French culture that had a profound impact on everything from language and literature to architecture and law.
In fact, it was only with the tumultuous events of the year 1066 that England was equipped to become a full participant in the unprecedented developments of the Middle Ages and the centuries that followed.
With 1066, Professor Paxton's exciting and historically rich six-lecture course, you can experience for yourself the drama of this dynamic year. Taking you from the shores of Scandinavia and France to the battlefields of the English countryside, 1066 will plunge you into a world of fierce Viking warriors, powerful noble families, politically charged marriages, tense succession crises, epic military invasions, and much more.
This is #8422 in The Great Courses series of lectures.
3 pages, Audio CD
First published January 1, 2012
13 people are currently reading
428 people want to read
About the author
Jennifer Paxton
13 books94 followersDr. Jennifer Paxton is Professorial Lecturer in History at Georgetown University, where she has taught for more than a decade, and Visiting Assistant Professor of History at The Catholic University of America. The holder of a doctorate in history from Harvard University, where she has also taught and earned a Certificate of Distinction, Professor Paxton is both a widely published award-winning writer and a highly regarded scholar, earning both a Mellon Fellowship in the Humanities and a Frank Knox Memorial Traveling Fellowship. She lectures regularly on medieval history at the Foreign Service Institute in Arlington, Virginia, and has also been invited to speak on British history at the Smithsonian Institution and the Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, DC. Professor Paxton’s research focuses on England from the reign of King Alfred to the late 12th century, particularly the intersection between the authority of church and state and the representation of the past in historical texts, especially those produced by religious communities. She is currently completing a book, Chronicle and Community in Twelfth Century England, that will be published by Oxford University Press. It examines how monastic historians shaped their narratives to project present polemical concerns onto the past.
Jennifer is the daughter of well-known folk singer Tom Paxton.
Jennifer is the daughter of well-known folk singer Tom Paxton.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 134 reviews
November 2, 2015
I've finished the book. So final thoughts. Read this only because the details of succession to the English throne fascinate you. Otherwise forget it. The details of how the Normans changed the UK for all time are never discussed. Jennifer Paxton has written other books with fascinating titles, but after this one, I'm going to give them all a miss. Very disappointing indeed.
____________
Unhooked I really thought that this book was going to be about the critical change in focus that the Norman Conquest of 1066 resulted in. But so far, and I'm about two-thirds of the way through, it isn't. What it is about is the political and dynastic history of the previous fifty years. Who married who, who they were descended from and who they are related. What claims to the throne they had. Who supported them and who didn't. The military tactics, battles, harrying, intimidation and resolution. This book reminds me how far I've come to loving reading history books from how I hated about history school because i had teachers whose interests and style was just like this author.
Will I finish it? Probably.
Who would I recommend it to? People who suffer from insomnia, just trying to concentrate who was allied with who and what relation they were will send you off. And people who really love the sort of history that began in the bible with who begat who and how many other sons they begat, naming names up unto .... 1066.
___________
On reading the first chapter: The book got me hooked. Did you know that the English language has round twice as many words as Spanish? This is because of the Norman Conquest when so many concepts had two words to describe them, such as the English 'eat' and the French 'dine', the English 'meet' and the French 'encounter' and so on. If challenged as to their lack of words, the Spanish would be able to retort, 'but we were never conquered by the French.' And that (despite several French efforts) is true!
I am interested to see how Great Britain was turned from one that looked to the Scandanavian countries to one that became part of Europe. It obviously affected the whole course of history thenceforeward.
____________
Unhooked I really thought that this book was going to be about the critical change in focus that the Norman Conquest of 1066 resulted in. But so far, and I'm about two-thirds of the way through, it isn't. What it is about is the political and dynastic history of the previous fifty years. Who married who, who they were descended from and who they are related. What claims to the throne they had. Who supported them and who didn't. The military tactics, battles, harrying, intimidation and resolution. This book reminds me how far I've come to loving reading history books from how I hated about history school because i had teachers whose interests and style was just like this author.
Will I finish it? Probably.
Who would I recommend it to? People who suffer from insomnia, just trying to concentrate who was allied with who and what relation they were will send you off. And people who really love the sort of history that began in the bible with who begat who and how many other sons they begat, naming names up unto .... 1066.
___________
On reading the first chapter: The book got me hooked. Did you know that the English language has round twice as many words as Spanish? This is because of the Norman Conquest when so many concepts had two words to describe them, such as the English 'eat' and the French 'dine', the English 'meet' and the French 'encounter' and so on. If challenged as to their lack of words, the Spanish would be able to retort, 'but we were never conquered by the French.' And that (despite several French efforts) is true!
I am interested to see how Great Britain was turned from one that looked to the Scandanavian countries to one that became part of Europe. It obviously affected the whole course of history thenceforeward.
July 30, 2023
1066.
A long time ago, on a continent far, far away...
My biggest takeaway was that the reason the English language has so many different words that all mean basically the same thing is due to the Norman conquest blending so many French words into Ye Olde English.
And that was really all that stood out to me as cool new information.
Paxton's lecture did a good job covering all the little ins and outs of who was related to whom, how the English line of succession broke down to start with, and why that darn William thought he should conquer England in the first place.
If you're interested in English medieval history, and the importance of the Battle of Hastings in particular, this would be as good a place to start as any.
A long time ago, on a continent far, far away...
My biggest takeaway was that the reason the English language has so many different words that all mean basically the same thing is due to the Norman conquest blending so many French words into Ye Olde English.
And that was really all that stood out to me as cool new information.
Paxton's lecture did a good job covering all the little ins and outs of who was related to whom, how the English line of succession broke down to start with, and why that darn William thought he should conquer England in the first place.
If you're interested in English medieval history, and the importance of the Battle of Hastings in particular, this would be as good a place to start as any.
December 30, 2018
This is a series of six brief lectures that put William the Conqueror’s triumphant victory over the English in a larger context.
1066 was the year of the Norman conquest of Saxon England. Paxton recounts the problems the previous kings of England had in securing their realm. These included: disputed kingships, lack of male heirs, harassment from Scandinavia and Europe, and, failure to control and bind the nobility.
There are many interesting characters involved during the first half of the 11th Century including some very influential women. Paxton takes time to give us a rich understanding of their interests and interrelationships. She is particularly skilled at describing Duke William and how he built upon his successes and used various techniques to gain authority, and after winning the Battle of Hastings, converting that victory into ruling England.
Finally, she gives a good account of how the Normans “became English” over time and how they used the institutions to reinforce their rule. These are only six short lectures, but they are sufficient for those who have an interest in the period and they clearly point out areas for further exploration.
1066 was the year of the Norman conquest of Saxon England. Paxton recounts the problems the previous kings of England had in securing their realm. These included: disputed kingships, lack of male heirs, harassment from Scandinavia and Europe, and, failure to control and bind the nobility.
There are many interesting characters involved during the first half of the 11th Century including some very influential women. Paxton takes time to give us a rich understanding of their interests and interrelationships. She is particularly skilled at describing Duke William and how he built upon his successes and used various techniques to gain authority, and after winning the Battle of Hastings, converting that victory into ruling England.
Finally, she gives a good account of how the Normans “became English” over time and how they used the institutions to reinforce their rule. These are only six short lectures, but they are sufficient for those who have an interest in the period and they clearly point out areas for further exploration.
November 13, 2022
This is the shortest Great Courses series I've listened to, just six lectures, 3 hours. I already knew about William the Conquerer and the Battle of Hastings and how that changed the English language forever, thanks not to World History class but because of Oversimplified on YouTube. (It's a great channel that makes history fun. Their most recent video was on the First Punic War. Check it out!)
This goes into quite a bit more detail, going back to the early 1000s when the initial split in succession happened with Queen Emma of Normandy, who married first King Æthelred, having two sons with him, then after his killing, marrying his usurper's son Cnut the Great to remain Queen of England and having a son with him. But Cnut also had sons previously with his first wife, Ælfgifu. So lots of room for drama in this tangled family tree when it came to who would ultimately get to sit on the throne and rule England. 😂 Forget the Tudors. This is the royal TV drama we need. 🤭
This also goes into more detail about the Battle of Hastings itself, and the immediate aftermath of William the Conquerer winning the English throne, not just in terms of how it impacted language, but society at large. So while this is short, there's a lot of good information here.
This goes into quite a bit more detail, going back to the early 1000s when the initial split in succession happened with Queen Emma of Normandy, who married first King Æthelred, having two sons with him, then after his killing, marrying his usurper's son Cnut the Great to remain Queen of England and having a son with him. But Cnut also had sons previously with his first wife, Ælfgifu. So lots of room for drama in this tangled family tree when it came to who would ultimately get to sit on the throne and rule England. 😂 Forget the Tudors. This is the royal TV drama we need. 🤭
This also goes into more detail about the Battle of Hastings itself, and the immediate aftermath of William the Conquerer winning the English throne, not just in terms of how it impacted language, but society at large. So while this is short, there's a lot of good information here.
July 1, 2023
Very solid intro to the events of 1066 in northern Europe/England. At one time, I studied The Battle of Hastings ad nauseam, so I didn't learn anything new. However, my study/research was 20+years ago, so this was a good reminder. Much more detail could have been added, but the essentials are there, and I'm not sure casual dabblers would be interested in the minutiae. This is one of those Great Courses, which are lectures, not books. Not sure why they're in GR's database.
September 20, 2022
A fun (yet short) lecture series that provides context for William the Conqueror’s rule. 1066 was the year of the Norman conquest of Anglo-Saxon England. The point of the lecture series is to explore its significance to England as a whole. The lecturer was Jennifer Paxton, who I thought did a great job with the material. She explores England before the conquest, giving voices to some important females in history, some of the Kings ( like William) and exploring the rich politics of that era. There's only so much you can do in a short 3-hour lecture series, but she uses her time quite appropriately. I do enjoy the final lecture describing how the Normans “became English” over time. Talking about how the Normans and England have blended by the end of the 12th century. In Conclusion, the series does a good job for people who are interested in the era but gives further readings if you want to properly delve into this fascinating period.
September 13, 2022
Very good short history of the events and importance of 1066. But since it is very short, the number of names and family trees can be a challenge.
March 4, 2022
This is the series of lectures I picked immediately when I finished another one of Dr. Paxton's excellent series of lectures on medieval English history. Everything about the time period and transition of Edward the Confessor to King Harold II to William the Conqueror utterly fascinates me, so this was a natural choice for me.
Audiobook Notes: There are only six short (~30 mins) lectures about this turnover. What led up to the Norman Conquest as well as the actual invasion and the Battle of Hastings are covered here. Dr. Paxton also discusses the ways this transition changed things for the English and their history.
I can't say this one was quite as riveting from start-to-finish as the previous series I listened to, but it was really excellent. I absolutely cannot get enough of this time period and this place in the world, so it feels completely appropriate that I listened to and enjoyed this series of lectures by Dr. Paxton. She speaks clearly and with an infectious enthusiasm, and I'd like to continue listening to whatever lectures she releases because her area of interest is right in my wheelhouse.
Title: 1066: The Year that Changed Everything
Narrator: Jennifer Paxton
Length: 3 hours
Publisher: The Great Courses
Audiobook Notes: There are only six short (~30 mins) lectures about this turnover. What led up to the Norman Conquest as well as the actual invasion and the Battle of Hastings are covered here. Dr. Paxton also discusses the ways this transition changed things for the English and their history.
I can't say this one was quite as riveting from start-to-finish as the previous series I listened to, but it was really excellent. I absolutely cannot get enough of this time period and this place in the world, so it feels completely appropriate that I listened to and enjoyed this series of lectures by Dr. Paxton. She speaks clearly and with an infectious enthusiasm, and I'd like to continue listening to whatever lectures she releases because her area of interest is right in my wheelhouse.
Title: 1066: The Year that Changed Everything
Narrator: Jennifer Paxton
Length: 3 hours
Publisher: The Great Courses
February 26, 2024
Succinct and enlightening analysis of the Norman invasion of England. England after the invasion became more integrated into the European continent. An interesting history!
August 31, 2016
These Great Courses live up to their name. I've read English history, but Dr. Paxton, as always with these courses, adds so much to what I knew and even to my general perspective on the events and people. I personally am glad that she went into the strategies of Medieval war and into the exact details of William the Conqueror's conquest. Dr. Paxton also contextualizes the whole scene of England, Scandinavia, France, and Normandy. I didn't know that prior to 1066, England was closer to Scandinavia, where the Angles, the Saxons, and the Jutes had come from. After 1066, England and Normandy were tied together for centuries. England formed ties with the continent that proved invaluable. Dr. Paxton discusses the changes in architecture and language, too. If you like to know the great old stories, these are wonderful lectures.
December 17, 2014
Before I read this, I didn't know Harold Harefoot from Harold Godwinson! (They were two of the last Anglo-Saxon kings of England.) Short but very interesting lecture series. Paxton describes not only how William the Conqueror won the Battle of Hastings but also how he held onto England -- partly through military skill but mostly through economic and political and religious pressures, as well as cultural blending, strategic intermarriage, and the paying off of potential invaders.
I'm glad that the Teaching Company hired a woman for this one, as so many of their lecturers are male.
I'm glad that the Teaching Company hired a woman for this one, as so many of their lecturers are male.
April 15, 2015
This short lecture series was perfect for my desire to learn more about the happenings in England of the year 1066 without delving too deeply into the details. The lecturer touches on the major leaders involved, and their interrelationships. The lecturer also talks some about the immediate as well as long-term effects of 1066 and some of the ways that it has been viewed and interpreted over the centuries. I enjoyed it very much.
March 6, 2019
This is a good introduction to the lead up, events and aftermath of 1066. It is, however, a very basic introduction designed for those who have no more than a passing knowledge of the era. You will learn the general background and setting, the main characters and the overall interrelations of the principals and important outside actors. So if you are just starting this set of lectures is for you.
June 22, 2020
A good lecture series but way too short. For a short concise understanding of the lead up to, the event, and a bit after the Battle of Hastings you can't go wrong here. Only 4 stars just because it needed a little bit more meat for it to be substantial history.
August 18, 2019
With a British mother I was raised with a good and propper understanding that world history started in 1066. I also love Great Courses and this is a fun topic to listen to so I want to give it a 5. It is however such a short lecture 1/2 of us Americans could listen to it in a single commute to work.
July 26, 2024
Paxton says 1066 shifts England from Scandinavia to the continent, but instead of developing that idea, she offers narrative political history.
February 23, 2015
Jennifer Paxton's "1066"The Year That Changed Everything" is part of the Great Course series. The course covers the year of 1066 with discussion of preceding and subsequent events. I found Dr. Paxton an expert and effective presenter of the course.
The Great Courses products consists of entry college level courses, each encompassing multiple lectures.The presenters are all experienced academics and University level lecturers. The presenters generally have a doctorate and deep understanding in that particular field. I listened to the audio version.
As a general note, I greatly enjoy the Great Course series. The presenters are expert in the material as well as highly experienced in presenting that material. I almost always richly rewarded for the slight effort I expend in listening. Additionally, listening to the lectures makes local traffic jams far more tolerable.
I found that this course an excellent introduction to the pivotal events of 1066. And it provides a far more nuanced view of the Norman invasion than the more popular seizure by force of arms.
I would recommend this course for anyone who interested in the events of 1066 and has a few short hours to listen to the lectures.
The Great Courses products consists of entry college level courses, each encompassing multiple lectures.The presenters are all experienced academics and University level lecturers. The presenters generally have a doctorate and deep understanding in that particular field. I listened to the audio version.
As a general note, I greatly enjoy the Great Course series. The presenters are expert in the material as well as highly experienced in presenting that material. I almost always richly rewarded for the slight effort I expend in listening. Additionally, listening to the lectures makes local traffic jams far more tolerable.
I found that this course an excellent introduction to the pivotal events of 1066. And it provides a far more nuanced view of the Norman invasion than the more popular seizure by force of arms.
I would recommend this course for anyone who interested in the events of 1066 and has a few short hours to listen to the lectures.
August 18, 2020
This is fantastic. Highly, highly recommend. Just 3 hours long.
Valerie Fridland is the Reader.
Words written by professor Dr Paxton.
Valerie Fridland is the Reader.
Words written by professor Dr Paxton.
April 5, 2022
I've come to enjoy Dr. Paxton's materials. She's a good storyteller, and she's very easy on the ears. This course had three things that kept me from giving it a higher rating:
1. It was recorded in 2013. Either the production qualities weren't up to GC standards then and it's hasn't been remastered, or time has not been kind to it.
2. I feel the course is not clearly titled. "The Year that Changed Everything" seems to imply the content will be focused on the social, cultural, and/or economic changes brought about by the Norman Invasion. Instead, the GC is about the political events that led up to the invasion, the Battle of Hastings, and the steps William took to secure his place once he won. It's all very interesting, but I felt a bit shortchanged.
3. Dr. Paxton chose to relay almost all information in the present tense. "William goes to York and sees...." It's a personal peeve, I admit. I notice she doesn't do this so much in her more recent courses.
It's still an interesting course, but not nearly as interesting as The Celtic World or England from the Fall of Rome to the Norman Conquest.
1. It was recorded in 2013. Either the production qualities weren't up to GC standards then and it's hasn't been remastered, or time has not been kind to it.
2. I feel the course is not clearly titled. "The Year that Changed Everything" seems to imply the content will be focused on the social, cultural, and/or economic changes brought about by the Norman Invasion. Instead, the GC is about the political events that led up to the invasion, the Battle of Hastings, and the steps William took to secure his place once he won. It's all very interesting, but I felt a bit shortchanged.
3. Dr. Paxton chose to relay almost all information in the present tense. "William goes to York and sees...." It's a personal peeve, I admit. I notice she doesn't do this so much in her more recent courses.
It's still an interesting course, but not nearly as interesting as The Celtic World or England from the Fall of Rome to the Norman Conquest.
August 6, 2021
I was not happy with it. Somehow, the most exciting period of the British Isles with significant cultural consequences was turned into a dull boring series of lectures for no reason.
Of course, most of the people who want to listen to this course are familiar with the historic context; thus, the expectations are very different - tell us the same story, but tell us so we will enjoy it.
Of course, it was too academic with the names of cousins, half-siblings, and marriages, and that is all necessary, but it was dull and boring ... and condescending. Some things need to be explained from the American perspective. Damn, lady, we are listening to lectures about the British history, and if your audience and you can only understand it from the American perspective and metaphors about American football, well, let me tell you - the country with 250 years of history will never understand the European civilization that it more than 2000 years old. You just do not have a cultural cushion of years and years and years of historic events to feel it as it should be felt.
The author is not blessed with the most engaging voice, and it sounds like that - scholastically boring. And to make it completely biased - as a belligerent agnostic who is leaning towards atheism, I can not help thinking that someone who works in one of the most conservative educational establishments in the USA is slightly biased, and that bias sheds this light on this course. She often mentions church and religion, and if it came from someone who is irreligious, it would have sounded like - yeah, we know, they were life-forming institutions in the 11th century, and it is important to know how life was shaped by the clerical culture, but when it comes from someone who works at the Catholic university, can we hope for an unbiased perspective?.... Just asking.
Of course, most of the people who want to listen to this course are familiar with the historic context; thus, the expectations are very different - tell us the same story, but tell us so we will enjoy it.
Of course, it was too academic with the names of cousins, half-siblings, and marriages, and that is all necessary, but it was dull and boring ... and condescending. Some things need to be explained from the American perspective. Damn, lady, we are listening to lectures about the British history, and if your audience and you can only understand it from the American perspective and metaphors about American football, well, let me tell you - the country with 250 years of history will never understand the European civilization that it more than 2000 years old. You just do not have a cultural cushion of years and years and years of historic events to feel it as it should be felt.
The author is not blessed with the most engaging voice, and it sounds like that - scholastically boring. And to make it completely biased - as a belligerent agnostic who is leaning towards atheism, I can not help thinking that someone who works in one of the most conservative educational establishments in the USA is slightly biased, and that bias sheds this light on this course. She often mentions church and religion, and if it came from someone who is irreligious, it would have sounded like - yeah, we know, they were life-forming institutions in the 11th century, and it is important to know how life was shaped by the clerical culture, but when it comes from someone who works at the Catholic university, can we hope for an unbiased perspective?.... Just asking.
December 5, 2021
If I didn't get this on an Audible sale I would have been disappointed, but that's partly my fault for not reading past the title. Far from changing "everything," 1066 is the year William the Conqueror, well, y'know, conquered England. I knew the guy's name and had a vague sense of his historical importance, but beyond that I knew nothing about him, so I appreciate the learning experience regardless of my expectations. What I expected was a comprehensive coverage of many different major events across the world which coincidentally occurred in this year, and subsequently shaped the future to a major degree. And while the changes to England's identity and place in European politics made by William's conquest undoubtedly had massive ripples through history, it hardly lives up to what I felt the title promised.
January 26, 2021
This audio course has too much emphasis on marriages, lineage and kings...and too little emphasis on the enduring cultural and political effects of the 1066 invasion of England by William the Conquerer.
January 27, 2021
3.75* rounded up. There is a ton of names, which may be confusing if you’re not familiar with this moment in history (I was not). There is a ton of interesting tidbits and information that explains some peculiarities of English history.
January 30, 2022
I’m pretty sure the instructor said “supposably.”
🤦🏻♀️
Otherwise, this was a great lecture on the Norman conquest of England, and its lasting impact.
🤦🏻♀️
Otherwise, this was a great lecture on the Norman conquest of England, and its lasting impact.
September 1, 2024
לסקירה מפורטת בעברית ואנגלית, קישור לבלוג שלי -
https://sivi-the-avid-reader.com/1066...
https://sivi-the-avid-reader.com/1066...
March 3, 2023
In six lectures, Paxton gives a solid overview over the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. Of course, a lot more than can fit into a course this short can be said about these events, but it's a good starting point and engagingly presented.
February 2, 2024
Great overview. William didn't just arbitrarily invade England. He had a claim to the throne via his great Aunt Emma (twice queen of England! That was a story in itself), and the succession to the throne was very much in doubt. The king he defeated at Hastings (Harold Godwinson) did not have a claim to the throne (as I recall) other than being the strongest earl in England.
Until William's conquest, England was more a part of Scandinavia than continental Europe.
One result of the invasion was that French words were added freely to English, with the result that English has approximately twice as many (250,000 or so) words as Spanish, making it a great language for poets.
Contrary to its portrayal in Ivanhoe, there was no extended acrimony between Anglo-Saxons and Normans. The two blended quite rapidly. One example was that so many young men were going to university in Paris that England got its own university (Oxford) in order to stop the brain drain.
So this was a quick summary of the conquest that I very much enjoyed.
Until William's conquest, England was more a part of Scandinavia than continental Europe.
One result of the invasion was that French words were added freely to English, with the result that English has approximately twice as many (250,000 or so) words as Spanish, making it a great language for poets.
Contrary to its portrayal in Ivanhoe, there was no extended acrimony between Anglo-Saxons and Normans. The two blended quite rapidly. One example was that so many young men were going to university in Paris that England got its own university (Oxford) in order to stop the brain drain.
So this was a quick summary of the conquest that I very much enjoyed.
December 23, 2025
For a student of the English language like yours truly, 1066 is a momentous year. And Paxton takes on such a date that has been rehearsed, ritualised, and relentlessly mythologised in English history, and still manages to make it feel freshly combustible.
The trick is not the novelty of facts—those are well-trodden—but a recalibration of perspective.
Paxton doesn’t treat 1066 as a single historical shift. Instead, she frames it as a long, grinding hinge in history, a year that compressed older tensions and released new trajectories whose aftershocks shaped England for centuries.
This is not history as a heroic highlight reel; it’s history as slow tectonics. And that choice quietly but decisively sets her apart from many classic narratives of the Norman Conquest.
Compared with earlier accounts—Edward Freeman’s monumental Victorian volumes or David Douglas’s authoritative but Norman-centric studies—Paxton is less interested in triumph and more in transformation.
Where Freeman wrote with moral earnestness about the “English nation” struggling under foreign rule, Paxton writes with a cooler, more analytical eye, attentive to institutions rather than indignation. She resists the temptation to frame the Conquest as civilisational replacement.
Instead, she shows it as a violent but negotiated process, one in which continuity stubbornly survives conquest. Laws endure, administrative habits persist, and even defeated elites find ways to adapt. In this, Paxton aligns more closely with recent revisionist historians, yet her prose remains accessible, never drowning the reader in academic throat-clearing.
A useful point of comparison is Marc Morris’s ‘The Norman Conquest,’ a work that revels in narrative drive and character drama. Morris gives us a cinematic 1066—Harold Godwinson racing south, William calculating his odds, and the Bayeux Tapestry practically flapping in the background. Paxton, by contrast, deliberately slows the camera.
Battles matter, but so do charters, land grants, ecclesiastical reforms, and the reshaping of governance. Where Morris thrives on momentum, Paxton insists on consequence. Hastings is not the end of the story; it is the beginning of administrative upheaval. The drama in Paxton’s book lies less in who wins the crown and more in how power reorganises itself once the shouting stops.
Her treatment of the Anglo-Saxon world before 1066 is particularly strong. Rather than portraying late Anglo-Saxon England as decaying or doomed—a narrative beloved by older historians eager to justify Norman “progress”—Paxton emphasises its sophistication.
England was already unusually centralised, bureaucratically adept, and fiscally organised. This matters because it reframes the Conquest not as Normans dragging England into modernity, but as Normans exploiting and intensifying an already efficient system.
In comparison, works like Frank Stenton’s ‘Anglo-Saxon England’, though foundational, sometimes isolate the pre-Conquest world too neatly from what followed. Paxton stitches the two eras together, showing how continuity and rupture coexist in uneasy tandem.
The comparative edge of Paxton’s work becomes sharper when set against Norman-focused biographies such as David Bates’s ‘William the Conqueror.’ Bates is rightly admired for psychological nuance and political insight, but his lens remains trained on William’s ambition and legitimacy.
Paxton decentralises the conqueror. William is important, yes, but he is not history incarnate. Bishops, sheriffs, monks, landholders, and even anonymous scribes matter just as much.
This shift democratizes historical causation. The Conquest becomes not merely the story of a duke crossing the Channel, but of an entire society being rewired—sometimes by force, sometimes by pragmatism.
One of the book’s quieter strengths is its attention to the Church. Paxton treats ecclesiastical reform not as background noise but as a central arena of change. Norman churchmen brought continental ideals of discipline and hierarchy, but they encountered an English Church that was neither backward nor passive.
The resulting synthesis reshaped religious life, architecture, and intellectual culture. When compared to R. Allen Brown’s work, which tends to foreground military and feudal structures, Paxton’s inclusion of clerical networks feels like a necessary correction.
Power in 1066 was not only wielded with swords; it was sanctified with scripture and stone.
Paxton also handles sources with admirable transparency. She does not pretend the evidence is seamless. Chronicles contradict each other, silence speaks as loudly as testimony, and documents carry their own political agendas.
Unlike some popular histories that smooth over these fractures for narrative convenience, Paxton allows uncertainty to remain visible. This methodological honesty places her closer to scholars like Pauline Stafford, who consistently remind readers that medieval history is a reconstruction, not a photograph.
Yet Paxton manages this without alienating general readers, which is no small feat.
In terms of style, Paxton strikes a careful balance. Her prose is lucid and disciplined, rarely indulging in rhetorical flourish, but never dry. This distinguishes her from writers like Simon Schama, whose stylistic bravura can sometimes overshadow analysis. Paxton’s sentences do not perform; they clarify.
The effect is cumulative rather than explosive. By the time the reader reaches the aftermath of 1066, the sense of transformation feels earned, grounded in structural change rather than narrative hype.
What ultimately makes ‘1066: The Year That Changed Everything’ compelling is its refusal to fetishise the date itself. Paxton understands that years do not change everything—people and systems do. 1066 matters because it accelerated processes already underway and redirected them through conquest.
In this respect, her work resonates with broader historiographical shifts that question “great man” narratives and sudden breaks. Compared with older triumphalist or nationalist histories, Paxton’s England is a palimpsest, overwritten but never fully erased.
If there is a limitation, it lies precisely in this restraint. Readers craving dramatic colour or emotional immersion may find Paxton’s tone measured to the point of coolness. Morris’s galloping horses, Bates’s brooding duke, or even the moral fervour of Freeman may linger longer in popular memory.
Paxton’s impact is subtler. She changes how you think, not how fast your pulse races. But that, arguably, is the higher ambition of serious history.
In the crowded field of books on 1066, Paxton’s contribution stands out not by shouting louder, but by listening harder—to structures, to institutions, to the quiet persistence of the past beneath conquest.
Read alongside Morris, Bates, and Stenton, her book acts as a corrective lens, bringing depth where others bring drama. It reminds us that the true revolution of 1066 was not simply a Norman king on an English throne, but the slow, complicated remaking of a society that learned, resisted, and adapted in equal measure.
History here is not destiny fulfilled, but contingency managed—and that makes Paxton’s account not just informative, but quietly transformative.
Most recommended.
The trick is not the novelty of facts—those are well-trodden—but a recalibration of perspective.
Paxton doesn’t treat 1066 as a single historical shift. Instead, she frames it as a long, grinding hinge in history, a year that compressed older tensions and released new trajectories whose aftershocks shaped England for centuries.
This is not history as a heroic highlight reel; it’s history as slow tectonics. And that choice quietly but decisively sets her apart from many classic narratives of the Norman Conquest.
Compared with earlier accounts—Edward Freeman’s monumental Victorian volumes or David Douglas’s authoritative but Norman-centric studies—Paxton is less interested in triumph and more in transformation.
Where Freeman wrote with moral earnestness about the “English nation” struggling under foreign rule, Paxton writes with a cooler, more analytical eye, attentive to institutions rather than indignation. She resists the temptation to frame the Conquest as civilisational replacement.
Instead, she shows it as a violent but negotiated process, one in which continuity stubbornly survives conquest. Laws endure, administrative habits persist, and even defeated elites find ways to adapt. In this, Paxton aligns more closely with recent revisionist historians, yet her prose remains accessible, never drowning the reader in academic throat-clearing.
A useful point of comparison is Marc Morris’s ‘The Norman Conquest,’ a work that revels in narrative drive and character drama. Morris gives us a cinematic 1066—Harold Godwinson racing south, William calculating his odds, and the Bayeux Tapestry practically flapping in the background. Paxton, by contrast, deliberately slows the camera.
Battles matter, but so do charters, land grants, ecclesiastical reforms, and the reshaping of governance. Where Morris thrives on momentum, Paxton insists on consequence. Hastings is not the end of the story; it is the beginning of administrative upheaval. The drama in Paxton’s book lies less in who wins the crown and more in how power reorganises itself once the shouting stops.
Her treatment of the Anglo-Saxon world before 1066 is particularly strong. Rather than portraying late Anglo-Saxon England as decaying or doomed—a narrative beloved by older historians eager to justify Norman “progress”—Paxton emphasises its sophistication.
England was already unusually centralised, bureaucratically adept, and fiscally organised. This matters because it reframes the Conquest not as Normans dragging England into modernity, but as Normans exploiting and intensifying an already efficient system.
In comparison, works like Frank Stenton’s ‘Anglo-Saxon England’, though foundational, sometimes isolate the pre-Conquest world too neatly from what followed. Paxton stitches the two eras together, showing how continuity and rupture coexist in uneasy tandem.
The comparative edge of Paxton’s work becomes sharper when set against Norman-focused biographies such as David Bates’s ‘William the Conqueror.’ Bates is rightly admired for psychological nuance and political insight, but his lens remains trained on William’s ambition and legitimacy.
Paxton decentralises the conqueror. William is important, yes, but he is not history incarnate. Bishops, sheriffs, monks, landholders, and even anonymous scribes matter just as much.
This shift democratizes historical causation. The Conquest becomes not merely the story of a duke crossing the Channel, but of an entire society being rewired—sometimes by force, sometimes by pragmatism.
One of the book’s quieter strengths is its attention to the Church. Paxton treats ecclesiastical reform not as background noise but as a central arena of change. Norman churchmen brought continental ideals of discipline and hierarchy, but they encountered an English Church that was neither backward nor passive.
The resulting synthesis reshaped religious life, architecture, and intellectual culture. When compared to R. Allen Brown’s work, which tends to foreground military and feudal structures, Paxton’s inclusion of clerical networks feels like a necessary correction.
Power in 1066 was not only wielded with swords; it was sanctified with scripture and stone.
Paxton also handles sources with admirable transparency. She does not pretend the evidence is seamless. Chronicles contradict each other, silence speaks as loudly as testimony, and documents carry their own political agendas.
Unlike some popular histories that smooth over these fractures for narrative convenience, Paxton allows uncertainty to remain visible. This methodological honesty places her closer to scholars like Pauline Stafford, who consistently remind readers that medieval history is a reconstruction, not a photograph.
Yet Paxton manages this without alienating general readers, which is no small feat.
In terms of style, Paxton strikes a careful balance. Her prose is lucid and disciplined, rarely indulging in rhetorical flourish, but never dry. This distinguishes her from writers like Simon Schama, whose stylistic bravura can sometimes overshadow analysis. Paxton’s sentences do not perform; they clarify.
The effect is cumulative rather than explosive. By the time the reader reaches the aftermath of 1066, the sense of transformation feels earned, grounded in structural change rather than narrative hype.
What ultimately makes ‘1066: The Year That Changed Everything’ compelling is its refusal to fetishise the date itself. Paxton understands that years do not change everything—people and systems do. 1066 matters because it accelerated processes already underway and redirected them through conquest.
In this respect, her work resonates with broader historiographical shifts that question “great man” narratives and sudden breaks. Compared with older triumphalist or nationalist histories, Paxton’s England is a palimpsest, overwritten but never fully erased.
If there is a limitation, it lies precisely in this restraint. Readers craving dramatic colour or emotional immersion may find Paxton’s tone measured to the point of coolness. Morris’s galloping horses, Bates’s brooding duke, or even the moral fervour of Freeman may linger longer in popular memory.
Paxton’s impact is subtler. She changes how you think, not how fast your pulse races. But that, arguably, is the higher ambition of serious history.
In the crowded field of books on 1066, Paxton’s contribution stands out not by shouting louder, but by listening harder—to structures, to institutions, to the quiet persistence of the past beneath conquest.
Read alongside Morris, Bates, and Stenton, her book acts as a corrective lens, bringing depth where others bring drama. It reminds us that the true revolution of 1066 was not simply a Norman king on an English throne, but the slow, complicated remaking of a society that learned, resisted, and adapted in equal measure.
History here is not destiny fulfilled, but contingency managed—and that makes Paxton’s account not just informative, but quietly transformative.
Most recommended.
October 16, 2019
William the Conqueror, 1066. If that was the basis of your historical memory this is the audio for you. Paxton provides the context, and historical events that occurred and highlights the points of contention that historians are still debating.
Why I started this book: I couldn't pick a book from my audio list, so I went to Overdrive and picked something new. My list is still just as long, but it turns out that I need to learn more about English history and why the Normandy invasion was such a big deal.
Why I finished it: Love the lecture format... all the nostalgia of college, none of the papers or tests. This was a very short Great Courses (3 hours) but still a great foundation for those of us, less familiar with English history.
Why I started this book: I couldn't pick a book from my audio list, so I went to Overdrive and picked something new. My list is still just as long, but it turns out that I need to learn more about English history and why the Normandy invasion was such a big deal.
Why I finished it: Love the lecture format... all the nostalgia of college, none of the papers or tests. This was a very short Great Courses (3 hours) but still a great foundation for those of us, less familiar with English history.
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