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The Normans: Warrior Knights and their Castles
The Norman Knight was the most feared warrior during the 11th and 12th centuries in Western Europe. Tales of their conquests spread throughout the known world as their military prowess resulted in the capture Sicily in 1060 and England in 1066. This beautifully illustrated book explores the world of the Normans and the life of a typical Norman knight. Authors Chris Gravett and David Nicolle discuss the spectacular castles that they erected to protect their lands, as well as the equipment , training, tactics and daily life of a typical Norman Knight.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published April 25, 2006
About the author
Christopher Gravett
67 books8 followersChris Gravett is a former Senior Curator at the Royal Armouries, Tower of London, and a recognized authority on the arms, armour, and warfare of the medieval world. He has worked as an advisor for numerous TV and film productions, and has written many books. He currently works as a curator at Woburn Abbey, Bedfordshire.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 23, 2023
1) BEAUTIFUL artwork. The artwork is actually the best part.
2) This book reads like a textbook, and I think that might be intentional. It's huge! It's the size and shape of a textbook and even has glossy textbook-like pages. Is it a textbook? I think it probably is.
3) I liked this a lot. It had great information and beautiful imagery, and I learned a lot. I just wish it spent more time talking about the castles at war than their construction. It doesn't go into much detail about castles during sieges and I found that a shame.
2) This book reads like a textbook, and I think that might be intentional. It's huge! It's the size and shape of a textbook and even has glossy textbook-like pages. Is it a textbook? I think it probably is.
3) I liked this a lot. It had great information and beautiful imagery, and I learned a lot. I just wish it spent more time talking about the castles at war than their construction. It doesn't go into much detail about castles during sieges and I found that a shame.
August 10, 2013
I was drawn to this book at the library by it's colorful and plentiful illustrations and decided to give it a shot. I have done substantial reading on this period of history, including specific reading on the (relatively) short span of time covered in detail by the book. The books I have read in the past have varied from popular history to textbooks and theses.
On the positive side, the book was full of interesting color photographs and diagrams. The book was also very thorough and covered a variety of topics concerning the Normans and their expansion. Each section goes into intricate detail describing the technical aspects of each chapter's subject. The best chapter was definitely the last chapter describing the castles at war and detailing various sieges. That chapter also included many historical accounts rather than the more descriptive style of the rest of the book.
On the negative side: The terminology could be difficult to follow. Even though there was an index, it seemed to define words at random - defining common terms and leaving much more obscure terms a mystery. The people and geography could also be confusing to those more unfamiliar with the subject. The author doesn't always firmly place the historical people discussed firmly in location or time (when and where did this person live and how are they related to other people discussed - if at all?). Any student of early Medieval history can tell you that those relationship could be complicated even with a full explanation! Maps would have been helpful as the discussion of locations goes far beyond your typical London-Paris-type locations. Which ones are on which side of the English Channel?
Overall, I liked the book and learned about Norman history from it. I was particularly interested in instances where the author pointed out that examples of such cultural staples of the time as helmets (think spangenhelm) and mail armor have either rarely survived or not at all. A good book, but not for those with only a light interest in the early Middle Ages or with no previous experience in Medieval terminology or geography.
On the positive side, the book was full of interesting color photographs and diagrams. The book was also very thorough and covered a variety of topics concerning the Normans and their expansion. Each section goes into intricate detail describing the technical aspects of each chapter's subject. The best chapter was definitely the last chapter describing the castles at war and detailing various sieges. That chapter also included many historical accounts rather than the more descriptive style of the rest of the book.
On the negative side: The terminology could be difficult to follow. Even though there was an index, it seemed to define words at random - defining common terms and leaving much more obscure terms a mystery. The people and geography could also be confusing to those more unfamiliar with the subject. The author doesn't always firmly place the historical people discussed firmly in location or time (when and where did this person live and how are they related to other people discussed - if at all?). Any student of early Medieval history can tell you that those relationship could be complicated even with a full explanation! Maps would have been helpful as the discussion of locations goes far beyond your typical London-Paris-type locations. Which ones are on which side of the English Channel?
Overall, I liked the book and learned about Norman history from it. I was particularly interested in instances where the author pointed out that examples of such cultural staples of the time as helmets (think spangenhelm) and mail armor have either rarely survived or not at all. A good book, but not for those with only a light interest in the early Middle Ages or with no previous experience in Medieval terminology or geography.
April 15, 2026
The Normans: Warrior Knights and their Castles by Christopher Gravett and David Nicolle opens with a brief, surface‑level overview of Norman history across the regions they influenced. If you’re hoping for an in‑depth historical narrative, this book won’t meet that need. The real substance begins after this introductory section.
The next portion focuses on Norman knights, especially their equipment, with a lighter touch on tactics. The authors excel here: they clearly explain what a typical knight would have carried and highlight regional variations. For example, Norman knights in Southern Italy and Antioch encountered different military traditions and adopted some of them. This section also covers key Norman military tactics, including how armies were composed and the strategies they commonly employed.
Castles make up the largest and most detailed section of the book. Gravett and Nicolle leave almost nothing unexplored. They examine Norman castles in every region previously discussed and dive into extremely specific architectural details—sometimes, in my opinion, too many. The sheer volume of castle descriptions becomes repetitive after a while, and this was the only part where I found myself skimming. Still, the section includes valuable material on sieges and thoughtful evaluations of how effectively Norman castles fulfilled their defensive purposes.
One of the book’s greatest strengths is its extensive collection of high‑quality images. Nearly every page includes visuals that help the reader understand how the equipment, structures, and concepts actually looked.
Overall, I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to anyone seeking a focused resource on Norman knights and their castles. However, readers looking for more than a brief overview of Norman history may find it lacking.
The next portion focuses on Norman knights, especially their equipment, with a lighter touch on tactics. The authors excel here: they clearly explain what a typical knight would have carried and highlight regional variations. For example, Norman knights in Southern Italy and Antioch encountered different military traditions and adopted some of them. This section also covers key Norman military tactics, including how armies were composed and the strategies they commonly employed.
Castles make up the largest and most detailed section of the book. Gravett and Nicolle leave almost nothing unexplored. They examine Norman castles in every region previously discussed and dive into extremely specific architectural details—sometimes, in my opinion, too many. The sheer volume of castle descriptions becomes repetitive after a while, and this was the only part where I found myself skimming. Still, the section includes valuable material on sieges and thoughtful evaluations of how effectively Norman castles fulfilled their defensive purposes.
One of the book’s greatest strengths is its extensive collection of high‑quality images. Nearly every page includes visuals that help the reader understand how the equipment, structures, and concepts actually looked.
Overall, I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to anyone seeking a focused resource on Norman knights and their castles. However, readers looking for more than a brief overview of Norman history may find it lacking.
February 27, 2020
Overall an interesting book, though gets a bit heavy in the last 1/4
The first half is very informative and stays interesting as well, while the second half (the Castles section) is interesting for a while, and for a few pages at the end, but the middle part of that section gets quite repetative.
On the positive side, I learned a lot more about the Normans in Italy than I knew before (I'd anticipated the setting being limited to France and England) so that was a definite plus
In all, despite the slowing pace, this is well worth a read if you like early medieval stuff.
The first half is very informative and stays interesting as well, while the second half (the Castles section) is interesting for a while, and for a few pages at the end, but the middle part of that section gets quite repetative.
On the positive side, I learned a lot more about the Normans in Italy than I knew before (I'd anticipated the setting being limited to France and England) so that was a definite plus
In all, despite the slowing pace, this is well worth a read if you like early medieval stuff.
September 26, 2012
An interesting book of two halves comprising a well written and entertaining first part on Norman history followed by a second part which deals with the construction, defence and day to day life of Norman castles, providing stacks of detail on building methods and the defensive logic behind architectural features. Next time I visit a castle I will be better informed thanks to this book.
July 4, 2011
Really enjoyed this book. Kept me interested from the beginning to the end. Highly recommended
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews