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Twelve English Statesmen
William the Conqueror
The history of England, like the land and its people, has been specially insular, and yet no land has undergone deeper influences from without. No land has owed more than England to the personal action of men not of native birth. Britain was truly called another world, in opposition to the world of the European mainland, the world of Rome. In every age the history of Britain is the history of an island, of an island great enough to form a world of itself. In speaking of Celts or Teutons in Britain, we are speaking, not simply of Celts and Teutons, but of Celts and Teutons parted from their kinsfolk on the mainland, and brought under the common influences of an island world. The land has seen several settlements from outside, but the settlers have always been brought under the spell of their insular position. Whenever settlement has not meant displacement, the new comers have been assimilated by the existing people of the land. When it has meant displacement, they have still become islanders, marked off from those whom they left behind by characteristics which were the direct result of settlement in an island world.
The history of Britain then, and specially the history of England, has been largely a history of elements absorbed and assimilated from without. But each of those elements has done somewhat to modify the mass into which it was absorbed. The English land and nation are not as they might have been if they had never in later times absorbed the Fleming, the French Huguenot, the German Palatine. Still less are they as they might have been, if they had not in earlier times absorbed the greater elements of the Dane and the Norman. Both were assimilated; but both modified the character and destiny of the people into whose substance they were absorbed. The conquerors from Normandy were silently and peacefully lost in the greater mass of the English people; still we can never be as if the Norman had never come among us. We ever bear about us the signs of his presence. Our colonists have carried those signs with them into distant lands, to remind men that settlers in America and Australia came from a land which the Norman once entered as a conqueror. But that those signs of his presence hold the place which they do hold in our mixed political being, that, badges of conquest as they are, no one feels them to be badges of conquest—all this comes of the fact that, if the Norman came as a conqueror, he came as a conqueror of a special, perhaps almost of an unique kind. The Norman Conquest of England has, in its nature and in its results, no exact parallel in history. And that it has no exact parallel in history is largely owing to the character and position of the man who wrought it. That the history of England for the last eight hundred years has been what it has been has largely come of the personal character of a single man. That we are what we are to this day largely comes of the fact that there was a moment when our national destiny might be said to hang on the will of a single man, and that that man was William, surnamed at different stages of his life and memory, the Bastard, the Conqueror, and the Great...
The history of Britain then, and specially the history of England, has been largely a history of elements absorbed and assimilated from without. But each of those elements has done somewhat to modify the mass into which it was absorbed. The English land and nation are not as they might have been if they had never in later times absorbed the Fleming, the French Huguenot, the German Palatine. Still less are they as they might have been, if they had not in earlier times absorbed the greater elements of the Dane and the Norman. Both were assimilated; but both modified the character and destiny of the people into whose substance they were absorbed. The conquerors from Normandy were silently and peacefully lost in the greater mass of the English people; still we can never be as if the Norman had never come among us. We ever bear about us the signs of his presence. Our colonists have carried those signs with them into distant lands, to remind men that settlers in America and Australia came from a land which the Norman once entered as a conqueror. But that those signs of his presence hold the place which they do hold in our mixed political being, that, badges of conquest as they are, no one feels them to be badges of conquest—all this comes of the fact that, if the Norman came as a conqueror, he came as a conqueror of a special, perhaps almost of an unique kind. The Norman Conquest of England has, in its nature and in its results, no exact parallel in history. And that it has no exact parallel in history is largely owing to the character and position of the man who wrought it. That the history of England for the last eight hundred years has been what it has been has largely come of the personal character of a single man. That we are what we are to this day largely comes of the fact that there was a moment when our national destiny might be said to hang on the will of a single man, and that that man was William, surnamed at different stages of his life and memory, the Bastard, the Conqueror, and the Great...
108 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 8, 2016
48 people are currently reading
157 people want to read
About the author
Edward Augustus Freeman
710 books6 followersEnglish historian, architectural artist, and Liberal politician, as well as a one-time candidate for Parliament. He held the position of Regius Professor of Modern History at Oxford.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
March 20, 2015
4 1/2
I admit I went into this fully intending to enjoy it, and I did. Freeman paints a realist portrait of William the Great, maybe it is a tad rosy, maybe he really was just and intelligent. I like that at the bottom of nearly every page there were extensive footnotes giving you extra details on the history of a particular person, event or debate.
If there were doubts on some part of the narrative the book said so. (It gave the whys and wherefores of the situation as it is known) It may be outdated, I couldn't say as it's the only book I have read on William, but that it is well written I can say and though it's more an overview of his life, it is not a rushed overview. I feel that I can recommend it as it isn't dry, waffley or bogged down with details. I knocked a half star off as I would have liked a bit more of his personal history, his wife Matilda is mentioned exactly four perhaps five times, and as they had several children I would have liked to at least know when those children where born, what their name's were and so on. Yes, I would reread it.
I admit I went into this fully intending to enjoy it, and I did. Freeman paints a realist portrait of William the Great, maybe it is a tad rosy, maybe he really was just and intelligent. I like that at the bottom of nearly every page there were extensive footnotes giving you extra details on the history of a particular person, event or debate.
If there were doubts on some part of the narrative the book said so. (It gave the whys and wherefores of the situation as it is known) It may be outdated, I couldn't say as it's the only book I have read on William, but that it is well written I can say and though it's more an overview of his life, it is not a rushed overview. I feel that I can recommend it as it isn't dry, waffley or bogged down with details. I knocked a half star off as I would have liked a bit more of his personal history, his wife Matilda is mentioned exactly four perhaps five times, and as they had several children I would have liked to at least know when those children where born, what their name's were and so on. Yes, I would reread it.
August 30, 2023
Overall an interesting read, as most people I had rough information about William the Conqueror before reading, and this book gave further insight into not just his conquest but his life and what made him who he was. It takes you through the events leading up to the conquest, the conquest, the times of his reign as King of England and then finishes on his death. It gave a lot of information I was was unaware of, however I found it a hard read, a bit heavy (which you'd expect) I'd have to read in sessions with gaps in-between but the hardest points were when for the most part the book is in chronological order which helps it flow but then at points it jump about for example one chapter was talking about events in 1081 and then it would start discussing events that occured in 1071 made it hard to separate the events discussed.
February 14, 2019
This is certainly not a hagiography of William the Conqueror. This book points to his greatness, and to his flaws. It shows how the foundations that he laid, helped towards the greatness of England centuries later.
June 13, 2019
This book gives you the known information, and the legends, and the possibilities of truth in them. I read this right before seeing the Bayeux Tapestry and found it added to the experience
October 29, 2023
I love learning about history that is tied to my family.
July 26, 2016
Must confess to skipping numerous paragraphs of this biography. With it being relatively short I’d hoped for a concise and engaging account of one of my country’s most famous kings, but instead I found it dull and rambling.
Like many nineteenth-century biographers, the author always opts for the passive voice, never the active: “The Welsh expedition of William” as opposed to “William’s Welsh expedition” and “The mind of William” instead of “William’s mind”.
This doesn’t make for smooth reading. In fact, “The country of Matilda”, as opposed to “Matilda’s country”, carries the ambiguity that in the 1000s there was a country called Matilda.
I’m sure there are more modern biographies available on William the Conqueror, so only read this one if you want a freebie.
Like many nineteenth-century biographers, the author always opts for the passive voice, never the active: “The Welsh expedition of William” as opposed to “William’s Welsh expedition” and “The mind of William” instead of “William’s mind”.
This doesn’t make for smooth reading. In fact, “The country of Matilda”, as opposed to “Matilda’s country”, carries the ambiguity that in the 1000s there was a country called Matilda.
I’m sure there are more modern biographies available on William the Conqueror, so only read this one if you want a freebie.
November 6, 2014
Good book for British people or others interested in the story of William or the period. Not that enjoyable for people unfamiliar with the topic.
May 2, 2016
Really interesting read
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews