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Introduction
Year Zero
Norman England
Angevin England
Contents - Norman England
What happened next?…
Making history is one thing. Keeping it is another
William had won the day, but that wasn't the end of the story. How did a relative handful of newcomers completely take over? Hints of conciliation, and then they moved the bulldozers in.
The Conqueror
William
Illegitimate, hounded and vulnerable. That William made adulthood is surprising, even before he pulled off the biggest gamble of all.
'And after that it grew much worse'
The reality of conquest
The battles of 1066 had left the door to England wide open, but some resistence remained. By making an example of the north, William showed what losing really looks like.
Not one hide of land did he not know
Why England was worth conquering
The Domesday Book lets us look into Norman England in sometimes absurd detail. It was a crowning moment for the Anglo-Saxon State.
Going against the flow
William Rufus
How do you follow an act like William the Conqueror? Even if it was the wrong time, could he be the right man?
Church and State
Who answers only to God?
The big questions of the day arrive in England. If the king answers only to God, what about God's representatives on Earth?
Going native
Henry I
The youngest of William's sons sets out to use English money to turn a family into a dynasty. His problems with Normandy and the Church are sorted out. It was all going so well.
The unthinkable
Henry I Part 2
Henry I's plans literally go under as the White Ship sinks. A search for the least worst option follows.
Money
When it goes wrong
In 1124 money stopped working. What happened? And how might capital punishment help?
Things fall apart
What we are told happened in the reign of King Stephen
Bold, decisive action is followed by a reminder of how quickly things can go wrong. Stability is just skin deep.
Stephen
The anarchy of King Stephen
A different grandchild of the Conqueror steps into the breach. Brave and chivalrous, straight out of a story. It is a disaster.
Matilda
The anarchy of the Empress Matilda
Can a woman rule medieval England? Can a haughty character still using an imperial title from her first marriage while now married to the count of Normandy's biggest rival rule medieval England?