Normans and the 'Norman Edge'

<p>Modern historians of the Normans have tended to treat their enterprises and</p><p></p><p>achievements as a series of separate and discrete histories. Such treatments are</p><p></p><p>valid and valuable but historical understanding of the Normans also depends</p><p></p><p>as much on broader approaches akin to those adopted in this book. As the</p><p></p><p>successor volume to <i>Norman Expansion: Connections Continuities and Contrasts</i></p><p></p><p>it complements and significantly extends its findings to provide a fuller appreciation</p><p></p><p>of the roles played by the Normans as one of the most dynamic and</p><p></p><p>transformative forces in the history of medieval ‘Outer Europe’. It includes</p><p></p><p>panoramic essays that dissect the conceptual and methodological issues concerned</p><p></p><p>suggest strategies for avoiding associated pitfalls and indicate how far</p><p></p><p>and in what ways the Normans and their legacies served to reshape sociopolitical</p><p></p><p>landscapes across a vast geography extending from the remoter corners</p><p></p><p>of the British Isles to the Mediterranean basin. Leading experts in their fields</p><p></p><p>also provide case-by-case analyses set within and between different areas of</p><p></p><p>themes such as lordship and domination identities and identification naming</p><p></p><p>patterns marriage policies saints’ cults intercultural exchanges and diaspora–</p><p></p><p>homeland connections.</p><p>The Normans and the ‘Norman Edge’ therefore presents a potent combination</p><p></p><p>of thought-provoking overviews and fresh insights derived from new</p><p></p><p>research and its wide-ranging comparative focus has the advantage of illuminating</p><p></p><p>aspects of the Norman past that traditional regional or national histories</p><p></p><p>often do not reveal so clearly. It likewise makes a major contribution</p><p></p><p>to current Norman scholarship by reconsidering the links between Norman</p><p></p><p>expansion and ‘state-formation’; the extent to which Norman practices and</p><p></p><p>priorities were distinctive; the balance between continuity and innovation;</p><p></p><p>relations between the Normans and the indigenous peoples and cultures they</p><p></p><p>encountered; and not least forms of Norman identity and their resilience over</p><p></p><p>time. An extensive bibliography is also one of this book’s strengths.</p>