The Norman Invasion of England By Charles River Editors
- Narrated by: Colin Fluxman
- Length: 1 hr and 48 mins
- Release date: 09-21-22
The Norman Invasion of England By Charles River Editors AudioBook Summary
“We, conquered by William, have liberated the Conqueror’s land.” So reads the memorial to the British war dead at Bayeaux, Normandy. Commemorating those who gave their lives to free France in 1944, it also serves to remind us of an earlier conflict. For the English, the Norman conquest remains deeply embedded in the national psyche. As the last contested military invasion to have succeeded in conquering this proud island nation, the date of 1066 is the one every citizen can remember. For them, William will forever be the “Conqueror”, the last invader to beat them in an open fight. For others, notably the French, he is the “Bastard”, a reference not only to his lineage.
For hundreds of years, the Anglo-Saxons—who had been harassing the Saxon Shore as pirates—began to settle in Britain, creating a patchwork of little kingdoms and starting a new era of English history. Several early medieval historians, writing well after the events, said the Anglo-Saxons were invited to Britain to defend the region from the northern tribes and ended up taking over. The Venerable Bede (672 or 673-735) said in his Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum (“Ecclesiastical History of the English People”) that in the year 449, “The British consulted what was to be done and where they should seek assistance to prevent or repel the cruel and frequent incursions of the northern nations. They all agreed with their king Vortigern to call over to their aid, from the parts beyond the sea, the Saxon nation…. The two first commanders are said to have been Hengist and Horsa.”
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