Start here
The Norman Conquest of England
How William of Normandy won the English crown in 1066 and spent the following years turning a single victory into lasting Norman control of the kingdom.
Empires and Wars
Norman Conquests
The Norman takeover of England and the later push into Ireland.
The Norman Conquest of England: A Turning Point
How the Norman takeover replaced much of England's ruling class with French-speaking lords, and how land was redistributed to reward the king's followers.
The Norman Conquest of England: A Turning Point in History
Domesday Book explained: why William ordered the 1085-86 survey, how commissioners gathered the information and what it reveals about taxation and land.
The Norman Conquest of England: A Turning Point in Medieval History
How the Norman takeover changed English, law and the church: French vocabulary entering the language, new royal justice and a reshaped church.
The Norman Conquest of Ireland
How Anglo-Norman knights came to Ireland from 1169 at the invitation of a deposed Leinster king, and how Irish provincial kings shaped the invasion.
The Norman Conquest of Ireland: A History of Invasion and Colonization
How Anglo-Norman settlers built castles, manors and boroughs in Ireland after the invasion, and why a lasting divide opened between settled and Gaelic areas.
The Norman Conquest: A Turning Point in History
The 1066 campaign and the fighting at Hastings: who claimed the English crown, what the armies looked like and how the battle was decided on one October day.
The Rise of the Norman Conquest: A Turning Point in Medieval History
How William and his barons turned the 1066 victory into Norman rule: castles, rebellions put down in the 1060s and 1070s, and the redistribution of land.
Related topics
More in empires and wars
Rome and the Carolingians How the Roman west gave way to new kingdoms and how Charlemagne empire later broke apart. The Byzantine Empire The eastern Roman state, its power, its legacy and its end at Constantinople. The Crusades Causes, campaigns and consequences of the crusading movement. The Crusader States The Latin lordships founded in the East and the fall of Jerusalem. Templars and Hospitallers The great military and charitable orders of the crusading world. The Hundred Years War The long English and French conflict and the Black Prince. Realms and Empires The Holy Roman Empire, the Ottomans and the dynastic wars of England. Era Overviews Broad looks at the medieval period and its themes of change. Ottomans and Iberia The early Ottomans, the fall of Constantinople and the Reconquista. City-States Self-governing medieval cities, from Italian republics to royal Paris. Rise of the Kingdoms How England, France, Burgundy and the Holy Roman Empire took shape. The Vikings Norse raiders, traders and settlers and their impact on Europe and England. Famous Battles and Sieges Individual clashes beyond Hastings and Agincourt and what each changed.