François Neveux

Admirably compact & dense overview history of the Normans, from Viking days (which receive acceptable coverage here in their own right), to High Middle Ages. Subtleties & details of Carolingian & Capetian France - another expertise of this scholar - are covered with particular erudition, but the entire book is first-rate. Also, this simple mass pocket edition features a commendably generous (120pp+) appendices/references section, complete with detailed chronology, many maps & tables, & well-curated bibliography. The perfect introduction to this singular period - because it accomplishes more than an introduction.
(Note: The book does exist in English translation, but I'm unaware if the appendices section is as complete. The top rating I give is for the original French edition, & *with full appendices.)… (mehr)

When I think of “Normans”, the first thing that pops to mind is the Norman Conquest – and that’s an important part of this book, but not all of it. Author François Neveux covers the transition of batches of Viking raiders from Scandinavia into French rulers of the Dutchy of Normandy, then their ongoing adventures as conquerors of England and (temporarily) Sicily. It can get rather confusing, especially in the early days of Normandy and in the entire history of Norman Sicily – there are too many people and places to keep track of. This isn’t really Neveux’s fault; it’s a “Brief History”, after all, and he has a lot of ground to cover; however, I’m planning to read a couple of more books on the time to try and reinforce my memory. The geography bounces around a little, first covering the Duchy of Normandy up to the Battle of Hastings, then moving to the conquest of Sicily, then back to England. The writing is clear and easy to follow, even with the complexity of the geopolitical situations; there’s a handy chronological table in the back. A photographic plate section including some of the participants. Maps include Normandy, England, Europe in general, and the Battle of Hastings; I would have appreciated a more detailed map of Sicily and southern Italy. Extensive footnotes. The bibliography seems short but has a lot of primary sources.… (mehr)

A handy little introduction to the Normans from the Viking invasions to the establishment of the Duchy of Normandy, the Norman conquest of Britain and the establishment of the Norman Kingdom of Sicily and the Norman crusader state of Antioch. French historian Francois Neveux does a fairly good job of being succinct while retaining a fair amount of detail. Beyond the conquests the focus is mostly on Normandy with a look at William the Conqueror's Britain and the Kingdom of Sicily under Rogers I and II. One would have wished for more depth in describing the Mediterranean states and perhaps a comparative view to see how the different Norman states evolved. Also if the author was going to insist on providing names and lists of sites of Norman settlements in France and archaeological excavations then perhaps more detailed maps would have been in order? Anyway, that aside this was a good introduction to the subject.… (mehr)

Neveux's thesis revolves around the greater "Norman experience" as some sort of grand European adventure. The back jacket advertises this as a "new" interpretation, but in fact it is neither new nor a terribly inventive approach.

The book deals with the Normans broadly, that is to say, not merely with the Norman Conquest of England, but also with how the Vikings originally became established in the Duchy of Normandy and in Sicily. The majority of the book is given over to the French and English domains; the section on Sicily probably deserves more space than Neveaux gives to make sense of the freshly introduced jumble of names and places. While not an excellent book, it does introduce a new reader to the cross-channel political developments of the late Anglo-Saxon and early Norman periods easily and quickly.

The translation from the French is, on the whole, very good. The prose is neither complex nor difficult and should be easily accessible to non-scholars. I suspect that the reader already familiar with the subject, however, will find little new information.… (mehr)