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The Norman Commanders: Masters of Warfare, 911–1135 Paperback – November 6, 2020

by Paul Hill (Author)
4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 87 ratings
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Hill has painted incisive portraits of the greatest commanders of Norman warfare covering all of their conquests from France to the Near East.

Robert Guiscard, William the Conqueror, Roger I of Sicily, and Bohemond Prince of Antioch are just four of the exceptional Norman commanders who not only led their armies to victory in battle but also, through military force, created their own kingdoms in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Their single-minded and aggressive leadership, and the organization, discipline and fighting qualities of their armies, marked them out from their Viking forebears and from many of the armed forces that stood against them.

Their brilliant careers, and those of Robert Curthose, William Rufus, Richard I of Capua and Henry I of England, are the subject of Paul Hills latest study of medieval warfare. In a narrative packed with detail and insight, and with a wide-ranging understanding of the fighting methods and military ethos of the period, he traces the course of their conquests, focusing on them as individual commanders and on their achievements on the battlefield.

The military context of their campaigns, and the conditions of warfare in France and England, in southern Italy and Sicily, and in the Near East, are vividly described, as are their decisive operations and sieges among them Hastings, Brmule, Tinchebrai, Civitate, Misilmeri, Dyrrhachium and the Siege of Antioch. There is no doubt that the Normans success in war depended upon the leadership qualities and military capabilities of the commanders as well as the special strengths of the armies they led. Paul Hills accessible and authoritative account offers a fascinating portrait of these masters of warfare.
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  1. Print length
    240 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Pen and Sword Military
  4. Publication date
    November 6, 2020
  5. Dimensions
    6.1 x 0.7 x 9.1 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1526782014
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1526782014
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"This color illustrated history is accessible to general readers, students, and researchers. The first part of the book gives background on the rise of the Normans. The next section gives details on eight Norman commanders, from 1085 through 1111: Robert Guiscard, William the Conqueror, Richard I, Roger I, William II Rufus, Robert II Curthose, Henry I, and Bohemond, Prince of Antioch. Each of these chapters begins with a timeline, then describes the commander’s character and career. Part 3 describes battles and campaigns, and Part 4 gives details on the Norman warfare, such as recruitment, horses, logistics and supply, training, leadership, strategy, and battlefield tactics. The book contains a wealth of color and b&w photos of locations, along with b&w historical illustrations and contemporary maps."
ProtoView

“A masterpiece of historical research… an extraordinary and impressive work of meticulous scholarship that is further enhanced for academia with the inclusion of a four page Bibliography and an eight page Index.”
Midwest Book Review

About the Author

Paul Hill, formerly curator of Kingston Upon Thames Museum in Surrey, is well known as a lecturer, author and expert on Anglo-Saxon and Norman history and military archaeology, and he has written several books on these subjects, among them The Age of Athelstan: Britain's Forgotten History, The Viking Wars of Alfred the Great and The Anglo-Saxons at War 800-1066.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pen and Sword Military (November 6, 2020)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 240 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1526782014
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1526782014
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.25 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.1 x 0.7 x 9.1 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 87 ratings

About the author

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Paul Hill

Paul Hill

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Paul Hill has been writing history books about Anglo-Saxon, Viking and Norman warfare for eighteen years. His first solo publication in 2004 'The Age of Athelstan - Britain's Forgotten History' became a bestseller in a short space of time. Paul has explored the strengths and weaknesses of the western military powers of the medieval period in each of his books, but has recently branched into a long overdue analysis of how one particular crusading group (the Knights Templar) prosecuted their wars.

Paul has appeared on TV in 'Battlefield Detectives - Massacre at Waterloo' and 'Bloodbath at Hastings' in which he focused on the military consequences of the challenges of the landscape.

Customer reviews

4 out of 5 stars
4 out of 5
87 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Te Bada
5.0 out of 5 stars Norman domination of the 11th and 12 th century
Reviewed in the United States on October 28, 2016
Verified Purchase
An interesting examination of several Norman leaders in Northern Europe and the Mediterranean.
2 people found this helpful
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Bob Jarvis
3.0 out of 5 stars Detailed history of Norman warfare.
Reviewed in the United States on March 8, 2017
Verified Purchase
This is a studious and comprehensive history of the Norman impact on military developments, armour, tactics etc.for the two hundred years following their occupation and conquest of the Norman Territory of Northern France.
I found the lay-out a little confusing since many of the major engagements are dealt with a number of times over, depending on whether the chapter is dealing with Leaders, tactics, armour, etc. I would have preferred a more consequential historical dateline set-up. His summary & conclusions chapter at the end of the book I found to be well reasoned & very interesting.
For me the book is more suited to the scholar than the casual history buff. I would have liked to learn more detail regarding the principle commanders' personalities; but that is conjecture & not hard fact, & not the premise of this book.
4 people found this helpful
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John G. Shankland
3.0 out of 5 stars General history
Reviewed in the United States on February 18, 2017
Verified Purchase
General history of Norman warlords. The organization of the book is somewhat confusing. Biographies of the leaders are covered separately from the battles in which they participated.
3 people found this helpful
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JPS
5.0 out of 5 stars Good overview of Norman warfare and commanders
Reviewed in the United States on October 18, 2015
This book presents a very good, even if not perfect, overview of Norman commanders and warfare that brings together what used to be called the “Norman Achievements” in Normandy, England, Southern Italy and during the First Crusade. Also included are the assaults against the Byzantine Empire (1081-83, 1083-85 and 1107-1108).

There are however a number of glitches and imperfections which I want to briefly review (and get out of the way) before listing the numerous qualities of this book.

First, and contrary to the dates figuring in this book’s title (911 – 1135), the first battle mentioned (rather than covered) takes place in 1018 in Southern Italy. It was a Norman defeat. The last one was in 1126. What the 911-1135 dates cover in reality are foundation of the Norman County of Rouen and the death of Henry I, the last son of William the Conqueror. Norman participations in the early “Crusades” in Spain or the “Anglo-Norman” first conquests in Ireland are out of scope.

There are only six pages on the early days of the County of Rouen which then became the Duchy of Normandy. These form the book’s first chapter. They somewhat set the scene and contain a rather excellent map of the Duchy but do not describe any of the battles that took place in the Tenth Century.

Second, there are a number of little glitches, some of which may be editorial. For instance, Duke Richard II died in 1026, not in 1027. More problematic perhaps, Duke William (the future “Conqueror”) was not seven years old by 1046 (the year before the battle of Val-Les-Dunes). He was seven years old in 1035, when his father Robert died in Nicaea when returning from his pilgrimage, and was therefore eighteen or nineteen when the battle took place. Also, Roussel the Bailleul, the Norman mercenary who served Byzantium, revolted and carved himself a principality in the eastern part of Asia Minor before being beaten by Turks and subsequently captured was not present at the battle of Mantzikert in 1071, neither does he seem to have been executed by the Byzantines after he was captured in 1074 (not in 1077). There are a few more such little glitches and mistakes.

Nevertheless, the book has numerous qualities. It is the only single volume introduction and overview to Norman warfare and their commanders, and it is a rather good one. This result is achieved by drawing on all of the main and more specialised sources for the various sections, such as Morillo’s Warfare under the Anglo-Norman Kings (1066-1135) for Normandy and England, Graham Loud’s “The Age of Robert Guiscard” for Southern Italy and Byzantium, Douglas’ superb biography on William the Conqueror and Ann Hyland’s “The Medieval Warhorse from Byzantium to the Crusades”, among others. All titles above, and quite a few other key references, are mentioned in the short but good bibliography. One title that I was a bit surprised to not find was John France’s “Victory in the East’, which, as a military history of the First Crusade, is probably one of the best books to assess the quality of the general ship of Bohemond (the future Prince of Antioch) but also that of William Curthose, Duke of Normandy (and the eldest son of William the Conqueror).

Also worth mentioning is the quality of the illustrations and their abundance. This title contains a rather excellent and comprehensive collection of clear maps – some sixteen altogether spread across the whole book with a number showing campaign movements and maps of battles. Another half dozen drawings also provide possible reconstructions for some of the other engagements while a dozen of (somewhat simplified) family trees of Norman warlords provide the reader with their most important connexions. There are also some fifty photographs (some twenty in particular) of various monuments left by the Normans, including castles in England or Italy. Finally, there are ten very interesting and valuable boxes containing vignettes of much less well-known Norman warlords. These are mostly brothers, relatives, companions and main vassals of the commanders reviewed in more detail in discrete chapters and they are spread across the three first parts of the book.

The book is divided into four parts.

The first part contains two chapters on, respectively, the founding and early days of the Duchy of Normandy and the beginnings of the Normans in Southern Italy up to (and included) their rebellion against the Byzantines and their first territorial conquests in Apulia.

The second part contains eight chapters, each of which is centred on one Norman commander. They are equally divided between William the Conqueror and his three sons (William Curthose, William Rufus and Henry I “Beauclerc”) and the Normans of Southern Italy, starting with Robert Guiscard and Richard of Aversa who became Prince of Capua, but also Robert Guiscard’s brother (Roger who conquered and became Count of Sicily) and his eldest son Bohemond, the Crusader and first Prince of Antioch. Here again, and although the chapters are mostly good, there are perhaps a couple of names missing which have not received their own chapter – such as Tancred, Bohemond’s nephew who managed to hold and expand the Principality of Antioch – or have not been worthy of a box and vignette of their own – such as Tancred’s cousin, Roger of Salerno. This, again, is a minor quibble which does not detract from what has been achieved with this book.

The third part contains a selection of battles – six in the north and seven in the south (with three successive ones in 1041 being presented together). Many of these are little known and are their inclusion and description in a book targeted at the so-called “general reader” (as opposed to the scholar or student) is therefore all the more valuable. They are all victories, of course, although the author is both careful and honest enough to mention that the Normans were far from being always victorious, as the biographies of the various Norman commanders also show quite well.

The final part – another eight short and easy to read chapters - is devoted to the so-called “Norman Way of War”, with the author showing that it was not specifically Norman. It was in fact essentially the way wars were waged in the West during the 11th and early 12th centuries, except that the Normans seem to have been very good at it, and often better at it than others. Including in this part are valuable sections on the composition of the forces, on horses, logistics and supply, on training, leadership, discipline and strategy, with some particularly useful bits on the role of castles and the importance of sieges. The book then concludes by trying to explain why these huge successes occurred to the extent that they have been bunched together as part of a “Norman achievement”.

Whether you find the author’s explanations fully convincing or not, the book is certainly worth reading. Four and a half stars (rounded up to five).
20 people found this helpful
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John Wright
1.0 out of 5 stars seems to be lightweight history
Reviewed in the United States on August 28, 2019
Verified Purchase
I was expecting a full review of the key commanders with William's survival and rule of England.
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Top reviews from other countries

marco carrara
3.0 out of 5 stars Informative but not deep
Reviewed in Italy on July 5, 2016
Verified Purchase
You get a high level look at the Norman warfare and its leaders. If you want to know about Normans, their history, their victories and their legacy look elsewhere.
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JPS
5.0 out of 5 stars Good overview of Norman warfare and commanders
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 18, 2015
Verified Purchase
This book presents a very good, even if not perfect, overview of Norman commanders and warfare that brings together what used to be called the “Norman Achievements” in Normandy, England, Southern Italy and during the First Crusade. Also included are the assaults against the Byzantine Empire (1081-83, 1083-85 and 1107-1108).

There are however a number of glitches and imperfections which I want to briefly review (and get out of the way) before listing the numerous qualities of this book.

First, and contrary to the dates figuring in this book’s title (911 – 1135), the first battle mentioned (rather than covered) takes place in 1018 in Southern Italy. It was a Norman defeat. The last one was in 1126. What the 911-1135 dates cover in reality are foundation of the Norman County of Rouen and the death of Henry I, the last son of William the Conqueror. Norman participations in the early “Crusades” in Spain or the “Anglo-Norman” first conquests in Ireland are out of scope.

There are only six pages on the early days of the County of Rouen which then became the Duchy of Normandy. These form the book’s first chapter. They somewhat set the scene and contain a rather excellent map of the Duchy but do not describe any of the battles that took place in the Tenth Century.

Second, there are a number of little glitches, some of which may be editorial. For instance, Duke Richard II died in 1026, not in 1027. More problematic perhaps, Duke William (the future “Conqueror”) was not seven years old by 1046 (the year before the battle of Val-Les-Dunes). He was seven years old in 1035, when his father Robert died in Nicaea when returning from his pilgrimage, and was therefore eighteen or nineteen when the battle took place. Also, Roussel the Bailleul, the Norman mercenary who served Byzantium, revolted and carved himself a principality in the eastern part of Asia Minor before being beaten by Turks and subsequently captured was not present at the battle of Mantzikert in 1071, neither does he seem to have been executed by the Byzantines after he was captured in 1074 (not in 1077). There are a few more such little glitches and mistakes.

Nevertheless, the book has numerous qualities. It is the only single volume introduction and overview to Norman warfare and their commanders, and it is a rather good one. This result is achieved by drawing on all of the main and more specialised sources for the various sections, such as Morillo’s Warfare under the Anglo-Norman Kings (1066-1135) for Normandy and England, Graham Loud’s “The Age of Robert Guiscard” for Southern Italy and Byzantium, Douglas’ superb biography on William the Conqueror and Ann Hyland’s “The Medieval Warhorse from Byzantium to the Crusades”, among others. All titles above, and quite a few other key references, are mentioned in the short but good bibliography. One title that I was a bit surprised to not find was John France’s “Victory in the East’, which, as a military history of the First Crusade, is probably one of the best books to assess the quality of the general ship of Bohemond (the future Prince of Antioch) but also that of William Curthose, Duke of Normandy (and the eldest son of William the Conqueror).

Also worth mentioning is the quality of the illustrations and their abundance. This title contains a rather excellent and comprehensive collection of clear maps – some sixteen altogether spread across the whole book with a number showing campaign movements and maps of battles. Another half dozen drawings also provide possible reconstructions for some of the other engagements while a dozen of (somewhat simplified) family trees of Norman warlords provide the reader with their most important connexions. There are also some fifty photographs (some twenty in particular) of various monuments left by the Normans, including castles in England or Italy. Finally, there are ten very interesting and valuable boxes containing vignettes of much less well-known Norman warlords. These are mostly brothers, relatives, companions and main vassals of the commanders reviewed in more detail in discrete chapters and they are spread across the three first parts of the book.

The book is divided into four parts.

The first part contains two chapters on, respectively, the founding and early days of the Duchy of Normandy and the beginnings of the Normans in Southern Italy up to (and included) their rebellion against the Byzantines and their first territorial conquests in Apulia.

The second part contains eight chapters, each of which is centred on one Norman commander. They are equally divided between William the Conqueror and his three sons (William Curthose, William Rufus and Henry I “Beauclerc”) and the Normans of Southern Italy, starting with Robert Guiscard and Richard of Aversa who became Prince of Capua, but also Robert Guiscard’s brother (Roger who conquered and became Count of Sicily) and his eldest son Bohemond, the Crusader and first Prince of Antioch. Here again, and although the chapters are mostly good, there are perhaps a couple of names missing which have not received their own chapter – such as Tancred, Bohemond’s nephew who managed to hold and expand the Principality of Antioch – or have not been worthy of a box and vignette of their own – such as Tancred’s cousin, Roger of Salerno. This, again, is a minor quibble which does not detract from what has been achieved with this book.

The third part contains a selection of battles – six in the north and seven in the south (with three successive ones in 1041 being presented together). Many of these are little known and are their inclusion and description in a book targeted at the so-called “general reader” (as opposed to the scholar or student) is therefore all the more valuable. They are all victories, of course, although the author is both careful and honest enough to mention that the Normans were far from being always victorious, as the biographies of the various Norman commanders also show quite well.

The final part – another eight short and easy to read chapters - is devoted to the so-called “Norman Way of War”, with the author showing that it was not specifically Norman. It was in fact essentially the way wars were waged in the West during the 11th and early 12th centuries, except that the Normans seem to have been very good at it, and often better at it than others. Including in this part are valuable sections on the composition of the forces, on horses, logistics and supply, on training, leadership, discipline and strategy, with some particularly useful bits on the role of castles and the importance of sieges. The book then concludes by trying to explain why these huge successes occurred to the extent that they have been bunched together as part of a “Norman achievement”.

Whether you find the author’s explanations fully convincing or not, the book is certainly worth reading. Four and a half stars (rounded up to five).
9 people found this helpful
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Neil
4.0 out of 5 stars Useful
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 28, 2016
Verified Purchase
Useful summary of the campaigns of the Normans in the 11th-12th centuries, especially of the more obscure or less known battles.
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William
3.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 3, 2016
Verified Purchase
I was disappointed with this book given the previous reviews. The book gives a good chronology of the period but is quite superficial beyond this. The writing or editing is sloppy in places, with a few chapters being 1-2 pages long. The Normans made some amazing achievements but I am no closer to understanding how this was done. The author proposes that the quality of the Norman leadership was responisble rather than technology but does not a present a convincing argument. There is certainly some good material in the final chapters, I just wish there was more
2 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars As a war gamer and military history enthusiast this book helps with gaming idea's and rule interpretation as well as being just a damn good read. Better than but just as entertaining as ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 20, 2017
Verified Purchase
Wish I'd purchased this before I went visiting Norman castles in Italy and Sicily. As a war gamer and military history enthusiast this book helps with gaming idea's and rule interpretation as well as being just a damn good read. Better than but just as entertaining as fiction. well done the author.
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