Keith Stringer looks at the relationship between government, warfare, and the rise and fall of the medieval states in this reassessment of Stephen's ability as a ruler.
In this study of Stephen's reign, Keith Stringer looks at the relationship between government, warfare, and the rise and fall of medieval states. Using primary sources and the most recent research, he offers an important re-evaluation of the so-called Anarchy' and a radical reassessment of Stephen's ability as a ruler.
In the eleventh and twelfth centuries the Normans had a formative influence on the development of states and societies in the British Isles, southern Italy and the Levant. Their achievements still resonate powerfully today, and represent a vital field of historical study. But how far did colonial elites define themselves as Norman, and to what extent were they categorized as such by others? This volume serves both to illustrate and to open up ...