Robert Bartlett

This lively and far-reaching account of the politics, religion, and culture of England in the century and a half after the Norman Conquest provides a vivid picture of everyday existence, and increases our understanding of all aspects of medieval society.This was a period in which the ruling dynasty and military aristocracy were deeply enmeshed with the politics and culture of France. Professor Bartlett describes their conflicts, and their preoccupations - the sense of honour, the role of violence, and the glitter of tournament, heraldry, and Arthurian romance.He explores the mechanics of government; assesses the role of the Church at a time of radical developments in religious life and organization; and investigates the peasant economy, the foundation of this society, and the growing urban and commercial activity.There are colourful details of the everyday life of ordinary men and women, with their views on the past, on sexuality, on animals, on death, the undead, and the occult. The result is a fascinating and comprehensive portrayal of a period which begins with conquest and ends in assimilation.

Una obra excepcional que aborda la historia de Europa en los siglos centrales de la Edad Media a partir de los procesos de conquista, colonización y cambio cultural que se produjeron en el continente entre los años 950 y 1350. Con gran solvencia y admirable erudicion, Bartlett analiza la formacion de estados a traves de la conquista y el poblamiento de regiones distantes en la periferia de Europa: el colonialismo ingles en el mundo celtico, la expansion germanica hacia la Europa oriental, la reconquista hispana y las actividades de los cruzados y colonos en el Mediterraneo oriental, sin descuidar nunca las consecuencias que esta expansion tuvo en las regiones de procedencia de los conquistadores y colonos. Por todo ello, la "formacion de Europa" no es solo la conquista colonial en si misma, la inmigracion y el desplazamiento de las fronteras, sino tambien la fundacion de una sociedad expansiva y cada vez mas homogenea.