Levi Roach in History Today:
There can be no doubt that monarchs bulk inordinately large in British history. Whether the subject be Georgian architecture, Victorian literature, or Tudor religious culture, we find ourselves framing discussions in terms of ruling monarchs and dynasties, even when the subject has little to do with them.
The risks of this become particularly acute when we turn to traditional periodisations, which are almost inevitably marked by dynastic change. In 1066 the Norman Conquest and accession of William the Conqueror marks the point of transition between the ‘early’ and ‘central’ Middle Ages, at least where England is concerned. Yet Norman influence did not first arrive on the shores of this Sceptred Isle with the Conqueror’s henchmen. It had been making itself felt for almost a quarter of a century already under Edward the Confessor (r.1042-66), the half-Norman monarch from whom the Conqueror claimed the throne (as Edward’s second cousin). Norman earls, Continental-style castles, and reform-minded French prelates were all to be found aplenty in Edward’s England.
More here.
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