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The Norman Conquest of Southern Italy and Sicily | 
 enlarge | Author: Gordon S. Brown
Publisher: McFarland Company
Category: Book
Buy New: $35.00
New (11) Used (7) from $32.60
Rating:  4 reviews
Sales Rank: 108603
Media: Paperback
Pages: 222
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6 x 0.5
ISBN: 0786414723
Dewey Decimal Number: 945.703
EAN: 9780786414727
ASIN: 0786414723
Publication Date: January 8, 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Product Description
The Normans who originally came to Italy and Sicily in the 11th and 12th centuries were looking for adventure or a livelihood, but only saw and took chances to gain fame and fortune. The story of the Norman conquest in Italy and Sicily is indeed one of knights and adventurers, great battles and lowly pillage, opportunism and statesmanship, and crusade and coexistence. This rich and often dramatic study focuses on the eight sons of Tancred of Hauteville, especially Robert Guiscard, who has been called "the most dazzling military ruler between Julius Caesar and Napoleon," and his youngest brother Roger, who conquered Sicily, and discusses how they expanded their lands throughout southern Italy and then took Sicily from its Muslim rulers. The brothers, often in conflict with each other, challenged both the Papacy and the Byzantine Empire, became the main supporters of the reformed Papacy, and founded a rich, sophisticated kingdom that lasted until the nineteenth century.
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| Customer Reviews:
 a great read... September 1, 2008
Mr. Mark J. Galvin
An accessible account of the Norman occupation and settlement of southern Italy. Gordon does a fantastic job ensuring that this important slice of history and the story of the Hauteville's is highly readable and entertaining while academically sound.
 Well written general guide February 28, 2006
Andrew Daly (Key West)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This short history is a well written general guide to the period. It provides a general program of events for anyone who wishes to study this particular episode of Italian or European history. The "other" Norman experiment in conquest and governance deserves more attention than it gets, especially in our current era of ethnic and relegious conflict. Useful and informative.
This is an excellent book. June 18, 2005
Conquistador (Montreal, Quebec)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
This book is well written and interesting throughout. This is how history should be written, not dry and uninspirational but alive and dynamic - things happen in this book. No stagnant and uninteresting analysis of history here! br / br /The topic of this book is the Norman conquest of the south of Italy, a subject that I did not know at all before I picked up this book. It gives you insight on the middle ages and debunks the traditional (and false) idea that Europe in the middle ages was a complete uncultured and chaotic place. The civilization founded by the Normans in the south of Italy was both advanced and thrived for many years. br / br /Great stuff. Anyone with a bit of interest in history should find out about this little known epic undertaking by the Normans. br /
Learn about the other Norman Conquest May 24, 2004
Michael Calingaert (Washington, DC United States)
16 out of 16 found this review helpful
This is a fascinating account of how a group of Normans found their way to southern Italy at about the same time as another group was conquering England, and within half a century had prevailed over Lombards, Saracens, Byzantium, and the Papacy to establish themselves as the dominant power in the region. A little-known story, which should be of interest to history buffs, anyone wanting to know about Italy's past, and those wondering where blue-eyed Sicilians come from. Well-researched, but the scholarship does not get in the way of the text. Eminently readable.
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