Starts: Wednesday 20 January 2027, 7pm to 9pm GMT
In 1066 William, Duke of Normandy, defeated the Anglo-Saxons at the Battle of Hastings and spent the next twenty years consolidating his conquest. But what was Normandy in 1066 and how had a band of marauding Vikings established their “land of the northmen” in northern France? Duke William’s greatest achievement was the conquest of England, but who was he, and how did he expand the Norman territories in northern France before the Conquest? And what’s the connection between the Norman conquest of England and the Norman conquests of Sicily and Southern Italy? Which was the more stable regime; the Normans in England or the Normans in Sicily?
This course explores the origins of the Viking Rollo’s settlement in northern France in the ninth century, how his descendants created the Duchy of Normandy, and the life and career of Rollo’s great-great-great grandson William the Conqueror. Why and how did William conquer England, what were the consequences for England and Normandy, and why were there repeated succession crises in the eleventh and twelfth centuries?
This course also examines the exploits of the Norman Hauteville and Drengot brothers who carved out principalities in southern Italy in the eleventh century. How and why did the Robert de Hauteville, aka Robert Guiscard, and his brother Roger de Hauteville create the Kingdom of Sicily, and what were the consequences? And what’s the connection between the Hauteville family and the crusades?
Start Date: Wednesday 20 January 2027
Time: 7-9pm GMT
Duration: 10 weeks
Full Fee: £125
Location: Online
This course will be delivered via Zoom. Students joining the course will need access to a computer, laptop or tablet with a microphone (essential) and a webcam (desirable), as well as a reliable broadband connection.
Book your place on this course using this link. We will send you an invoice after you have booked your place.