The Norman Commanders

This illustrated history sheds light on the greatest commanders of medieval Norman warfare, covering all their conquests from France to the Near East. Robert Guiscard, William the Conqueror, Roger I of Sicily, and Bohemond Prince of Antioch are just four of the exceptional Norman commanders who led their armies to victory and created their own kingdoms. Their single-minded leadership, and the skill and discipline of their armies, made them nearly unstoppable in their time. In this volume, Paul Hill studies their brilliant careers—along with those of Robert Curthose, William Rufus, Richard I of Capua and Henry I of England. In a narrative packed with detail and insight, and with a wide-ranging understanding of the fighting methods and military ethos of the period, Hill traces the course of their conquests, focusing on their leadership and achievements on the battlefield. The military context of their campaigns, and the conditions of warfare in France and England, in southern Italy and Sicily, and in the Near East, are vividly described. Among the operations and sieges covered in detail are Hastings, Bremule, Tinchebrai, Civitate, Misilmeri, Dyrrhachium, and Antioch. Paul Hill's accessible and authoritative account offers a fascinating portrait of these historic conflicts and the commanders who fought them.