The two-and-a-half centuries after 1066 were momentous ones in the history of Britain. In 1066, England was conquered. The Anglo-Saxon ruling class was destroyed and the English became a subject race, dominated by a Norman-French dynasty and aristocracy. This book shows how the English domination was by no means a foregone conclusion.

In this comprehensive synthesis canvassing the peoples, economies, religion, languages, and political leadership of medieval Britain, Carpenter weaves together the histories of England, Scotland, and Wales.

"This is a fine, up-to-date synthesis of a grand subject, now suitably enlarged." —T.N. Bisson, Henry Charles Lea Professor of Medieval History, Harvard University