The Reign of King Stephen

A biography of King Stephen (1134-54), the last Norman monarch whose reign was key in English history as well as the subject of much controversial assessment. Traditionally regarded as a period of anarchy and civil war, recent research has presented a more balanced perspective.

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At last: an authoritative, up to date account of the troubled reign of King Stephen, by a leading scholar of the Anglo-Norman world. David Crouch covers every aspect of the period - the king and the empress, the aristocracy, the Church, government and the nation at large. He also looks at the wider dimensions of the story, in Scotland, Wales, Normandy and elsewhere. The result (weaving its discussions around a vigorous narrative core) is a a work of major scholarship. A must for specialist and amateur medievalists alike.