"No medieval King is more famous than William the Conqueror, and no event in the whole of English history has been more debated than the Norman conquest... a fresh analysis has been made both of the causes, and of the true character, of the Norman impact upon England in the eleventh century.

In two respects the book may be said to make a new approach to the subject. Professor Douglas has sought to disregard such polemic as extraneous to the circumstances of the eleventh century and to interpret his subject in the only proper way, which is through the medium of contemporary evidence. Secondly, he takes the view that the Norman influence on England can never be adequately assessed unless a fresh attempt is made to appraise and explain the political and ecclesiastical character of the Normandy which confronted England in 1066."