Since the Norman Conquest wrought a transformation in the personnel of the English aristocracy, this book lays particular stress on changes or continuities in feudal organization, aristocratic land holding, and military institutions. The question of evolution versus revolution
in these areas has given rise to an intense historical controversy: Did the Normans transform England or was their coming merely an episode in the development of British traditions? Contemporary and modern appraisals of the period are presented in this text. |
