This vivid and comprehensive account of the politics, religion, and culture of England in the century and a half after the Norman Conquest lays bare the patterns of everyday life and increases our understanding of a medieval society at a time when England was more closely tied to Europe than ever before.

Introduction ; 1. Political Patterns: The Struggle for the Succession, 1075-1225; The Cross-Channel Realm; Court Politics; Predatory and Punitive Rule; Rebellion ; 2. England and Beyond: England and the British Isles; England and the Wider World ; 3. Lordship and Government: Kingship and Lordship; Regality; The Household and Household Administration; Itineration; Assemblies; Territorial Administration; Royal Finances; Courts and Judgements; Records and Record-Keeping ; 4. The Aristocracy: The Structure of the Aristocracy; The Aristocratic Estate; The Life of the Aristocracy ; 5. Warfare: Waging War; Recruitment; Castles ; 6. The Rural Foundations: The Physical Framework; Population; Settlement Patterns; Land Use and Agricultural Techniques; The Manorial Economy; Rural Social Structure ; 7. Towns and Trade: Urbanization; Town Law; Urban Self-Government; London; Urban Unrest; The Jews; Trade, the Framework; Commodities; Coinage and Monetization ; 8. The Institutional Church: The Hierarchy; Kingly Power and Priestly Power; The Religious ; 9. Religious Life: Concepts of the Holy; Devotion; Saints and their Cults; Overseas Pilgrimage; Dissent ; 10. Cultural Patterns: Languages and Literature; Education and Higher Learning; The Visual Arts; Performance; The Value of the Arts ; 11. The Course of Life: Childhood; Naming Patterns; Love, Sex, and Marriage; Manners; Medicine and Healing; Death and the Dead ; 12. Cosmologies: Time; The World; The Chain of Being; Beings Neither Angelic, Human, nor Animal ; Chronology of Political Events ; Bibliography ; Index ; Introduction ; 1. Political Patterns: The Struggle for the Succession, 1075-1225; The Cross-Channel Realm; Court Politics; Predatory and Punitive Rule; Rebellion ; 2. England and Beyond: England and the British Isles; England and the Wider World ; 3. Lordship and Government: Kingship and Lordship; Regality; The Household and Household Administration; Itineration; Assemblies; Territorial Administration; Royal Finances; Courts and Judgements; Records and Record-Keeping ; 4. The Aristocracy: The Structure of the Aristocracy; The Aristocratic Estate; The Life of the Aristocracy ; 5. Warfare: Waging War; Recruitment; Castles ; 6. The Rural Foundations: The Physical Framework; Population; Settlement Patterns; Land Use and Agricultural Techniques; The Manorial Economy; Rural Social Structure ; 7. Towns and Trade: Urbanization; Town Law; Urban Self-Government; London; Urban Unrest; The Jews; Trade, the Framework; Commodities; Coinage and Monetization ; 8. The Institutional Church: The Hierarchy; Kingly Power and Priestly Power; The Religious ; 9. Religious Life: Concepts of the Holy; Devotion; Saints and their Cults; Overseas Pilgrimage; Dissent ; 10. Cultural Patterns: Languages and Literature; Education and Higher Learning; The Visual Arts; Performance; The Value of the Arts ; 11. The Course of Life: Childhood; Naming Patterns; Love, Sex, and Marriage; Manners; Medicine and Healing; Death and the Dead ; 12. Cosmologies: Time; The World; The Chain of Being; Beings Neither Angelic, Human, nor Animal ; Chronology of Political Events ; Bibliography ; Index

`Review from previous edition The thematic approach works extremely well, especially for the chapters on religion: his explaination of ecclesiastical organization can hardly be bettered. His coverage of cultural, social, and economic matters is enlivened by many anecdotes and diversions; throughout he brings to the fore the humanity of the age and the concerns of the individual.' Sean McGlynn, Medieval Times `[Includes] startlingly clear and often unusual images of life under the Norman and Angevin kings.' B.R. O'Brien, CHOICE `...makes brilliant use of contemporary writers.' B.R. O'Brien, CHOICE `,..fresh, direct, and appealing and will reward readers at many levels.' B.R. O'Brien, CHOICE `The New Oxford History of England series replaces the Oxford History of England, the first volume of which was published in 1934. Replacing those venerated works was a daunting task. New scholarship and a wider vision of history required a new synthesis. It has been accomplished in this volume with superb success...This huge but not terribly expensive book has a little of everything.' Spring 2000 `In bringing to life the anxieties of twelfth-century Englishmen, Bartlett rescues from oblivion sources which are either unknown or far too little known.' John Gillingham, TLS `The book makes brilliant use of contemporary writers.' B.R. O'Brien, CHOICE `...fresh, direct, and appealing and will reward readers at many levels.' B.R. O'Brien, CHOICE `The New Oxford History of England series replaces the Oxford History of England, the first volume of which was published in 1934. Replacing those venerated works was a daunting task. New scholarship and a wider vision of history required a new synthesis. It has been accomplished in this volume with superb success...This huge but not terribly expensive book has a little of everything.' Spring 2000. `In bringing to life the anxieties of twelfth-century Englishmen, Bartlett rescues from oblivion sources which are either unknown or far too little known.' John Gillingham, TLS