Public-domain ebook
by Jacob Abbott
Language: en5,660 downloads on Project Gutenberg
Subjects
In: Biographies·History - European·History - Medieval/Middle Ages
Public-domain ebook sourced from Project Gutenberg #25848.
The work is a scholarly biography that treats William the Conqueror as one of the “great personages” whose lives merit concise, useful study. The author explains at the outset that the series selects only such names whose histories offer practical knowledge rather than mere entertainment, and the opening chapter begins with a broad survey of Normandy’s geography, its Viking origins, and the rise of the first duke, Rollo. From this foundation the narrative proceeds through a detailed chronology, birth, accession, marriage, the clash with Harold, the invasion preparations, the crossing of the Channel, and the Battle of Hastings, each chapter outlined in the contents and illustrated with maps and engravings. The book therefore promises a systematic, fact‑based account of William’s claim to the English throne, his military exploits, and the political context of the Norman Conquest.
Written in a plain, didactic style typical of late‑19th‑century historical compendia, the text favors straightforward language over literary flourish while still aiming for an “attractive” presentation. Its tone is earnest and explanatory, reflecting the author’s intent to educate readers seeking a solid grounding in medieval military and political history. Students of English or Norman history, enthusiasts of medieval warfare, and general readers who appreciate a thorough, map‑rich overview of William’s life will find this volume a valuable reference.
The opening · free to read
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Southern District of New York.
Copyright, 1877, by JACOB ABBOTT.
PREFACE.
In selecting the subjects for the successive volumes of this series, it has been the object of the author to look for the names of those great personages whose histories constitute useful, and not merely entertaining, knowledge. There are certain names which are familiar, as names, to all mankind; and every person who seeks for any degree of mental cultivation, feels desirous of informing himself of the leading outlines of their history, that he may know, in brief, what it was in their characters or their doings which has given them so widely-extended a fame. This knowledge, which it seems incumbent on every one to obtain in respect to such personages as Hannibal, Alexander, Caesar, Cleopatra, Darius, Xerxes, Alfred, William the Conqueror, Queen Elizabeth, and Mary Queen of Scots, it is the design and object of these volumes to communicate, in a faithful, and, at the same time, if possible, in an attractive manner. Consequently, great historical names alone are selected; and it has been the writer's aim to present the prominent and leading traits in their characters, and all the important events in their lives, in a bold and free manner, and yet in the plain and simple language which is so obviously required in works which aim at permanent and practical usefulness.
CONTENTS.
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