Modern historians of the Normans have tended to treat their enterprises and



achievements as a series of separate and discrete histories. Such treatments are



valid and valuable, but historical understanding of the Normans also depends



as much on broader approaches akin to those adopted in this book. As the



successor volume to Norman Expansion: Connections, Continuities and Contrasts,



it complements and significantly extends its findings to provide a fuller appreciation



of the roles played by the Normans as one of the most dynamic and



transformative forces in the history of medieval ‘Outer Europe’. It includes



panoramic essays that dissect the conceptual and methodological issues concerned,



suggest strategies for avoiding associated pitfalls, and indicate how far



and in what ways the Normans and their legacies served to reshape sociopolitical



landscapes across a vast geography extending from the remoter corners



of the British Isles to the Mediterranean basin. Leading experts in their fields



also provide case-by-case analyses, set within and between different areas, of



themes such as lordship and domination, identities and identification, naming



patterns, marriage policies, saints’ cults, intercultural exchanges, and diaspora–



homeland connections.

The Normans and the ‘Norman Edge’ therefore presents a potent combination



of thought-provoking overviews and fresh insights derived from new



research, and its wide-ranging comparative focus has the advantage of illuminating



aspects of the Norman past that traditional regional or national histories



often do not reveal so clearly. It likewise makes a major contribution



to current Norman scholarship by reconsidering the links between Norman



expansion and ‘state-formation’; the extent to which Norman practices and



priorities were distinctive; the balance between continuity and innovation;



relations between the Normans and the indigenous peoples and cultures they



encountered; and, not least, forms of Norman identity and their resilience over



time. An extensive bibliography is also one of this book’s strengths.