History Extra Podcast: 11th-Century Europe—Not Just the Norman Conquest

Date: October 21, 2025
Host: David Martin Musgrove
Guest: Professor Charles West, University of Edinburgh
Main Theme: A panoramic view of 11th-century Europe, going beyond the Norman Conquest to highlight the era’s transformative changes in cultural networks, urbanization, authority, and the roles of women—all set against a diverse European backdrop.

Episode Overview

This episode challenges the traditional, Anglo-centric focus on 1066 and the Norman Conquest as the defining moment of 11th-century Europe. Professor Charles West, drawing on his book Europe in the 11th Century: Beyond Revolution and Reform, invites listeners to consider an array of significant developments across the continent—political, cultural, urban, and religious—that together shaped the era as a true “pivot point” in European history.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Cultural Networks vs. Political Borders

[03:04] Prof. Charles West:

• Medieval people conceived of Europe as a collection of overlapping “cultural networks” rather than fixed political borders.
• Circa 1000, these included the Byzantine Empire, the Latin West (using Latin for liturgy, religion, governance), the Islamic world in the south, and a northern arc from Scandinavia to the Black Sea.
• By 1100, the Latin West expanded through conversion, while Byzantium and the Islamic world contracted.
• “It’s not about political borders... the cultural networks within that space do change.”
• Medieval maps, like the multicolored St. Sever map, depicted Europe as a geographical part of the world but lacked political boundaries.

2. Is the 11th Century Special?

[06:10] Prof. Charles West:

• The 11th century marks a pivotal transition—a “threshold” or tipping point—between the early and late Middle Ages.
• Dismissing overstated talk of apocalyptic anxiety in the year 1000, West notes there was no universal sense of impending doom; different regions even followed different calendars.

3. Norman Conquest in Perspective

[08:17] Prof. Charles West:

• The Norman Conquest, though monumental for England, is not central to West’s narrative: “If we view the 11th century through the Norman lens, we’re being maybe a little bit blinkered.”
• Continental chroniclers, such as Lambert of Hersfeld, recorded 1066 as one event among many, often focusing more on local issues.
• The conquest impressed contemporaries, and English mercenaries even ended up in Byzantium, but the world kept turning—Europe was much bigger than 1066.

4. Wealth, Governance, & Urbanization

• Was England especially rich? [11:00]
  • England was comparatively wealthy and well-governed in northwest Europe, but not the richest:
    • “Muslim Spain is definitely more prosperous... so is Byzantium. Byzantium’s per capita GDP was twice that of England.”
    • Byzantine administration and tax records were far ahead (records of individual fields and their size for taxation).
• English Distinctiveness?
  • “Every area of Europe is different... England is not exceptionally exceptional.”
• Urbanization [13:40]
  • England was “quite urbanised”—many modest towns—but nowhere on the scale of Constantinople or major continental cities.
  • “If we took all those people out of their towns and sent them all to Constantinople, they would be less than half the population of that single city.”
  • Continental cities like Cologne, Ghent, Milan, Pisa, and Granada were much larger. Growth in urbanization is a broader northwest European trend (including Dublin and Waterford in Ireland).

5. European Cities & Urban Power

• Constaninople’s Dominance [17:15]
  • Western pilgrims and crusaders were awestruck by Constantinople, but Rome still loomed large in the Latin imagination.
  • Cities elsewhere (Kaifeng, Baghdad, Alexandria) could match or surpass Constantinople in size and vibrancy.
• Urban Movements: Pateria Revolt in Milan [18:23]
  • Urban revolts (1057–c.1067 in Milan) showed towns reaching sizes where crowds could affect political power—“It’s like an 11th-century Occupy.”
  • Some cities achieved early forms of collective self-governance, visible later in the Italian communes; even English towns had legal identities and distinctive customs.
• Town vs. Countryside Life [20:12]
  • Towns offered greater economic opportunities but were more dangerous due to disease.

6. Where Did Power Lie? [20:53]

• Power in Europe was distributed and multiscalar:
  • At the highest level, there was a struggle between the Emperor and the Pope (the Investiture Controversy).
  • Dynamic regional rulers (e.g., William the Conqueror), local lords, and priests each wielded distinct types of authority.
• “It’s a complex picture... it depends what scale of social life you’re looking at.”

7. Women and Cultural Networks [22:16]

• Powerful women were common, not exceptional. Examples:
  • Empresses Zoe and Theodora in Byzantium; Empress Agnes in the Holy Roman Empire; Matilda of Canossa in Italy.
• Queens as Cultural Bridges:
  • Royal women’s marriages created a web of connections across Europe, fostering cultural exchange—illustrated by Gertrude of Poland/Kyiv and her hybrid manuscript.
• Personal narratives reveal trauma and adaptation:
  • Queens often learned new languages, left families behind, and sometimes returned home if marriages failed.

8. The Significance of Oaths [26:08]

• Oaths were crucial “glue” in a world of weak administration, but often broken; elaborate rituals attempted to add solemnity, as with Harold’s disputed oath to William.
• “There’s lots of ways happening all over the place... all you can really do is enhance the solemnity of the event.”

9. The Papacy’s Rising Power [28:46]

• The papacy, formerly tied to Roman aristocratic families, was “internationalized” by outside intervention (notably the German emperor Henry III).
  • German popes excommunicated local elites and traveled widely to assert authority.
  • Gregory VII infamously excommunicated the emperor, precipitating a major political crisis and Italian civil war.
  • The papacy’s ambitions and interventions (e.g., in the Norman Conquest) signaled a new direction for religious and political authority.

10. Other Pivotal Events (Beyond 1066): [31:13]

• Battle of Manzikert (1071):
  • Byzantine defeat by Seljuks led to internal crisis, reorganization under Alexios Komnenos, and set the stage for the First Crusade.
  • “After 1071, [Byzantium] goes into a new phase of its history... with massive implications for Europe.”
• Breakup of Caliphate of Cordoba (1031):
  • Led to political fragmentation in Muslim Spain (the Taifa kingdoms).
• Common Patterns:
  • Across Europe, the century saw “a crisis of public order”—local aristocrats consolidated power; the church asserted new hegemony.

11. Violence and 'Civilization'

• While ransom for noble captives became more common (i.e., less mutilation/blinding), violence against lower-class prisoners remained unchecked.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the importance of shifting perspective:
  • “If we view the 11th century through the Norman lens, we’re being maybe a little bit blinkered.” — Prof. Charles West [08:17]
• On cultural transformation:
  • “The 11th century was indeed a period of very significant change... its nature as a kind of pivot point... between the early Middle Ages and the late Middle Ages.” — Prof. Charles West [06:10]
• On England’s wealth:
  • “England’s rich, sure. Byzantium’s richer.” — Prof. Charles West [12:23]
• On Constantinople:
  • “If we took all those people out of their towns and sent them all to Constantinople, they would be less than half the population of that single city.” — Prof. Charles West [14:11]
• On the interconnectedness of European elites:
  • “It gives you a sense of the entangled nature, I guess, of these ties as these queens move around Europe when they marry.” — Prof. Charles West [24:02]
• On wider upheavals:
  • “The biggest picture, I think, is that we can think of what’s going on in broad terms as a kind of crisis of the public order...” — Prof. Charles West [34:53]

Important Timestamps

• [03:04] Understanding cultural networks over political borders in 11th-century Europe
• [06:10] Was the 11th century really a time of unique change?
• [08:17] Why the Norman Conquest isn’t the whole story
• [11:00] England’s real economic standing in Europe
• [13:40] Urbanization: Comparing London and continental cities
• [17:15] Western perceptions of Constantinople and other great cities
• [18:23] Urban revolt and its implications in Milan
• [20:53] Where did power actually lie in 11th-century Europe?
• [22:16] The prominent political and cultural role of women
• [26:08] The meaning and limitations of oaths
• [28:46] The transformation of the papacy and its emerging authority
• [31:13] The wider European significance of the Battle of Manzikert
• [34:10] Concluding reflections: The Norman Conquest in European context

Concluding Thoughts

• The Norman Conquest was pivotal for England but only one transformative event among many across Europe.
• The 11th century was marked by religious, social, political, and urban upheaval—cultural and institutional interconnections thickened across the continent.
• Wider crises—decline of central public authority, rising aristocratic and ecclesiastical power, and shifting boundaries—reshaped the European landscape far beyond England’s shores.
• To truly appreciate the 11th century, shift focus from national stories to continental networks and unravel the layered, entangled histories that bound Europe together.

Guest’s Book Mentioned:
Europe in the 11th Century: Beyond Revolution and Reform — Professor Charles West (Oxford History of Medieval Europe series)

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