Conflict between England and France was a fact of life for centuries,
but few realize that its origins date from the time of the Vikings, when
a Norse chieftain named Rollo established himself and his progeny in
Normandy. In this compelling and entertaining history, Mary McAuliffe
takes the reader back to those dark and turbulent times when Rollo's
descendants, the dukes of Normandy, asserted their dominance over the
weak French monarchy--a dominance that became especially threatening
after Duke William conquered England in 1066, giving him a royal crown.
Despite this crown, William the Conqueror and his royal successors
remained dukes of Normandy, with feudal obligations to their overlord,
the king of France. This naturally fostered an ongoing hostility between
the French and English crowns that, as McAuliffe convincingly shows,
became ever more explosive as the strength and territorial holdings of
the English monarchs grew. Conflict erupted regularly over the years,
and Eleanor of Aquitaine's desertion of one camp for the other only
added fuel to the long-simmering feud. McAuliffe takes the reader back
to this dramatic era, providing the fascinating background and context
for this "clash of crowns." She offers colorful insights into Richard
Lionheart and Eleanor of Aquitaine as well as lesser-known French and
English monarchs, especially Philip II of France. Philip proved a
determined opponent of Richard Lionheart, and their cutthroat rivalry
not only created fatal divisions within the Third Crusade but also
culminated in an incendiary faceoff at Richard's newly built
Château-Gaillard, the seemingly impregnable gateway to empire. The
outcome would shape the course of English and French history throughout
the centuries that followed.
