The Norman invasion of Britain, as depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry, is
well known, but the later invasion of Ireland is much less well
documented. Yet much of what we see today in Irish heritage has Norman
roots. Ireland and Britain have many similarities, although relations
between them have too often descended into bitterness and violence. This
book goes back to the starting point of this, more than eight hundred
years ago. Beginning with Irish history before the Norman invasion, the
book describes how Ireland was conquered and settled by the
French-speaking Normans from north-west France, whose language and
culture had already come to dominate most of Britain.
It looks at the creation and government of a large region called the
Liberty of Leinster between 1167 and 1247, a turning point in Irish
history, identifying the Frankish institutions imposed upon Ireland by
its Anglo-Norman conquerors. The Normans were not always belligerent
conquerors, but they were innovators and reformers, who incorporated the
sensible traditions and practices of their subjugated lands into their
new government. In little over one hundred years the Normans had a
transforming effect on British and Irish societies and, while different
in many ways, both countries benefited from their legacy.
