Books by John Gillingham

William II (1087-1100), or William Rufus, will always be most famous for his death: killed by an arrow while out hunting, perhaps through accident or perhaps murder. But, as John Gillingham makes clear in this elegant book, as the son and successor to William the Conqueror it was William Rufus who had to establish permanent Norman rule. A ruthless, irascible man, he frequently argued acrimoniously with his older brother Robert over their father's inheritance - but he also handed out effective justice, leaving as his legacy one of the most extraordinary of all medieval buildings, Westminster Hall.

War, rebellion and castle-building in Normandy and Poitou, charters and writs, dedications of churches in England, Jews, attitudes to kindred - the regular stimulating mix.

Beginning with the Norman Conquest of England, these tumultuous centuries and their invasions shaped the languages and political geography of present-day Britain and Ireland. Tracing the political, religious and material cultures of the period, the author seeks to define the ways in which lives changed during these turbulent times.

Neither a feckless knight-errant nor a king who neglected his kingdom, Richard I was in reality a masterful and businesslike ruler. In this wholly rewritten version of a classic account of the reign of Richard The Lionheart, John Gillingham scrutinizes the reasons for the King's fluctuating reputation over successive centuries and provides a convincing new interpretation of the significance of the reign. This edition includes a complete annotation and expanded bibliography.

At its greatest extent, the Angevin Empire stretched from the Scottish border to the Pyrenees. For fifty years it was the dominant political entity and "English" and "French" history were inextricably joined. This study looks at how these disparate territories came together, how they were ruled, and whether they truly constituted an empire.