In
the Days of William the Conqueror by Eva March Tappan
First
published by Lee and Shepard in 1901, now reprinted by many including
Yesterday’s Classics in 2006. That edition has 236 pages. Upper elementary and
up reading level.
Eva
March Tappan, 1854-1930, was born in Massachusetts, the only child of Reverend
and Mrs. Everett March Tappan. She graduated from Vassar College and then
taught at Wheaton College. Later she was assistant principal at an academy in
Camden, New Jersey. She earned her
degree in English literature from the University of Pennsylvania. Later she was
the head of the English department at the English High School in Worcester,
Massachusetts. She was involved in education for more than two decades before
she began writing.
Some
of the other titles of her books include:
In the Days of Alfred
the Great
In the Days of Queen
Elizabeth
In the Days of Queen
Victoria
England’s Story
Robin Hood: His Book
American Hero Stories
The Chaucer Story
Book
The Story of the
Greek People
Old World Hero
Stories
When Knights Were
Bold
An Elementary History
of Our Country
Heroes of the Middle
Ages
Heroes of Progress:
Stories of Successful Americans
From
the back of the book:
“With
her extensive classroom experience she was able to create stories that appealed
strongly to children. She had ‘a talent for making stories real, for filling
the imagination with fascinating facts, for bringing out the romance of
history, the wholesome excitement of heroism and adventure, and the beauty and
wonder of poetry, myth, and legend.’ She authored over 50 titles, including
biographies, history textbooks, fairy tales, and hero stories. Her greatest
works were The Children’s Hour, an
anthology for children in 15 volumes, and The
World’s Story, an anthology for older students in 14 volumes.”
Tappan’s
preface to this book:
“The
story of William the Conqueror is the story of the man who for more than a
quarter of a century was the most prominent personage of western Europe. Into
whose hands shall England fall, was one of the two or three great questions of
the time, and it was William who solved the problem. Whether or not his claim
to the English throne was just, the people and their new sovereign seemed made
for each other. The English could follow, William could lead. The English could
endure; William could strike the blow that made endurance needless. The English
were inclined to be grave and serious; William enjoyed a jest. The English were
a little slow in their thinking; William was quick-witted. The English would
yield to fate; William was fate itself. William’s reign was a period of
transition, and in such a time both faults and virtues stand out in bold
relief. Whatever in the character of the Conqueror the twentieth century may
find worthy of blame or of praise, no student of his life will deny that his
faults were those of his time, that his virtues were his own.”
I
was very curious to read this book because William’s household steward, Robert
Despenser, was a distant ancestor of my family on my father’s side. Despencer was a Norman landowner who was
given status in William’s conquered England. From his line came the famous
Spencer family through the centuries. Despencer is mentioned in the Domesday
Book of 1086.
William
was born in Normandy around 1028 and became Duke of Normandy from 1035 on. Keeping his control over Normandy was
difficult and involved many skirmishes with other men trying to challenge his
authority for their own means. In the 1050s and 1060s, William became a
contender for the throne of England because King Edward was childless. William
claimed that Edward had promised him the throne, a first cousin once removed.
Others also claimed the right to the throne. Thus began a long process of
obtaining his right to the throne and keeping it. He “invaded” England in 1066
and won the Battle of Hastings. He was crowned king then on Christmas Day in
1066. William’s rule was characterized by the building of many castles and
keeps including the keep of the Tower of London, the White Tower. He replaced
many of the Saxon knights and rulers with those loyal from Normandy. He also
seized and depopulated a large track of land in southern England turning it
into the New Forest to support his great love of hunting. Interestingly, the
book Children of the New Forest which
I previously reviewed took place in this forest during the English Civil War of
the mid-1600s. In 1085, William ordered a survey of the landholdings of himself
and his vassals. This compilation included the holdings of each landowner, who
owned the land before the Conquest, its value, what the taxes were, and the
number of all of its resources including peasants and tools. William died in 1087 following a battle in
France against the French King Philip I, who was allied with William’s son
Robert.
Being
of English background, I had always had a negative impression of William the
Conqueror. After all, he invaded England and defeated his foes there and took
over the land, making great changes in the culture. I always saw him as a
ruthless man. This book gave me a different perspective of a man who set out to
claim what he felt was his given rights to rule England. He was brave and
courageous even as a young boy when he became Duke of Normandy. He often
displayed great mercy in his dealings with his enemies, even against the advice
of his elders. William was fiercely protective of his mother and of his wife.
He fathered 9 children some of whom were disloyal to him. Born in a historic period of great political
unrest, he lived a life of conflict and battles which he faced with courage and
determination.
This
book, In the Days of William the
Conqueror, written by Eva March Tappan, is a valuable read for young people
to learn about this time in history. Although I found it quite interesting
because of my fascination with this time period, it is not a good read-aloud,
in my opinion. It tends to be a little dry. Still it is informative and
well-written, and has a place in my library for knowledge of this time period
which has so much influence historically.
Recommended
additional books/resources to aid your studies:
Domesday Book,
Jackdaw No. 39
1066, Jackdaw No. 38
If
you have never seen these Jackdaw collections, you might not realize what a
wonderful resource they are of primary sources to aid your studies. They are
pamphlets published over the years in England on many historical events and
people, many about English history but some also on American and Canada. The
packet contains a short document of the history of the event or person, and a
list of the document facsimiles included in the packet. I highly recommend them
– a little hard to find – but well worth the effort.
Oh
my! Such excellent authors have written wonderful books of this era for young
people! A rich feast!!
Heroes
of History by Winston Churchill
William
the Conqueror by Thomas Costain, a Landmark book
William
the Conqueror by L. DuGarde Peach, a Ladybird book
Famous
Men of the Middle Ages by Rob Shearer
Seven
Kings of England by Geoffrey Trease
Tower
of London by Leonard Everett Fisher
The
Bayeux Tapestry: The Story of the Norman Conquest 1066 by Norman Denny
The
Norman Conquest by C. Walter Hodges
Hastings
by Philip Sauvain
Growing
Up with the Norman Conquest by Alfred Duggan
Cunning
of the Dove by Alfred Duggan
Wulf
the Saxon by G.A. Henty
Twelve
Bright Trumpets by Margaret Leighton
The
Twelve Ships by Eloise McGraw
Knight’s
Fee by Rosemary Sutcliff
Shield
Ring by Rosemary Sutcliff
Little
Duke by Charlotte Yonge
Man
with a Sword by Henry Trease
The
Middle Ages by Sue Lyon
Rory
the Red by Evelyn Begley
To
Kill a King by Madeleine Polland
Invaders
and Invasions by Ronald Syme
The
History of the English Speaking Peoples by Winston Churchill, volume 1
Saxon
Britain by Tony Triggs
Earliest
English by Rosemary Cramp
Kings,
Bishops, Knights and Pawns by Ralph Arnold
They
Lived Like This in Ancient Britain by Marie Neurath
Fourteenth
of October by Bryher – I have not read this one
This
is London by M. Sasek
The
Inside-Outside Book of London by Roxie Munro
The
Story of Britain by R.J. Unstead
Heart’s
Conquest by Gladys Malvern – I have not read this one
Faraway
Princess by Jane Oliver
(Book
review by Sandy Hall. All rights reserved. August 14, 2017)
