THE KINGDOM IN THE SUN

by John Julius Norwich ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 1970

This is a companion volume to Norwich's earlier Normans in the South: 1016-1130, and it covers the period from 1130 to 1194--that is, from the ascension of Roger II to the death of William III--in the stormy history of the Norman Kingdom of Sicily. (In this context, ""Sicily"" includes the Italian mainland, from Naples southward, as well as the island of that name.) Although the book covers the reigns of six monarchs from the Norman House of Hauteville and that of Navarre, much of it, appropriately enough, is devoted to the events of the reign of Frederick Barbarossa; that is, to the cultural and social development of the realm, to participation in the Crusades, and, above all, to the unravelling of Frederick's (and Sicily's) love-hate relationship with a series of ambitious and imperious popes. Like the author's previous work, Kingdom in the Sun is not a scholarly work either in intention or in execution. It is, nonetheless, an extraordinarily sound and readable work of historical reportage which will be as useful to the student of medieval history as it will be instructively entertaining for the general reader.

Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1970

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Harper & Row

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1970

Categories: NONFICTION