29th September 1106
Yesterday was the fortieth anniversary of the day the Conqueror landed at Pevensey and gained a kingdom. And yesterday was the day his son, Duke Robert, lost Normandy. After a rainsoaked battle fought at Tinchebrai in wretched conditions, the duke’s hopes sank into the mud and disappeared.
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Easter 1105
Carentan yesterday became the centre of Anglo-Norman politics. Unlikely as it seems, this little town at the foot of the Contentin peninsula, squeezed into a marshy basin of the Douve, was the scene of unprecedented controversy.
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August 2nd 1101
Until recently war seemed a real possibility in the unharvested fields around Alton. Two armies were facing off after weeks of manoeuvring. We have followed the progress of Duke Robert of Normandy’s invasion of England since July when he landed with an armed force at Portsmouth harbour and challenged his brother, Henry, to a showdown. Since then the country has been poised for the outbreak of war, everyone braced for the worst, every day tension and fear showing in people’s faces as news of battle was hourly expected.
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