Eljas Oksanen. Flanders and the Anglo-Norman World, 1066–1216.

Abstract

In Flanders and the Anglo-Norman World, 1066–1216, Eljas Oksanen adopts a transnational approach, paying particular attention to cultural and military practices, economic interactions, the movement of peoples, and diplomatic interactions. He argues that Flanders was a linchpin between France, Germany, and the Anglo-Norman regnum. The book is organized topically in seven chapters: “Power and Politics in Flanders and the Anglo-Norman Regnum,” “Military Treaties and Diplomatic Culture,” “Anglo-Flemish Diplomacy,” “Tournaments in Anglo-Flemish Society,” “The Politics of Cross-Channel Commerce,” “Flemish Immigration to England,” and “Social Identity and the Image of Flemings in England.” The first chapter is an excellent summary of English-Flemish-French politics from the ninth through the early thirteenth century. Oksanen demonstrates a thorough knowledge of the secondary literature and provides a nice overview of the political history. This chapter sets the stage for the heart of this book, chapters two through four. Oksanen argues that the Anglo-Norman-Flemish treaties were primarily military agreements that provided the Anglo-Norman kings stipendiaries (paid military men rather than vassals) who were drawn primarily from Artois and southern Flanders. The annual money fief paid by the Anglo-Norman king was the equivalent of the daily wage for the stipulated number of stipendiaries the Flemish count promised to provide. Three themes—fidelity, friendship alliance, and an inequality of power—dominate these military-diplomatic agreements of the twelfth century, which started out as pragmatic and flexible and became more symbolic over time. The treaties themselves were the formal outcomes of extended discussions conducted by trusted envoys who carried gifts and messages between the two rulers. These envoys were noble men and women who had land and family ties in each region. An important argument in this chapter is that the money fiefs provided the recurring gain that sustained political friendship and were “the principal diplomatic mechanism by which the kings of England attempted to consolidate their influence in the southern Low Countries, among the comital rulers and baronial aristocracy alike” (p. 92).