{"product_id":"9781350133228","title":"County and Nobility in Norman Italy : Aristocratic Agency in the Kingdom of Sicily, 1130-1189","description":"\u003cstrong\u003eCounty and Nobility in Norman Italy\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor(s): Hervin Fernández-Aceves\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhilst historians often regard the Norman Kingdom of Sicily as centralised and administratively advanced,\u003ci\u003e County and Nobility in Norman Italy\u003c\/i\u003e counters this traditional interpretation; far from centralised and streamlined, this book reveals how the genesis and social structures of the kingdom were constantly fraught between the forces of royal power and local aristocracy authority. In doing so, Hervin Fernandez-Aceves sheds important new light on medieval Italy. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis book is the result of thorough research conducted on the vast source material for the history of this fascinating 12th-century world. Starting with the activities of Norman counts and the configuration of the counties, it explores how social control operated in these nodes of regional authority, and argues that the Sicilian monarchy relied on the counties (and the counts' authority) to keep the realm united and exercise control.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReview(s):\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e“This study offers a much-needed and important contribution to our understanding of the functioning of the 12th-Century Kingdom of Sicily. Its detailed analysis and prosopographies of the upper aristocracy and counties within the kingdom clearly highlights the nuances of the evolving relationship between nobility and monarchy. It will serve as a significant point of reference for further research” —\u003ci\u003ePaul Oldfield, Senior Lecturer in Medieval History, University of Manchester, UK\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“This impressive work is a valuable contribution to scholarship on social and political structures in Norman Italy.  Through systematic and prosopographical analysis Fernández-Aceves  illuminates the composition and actions, continuities and discontinuities of the Italo-Norman nobility.  The complexities of the comital class and county organization challenge prevailing narratives about central authority in the Kingdom of Sicily” —\u003ci\u003eJoanna H. Drell, Professor of History, University of Richmond Richmond, USA\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eISBN:  9781350133228\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e ","brand":"Bloomsbury Academic","offers":[{"title":"Hardback","offer_id":40713100853454,"sku":"9781350133228","price":115.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0600\/7029\/7806\/products\/getimage_6ffdb527-7024-40a5-8e95-467770ed1ebb.jpg?v=1640840949","url":"https:\/\/pickwickbookshop.com\/products\/9781350133228","provider":"Pickwick Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}