--- product_id: 3376163 title: "1066: The Year of the Conquest" price: "B/.48" currency: PAB in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.com.pa/products/3376163-1066-the-year-of-the-conquest store_origin: PA region: Panama --- # 1066: The Year of the Conquest **Price:** B/.48 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** 1066: The Year of the Conquest - **How much does it cost?** B/.48 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.com.pa](https://www.desertcart.com.pa/products/3376163-1066-the-year-of-the-conquest) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description The year 1066 is one of the most important dates in the history of the Western world: the year William the Conqueror defeated the English at the Battle of Hastings and changed England and the English forever. The events leading to-and following-this turning point in history are shrouded in mystery. Distorted by the biased accounts written by a subjugated people, many believe it was the English who ultimately won the battle, since the Normans became assimilated into the English way of life. Drawing on a wealth of contemporary sources, David Howarth gives us memorable portraits of the kings: Edward the Confessor, Harold of England, William of Normandy, as well as the leading political figures of the time. Howarth describes the English commoners: how they worked, fought, died, and how they perceived the overthrow of their world from their isolated shires. Review: Readable history I should have been taught at school. - I did enjoy this interpretation of the historical background and events that took place during the year 1066. It was delivered in an informed, well researched manner, also in an imminently readable, understandable and enjoyable manner. Apart from giving the reader a fascinating glimpse of normal villager life at that time it's also a story of political intrigues, power broking, allegiance making and breaking, treachery, murder, accusations and doubt. Howarth I believe does his best to look for plausible solutions to the many mysteries that surround the momentous events that took place during that fateful year. He reasons well, puts forward logical arguments and believable suppositions in order to make sense of many puzzling actions that were taken by the major players of the time. One reviewer poo-poos the historical content in this book accusing the author of bias and disagreeing with "major works of history". He then goes on to give a chapter and verse account of the Godwin's troubled history with Edward, stating that they were guilty of "probably even killing a sitting king and clearly killed the most obvious heir", etc. I object; heresay! Whoever accuses another of bias should not then proceed to put forward his own views of what took place as a matter of fact. Unfair! I make two points: 1) all ancient historians are guilty of bias in some shape or form since their sources never do allow them to know the real truth so they are left to express their own opinions of what took place, and why that, despite the best research, are subjective. Howarth is no more, or less guilty than any other (major) historians in this case and I do not feel he should have to re-present, or constantly refute these authors' opinions here. 2) I would estimate that 99% of the readers in desertcart are not looking for a history text book but want an account that is fun to read whilst not being a complete fabrication, or mockery, of the historical known facts. I know enough 1066-lore to realise that Howarth is no hack! His research is sound and his reasoning is believable, thought-provoking and interesting. If you like your history presented in a way that the lay person can read, understand and enjoy; this book is definitely for you. I am such a reader and I loved it! Review: A very readable history - This book is very readable history of a year nine hundred sixty years ago, and paints a picture of a way of life and monarchy and war that is very informative and interesting. I'm reading it twice. ## Features - Great product! ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #264,019 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #215 in England History #5,703 in Military History (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.6 out of 5 stars 331 Reviews | ## Images ![1066: The Year of the Conquest - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91gTJbFv4xL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Readable history I should have been taught at school. *by B***S on January 31, 2012* I did enjoy this interpretation of the historical background and events that took place during the year 1066. It was delivered in an informed, well researched manner, also in an imminently readable, understandable and enjoyable manner. Apart from giving the reader a fascinating glimpse of normal villager life at that time it's also a story of political intrigues, power broking, allegiance making and breaking, treachery, murder, accusations and doubt. Howarth I believe does his best to look for plausible solutions to the many mysteries that surround the momentous events that took place during that fateful year. He reasons well, puts forward logical arguments and believable suppositions in order to make sense of many puzzling actions that were taken by the major players of the time. One reviewer poo-poos the historical content in this book accusing the author of bias and disagreeing with "major works of history". He then goes on to give a chapter and verse account of the Godwin's troubled history with Edward, stating that they were guilty of "probably even killing a sitting king and clearly killed the most obvious heir", etc. I object; heresay! Whoever accuses another of bias should not then proceed to put forward his own views of what took place as a matter of fact. Unfair! I make two points: 1) all ancient historians are guilty of bias in some shape or form since their sources never do allow them to know the real truth so they are left to express their own opinions of what took place, and why that, despite the best research, are subjective. Howarth is no more, or less guilty than any other (major) historians in this case and I do not feel he should have to re-present, or constantly refute these authors' opinions here. 2) I would estimate that 99% of the readers in Amazon are not looking for a history text book but want an account that is fun to read whilst not being a complete fabrication, or mockery, of the historical known facts. I know enough 1066-lore to realise that Howarth is no hack! His research is sound and his reasoning is believable, thought-provoking and interesting. If you like your history presented in a way that the lay person can read, understand and enjoy; this book is definitely for you. I am such a reader and I loved it! ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A very readable history *by B***R on July 21, 2026* This book is very readable history of a year nine hundred sixty years ago, and paints a picture of a way of life and monarchy and war that is very informative and interesting. I'm reading it twice. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Nice introduction to the topic, but with some caveats *by C***E on June 1, 2012* If you were going to read just one book to get some working knowledge about 1066 and the Norman Conquest, this'd be a good choice. It is engaging, entertaining, novel-like in its story-telling, and quite interesting. Howarth uses a lot of good techniques to maintain reader interest, such as starting the book with a description of a typical small village, so you can get a feel for the people and the times, not just the political struggles and major battles. The book has some real strengths. It covers the whole range of personalities, places, issues, battles, and other ingredients that go into understanding the rather complex Norman invasion. It does it in an organized, chronological way. You really do come out of the book with an overall, pretty clear sense of what happened and why. Coverage of battles is quite good. Coverage of the politics and complex dynastic situation that led to Hastings is good, too. The book is not without flaws. There are some basic factual errors. For instance, he has Halley's Comet occurring on April 18, 1066. It was on April 24. Some of his other numbers are less definitively incorrect but still doubtful (troop strengths and fleet sizes, etc). A larger issue is that he puts forth opinions and conjecture as fact, without offering alternative viewpoints or even noting that alternative views exist. For instance, he says that Tostig Godwinesson was out of his mind. That is a personal judgment of the author's which is likely wrong, and no other view is presented. For those now toe-dipping into this topic, Tostig was a brother of King Harold of England, the guy who was defeated at Hastings. Tostig, who ruled a big chunk of England but was sent packing with his brother's collusion a year before Hastings, allied himself with Norwegian Vikings against his brother, causing Harold to lose many of his best-trained warriors in a huge, bloody battle (in which Tostig was killed) literally three days before William's force landed in England for the big showdown. Tostig's antics thus paved the way for William the Conqueror's victory at Hastings, a victory that probably would not have happened if not for Tostig's actions (Hastings, after all, was a close-fought near-draw until the end, despite Harold's fighting with a thinned-out shell of his former army). Gaining a solid understanding of Tostig's motivations and situation are therefore crucial to understanding the events of 1066. Some other authors see Tostig as having been sane, smart and strategic; still others, that he was consumed by vengeful fraternal rage but hardly insane. My own view is that Tostig's behavior, which seems excessively vengeful and erratic from a 21st century perspective, fits nicely into the Germanic heroic tradition of the 11th century ["doomed warlord is killed in a final hopeless battle against his brother that could've been avoided, in order to rescue his honor after having been shamed and wronged, his death helping his name to live on", etc. etc. etc.]. In fact his behavior was quite consistent with what you'd expect from a high-ranking noble of the time who was dispossessed of his holdings and left with nothing to do but scheme and dream of ways to retake what was taken from him. I am not sympathetic to what that obviously brutal man did, and I would run, not walk, if he showed up in my neighborhood, but I think there are more historically sophisticated ways to understand his behavior than to call him insane. His children were, in fact, later treated like the noble offspring of an honorable warrior who died for a worthy cause .... in Norway. Howarth brings, as you'd expect, an English perspective to the complicated Tostig Godwinsson situation, but there are other lenses through which Tostig can be viewed. Another example: Howarth presents an interesting view that Papal blessing of the Norman invasion might have demoralized Harold Godwinesson just before Hastings, leading to tepid or tentative generalship and, ultimately, his loss on the battlefield. It's an interesting theory and worth chewing over, but is most likely not the immediate cause of the debacle at Hastings. The Normans' use of integrated artillery, cavalry and infantry, pitted against the Dark Ages model of guys packed together in a shield wall, was likely the "proximate cause" of the debacle at Hastings, combined with the exhaustion of Harold's army after battling the Norwegians. The Pope theory is interesting ... but incomplete, at a minimum. At a maximum, some people (myself included) would question whether the Pope ever gave his blessing to William's Normans. If he did, then why did William build Battle Abbey as penance for the invasion, as well as confess it as a great sin and injustice before he died? You don't usually do penance for and confess things the Pope told you to do; you'd be bragging about such things. So there are some holes in the whole Pope-said-it-was-cool-to-invade theory of Hastings. In Howarth's book you do not get exposure to counterarguments of this nature. As another reviewer suggested, the Frank McLynn book offers a more in-depth, academically rigorous treatment of the same topics, with more diligence about presenting different theories and viewpoints. Where Howarth takes a lot of stuff in the Bayeux Tapestry and Norman "sources" at face value, McLynn is more skeptical and questions whether some of the key events even took place at all, which really challenges the reader to think for himself or herself and evaluate the evidence. Both books are worth reading, though in my opinion the McLynn book is a stronger overall book, and the Howarth book is more of a starter book for people who want to get their feet wet. I'll give it four stars. It's a great place to start, and an easy, simple way to get your head around 1066, but not a perfect book. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.com.pa/products/3376163-1066-the-year-of-the-conquest](https://www.desertcart.com.pa/products/3376163-1066-the-year-of-the-conquest) --- *Product available on Desertcart Panama* *Store origin: PA* *Last updated: 2026-10-17*