The history of Norman expansion in the Middle Ages is a spectacular one of wide-ranging territorial conquests. Norman castles, cavalry, and land-holding structures shaped the landscapes of Normandy, England, Wales, southern Italy, and Sicily, among others. Yet, the Normans were not solely restricted to the terra firma. The Battle of Hastings was preceded by a seaborne invasion and the infiltration into southern Italy and Sicily led to the conquest of a peninsula and island inextricably linked to the surrounding Mediterranean. In the case of southern Italy and Sicily, scholars have long acknowledged the significance of naval operations in the progress of the Norman conquest and, after its completion, have highlighted how fundamental Norman control of the waters of the central Mediterranean was both in enriching the Norman Kingdom of Sicily (founded in 1130) and for enabling new forms of maritime commerce and movement.
It is therefore quite remarkable that Charles D. Stanton's superb study on Norman naval operations in the Mediterranean is the first to truly investigate the subject in any significant depth. Stanton's work goes beyond merely confirming the received assumptions on Norman naval activity in the Mediterranean by constructing in microscopic detail the nature, patterns, objectives, and outcomes of that activity. In merging exhaustive analysis of the south Italian source material with investigation of the broader political, economic, and military climate of the Mediterranean, this book enriches our understanding of both the Norman presence in Italy and the wider developments occurring in and around a body of water which served as a meeting point for the Latin, Greek, and Islamic worlds. Stanton's approach is straightforward and eminently appropriate, as outlined clearly in the preface. His methodology, and the book's structure, is of necessity largely based on a potential weakness in the study, namely the sheer paucity of source material available to construct a firm understanding of Norman naval operations. As a result, Stanton has opted for a chronological and narrative analysis followed by two compendious appendices on the structures and forms of the Norman naval fleets and the sources used in this study, a configuration which achieves his objectives successfully.
There are three main overriding strengths within the work. Firstly, Stanton's chronological narrative is not confined to the traditionally accepted parameters of the Norman presence in Italy (c.1000-c.1194). Instead, his analysis stretches back to 827, mapping the emergence of Muslim power in Sicily and the south Italian peninsula, a development which was inherently reliant on naval expeditions and dominance at sea. The work also pushes well into the thirteenth century, to the period in which the successors of the Normans, the Staufen dynasty from Germany and one of their most dynamic scions, Frederick II, ruled over the region. This approach enables the reader to appreciate the streams of continuity within the maritime history of southern Italy and Sicily, and to measure the true significance of the Norman impact upon it. Indeed, one of Stanton's main arguments springs from his belief that Norman naval techniques and organization drew heavily on those of the Muslims and Byzantines who had dominated the central Mediterranean before the Normans' arrival. Furthermore, in pushing the narrative past 1200 this work is able to utilise some significant later evidence on naval operations, such as Frederick II's Capitula pertinentia ad Officium Ammiratae issued in 1239, which Stanton claims to be "the first set of medieval regulations governing a royal admiralty" (218), and which, more germane for an investigation on Norman naval activity, appears to have been based on Norman precedents (220-22).
Secondly, the reader can feel assured that Stanton has unearthed almost every last scrap of evidence currently available, and that he has examined that material methodically (indeed perhaps the only other avenue for further investigation might be via more extensive searches through the charter material where there could be a few additional pieces of information). In doing so, the author goes a long way to overcoming the problematic source material which can be frustratingly laconic, uneven, and ambiguous. Stanton's explorations, for example, of individual naval encounters and expeditions are meticulous in balancing conflicting and confusing accounts, and offer the reader particularly intelligible descriptions. In many cases this is assisted through the aid of superb maps, which further illuminate, for instance, the blockade of Bari of 1068 (42), the battle of Corfu of 1084 (56), the Norman raid on the Greek mainland of 1147 (95), and the battle of Brindisi of 1156 (134). Stanton's vision in these descriptions is testament to his evident expertise in nautical affairs, and few scholars could recreate them with such clarity and authority.
Thirdly, and finally, this study is not content with focusing solely on southern Italy and Sicily, and in Chapter 4 (The Impact) it extrapolates the evidence to wider developments within the Mediterranean world. In this sphere, Stanton considers the influence of Norman naval dominance of the central Mediterranean on the expansion of Genoese and Pisan sea power (also encompassing their activities in the Crusader States), on the revival of western commerce in the Mediterranean, and on the trading patterns of Muslim commerce. This sort of contextualization palpably deepens an appreciation of the enormity of the Norman presence in the Mediterranean and is to be especially commended.
As in most books, it is fair to say that there are some flaws and potential weak-points. But these are not fundamental and mostly relate to nuanced qualifications of some features of the work. Stanton grapples admirably with the lack of source material, but in some sections it is evident that the dearth is simply insurmountable in our current state of knowledge. Appendix A is a case in point. This is a truly superb treatment of key aspects of Norman naval techniques and organization, demonstrating the author's knowledge at its fullest. But large chunks of it, by Stanton's own admission (and hence its relegation to an appendix), can only be informed conjecture, based on small scraps of evidence drawn from Muslim and Byzantine maritime practices and backed up by the pioneering work of John Pryor. This does not reduce the value of Stanton's interpretive work, and in fact it makes it all the more impressive, but the restrictions are nonetheless evident. Similarly, the examination of the Norman takeover of mainland southern Italy is limited by how little the sources really offer on naval operations. With the exception of Bari, and a few other cases, we still know little on the logistics of how the Norman rulers were able to subdue a range of impressively vibrant port cities on both the Apulian and Campanian coastlines. The likelihood remains that the Normans did not attempt naval operations in most cases and resorted to negotiation and threat from land-based military forces. Stanton does not suggest otherwise, but this does diminish the importance of naval affairs in this significant arena of the conquest, and with it Stanton's belief on how integral it in fact was.
It might be suggested too that some of Stanton's interpretations, though compelling, go a little beyond the evidence and that he makes too direct a correlation between successful naval strategy and a successful realm. The author indicates that the greatest bequest of both Roger I and Roger II to their heirs was a sound naval strategy (66 and 114), whereas some scholars of medieval southern Italy might suggest that it was the adoption of pragmatic socio-religious policies, the development of sophisticated administrative and communication networks, sound diplomatic strategies, the weaknesses of its enemies, or sensible compromises struck with the region's leading urban communities. Certainly, naval dominance of the central Mediterranean contributed greatly to the security and prosperity of Norman Italy, but so too did a range of other factors, not all of which were dependant on sound naval strategy. Likewise, Stanton makes convincing arguments that William I was mediocre (143) and William II wantonly extravagant (159) in terms of naval strategy, but this implication should not be extended further. The author could perhaps have balanced this a little more by consulting some recent research on broader aspects of both kings' reigns which suggest a more complex picture of successes and failures.
All in all, if in places Stanton perhaps puts naval strategy too front and centre, his exhaustive work makes it clear that Norman naval activity is simply crucial to understanding how Norman Italy functioned. Without it we are left with an unsatisfactory and incomplete picture, and this study should be acknowledged as an integral step towards new perspectives on the region. The prose flows very well, the work is written with great clarity, and the reader is treated to an excellent range of maps and illustrations which complement and illuminate the text. Stanton confirms that the Normans were pragmatists, opportunists, and hugely successful, a people without frontiers, but never before has a study made it so apparent that these skills were transferable between land and sea.