THIS is the first of three chapters that explore and attempt to explain the creation, development, and ultimately the diminution of the territory that would recognize the authority of the Norman dukes of the Normans between 911 and 1144. The discussion advances reign by reign, from Rollo to Stephen, and ends with the completion of the conquest of the duchy by Geoffrey V of Anjou in 1144. The use of this narrative structure is intended to foreground both continuity and change over time, and the focus is on what might be described as state-building, thus on conquest, coercion, diplomacy, marriages, fidelity, and the rewards or bribes offered in return for service and support.

Narratives outlining the political history of the duchy are still scarce. Probably the best to date are those written by Eleanor Searle, which ends in 1066, and the equally scholarly but more ‘popular’ surveys by David Crouch and François Neveux. For Upper Normandy there is also Pierre Bauduin's excellent La premiere Normandie, which provides not only an in-depth examination of the establishment of ducal power in the region, but also a detailed look at the families who had to be won over and their role in the continuing consolidation and operation of ducal rule. While the debt owed to this earlier work must be acknowledged, the outline provided here is based on a fresh look at the primary sources, and pays more attention to the ducal acta than has generally been the case in the past. The result is a story that, while not radically different from those which have gone before, does offer different interpretations and emphases at a great many points in the narrative. In particular, the duchy takes shape more slowly in the account presented here than has been the case previously, and there is more emphasis on the political fault lines that divided Norman lords even under a strong duke like William the Bastard, manifested most obviously in the ambition and self-interest of the Montgommery-Bellême family.

That the contemporary sources for Norman history can be interpreted in so many different ways is a result of the intentions that lay behind their origins, discussed in the introduction. In particular, the agendas of their authors mean that the narratives that tell us about Normandy and its dukes distort and conceal as much as they reveal.