The Norman epic has come down to us as one of the greatest, and most compelling, stories in the history of Europe. Descended from the Scandinavian Northmen who were granted the Duchy in 911, the Normans expanded and consolidated their power in a series of brilliant conquests. At Hastings in 1066, it was almost as if a single day"s fighting gave England a new dynasty, a new aristocracy, a virtually new Church, a new art, a new architecture and a new language. In Italy, small, initially penniless groups of Norman mercenaries won rich, populous territories and fostered a remarkable civilization blending Latin, Greek and Arabic elements -- a sort of intellectual clearing-house between East and West.