You may be aware of them as a TV show, which I highly, highly recommend, but you may not be aware that they are also books! Which I also recommend! This title contains fascinating facts about Bill the Conquerer and his bully boys who battled at Hastings, stormed around Europe and joined the Crusades. There are tales of limb-chopping, terribly tortured saints and you can find out what "really" happened in 1066. William of Normandy defeated King Harold at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 a fact that many of us already know but do we know the more gruesome facts surrounding William. For us the answer is no! For example, Stormin Normans tells us how William had thirty-two prominent citizens of Alencons’ feet and hands cut off and paraded as a warning to others when he took over the town. Pretty gruesome we think you will agree! The book also blasts some of the facts mooted by the French historians about Matilda Williams wife. This pronged eating instrument can be seen somewhere near some interesting taxidermy and a curious rodent

There’s some strange stuff afoot in Beastly Boxset - odd things are appearing without warning where there was nothing before. Can you help us hunt them down? Like many battles in history, it was fought because one person wanted to be king of another place. In this case, William of Normandy in France wanted to be King of England. He believed he should have been made king when King Edward "the Confessor" died. Edward was was his distant cousin and William said he'd promised him the job. However, a man called Harold Godwinson was crowned King of England in January 1066. William was furious. At the end of September 1066, he sailed over to England from France with around 700 ships and a very large army. When King Harold II learned about this, he marched with his army straight down to Sussex to meet the invaders. The march meant they were exhausted when they arrived. On Saturday 14th October 1066, they met at a place called Senlac Hill near Hastings to fight each other. The battle lasted all day and thousands of men were killed and injured.Now we're quite sure there are two unexpected appearances connected to specific places in each era:

The first is that they can be a little inaccurate. I really do mean a little inaccurate; it's mostly erring on the side of "we don't know which is really true but this makes a better story," and occasionally "research marches on." The second is that the author, Terry Deary, is kind of an asshole, particularly on the subject of libraries. I won't repeat his comments here. Suffice to say he's kind of a jerk. Would you like to read how the Norman knights slept with dollies? Why is this you may ask? The answer to this and more is featured in Horrible Histories Stormin Normans where kids can read in grisly detail about the Norman Conquests and the Crusades. With foul facts and gruesome jokes the kids will be engrossed from start to finish while learning about this important historical era. A tropical fruit is rumoured to be found somewhere high above the streets, perched on a window ledge

It All Begins with William the Conqueror

Usually a square centre with four corner turrets and a stone walkway for soldiers to keep watch including spaces to ?re arrows through. The battle of Hastings is covered in diary format along with the rest of 1066 making it easy for kids to follow the timeline of what happened between William and Harold’s armies. The beliefs of the English who were conquered by William are explored, while the use of poison by the Normans to get rid of anyone they disliked is also covered.