"England, however, was endowed with a precociously advanced system of government which made its kings powerful beyond anything warranted by its comparatively modest resources. Unlike France, which had developed as a nation by the gradual coalescence of ancient autonomous provinces, each with its own distinct political and cultural traditions, England had been conquered in the space of a few years in the eleventh century by the Norman kings, who had created a centralized, unitary state and settled it with a new, alien aristocracy. Three centuries later, Englishman still had a highly developed notion of public authority."
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University of Oxford facultyUniversity of Oxford alumniHistorians from the United KingdomAuthors from the United KingdomJudges from the United Kingdom
Original Language: English
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Chapter 1, “Edward of Windsor” (pp. 4-5)
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jonathan_Sumption%2C_Lord_Sumption
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Jonathan Sumption, Lord Sumption
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