The conquests of the Normans in the 11th century marked a great change in the history of Europe.

In England, Italy and the Middle East,

they were highly successful at both war and building new administrations, and in contrast to the

previous centuries, they left a very obvious physical legacy. In particular, many of the

castles they built still stand today, looking as

impressive as when they were first constructed. These remarkable people will become an important

part of the next few chapters of the podcast. Welcome to a history of Europe. Key Battles,

the Battle of Chivotate, Part 1 of 4.

During the next four podcasts, I will tell the history of Italy from between the fall of Rome up until 1053,

the year of an important battle between Pope Leo 9th and Norman invaders of Italy.

These centuries witnessed a long struggle for power between various sides, with many shifts of fortune.

The Battle of Chivetate marks a point at which the Normans firmly established themselves in Italy,

and so reshaped the politics of the peninsula.

In an earlier podcast on the Battle of the Catalonian Fields, I related the fall of the Western Roman Empire. I described how during the 4th and 5th centuries, AD, Germanic tribes from northern and eastern Europe

migrated south to look for a new home and settled in the land of the Roman Empire. These tribes were not looking to destroy Rome.

On the contrary, they were in awe of the empire's sophisticated culture, its technologies,

its literary culture, its high level of living standards, and its proud history,

and they wanted to be part of it. But what they ended up doing

over time was to transform the empire beyond recognition. Different tribes took over effective control

of the administration of different parts of the empire, such as the Franks in Gaul and Visigoths in Spain.

The influence of the Italians contracted until the only remnant of the Empire where they held

any real authority was Italy. Eventually, even in Rome, real power came into the hands of a German military commander,

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