Dr Rebecca Tyson

My doctoral research explored the environmental history of eleventh-century Normandy in northern France in terms of its coastline and rivers, and the ways that people settled in, interacted with, utilised, and thought about these maritime spaces. Through the examination of a multidisciplinary suite of evidence, I highlighted the hitherto largely overlooked maritime communities of eleventh-century Normandy and considered how they may have contributed their specialist maritime environmental knowledge and experiences to the cross-Channel Norman invasion of England in 1066.
I argued that a reconsideration of the available evidence, with the preparations in Normandy and the Channel crossing as the focus, highlights the central role of the maritime environment in the activities and decision-making processes of the Normans in the early months of 1066, and provides additional context for the place of maritime connections within the Anglo-Norman realm, that had the English Channel at its centre.

Thesis title: 'Sailing to Conquest: Maritime activity and identity in eleventh-century Normandy', supervised by Professor Benjamin Pohl and Dr Marianna Dudley. Awarded June 2026.