The reign of William II of Sicily (1166-1189) was regarded both by contemporaries and by subsequent generations as a Golden Age in the Norman empire. The present study aims at a critical stocktaking and an overall assessment of William II as king. On the basis of documentary and narrative sources it takes a close look at the various sectors of royal activity - administration and law, urban and ecclesiastical policy, business and trade, the status of Muslims and Greeks, the representation of power, and foreign policy. The image that takes shape is that of a decisive king who was at the same time greatly enamored of regal pomp.

Zusammenfassung

"Mit diese klugen und umfassenden Darstellung des Normannenkönigs und seiner Regierungszeit schließt die Vf. eine große Lücke in der Geschichte des Königreichs Sizilien. [...] [Eine] eindrückliche Leistung"
Walter Koller in: Monumenta Germaniae Historica 64,2/2009

"Es ist ihr [der Autorin] gelungen, ein Standardwerk zur Geschichte des Regnum Siciliae vorzulegen."
Bettina Pferschy-Maleczek in: Mitteilungen des Instituts für Österreichische Geschichtsforschung 12/2007