This volume serves as a critical examination and foundational introduction to the ecclesiastical and secular history of the Anglo-Norman world as recorded by the twelfth-century monk Orderic Vitalis. Marjorie Chibnall provides a rigorous scholarly framework, utilizing the original Latin manuscripts to reconstruct the social, political, and religious climate of the period. The text functions as both a historical record and a linguistic resource, offering an index verborum to assist scholars in navigating the specific terminology of the era.

Historians and medievalists regard this edition as a standard reference for the study of the Anglo-Norman period. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose, which is intended primarily for researchers and students of medieval history.