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William was a Duke who controlled Normandy, a large region in northern France. William was a distant relative of Edward the Confessor and claimed Edward had promised him the throne in 1051.
William the Conqueror [a] (c. 1028 [1] – 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, [2] [b] was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was Duke of Normandy (as William II) [3] from 1035 onward.
May 3, 2022 · William I, usually known as William the Conqueror (and sometimes William the Bastard) was the first Norman king of England. He seized the throne after victory at the Battle of Hastings in 1066…
- Family & Personal Life
- Duke of Normandy
- The Norman Conquest of England
- Post-Conquest Reign
- Domesday Book
- Death & Legacy
William was born in Falaise, Normandy c. 1027. He was the illegitimate son of Duke Robert I of Normandy (1028-1035), hence he is sometimes referred to as William the Bastard. William's mother was Herleve of Falaise, daughter of a wealthy merchant in Rouen who also performed the duties of a chamberlain to the ducal court. William's half-brothers (th...
When Duke Robert died in Asia Minor while on pilgrimage, William became the Duke of Normandy in 1035. Fortunately for William, his father had already secured oaths of loyalty from his barons regarding his son as his chosen heir. In reality, though, William was still only a child and so a guardian ruled in his name, Gilbert of Brionne. In 1040, a ci...
It must be said that William was rather lucky in his invasion of England because his enemy Harold II was obliged to face another invasion just a few weeks before the Conqueror arrived, this one by Harald Hardrada, the king of Norway (aka Harold III, r. 1046-1066). Harold saw off Harald at the Battle of Stamford Bridgenear York on 25 September 1066 ...
William might have got himself a rich new kingdombut he did not ignore his lands in France, and he frequently returned there, often leaving England to be ruled by his half-brother Odo of Bayeux, Earl of Kent and his close friend William FitzOsbern, Earl of Hereford. Indeed, sometimes William had to fight to maintain his lands in France, notably aga...
Far from being a mere warlord, William was an able administrator. In 1086-7 the king ordered a comprehensive survey and record of all the landowners, property, tenants, and serfs of England. After the changeover of the Anglo-Saxon elite to Normans and massive redistributions of estates, the king was likely interested to know who owned what in his k...
Fortunately for William, the Danish invasion never materialised. Canute IV of Denmark (r. 1080-1086), who was planning the escapade, was murdered as part of a rebellion that was fuelled by the king's imposition of taxes and fines to pay for his invasion fleet and army. Then, out of the blue, disaster struck while William was attacking the town of M...
- Mark Cartwright
William landed on the south coast of England with his army while Harold Godwinson was on his way back from the north, where he had defeated Harald Hardrada’s invasion at Stamford Bridge.
May 26, 2024 · William, a devout Catholic, sought to align the English Church more closely with the practices and ideals of the Continental Church, particularly those of the powerful Abbey of Cluny in France. One of William‘s first acts as king was to replace the Anglo-Saxon clergy with Norman bishops and abbots.
William did not believe that Robert could rule Normandy effectively. Rivals to William were threatening war in Normandy in the 1070s. Conflict between William & Robert. A flow diagram showing the events in Robert's revolt against William between 1077 and 1080.
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