Duke William of Normandy Also Known as William the Bastard

8/3/2019 Duke William of Normandy Also Known as William the Bastard

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InglesPrefacultativo

Prof.LourdesDomnguez

JosefaBarreiro

William the Conqueror

On a single day Duke William of Normandy conquered the Anglo-Saxon

kingdomthathadresistedVikinginvasionsforyears.

Anglo-Saxon England was one of the strongest and wealthiest kingdoms in

eleventhcenturyEuropeandinmanywaysoneofthemostadvanced,butthey

sufferedaperiodofchronicinstabilityduringthisperiod.

Duke William of Normandy also known as William the Bastard was born in

Falaisein1027,hisparentswereunmarried.HisfatherwasRobertI,thesixth

Duke of Normandy. His mother was called Herleva who was the humble

daughterofaTanner.

In1035,RobertofNormandywent ona pilgrim trip to theHolyLand.Before

settingoutonhistripRobertforcedhislordstoswearfealtytoWilliam.William

wasRobert'sonlylivingson.ButDukeRobertdied,andWilliambecameDuke

ofNormandyattheageofjustsevenyearsold,withhisgreatuncleservingas

regent.

AnumberofNormanbaronsdidnotacceptabastardsonastheirleaderandin

1040, an attempt was made to kill William but the plot failed and William

survivedbuthewasforcedtoacceptRalphofWacyashisguardianandleader

ofhis armedforces.Williammatured intoa tall, thickmanwithdarkhair.His


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voice was rasping andguttural.Williamundoubtedly possessed considerable

powers of leadershipand courage.Hewas devout and inspired loyalty inhis

followers,butcouldalsoberuthlessandcruel

Williambegan togovernNormandyin1045.Two yearslater,the lordsofthe

westernregionoftheduchyrebelled,butWilliamsuccessfullydefeatedthem.

In1052WilliamvisitedEdwardtheConfessor, theKingofEngland,adistant

cousin,

Edward theConfessor,whohadspentmuch of his life in exile in Normandy

duringtheDanishoccupationofEngland,atthepalaceofWilliam,promisedhim

thethroneofEngland.

Edward theConfessorreturnedtoEnglandand tookwithhimNorman friends

and advisors. The English nobles led by Harold Godwinson were furious at

havingsomanyFrenchatcourtandEdwardwasforcedtoexpelthem.

In1064KingEdwardsentHaroldtoNormandytoswearloyaltytoDukeWilliam

asheirtothethrone.HaroldlandedinthenortheastofNormandy,wherehe

was held captive by Count Guy until Duke William was able to arrange his

release.OncesafelyinNormandy,HaroldsworetosupportWilliamsc laimto

the throne of England, making his oath on holy relics. They then went on

campaigntogetherinBrittany,beforeHaroldreturnedtoEngland.

EdwardtheConfessordiedinJanuary1066,andHaroldwascrownedtheKing

ofEngland.

DukeWilliam immediately claimed theEnglish throne.He sent amessage to

Haroldremindinghimoftheoathhehadtookin1064.Haroldrespondedthathe


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was duty bound to follow the decision takenbyEnglish Lords. DukeWilliam

receivedsupportfrommanyoftheFrenchnobles.HeappealedtothePopeto

supporthiscause.ThePopeagreedandsanctionedaHolyWar,orCrusade,

againsttheEnglish.

Duke William gathered an army and a fleet of ships.William completed his

preparations for theattackonEngland.Tomakesurehehadenoughmen to

defeatHarold,heaskednormansmentohelp.

WilliamalsoarrangedforsoldiersfromGermany,DenmarkandItalyto joinhis

army.Inexchangefortheirservices,Williampromisedthemashareoftheland.

ThefleetlandsontheSouthcoastofEnglandon28thSeptember1066.

MeanwhileKingHaroldwasfightingwithKingHardradaofNorway,intheNorth

ofEngland.Williamand his armywerewaiting for theNormansat theSouth

coastwhentheyreceivednewsthatHaroldandhismenhadtomakeaforce

marchtoYork,andthenmakeanotherforcedmarchbacktoSouthernEngland

tomeetDukeWilliamwithoutanyrestonOctober14th.

TheBattleofHastingswhichtookplaceonOctober14th1066isconsideredthe

decisive battle resulting in the Norman conquest ofEngland.The battle took

placeatHastings.

Itwasaclose-foughtbattle lastingallday,KingHaroldandhisbrotherswere

killed and his army collapsed. Duke William was victorious and England

surrendered definitively, on Christmas Day 1066, he was crowned king in

WestminsterAbbey,asWilliamI.

ANormanaristocracybecamethenewgoverningclassandmanymembersof

thenativeEnglishelite,includingbishops,werereplacedwithNormans.


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NormansarerewardedwithEnglishland.Therearevariousrebellionsagainst

WilliamandtheNormanConquestinbothNormandyandEnglandandhehas

totravelbetweenbothcountriestokeeporder.Hishalf-brotherOdo,Bishopof

Bayeux, ismadeEarlofKentandbecomesWilliam'sDeputy inEnglandand

underhisinstructionsthemagnificentBayeuxtapestryiscompleted illustrating

theNormanInvasion.

William the Conqueror instituted his strategy formedievalwarfare ofbuilding

castlesandwentontobuildmanycastlesinEnglandincludinghismostfamous,

theTowerofLondon.

William the Conqueror also left another legacy - The Doomsday Bookwhich

wasbegunin1086andcontaineddetailedrecordsofsettlementsinEngland.

TheDoomsdayBook,whichstillsurvives,providesaninsightintothemedieval

lifeandtimesofthisera.Itwasmade,inordertocalculatethesizeandvalueof

thekingspropertyandthetaxvalueofotherlandinthecounty.

WhenWilliamwasoldbecameveryfat.In1087WilliamwastoldthatKingPhilip

ofFrancedescribedhimaslookinglikeapregnantwoman.Williamwasfurious

and hemountedanattack on the France king's territory.On15thAugust he

capturedMantesandsetfiretothetown.Soonafterwardshefellfromhishorse

andsufferedinternalinjuries.

WilliamwastakentotheprioryofSt.Gervase.Closetodeath,hedirectedthat

RobertCurthosehiseldestsonshouldsucceedhiminNormandyandWilliam

Rufus his second son should become king of England. William died on 9th

September,1087.


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Battle of Hastings, 14th

October 1066. August, 27th

2011

http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_hastings.html

Spartacus Educational. William the Conqueror, Biography August 27th

2011.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/MEDwilliam1.htm

Bio. True Story. William the Conqueror Biography (10271087). August 27th

2011.

http://www.biography.com/articles/William-the-Conqueror-9542227

Wikipedia. Doomsday Book. August 27th 2011http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domesday_Book

Historic Figures. William de Conqueror First Norman King of England. September 5th

2011

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/william_i_king.shtml
http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_hastings.htmlhttp://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/MEDwilliam1.htmhttp://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/MEDwilliam1.htmhttp://www.biography.com/articles/William-the-Conqueror-9542227http://www.biography.com/articles/William-the-Conqueror-9542227http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domesday_Bookhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domesday_Bookhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domesday_Bookhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/william_i_king.shtmlhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/william_i_king.shtmlhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/william_i_king.shtmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domesday_Bookhttp://www.biography.com/articles/William-the-Conqueror-9542227http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/MEDwilliam1.htmhttp://www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_hastings.html

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Duke William of Normandy Also Known as William the Bastard