William the Conqueror
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| William the Conqueror |
 |
| The Duke of Normandy in the Bayeux Tapestry |
King of England |
| Reign | 25 December 1066 – 9 September 1087
(&000000000000002000000020 years, &0000000000000258000000258 days) |
| Coronation | 25 December 1066 |
| Predecessor | Edgar II (uncrowned)
(otherwise) Harold II |
| Successor | William II |
Duke of the Normans |
| Reign | 3 July 1035 – 9 September 1087 |
| Predecessor | Robert the Magnificent |
| Successor | Robert Curthose |
|
| Spouse | Matilda of Flanders |
| Issue |
Robert Curthose
Richard, Duke of Bernay
William II of England
Cecilia of Normandy
Adeliza
Agatha of Normandy
Constance of Normandy
Adela, Countess of Blois
Henry I of England |
| House | Norman dynasty |
| Father | Robert I, Duke of Normandy |
| Mother | Herlette of Falaise |
| Born | c. 1027[1]
Château de Falaise, Falaise, Normandy, France |
| Died | 9 September 1087(1087-09-09) (aged c.60)
Convent of St. Gervais, Rouen, France |
| Burial | Saint-Étienne de Caen, France |
William I (circa 1028
[1] – 9 September 1087), also known as
William the Conqueror (
Guillaume le Conquérant), was the first
Norman King of England from
Christmas 1066 until his death. He was also
Duke of Normandy from 3 July 1035 until his death, under the name
William II. Before his conquest of
England, he was known as
William the Bastard because of the
illegitimacy of his birth.
To press his claim to the English crown, William invaded England in 1066, leading an army of
Normans,
Bretons,
Flemings, and Frenchmen (from Paris and
Île-de-France) to victory over the English forces of King
Harold Godwinson at the
Battle of Hastings, and suppressed subsequent English
revolts in what has become known as the
Norman Conquest.
[2]
William of Malmesbury, the foremost historian of the day, reported of William: "He was of just stature, extraordinary corpulence, fierce contenance; his forhead bare of hair; of such strength of arm that it was often a matter of surprise that no one was able to draw his bow, which he himself could bend when his horse was on full gallup; he was majestic whether sitting or standing, although the protuberance of his belly deformed his royal person: of excellent health so that was never confined with anydangerous disorder except at the last."
[3]
His heavy taxes, together with the extractions of the greedy Norman landlords he put in power, submerged the great mass of Anglo-Saxon freeman into serfdom. By 1086, the
Domesday Book showed that England comprised 12% freeholders; 35% serfs or villeins: 30% cotters and borders; and 9% slaves.
[4] William was one of the foremost soldiers of the medieval era, conquering a large kingdom from a smaller base. Most important, William created a feudal state that brought order, peace, law to England, promoted commerce, and created a strong central government that long endured.
[5]
His reign, which imposed Norman culture and leadership on England, reshaped
England in the Middle Ages. The details of that impact and the extent of the changes have been debated by scholars for centuries. In addition to the obvious change of ruler, his reign also saw a programme of building and fortification, changes to the
English language, a shift in the upper levels of society and the church, and adoption of some aspects of continental church reform.
Early life
William was born in either 1027 or 1028 in
Château de Falaise in
Falaise,
Normandy,
France, and more likely in the autumn of the later year.
[1][notes 1] William was the only son of
Robert I, Duke of Normandy, as well as the
grandnephew of the English Queen,
Emma of Normandy, wife of King
Ethelred the Unready and then of King
Canute the Great.
[6] Though
illegitimate, his father named him as heir to Normandy. His mother,
Herleva, who later married and bore two sons to
Herluin de Conteville, was the daughter of
Fulbert of Falaise. In addition to his two half-brothers,
Odo of Bayeux and
Robert, Count of Mortain, William also had a sister,
Adelaide of Normandy, another child of Robert.
William's illegitimacy affected his early life. As a child, his life was in constant danger from his kinsmen who thought they had a more legitimate right to rule. One attempt on William's life occurred while he slept at a castle
keep at Vaudreuil, when the murderer mistakenly stabbed the child sleeping next to William.
[7] Nevertheless, when his father died, he was recognized as the
heir.
[8] Later in his life, his enemies are reported to have called him "William the Bastard", and derided him as the son of a
tanner's daughter, and the residents of besieged
Alençon hung animal skins from the city walls to taunt him.
Duke of Normandy
By his father's will, William succeeded him as Duke of Normandy at age seven in 1035. Plots by rival Norman noblemen to usurp his place cost William three guardians, though not Count
Alan III of Brittany, who was a later guardian. William was supported by King
Henry I of France, however. He was knighted by Henry at age 15. By the time William turned 19 he was successfully dealing with threats of rebellion and invasion. With the assistance of Henry, William finally secured control of Normandy by defeating rebel Norman barons at
Caen in the
Battle of Val-ès-Dunes in 1047, obtaining the
Truce of God, which was backed by the Roman Catholic Church. Against the wishes of
Pope Leo IX, William married
Matilda of Flanders in 1053 in the Notre-Dame chapel of
Eu castle, Normandy (
Seine-Maritime). At the time, William was about 24 years old and Matilda was 22. William is said to have been a faithful and loving husband, and their marriage produced four sons and six daughters. In repentance for what was a
consanguine marriage (they were distant cousins), William donated St Stephen's Church (l'
Abbaye-aux-Hommes) and Matilda donated Holy Trinity church (l'
Abbaye aux Dames).
Feeling threatened by the increase in Norman power resulting from William's noble marriage,
Henry I of France attempted to invade Normandy twice (1054 and 1057), without success. Already a charismatic leader, William attracted strong support within Normandy, including the loyalty of his half-brothers
Odo of Bayeux and
Robert, Count of Mortain, who played significant roles in his life. Later, he benefited from the weakening of two competing power centers as a result of the deaths of Henry I and of
Geoffrey II of Anjou, in 1060. In 1062 William invaded and took control of the county of Maine, which had been a fief of Anjou.
[9]
Claim to the English throne
Upon the death of the childless
Edward the Confessor, the English throne was fiercely disputed by three claimants—William;
Harold Godwinson, the powerful Earl of
Wessex; and the
Viking King
Harald III of Norway, known as
Harald Hardrada. William had a tenuous blood claim through his great aunt
Emma (wife of Ethelred and mother of Edward). William also contended that Edward, who had spent much of his life in exile in Normandy during the Danish occupation of England, had promised him the throne when he visited Edward in London in 1052. Further, William claimed that Harold had pledged allegiance to him in 1064: William had rescued the shipwrecked Harold from the count of
Ponthieu, and together they had defeated
Conan II, Duke of Brittany. On that occasion, William had knighted Harold; he had also, however, deceived Harold by having him swear loyalty to William himself over the concealed bones of a saint.
[10]
In January 1066, however, in accordance with Edward's last will and by vote of the
Witenagemot, Harold Godwinson was crowned King by Archbishop
Aldred.
Invasion of England
Meanwhile, William submitted his claim to the English throne to
Pope Alexander II, who sent him a
consecrated banner in support. Then, William organized a council of war at
Lillebonne and in January openly began assembling an army in Normandy. Offering promises of English lands and titles, he amassed at
Dives-sur-Mer a huge invasion fleet, supposedly of 696 ships. This carried an invasion force which included, in addition to troops from William's own territories of Normandy and Maine, large numbers of mercenaries, allies and volunteers from
Brittany, north-eastern France and
Flanders, together with smaller numbers from other parts of France and from the Norman colonies in southern Italy. In England, Harold assembled a large army on the south coast and a fleet of ships to guard the
English Channel.
[10]
William the Conqueror invades England. Painted c. 1400- 1410, Paris
Fortuitously for William, his crossing was delayed by eight months of unfavourable winds. William managed to keep his army together during the wait, but Harold's was diminished by dwindling supplies and falling morale. With the arrival of the
harvest season, he disbanded his army on 8 September.
[11] Harold also consolidated his ships in London, leaving the
English Channel unguarded. Then came the news that the other contender for the throne,
Harald III of Norway, allied with
Tostig Godwinson, had landed ten miles from
York. Harold again raised his army and after a four-day forced march defeated Harald and Tostig on 25 September.
On 12 September the wind direction turned and William's fleet sailed. A storm blew up and the fleet was forced to take shelter at
Saint-Valery-sur-Somme and again wait for the wind to change. On 27 September the Norman fleet finally set sail, landing in England at
Pevensey Bay (
Sussex) on 28 September. William then moved to
Hastings, a few miles to the east, where he built a prefabricated wooden castle for a base of operations. From there, he ravaged the hinterland and waited for Harold's return from the north.
[11]
William chose Hastings as it was at the end of a long peninsula flanked by impassable marshes. The battle was on the isthmus. William at once built a fort at Hastings to guard his rear against potential arrival of Harold's fleet from London. Having landed his army, William was less concerned about desertion and could have waited out the winter storms, raided the surrounding area for horses and started a campaign in the spring. Harold had been reconnoitering the south of England for some time and well appreciated the need to occupy this isthmus at once.
[12]
Battle of Hastings
Harold, after defeating his brother Tostig and Harald Hardrada in the north, marched his army 241 mi (388 km) in 5 days to meet the invading William in the south. On 13 October, William received news of Harold's march from London. At dawn the next day, William left the castle with his army and advanced towards the enemy. Harold had taken a defensive position at the top of Senlac Hill/Senlac ridge (present-day
Battle, East Sussex), about seven miles from
Hastings.
The Battle of Hastings lasted all day. Although the numbers on each side were about equal, William had both cavalry and infantry, including many
archers, while Harold had only foot soldiers and few if any archers.
[13] Along the ridge's border, formed as a wall of shields, the English soldiers at first stood so effectively that William's army was thrown back with heavy casualties. Then William rallied his troops reportedly raising his helmet, as shown in the
Bayeux Tapestry, to quell rumors of his death. Meanwhile, many of the English had pursued the fleeing Normans on foot, allowing the Norman cavalry to attack them repeatedly from the rear as his infantry pretended to retreat further.
[14] Norman arrows also took their toll, progressively weakening the English wall of shields. At dusk, the English army made their last stand. A final Norman cavalry attack decided the battle irrevocably when it resulted in the death of Harold who, legend says, was killed by an arrow in the eye, beheaded and bodily dismembered. Two of his brothers, Gyrth and Leofwine Godwinson, were killed as well. By nightfall, the Norman victory was complete and the remaining English soldiers fled in fear.
Battles of the time rarely lasted more than two hours before the weaker side capitulated; that Hastings lasted nine hours indicates the determination of both William's and Harold's armies. Battles also ended at sundown regardless of who was winning. Harold was killed shortly before sunset and, as he would have received fresh reinforcements before the battle recommenced in the morning, he was assured of victory had he survived William's final cavalry attacks.
March to London
English coin of William the Conqueror (1066–1087) - "The Coronation of William the Conqueror marks one of the sharpest breaks there has ever been in English history. Anglo-Saxon England was dead, the country was now ruled by the Normans. But the disastrous ceremony at Westminster Abbey was an indication that the relationship between the English and their new rulers wasn't going to be an easy one."
[15]For two weeks, William waited for a formal surrender of the English throne, but the
Witenagemot proclaimed the young
Edgar Ætheling King instead, though without coronation. Thus, William's next target was London, approaching through the important territories of
Kent, via
Dover and
Canterbury, inspiring fear in the English. However, at London, William's advance was beaten back at
London Bridge, and he decided to march westward and to storm London from the northwest. After receiving continental reinforcements, William crossed the
Thames at
Wallingford, and there he forced the surrender of Archbishop
Stigand (one of Edgar's lead supporters), in early December. William reached
Berkhamsted a few days later where Ætheling relinquished the English crown personally and the exhausted Saxon noblemen of England surrendered definitively. Although William was acclaimed then as English King, he requested a coronation in London. As William I, he was formally crowned on
Christmas Day 1066 in
Westminster Abbey, the first documented coronation held there,
[16] by Archbishop
Aldred.
[10] The ceremony was not a peaceful one. When Aldred asked the congregation "Will you have this Prince to be your King", they answered with much shouting. The Norman guards stationed outside, believing the English were revolting, set fire to the neighbouring houses.
[17] A Norman monk later wrote "As the fire spread rapidly, the people in the church were thrown into confusion and crowds of them rushed outside, some to fight the flames, others to take the chance to go looting."
English resistance
Although the south of England submitted quickly to Norman rule, resistance in the north continued for six more years until 1072. During the first two years, King William I suffered many revolts throughout England (
Dover, western
Mercia,
Exeter). Also, in 1068, Harold's illegitimate sons attempted an invasion of the south-western peninsula, but William defeated them.
For William I, the worst crisis came from
Northumbria, which had still not submitted to his realm. In 1068, with
Edgar Ætheling, both Mercia and Northumbria revolted. William could suppress these, but Edgar fled to Scotland where
Malcolm III of Scotland protected him. Furthermore, Malcolm married Edgar's sister
Margaret, with much éclat, stressing the English balance of power against William. Under such circumstances,
Northumbria rebelled, besieging
York. Then, Edgar resorted also to the
Danes, who disembarked with a large fleet at Northumbria, claiming the English crown for their King
Sweyn II. Scotland joined the rebellion as well. The rebels easily captured
York and its
castle. However, William could contain them at
Lincoln. After dealing with a new wave of revolts at western Mercia,
Exeter,
Dorset, and
Somerset, William defeated his northern foes decisively at the
River Aire, retrieving York, while the Danish army swore to depart.
William then devastated Northumbria between the
Humber and
Tees rivers, with what was described as the
Harrying of the North. This devastation included setting fire to the vegetation, houses and even tools to work the fields. After this cruel treatment the land did not recover for more than 100 years. The region ended up absolutely deprived, losing its traditional autonomy towards England. It may, however, have stopped future rebellions, frightening the English into obedience. Then the Danish king disembarked in person, readying his army to restart the war, but William suppressed this threat with a payment of gold. In 1071, William defeated the last rebellion of the north through an improvised pontoon, subduing the
Isle of Ely, where the Danes had gathered. In 1072, he invaded Scotland, defeating Malcolm, who had recently invaded the north of England. William and Malcolm agreed to a peace by signing the Treaty of
Abernethy and Malcolm gave up his son Duncan as a hostage for the peace.
[18] In 1074, Edgar Ætheling submitted definitively to William.
In 1075, during William's absence, the
Revolt of the Earls was confronted successfully by Odo. In 1080, William dispatched his half brothers Odo and Robert to storm Northumbria and Scotland, respectively. Eventually, the Pope protested that the Normans were mistreating the English people. Before quelling the rebellions, William had conciliated with the English church; however, he persecuted it ferociously afterwards.
Reign in England
Events
William spent much of his time (11 years, since 1072) in Normandy, ruling the islands through his
writs. Nominally still a vassal state, owing its entire loyalty to the French king, Normandy arose suddenly as a powerful region, alarming the other French dukes who reacted by persistently attacking the duchy. William became focused on conquering
Brittany, and the French
King Philip I admonished him. A treaty was concluded after his aborted invasion of Brittany in 1076, and William betrothed Constance to the Breton Duke Hoel's son, the future Alan IV of Brittany. The wedding occurred only in 1086, after Alan's accession to the throne, and Constance died childless a few years later.
William's elder son Robert, enraged by a prank of his brothers William and Henry, who had doused him with filthy water, undertook what became a large scale rebellion against his father's rule. Only with King Philip's additional military support was William able to confront Robert, who was then based in
Flanders. During the battle of 1079, William was unhorsed and wounded by Robert, who lowered his sword only after recognising him. The embarrassed William returned to Rouen, abandoning the expedition. In 1080, Matilda reconciled both, and William restored Robert's inheritance.
Odo caused trouble for William, too, and was imprisoned in 1082, losing his English estate and all his royal functions, but retaining his religious duties. In 1083, Matilda died, and William became more tyrannical over his realm.
Reforms
The signatures of William I and Matilda are the first two large crosses on the
Accord of Winchester from 1072.
William initiated many major changes. He increased the function of the traditional English
shires (autonomous administrative regions), which he brought under central control; he decreased the power of the
earls by restricting them to one shire apiece. All administrative functions of his government remained fixed at specific English towns, except the court itself; they would progressively strengthen, and the English institutions became amongst the most sophisticated in Europe. In 1085, in order to ascertain the extent of his new dominions and to improve taxation, William commissioned all his counsellors for the compilation of the
Domesday Book, which was published in 1086. The book was a survey of England's productive capacity similar to a modern
census.
William also ordered many
castles,
keeps, and
mottes, among them the
Tower of London's foundation (the
White Tower), to be built throughout England. These ensured effectively that the many rebellions by the English people or his own followers did not succeed.
His conquest also led to French (especially, but not only, the
Norman French) replacing
English as the language of the ruling classes for nearly 300 years.
[19][20] Whereas in 1066 less than 30% of property owners had non English
given names, by 1207 this had risen to more than 80%, with French names such as William, Robert and Richard most common. Furthermore, the original
Anglo-Saxon culture of England became mingled with the Norman one; thus the
Anglo-Norman culture came into being.
William I built the central White Tower in the
Tower of London. The chapel was built in the Norman style using
Caen stone imported from France.
William is said to have eliminated the native aristocracy in as little as four years. Systematically, he despoiled those English aristocrats who either opposed the Normans or who died without issue. Thus, most English estates and titles of nobility were handed to the Norman noblemen. Many English aristocrats fled to
Flanders and Scotland; others may have been sold into
slavery overseas. Some escaped to join the
Byzantine Empire's
Varangian Guard, and went on to fight the Normans in
Sicily. Although William initially allowed English lords to keep their lands if they offered submission, by 1070, the indigenous nobility had ceased to be an integral part of the English landscape, and by 1086, it maintained control of just 8% of its original land-holdings. More than 4,000 English lords had lost their lands and been replaced, with only two English lords of any significance surviving.
[21] However, to the new Norman noblemen, William handed the English parcels of land piecemeal, dispersing these widely, ensuring nobody would try conspiring against him without jeopardising their own estates within the still unstable post-invasion England. Effectively, this strengthened William's political stand as a monarch.
The medieval chronicler
William of Malmesbury says that the king also seized and depopulated many miles of land (36 parishes), turning it into the royal
New Forest region to support his enthusiastic enjoyment of hunting. Modern historians, however, have come to the conclusion that the New Forest depopulation was greatly exaggerated. Most of the lands of the New Forest are poor agricultural lands, and archaeological and geographic studies have shown that the New Forest was likely sparsely settled when it was turned into a royal forest.
[22]
Death, burial, and succession
Coin of William I of England.
In 1087 in France, William burned
Mantes (30 mi [50 km] west of Paris), besieging the town. However, he fell off his horse, suffering fatal abdominal injuries from the
saddle pommel. On his deathbed, William divided his succession for his sons, sparking
strife between them. Despite William's reluctance, his combative elder son Robert received the Duchy of Normandy, as
Robert II. William Rufus (his third son) was the next English king, as
William II. William's youngest son
Henry received 5,000
silver pounds, which would be earmarked to buy land.
[23] He would later become King Henry I of England after William II died without issue. While on his deathbed, William pardoned many of his political adversaries, including Odo.
William died at age 59 at the
Convent of St Gervais in
Rouen, the chief city of Normandy, on 9 September 1087. William was
buried in the
Abbaye-aux-Hommes, which he had erected, in
Caen,
Normandy. It is said that
Herluin, his stepfather, loyally bore his body to his grave.
[24]
The original owner of the land on which the church was built claimed he had not been paid yet, demanding 60
shillings, which William's son Henry had to pay on the spot. In a most unregal postmortem, it was found that William's
corpulent body would not fit in the stone
sarcophagus as his body had bloated due to the warm weather and length of time that had passed since his death. A group of bishops applied pressure on the king's abdomen to force the body downward but the abdominal wall burst and drenched the king's coffin, releasing putrefaction gases into the church.
[25][26]
William's grave is currently marked by a marble slab with a
Latin inscription; the slab dates from the early 19th century. The grave was defiled twice, once during the
French Wars of Religion, when his bones were scattered across the town of
Caen, and again during the
French Revolution. Following those events, only William's left femur, some skin particles and bone dust remain in the tomb.
Legacy
Silver penny of William I, c.1075, moneyer Oswold, at the mint of
Lewes.
decisively changed English history in terms of customs culture, politics, economics and, most dramatically, the language itself.
[27] As Duke of Normandy and
King of England, William the Conquerer, divided his realm among his sons, but the lands were reunited under his son
Henry, and his descendants acquired other territories through marriage or conquest and, at their height, these possessions would be known as the
Angevin Empire.
They included many lands in France, such as Normandy and
Aquitaine, but the question of jurisdiction over these territories would be the cause of much conflict and bitter rivalry between England and France, which took up much of the
Middle Ages.
An example of William's legacy even in modern times can be seen on the Bayeux Memorial, a monument erected by Britain in the Normandy town of
Bayeux to those killed in the
Battle of Normandy during
World War II. A Latin inscription on the memorial reads
NOS A GULIELMO VICTI VICTORIS PATRIAM LIBERAVIMUS – freely translated, this reads "We, once conquered by William, have now set free the Conqueror's native land".
[28]
The
numbering scheme of the English (or British) Crown regards William as the Founder of the State of England. This explains, among other things, why
King Edward I was "the First" even though he ruled long after the Anglo-Saxon King
Edward the Confessor.
Physical appearance
Romanticised eighteenth or nineteenth century artists impression of the appearance of King William I of England.
No authentic portrait of William has been found. Nonetheless, he was depicted as a man of fair stature with remarkably strong arms, "with which he could shoot a
bow at full gallop". William showed a magnificent appearance, possessing a fierce countenance. He enjoyed excellent health until old age; nevertheless his noticeable
corpulence in later life eventually increased so much that French King
Philip I commented that William looked like a pregnant woman.
[29] Examination of his
femur, the only bone to survive when the rest of his remains were destroyed, showed he was approximately 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m) tall, which was around 2 inches (5.1 cm) taller than the average for the 11th century.
[30] He is depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry as being clean-shaven, as opposed to Harold and the English lords, who wore moustaches.
Ancestors
| [show]Ancestors of William the Conqueror |
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