William the Conqueror

William I (c. 1028^[2] – 9 September 1087), also known as William the Conqueror (Guillaume le Conquérant), was the first Norman King of England from 1066 until 1087. 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.

William of Malmesbury, the foremost historian of the day, reported of William: "He was of just stature, extraordinary corpulence, fierce countenance; his forehead 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 gallop; he was majestic whether sitting or standing, although the protuberance of his belly deformed his royal person: of excellent health so that he was never confined with any dangerous disorder except at the last."^[3]

His heavy taxes, together with the exactions of the greedy Norman landlords he put in power, reduced the great mass of Anglo-Saxon freemen to 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 with a strong central government.

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 Falaise, Normandy, France, most likely in the autumn of the later year.^{[2][5][6][notes 1][notes 2]} William was the only son of Robert I, Duke of Normandy, as well as the grandnephew of Emma, wife sucessively of two English kings – Æthelred the Unready and Cnut the Great.^[8] His mother, Herleva was the daughter of Fulbert of Falaise, who may have been a tanner or embalmer. She later married Herluin de Conteville and had two sons with Herluin – Odo of Bayeux and Robert, Count of Mortain. Herluin and Herleva also had a daughter, who's name is not recorded, who married William, lord of La Ferte-Mace. Herleva also had a daughter, Adelaide of Normandy, possibly another child of Robert's but all that is known for sure is that Adelaide was not the daughter of Herluin. Besides William's half-siblings (or in the case of Adelaide, possibly full sister), Herleva also had two brothers – Osbern and Walter, with Walter being one of William's supporters and protectors during his minority.^{[7][notes 3]}

Robert, William's father, became Duke of Normandy on 6 August 1027, in succession to his elder brother Richard III, who had only succeeded to the title in 1026, after the death of Richard and Robert's father Richard II.^[2] Robert and the younger Richard had been at odds over the succession, and Richard's death was very sudden. Robert was accused by some writers of killing his brother, a possible but unprovable charge. Richard had left a young son, Nicholas, who immediately was made a monk at his father's death while his uncle became duke.^[9] Conditions in Normandy were unsettled when Robert became duke, with noble families despoiling the church and a war with Alan III of Brittany, who perhaps hoped to take control of Normandy. In 1028, Duke Robert besieged his uncle, Robert, the Archbishop of Rouen, and forced the archbishop into exile. However, by 1031, the duke and archbishop had reconciled, and with the archbishop's help, Alan and the duke reached a truce which may have included Alan's performance of homage to the duke. Archbishop Robert then became one of the strongest supporters of Duke Robert, and was joined by a number of noblemen who were to rise to prominence during William's life. Included among these noblemen were Osbern, a relative of Gunnor the wife of Duke Richard I, and Count Gilbert of Brionne, who was a grandson of Richard I.^[10]

In 1034, Duke Robert decided to go on pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Although a number of his supporters tried to persuade him from going, pointing out that there was no heir. Robert convened a council and had the assembled Norman magnates swear fealty to William as his heir. Robert then departed on his journey and died in early July 1035 at Nicea while returning to Normandy.^[11]

Duke of Normandy

The new duke faced a number of challenges, including his illegitimate birth and his young age,^[12] which is variously given as either eight years old^[13] or the slightly younger seven years of age.^[12] William enjoyed the support of his great-uncle, Archbishop Robert, as well as the king of France, Henry I, and this enabled the young duke to succeed to his father's duchy. But Archbishop Robert's death in March 1037 removed one of William's main supports, and conditions in Normandy descended into chaos quite quickly.^[14] This condition lasted until 1047,^[15] and control of the young duke was one of the prime concerns of those contending for power. At first, Alan of Brittany had custody of the duke, but when Alan died in either late 1039 or October 1040, Gilbert of Brionne took control of William. Gilbert was killed within months, and another guardian, Turchetil was also killed around the time of Gilbert's death.^[16] Another guardian, Osbern, was killed in the early 1040s in William's sleeping chamber while the duke was sleeping. Walter, William's maternal uncle, was occasionally forced to hide the young duke in peasant houses.^[17]

William 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. 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 five or six daughters. In repentance for what was a consanguine marriage (they were distant cousins), William founded St Stephen's Church (l'Abbaye-aux-Hommes) and Matilda founded Holy Trinity church (l'Abbaye aux Dames).

Feeling threatened by the increase in Norman power resulting from William's marriage, Henry I of France invaded 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 and Robert, who played significant roles in his life. Later, he benefited from the weakening of two competing power centres as a result of the deaths of Henry I and of Count 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.^[18]

Claim to the English throne

Upon the death of the childless King 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 Hardraada. William had a tenuous blood claim through his great-aunt Emma (mother of Edward). William also contended that Edward, who had spent much of his life in exile in Normandy, had promised the throne to William when he visited Edward in London in 1051. 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.^[19]

In January 1066, however, in accordance with Edward's last will and by vote of the Witenagemot, Harold Godwinson was crowned king by Ealdred, the Archbishop of York.

Invasion of England

Meanwhile, William submitted his claim to the English throne through an embassy which had been sent to obtain Pope Alexander II's blessing for the Norman conquest of England. This he gave to them, gifting to them a papal ring, the Standard of Saint Peter,^[20] and a papal edict to present to the English clergy saying that William was given the papal blessing for his bid to the throne and a consecrated banner in support. (These favours were instrumental in the submission of the English church and people following the Battle of Hastings.)

Then, William organised 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.^[19]

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.^[21] 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 (16 km) 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.^[21]

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 reconnoitring the south of England for some time and well appreciated the need to occupy this isthmus at once.^[22]

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 (11 km) 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.^[23] The English soldiers formed up as a shield wall along the ridge's border, and were at first so effective 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 rumours 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.^[23] 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

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,^[24] by Archbishop Aldred.^[19] The ceremony was not a peaceful one. When Aldred asked the congregation "Will you have this Prince to be your King", they answered with a great shout of agreement. The Norman guards stationed outside, believing the English were revolting, due to all the shouting, set fire to the neighbouring houses.^[25] 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.^[26] 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 his daughter Constance to the son of the Breton Duke Hoel, the future Alan IV of Brittany. The wedding occurred only in 1086, after Alan's accession to the duchy, and Constance died childless a few years later.

William's eldest son Robert Curthose, 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 1081, 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

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.^{[notes 4][27]} Whereas in 1066 fewer 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 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 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.^[28] 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.^[29]

Death, burial, and succession

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 lands between his sons, which led to the Rebellion of 1088. Despite William's reluctance, his combative elder son Robert received the Duchy of Normandy. William Rufus (his third son) was the next English king, and the youngest son Henry received 5,000 silver pounds, which was to allow him to purchase a lordship.^[30] 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.^[31]

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.^[32][33]

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

William's conquest of England decisively changed English history in terms of customs culture, politics, economics and, most dramatically, the language itself.^[34] As Duke of Normandy and King of England, William the Conqueror, 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".

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

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. 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. He is depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry as being clean-shaven, as opposed to Harold and the English lords, who wore moustaches.

Ancestors

Descendants

Willam fathered numerous children; several daughters were betrothed to notable figures of that time. There is no evidence that he had any illegitimate children.

1. Robert Curthose (1054–1134), Duke of Normandy, married Sybil of Conversano, daughter of Geoffrey of Conversano.
2. Richard (c. 1055 – c. 1081), Duke of Bernay, killed by a stag in New Forest.
3. Adeliza (or Alice) (c. 1055 – c. 1065), reportedly betrothed to Harold II of England.
4. Cecilia (or Cecily) (c. 1056–1126), Abbess of Holy Trinity, Caen.
5. William "Rufus" (c. 1056–1100), King of England, killed by an arrow in New Forest.
6. Agatha (c. 1064–1079), betrothed to Alfonso VI of Castile.
7. Constance (c. 1066–1090), married Alan IV Fergent, Duke of Brittany; poisoned, possibly by her own servants.
8. Adela (c. 1067–1137), married Stephen, Count of Blois.
9. Henry "Beauclerc" (1068–1135), King of England, married Edith of Scotland, daughter of Malcolm III of Scotland and Saint Margaret of Scotland. His second wife was Adeliza of Leuven.

Notes

Citations

References

Further reading

• Rex, Peter. (2011) "William the Conqueror: The Bastard of Normandy" Amberley Publishing, 320pp, 43 illus, hardback ISBN 978-1-84868-332-7 paperback ISBN 978-1-4456-0698-9
• Howarth, David (1977) 1066 The Year of the Conquest, London : Collins, 207 p., ISBN 0-00-211845-9
• Prescott, Hilda F.M. (1932) Son of Dust, reprinted 1978: London : White Lion, 288 p. ISBN 0-85617-239-1
• Savage, Anne (transl. and coll.) (2002) The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, London : Greenwich Editions, 288 p., ISBN 0-86288-440-3
• Wensby-Scott, Carol. (1984) Proud Conquest, London : Futura Publications, 240 p., ISBN 0-7088-2620-2

External links