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 William I, the Conqueror (1027?-1087), was the
first Norman king of England.
He was born at Falaise, France.
He was the son of Robert I, Duke of Normandy, and inherited
Normandy at about the age of 8 in 1035.
During his youth, there were many disorders.
In 1047, William put down a great rebellion at the battle
of Val-es-dunes, which he won with the aid of his lord, King Henry
of France. From that
time on, William ruled Normandy with an iron hand.
In 1051, King Edward the Confessor of England
promised William succession to the English throne as his nearest
adult heir. In 1064,
Edward's brother-in-law Harold was shipwrecked on the Norman coast
and taken prisoner. Harold promised to support William's claim to the throne in
return for freedom. But
Harold won the throne in 1066 through a deathbed grant by Edward
and election by the nobles.
William immediately invaded England.
His expedition had the pope's blessings, because William
was expected to depose the Anglo-Saxon archbishop of Canterbury
and introduce ecclesiastical reforms.
Before William could sail, the king of Norway invaded
northern England. King
Harold hurried north and defeated the Norwegian invaders at
Stamford Bridge. William landed before Harold could return to defend the
coast. The Normans
destroyed the Anglo-Saxon army and killed Harold at the Battle of
Hastings.
On Christmas Day, 1066, William was crowned
king. William then
suppressed local rebellions.
He took lands from those who resisted him, and gave them to
his followers to hold in return for their military service to him.
To emphasize the legitimacy of his crown, William confirmed
the laws of Edward the Confessor and retained all the powers of
the Anglo-Saxon monarchy. He
levied Danegeld, the only national tax on landed property in all
of Europe at that time. At
Salisbury in 1086, he made all the landholders, even the vassals
of his barons, swear allegiance directly to him as king.
William was devout, firm in purpose, and unchanging in
gaining his ends. His
greatest monument is Domesday Book, an exhaustive survey of the
land, the principal landholders, the farm population, and the
material and financial resources of his realm. |
