| Notes |
- [dunbar_tree.FTW]
William was described by a Norman monk "as a burly warrior with a harsh
gutteral voice, great in stature but not ungainly" - probably 5'10",
full-fleshed in face, of "russet hair" {-"William the Conqueror...," David
C. Douglas [London, 1966]}. A primary source by a contemporary is "The
Ecclesiastical History of England and Normandy," Ordericus Vitalis, trans.
Thomas Forester (London: Henry G. Bohn, 1854).
----- Compton's Encyclopedia (America On-Line, 1995):
William I (born 1027, ruled 1066-87), called William the Conqueror, was an
illegitimate son of Robert I, duke of Normandy. His mother was a tanner's
daughter. William succeeded his father when he was only 7 years old. At 24 he
had made himself the mightiest feudal lord in all France by various
conquests, but his ambition was not satisfied. He laid plans to become king
of England also.
William married Matilda, daughter of Baldwin V, count of Flanders, in
1053. She was descended from the old Anglo-Saxon line of kings. Among their
children were four sons: Robert, future duke of Normandy; Richard, who died
as a youth; William Rufus, who succeeded his father as king of England; and
Henry, who succeeded William Rufus. One daughter, Adela, became the mother of
England's King Stephen.
Edward the Confessor, king of England, was William's cousin. William used
his connection with Flanders to put pressure on Edward to extort a promise
that he would become heir to the English throne. It is probable that Edward
made some kind of pledge to William as early as 1051. Edward died childless
on Jan. 5, 1066. William then claimed the throne on the basis of this
promise. The English, however, chose Harold, earl of Wessex, as their king.
William prepared a large expedition and set sail for England. On Oct. 14,
1066, he defeated and killed Harold at Hastings in one of the decisive
battles of the world. Then he marched on London, and on Christmas day he was
crowned king.
After subduing England's powerful earls, William seized their lands for
his Norman nobles and ordered the nobles to build fortified stone castles to
protect their lands. As payment for their fiefs, the nobles supplied the king
with armed knights. French became the language of the king's court and
gradually blended with the Anglo-Saxon tongue.
William won the loyalty of the mass of the people by wisely retaining the
old Anglo-Saxon laws, courts, and customs with only a few changes. Thus the
principle of self-government, which lies at the root of the political system
of English-speaking peoples, was preserved and strengthened. At the same
time, William taught the English the advantages of a central government
strong enough to control feudal lords.
Toward the end of his reign, William ordered a great census to be taken of
all the lands and people of England. This survey was called Domesday Book.
Two of the original books may still be seen at the Public Records Office in
London. "So very narrowly did he cause the survey to be made," complained the
old Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, "that there was not a single rood of land, nor an
ox, or a cow, or a pig passed by, and that was not set down in the accounts."
William was often on the continent dealing with his widespread holdings.
He died there in 1087 from injuries received while warring with Philip I of
France. William was a man of great stature and had a tremendous voice. Such
was the good order he established that, according to a quaint historian of
his time, "any man, who was himself aught, might travel over the kingdom with
a bosom of gold unmolested, and no man durst kill another, however great the
injury he might have received from him." He was succeeded in Normandy by his
eldest son, Robert, and in England by his second son, William II, called
William Rufus.
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Regarding the location of the Battle of Hastings, this site on the World Wide
Web is helpful and provocative: http://www.cablenet.net/pages/book/index.htm#PART57
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1027 - 1087 (60 years)
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