the life of william the conquorer who invaded england in 1066

7/31/2019 The life of WIlliam the conquorer who invaded england in 1066

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The life of William the conqueror who invaded England in 1066

The battle of Hastings and Williams invasion of England in 1066 is crucial as far as

the history of England is concerned. In the history of England William is known as William,

the conqueror as he was unchallenged as the English ruler of the period. William has a unique

role in the English history as his administrative reforms had been instrumental in changing

and shaping the development of England as a nation. William formulated new laws, built

castles, and made remarkable contributions to the development of English language as well

by incorporating into English many of the French vocabulary used by the Norman invaders

(Hilliam 7). Ever since he was crowned as the King of England on the Christmas day in 1066,

William displayed tremendous amount of valor, energy, determination and ruthlessness in

achieving his goals. Even though William was quite cruel and ruthless towards his enemies

and people who disobeyed his laws, England owes much to his administrative and legislative

reforms. It was William the Conqueror who instituted his strategy for medieval warfare of

building castles and went on to build many castles in England including his most famous, the

Tower of London (Biography of William the Conqueror). Similarly, the Doomsday Book is

very often regarded as another remarkable legacy of William the conqueror as the book offers

a clear cut insight into the medieval life, customs and manners. The life of William the

conqueror is worth analyzing when one deals with the early history of England.

William was reported to have born as the illegitimate son of Duke Robert 1 of

Normandy in either late 1027 or early 1028. In 1034, Duke Robert decided to go on a

pilgrimage to Jerusalem and he entrusted William into the care of his uncle Robert,

archbishop of Rouen and his nobles and nominated him as the next Duke of Normandy

(Hilliam 17). Subsequently, William became the Duke of Normandy in 1035 after his fathers

death when he was only seven years old. It was in the year 1051 that Edward the Confessor

pledged William that he would be made his successor to the throne of England and in the


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next year William married Matilda of Flanders. In 1065, William was successful in gaining

Harold Godwinsons pledge of allegiance whereby Harold would assist him to assume the

thrown of England. However, things turned upside down after Edward the Confessors death

when Harold tried to gain the thrown of England in 1066. This paved the way for the

historical battle at Hastings. In 1066 William the conqueror obtained support from the Pope

for his invasion of England and the right to the English throne, defeated Harolds men at the

battle of Hastings, suppressed all other rebellions within the nation, and on 25th

December he

was crowned as the King of England (Biography of William the Conqueror). From 1067

onwards William the Conqueror started constructing castles in various parts of the nation

which included the well-known Exeter Castle and the Tower of London. Even though he and

the Normans faced strong rebellion at Exeter from Harold's mother Gytha in February 1067,

Hereward the Wake and Harold's brother,the Earl Morcar at Peterborough in 1070, William

could easily defeat the rebels. On May 11, 1068 William crowned his wife Matilda as the

Queen of England. The Doomsday Book was published in 1086 and on September 9, 1087

the great conqueror met with death.

One can never undermine the administrative as well as legislative reforms introduced

by William the conqueror in England. In fact, the arrival of the Normans and the reign of

William brought about radical changes to the course of English history as well. However,

William never tried to replace the existing Anglo-Saxon laws with the Norman practices. On

the other hand, he effectively blended the Norman laws with the Anglo-Saxon law and native

customs. He disenfranchised the Anglo-Saxon landowners and instituted a brand of

feudalism in England that strengthened the monarchy; and provided the villages and manors

a large degree of autonomy in local affairs in return for military service and monetary

payments (William I, the Conqueror (1066-1087 AD). Similarly, he enhanced the powers of

the Anglo-Saxon sheriffs. He offered the sheriffs the power to arbitrate legal cases in the


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shire courts on behalf of the king and to extract tax payments as directed by the king. These

measures helped the king to gain control over the Anglo-Saxon landowners who could pose

threat to his monarchical powers. The Domesday Book and the Domesday survey introduced

by William in 1085 had far reaching effects of the English economy. All the landowners were

supposed to pay homage to the king. The Domesday survey undertook a survey of land

ownership to assess property and establish a tax base and this assisted the Norman king and

his nobility to establish their dominance in the nation (William I, the Conqueror (1066-1087

AD). Similarly, William always tried to keep good terms with the Catholic Church and he

brought an Italian named Lanfranc to assume the position of Archbishop of Canterbury and

propagated the Canon law. However, he never allowed the church or the Pope to dictate

terms over his governmental policies. Thus, it can be said that all throughout his life William

the conqueror remained as an unchallenged monarch who played a pivotal role in shaping

England as a nation.


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Works Cited

Biography of William the Conqueror.Biographies of the Battle of Hastings Leaders. Web. 7July 2011. .

Hilliam, Paul. William the Conqueror: first Norman king of England. Illustrated ed: Rosen

Publishing Group, 2005. Print.

William I, the Conqueror (1066-1087 AD). Britannia.com, 2005. Web. 7 July 2011. .
http://www.battle-of-hastings-1066.org.uk/biography-william-the-conqueror.htmhttp://www.battle-of-hastings-1066.org.uk/biography-william-the-conqueror.htmhttp://www.battle-of-hastings-1066.org.uk/biography-william-the-conqueror.htmhttp://www.britannia.com/history/monarchs/mon22.htmlhttp://www.britannia.com/history/monarchs/mon22.htmlhttp://www.battle-of-hastings-1066.org.uk/biography-william-the-conqueror.htmhttp://www.battle-of-hastings-1066.org.uk/biography-william-the-conqueror.htm

the life of william the conquorer who invaded england in 1066

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