William The Conquerer

Alec MorenoPeriod 3

Early Life

• Born in 1027 in Falaise, Normandy

• Was the illegitimate son to Robert I of Normandy

• Led to name “William the Bastard”

• At age 8, he became the Duke of Normandy

Rise of a King• Lived through various rebellions, which he crushed with

ease• Had great military success early in his career• Married Matilda, daughter of Count Baldwin of Flanders in

1053• Learned of Harold, Earl of Wessex, crowning as King of

England• William believed he was the true heir to the crown• Sailed army to Normandy to do battle with Harold for the

right to the crown

Battle of Hastings

• On October 16th, 1066, William the Conqueror did battle with King Harold of England

• William the Conqueror’s Norman army proved superior to King Harold’s Saxon army, leading to a victory by a decisive margin

• William was crowned King of England in Westminster Abbey on December 25th, 1066

Reforms of William the Conquerer

• Began appointing Normans to positions in the English Church

• Made it law that there existed only one God

• Provided peace between Normans and English through religious reform

Reforms of William the Conquerer• Created a “46 Marks of Silver” law

that aided in preventing crimes• Removed death penalty for crimes

(instated blinding and castration instead )

• Outlawed human traffiking• Instated “oaths of allegiance”• Conducted a country wide survey

of the people, and logged it into a book called the Domesday Book, which is now one of the oldest pieces of English literature.

Ending of a Legacy

• In his old age, he had grown quite overweight and unhealthy, and soon became sick with exhaustion while on a conquest in the French town of Mantes

• His condition continued to worsen until life ended on September 8th, 1087 at the age of 59

• He left his throne to Rufus, or William II, one of his three sons

Works Cited• 1. "William the Conqueror." 2013. The Biography Channel website. Jan 29, 2013, 09:34

http://www.biography.com/people/william-the-conqueror-9542227.

• 2. “William the Conqueror.” The Middle-Ages. Jan 28, 2013. http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/08/

• 3. “William the Conqueror.” BBC. Jan 28, 2013. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/william_i_king.shtml

• 4. Case1worker. “William the Conqueror and the reform of the English Church”. InfoBarrel History. July 22, 2012. Jan 29, 2013. http://www.infobarrel.com/William_the_Conqueror_and_the_reform_of_the_English_Church

• 5.Aelius Stilo. “The Death of William the Conqueror.” Anglo-Norman Historians. Jan 29, 2013. http://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/britannia/anglo-saxon/hastings/williamdeath.html