General Notes

Nickname:<NICK> Guillaume I "Le Conquberant", Duke of Normandy, King of England
Name Suffix:<NSFX> King of EnglandNickname:<NICK> William The ConquerorAlias:<ALIA> The /Conqueror/
Contemporaries: Edward the Confessor (King of England, 1047-1066); Haro
Godwinson (King of England, 1066); Henry I (King of France, 1031-1060);
Philip I (King of France, 1060-1108); Pope Gregory VII (1073-1085);
Lanfranc (Archbishop of Canterbury)
William was known to his contemporaries as William the Bastard.  After
William's birth his mother was married to one of Robert's followers and
had two more sons, Robert and Odo.  Although William was illegitimate,
the Duke, soon to leave on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, persuaded the
barons of Normandy to recognize William's birthright.
William, the illegitimate son of the Duke of Normandy, spent his first
six years with his mother in Falaise and received the duchy of Normandy
upon his father's death in 1035. A council consisting of noblemen and
William's appointed guardians ruled Normandy but ducal authority waned
under the Normans' violent nature and the province was wracked with
assassination and revolt for twelve years. In 1047, William reasserted
himself in the eastern Norman regions and, with the aid of France's King
Henry I, crushed the rebelling barons. He spent the next several years
consolidating his strength on the continent through marriage, diplomacy,
war and savage intimidation. William asked Count Baldwin of Flanders (o
of William's few allies) for the hand of his daughter Matilda.  The Cou
approved, but the Pope refused the marriage on the grounds that Matilda
and William were too closely related.  William was not a man easily
deterred.  He went ahead with the marriage not only because of the
im;ortant alliance with Flanders, but because he was in love.  According
to contemporary accounts, William was never unfaithful to Matilda and s
bore him nine children.  There were also an odd-looking couple.  The
skeletal remains found in their graves show that William was about 5' 1
and Matilda 4' 2".
By1066, Normandy was in a position of virtual independence from
William's feudal lord, Henry I of France and the disputed succession in
England offered William an opportunity for invasion.  Edward the
Confessor attempted to gain Norman support while fighting with his
father-in-law, Earl Godwin, by purportedly promising the throne to
William in 1051. (This was either a false claim by William or a hollow
promise from Edward; at that time, the kingship was not necessarily
hereditary but was appointed by the witan, a council of clergy and
barons.) Before his death in 1066, however, Edward reconciled with
Godwin,and the witan agreed to Godwin's son, Harold, as heir to thecrown
- after the recent Danish kings, the members of the council were anxious
to keep the monarchy in Anglo-Saxon hands. William was enraged and
immediately prepared to invade, insisting that Harold had sworn
allegiance to him in 1064.  It was this sworn allegiance that branded
Harold a usurper and a perjurer, and Williamwas granted papal approval
to invade England and claim his rights.
William's preparation for battle may have won him England before he ever
set foot onthe island fortress.  Normandy, a small duchy, could not
supply all the men needed for an expedition of this size, but the
prospect of invading England, with its natural resources and wealth, was
an appealing one.  Soldiers and mercenaries from all over France and
Flanders joined the campaign.  William's ranks swelled, and throughout
the spring and summer, he built ships and gathered supplies.  Prepared
for battle in August 1066, ill winds throughout Augustand most of
September prohibited him crossing the English Channel. This turned o
be advantageous for William, however, as Harold Godwinson awaited
William's pending arrival on England's south shores, Harold Hardrada, t
King of Norway, invaded England from the north. Harold Godwinson's forc
marched north to defeat the Norse at Stamford Bridge o




Facts about this person:

Alt. Born October 14, 1024
"The Bastard"
DUKE De NORMassachusettsNDY
Ruled 1066-1087

Called "William the Bastard" of Robert, the Duke of Normandy. Invaded Anjou (1047), Brittany, Maine. Defied papacy by marrying Matilda of Flanders against Papal wishes.

Reigned 1066-1087. Duke of Normandy 1035-1087. Invaded England defeated and killed his rival Harold at the Battle of Hastings and became King. The Norman conquest of England was completed by 1072 aided by the establishment of feudalism under which his followers were granted land in return for pledges of service and loyalty. King William was noted for his efficient if harsh rule. His administration relied upon Norman and other foreign personnel especially Lanfranc Archbishop of Canterbury. In 1085 started the Domesday Book.

NOTES: William of the House of Normandy; The first Norman King; On 28 Sep 1066 William secured the sanction of Pope Alexander II for a Norman invasion of England. By 1070 the Norman conquest of England was complete. William introduced the Continental system of feudalism; by the Oath of Salisbury of 1086 all landlords swore allegiance to William, thus establishing the precedent that a vassal's loyalty to the king overrode his fealty to his immediate lord. During a campaign against King Philip I of France, William fell from a horse and was fatally injured. William was the illegitimate son of Robert I, duke of Normandy and Arletta, a tanner's daughter. He is sometimes called "William the Bastard".
William requested a large number of Jews to move to England after his conquest. They spoke Norman & did well under his reign.

REF: British Monarchy Official Website: The victory of William I, 'the Conqueror' (reigned 1066-1087) at Hastings and his subsequent coronation in Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day 1066 did not give him complete control of England. Remaining resistance was, however, severely crushed and castles were built to control the country (including a fortress on the site of Windsor Castle, and the White Tower at the Tower of London). The lands of defeated Saxon nobles were given to William's followers in return for military service by a certain number of knights, so that the tenants' foremost obligation was allegiance to the king. This firmly established the feudal system. In 1086, William commissioned the Domesday Book, to record land holdings for the assessment of taxes and other dues. William spent long periods in Normandy to maintain his authority there, dealing with rebellions and French invasions.
William died in 1087 leaving Normandy to his eldest son, Robert, and England to his second son, William II Rufus (reigned 1087-1100).

REF: "Royal Descents of Famous People" Mark Humphreys: Steve Jones' book "In the Blood: God, Genes, & Destiny" 1996, estimates that 25% of the population of Britain is descended from William the Conqueror. Consider you need two parents, four grandparents, etc. Assuming an average of abt 25 years per generation, you only need go back to 1200, quite within historical times, to need more separate ancestors than the population of the world. Therefor we all must descend from cousin marriages, many times over, even within the last few hundred years. Davenport claimed "no people of English descent are more distantly related than 30th cousins".[v38t0494.ftw]