• General Notes

  William defeated and killed the Saxon King Harold II at the Battle of Hastings in 1066, establishing Norman control over England.
  
  THE BATTLE OF HASTINGS, OCT. 14, 1066:
  William Duke of Normandy invaded with seven thousand men, including over two thousand mounted knights and squires. The Saxon King Harold's army, fighting on foot, were overcome by volleys of Norman arrows and repeated cavalry charges.
  They were slaughtered. The deeply religious Normans erected the altar of Battle Abbey on the spot where king Harold was killed. Their beliefs obliged them to do heavy penance for the sins of war. William the Conqueror founded the Benedictine abbey in 1070 for the salvation of his soul.
  
  William was born out of wedlock. His bastard status was a source of embitterment for him.
  
  William the Conqueror was fatally injured during an attack on Mantes-la-Jolie, when his horse reared up, frightened by the flames. William was impaled on the pommel of his saddle and later died in agony at Rouen. William de Braose I was present at the King's death.
  
  William I left Normandy to his oldest son Robert II and England to his next oldest son, William II.
  
  THE DOMESDAY (DOOMSDAY) BOOK
  was authorized by William the Conqueror as a means of taxation, a comprehensive listing of all lands, forests, ponds along with their owners and tenants. It is from this book that genealogists are able to piece together the early families in England.
  
  Children
  ROBERT II "CURTHOSE" * DUKE OF NORMANDY b: ABT 1054 in Normandy, France
  WILLIAM II "RUFUS" KING OF ENGLAND b: 1056 in Normandy, France
  Adela of Normandy * Princess of England b: ABT 1062 in Rouen, Seine-Inferieure, Normandy, France
  HENRY I "BEAUCLERC" * KING OF ENGLAND b: SEP 1068 in Selby, Yorkshire,England
  Constance Princess of England b: ABT 1070 in Rouen, Seine-Inferieure, Normandy

Details of WILLIAM I "THE CONQUEROR", KING OF 's family with Matilda (Maud) of Flanders