General Notes

Also Known As:<_AKA> William "The Bastard" "The Conquerer" Of /England/
Ancestral File Number:<AFN> 8XHZ-SV
AFN: 8XHZ-SV

MISC.: one record list him as Guillaume DeNormandie[JemimaHowardAnces.FTW]


Reigned 1066-1087.  Duke of Normany 1035-1087.  Invaded England Defeatedand killed his rival Harold at the Battle of Hastings and became King.The Norman conquest of England was completed by 1072 aided by theestablishment of feaudalism under which his followers were granted landin return for pleddges of service and loyalty.  As King William was notedfor his efficient if harsh rule.  His administration relied upon Normanand other foreign personell especially Lanfrance Archbishop ofCanterbury.  In 1085 started Domesday Book.[other.FTW]

Alias:<ALIA> William /The Conqueror/
REFN: 950
Royalty for Commoners by Rober t W. Stuart, Genealogical Publishing Co.,
Revised 2nd Edition, 1995:
Gen 89- 30 - William I the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy, King of England,
1066-1087; b . 1027. Falais, Calvados, France; d. 9 Sept 1087, Rouen,
France; bur at Caen; md 1050/51, Maud (Matilda) of Flanders.
MEDIEVAL HISTORY & CIVILIZATION by D aniel D. McGarry:
For some time, the question of the succession to the childle ss Edward
the Confessor who died in 1066 had been uppermost. There were three
leading competitors for the crown: Earl Harold Godwinson, King Harold
Hard rada of Norway, and Duke William of Normandy. On the confessor's
death, the W itangemot elected Godwinson king. An Anglo-Saxon and the most
powerful earl i n England, Harold was also the brother-in-law of the King,
and already for aq uite a while (about 1053-1066) had been the real head
of the government.  Har old appears to have been designated as successor
by Edward on his deathbed.
He was a born leader: able, prudent, brave, and decicive.
King Harold Hardra da of Norway, a famous and adventurous warrior,
claimed the succession throug h the Danish line. Accompanied by
Godwinson's disgruntled and jealous brother , Tostig, the displaced Earl
of Northumbria, Hardrada landed in the north of England, With hastily
mustered forces, Harold Godwinson hurried north from Lo ndon over a
distance of about 200 miles to meet the invaders, who had taken Y ork and
were harrying the countryside. At Stamford Bridge, Godwinson's Englis h
army surprised and destroyed the Norwegian army, and both Hardrada and
To stig perished.
Duke William of Normandy also claimed the succession. Although of
illegitmate birth, William had succeeded his father as duke. He was
rem otely related to Edward the Confessor, since the ruling houses of
Normandy an d England had intermarried. William claimed that his cousin,
the Confessor, h ad promised him the succession during his visit to
England in 1052; and that Harold Godwinson, shipwrecked on the Norman
coast in 1064, had sworn to suppo rt his candidacy, William obtained the
Papal blessing with a Papal banner for his projected invasion, since the
Pope considered the English Church to be i n a state of Schism owing to
the Anglo-Saxon deposition of the Archbishop Rob ert of Jumieges and his
replacement by Stigand. William organized a large exp edition to enforce
his "rights". He gathered a large fleet and assembled and army estimated
at from 10,000 to 15,000 men, including not only his own Norma n vassals,
but also volunteers from various parts of France. He also made an
alliance with Tostig, whose thrust in the north enabled William to land
unc hallenged in southern England.
Harold decided to attack William before he cou ld advance and take
London. By forced marches he brought his fatigued and dep leted
Anglo-Saxon troops southward to the vicinity of Hastings, where they to ok
up a favorable position on a hill along a road leading to London.
Numeri cally, the two armies seem to have been about equal. On the English
side, the 'housecarls' (personal bodyguard of the king), 'thegns'
(Knights), and 'fyrd ' (levies form the shires)