Harold (right) swearing fealty to William, duke of Normandy, detail from the Bayeux Tapestry, 11th century; in the Musée de la Tapisserie, Bayeux, France
William the conqueror was a son to Robert I, the duke of Normandy born outside of wedlock. From 1066 he was the one of the greatest soldiers and rulers of the Middle Ages. He made himself the mightiest noble in France and then changed the course of England’s history by his conquest of that country.
Background
His exact birth date is unknown but is estimated to have been in the autumn of the year 1027 or early 1028. At the time of his conception, he father was not even Duke of Normandy and may not have been expected to become so. His father did not marry and consistently recognized William as his son during his reign as duke. Due to the fact that he was born outside of wedlock, people nicknamed him ‘William the bastard’.
In 1034, when he was about seven years old, his father left for a pilgrimage in Jerusalem. Before leaving, he’d asked his nobles and his uncle Robert, the archbishop of Rouen, to recognize William as the next Duke. Robert I fell ill on his way back and died and as a result, William succeeded to the duchy. The duchy was plunged into chaos and civil war almost immediately and the young William was under constant threat of being overthrown. He witnessed a lot of brutality around him including the murder of Osbern, his steward, who had his throat while asleep. It turned out that his father’s brothers and cousins claimed the right to succeed Robert in place of William and began putting together their forces.
Education
When William was a young boy he was sent to learn the tricks and lessons required to become a strong warrior. He was a mere boy under the care of Theroulde, a military tutor, who had served as a veteran solder under the king of France. Theroulde was very interested in young William’s progress and taught him to ride a horse as well as all the evolutions of horsemanship. He also taught him how to use arms such as the bow and arrow, javelin, sword and spear. He trained him while armored in steel like the armor the warriors used when going into battle. All these lessons that William learnt when he was young had made him a much stronger person right from his early ages. He was exposed to the ideas of war and several methods of defense when he was just a naïve kid. Officially this is the only educational records from his childhood.
Later when William became the ruler of England, as he did not speak any English, he made efforts to learn it. He was tutored for a while to learn English so that he could understand the country abit more. But despite of limitless efforts it was said that William the conqueror could not master in English and he eventually gave up. He encourages young scholars by funding them. He even gave annual scholarships for students.
Career
At the age of 8 , William became the duke of Normandy. But there was a lot of opposition against him and a lot of violence plagued. Then the king of France, Henry I, helped out William and helped for his survival.
In the year 1064, William the Conqueror, invaded 2 neighboring countries, Brittany and Maine. Then the ruler of England, Edward the confessor, was childless. He was related to William as William’s grandfather was brother of Edward’s mother. The childless Edward promised William the throne of England. But when Edward passed away in 1066 the circumstances were not in the favor of William. Edward’s brother-in-law, Harold Godwin had taken the situation under his control with the help of powerful English lords and Harold was voted as the ruler by the council of those English lords.
William then planned to invade Harold from French coast but was interrupted by the northern winds. Meanwhile Harold was invaded by the Norwegian army from North Sea, Harold won this battle. With the same enthusiasm, without seeking any rest for the tired army, Harold along with his 2 brothers marched his troops to meet William and was defeated by William. This battle took place on the 14th of October in the year 1066. There was nothing standing in between William and his crown now, and he was crowned as the king of England on Christmas Day.
William the conqueror accumulated great wealth and yielded a lot of power and influence. He changed how England did things and effectively altered the course of English history. The English language for one, changed when it started to accommodate the French language that the Norman people spoke. He continued to rule England till he took his last breath.
There were a number of attempts to murder William’s life.
• The first was in 1040 by the lords in Normandy who did not approve of his kingship because of the nature of his birth. He survived the attempt but his guardian, Gilbert of Brionne, was killed.
• In 1047, there was another rebellion by the lords which also failed. These experiences made William not trust anyone. He became ruthless with his dealings with people and he would not forgive anyone who betrayed him.
• At the battle of Val-es-Dunes, William fought against his cousin who lead a rebellion against him. William being a young warrior in his twenties, with his French friends formed a great compaction for his enemies. He won this battle and became the ruthless ruler. He once had the feet and hands of some people of the town of Alencon cut off for calling him a bastard. William made Normandy a powerful state under his vision.
William despite of being called a ruthless leader by many there are also a few who support the immense work he had done for the development of England. He had made sure that all the lands that belong to England were taken back and ruled under the empire of England. He had worked hard throughout his life fighting several battles against the kings who tried to invade England. He had made sure that any sort of rebellion against him or his countries were suppressed as early as possible before they spread out all over England.
William the conqueror collected taxes on a regular basis from Norman inorder to fund his wars. He was unclear about his principles and goals in the beginning but later managed to emerge more into a matured ruler.
The English church which was till then neglected in England was again reformed under the rule of William. He replaced the bishops of the church with Lanfranc, who was an abbot of Monastery of St. Etienne in France, which was founded by William himself. Lanfranc was a most famous Benedictine back then and was famous for the work he done in the process of reconstructing he English church, replacing religious complexes which evolved with monumental uniform structures in the Romanesque style.
William had made them build many more architecturally significant monuments like the Tower of London, which was built entirely out of the stone imported from Caen in Normandy. He even made them build the Whit Tower which served as the castle for the ruling families for many years.
William was the one who introduced quotas for recruiting soldiers and guards. He gave at most importance to the army during his rule. He spent most of his life travelling between the nations which were under his rule. He appointed loyal deputies who were the decision makers in his absence while travelling.
William was the main reason for the creation of the Domeday Book. He ordered to conduct a survey regarding the lands held by him and other properties under him which led ti this book. He was the one of the main reasons for introducing French to the England people.
Achievements
Religion
It was said that William was very religious and had taken a keen interest in the betterment of churches. Some say that his actions towards church bishops were unfair when he removed the old ones and replaced them with his beloved ones. But some say that this was done for the best interest of the Church and society. He also funded several religious activities. He raised all his children very religiously and it was said that one of his daughters was a nun.
Views
William had been a monarch in all his ruling. He had believed that he was the only right heir to the throne and had an immense responsibility to develop all his kingdoms. He was never intended to make wars against anyone unless they become a threat to his nation. He had a very few loyal followers whom he trusted very much. Even after becoming the Duke he never relaxed. He took a very active part in decision makings and traveled half of his life from one nation to another which was under his ruling. It was clear by reading his history that he never like being betrayed politically.
Personality
There is no specific portrait of William to describe his appearance. But there were depictions of him on Bayeux Tapestry, a museum telling the stories of William’s rule. Similarly few depictions were found on coins and seals which were made during his rule to display his authority. There are few descriptions of his looks saying that he is burly and robust. He was known to have a guttural voice. Some said that he was very healthy during his early ages but later on he had gained weight. It was said that he was very sensitive about this topic. He was around 5 feet 10 inches which was considered as a very good height during his period. He had a well-built body which helped him to draw the bows with great strength.
Physical Characteristics:
here are some written descriptions of a burly and robust appearance, with a guttural voice. He enjoyed excellent health until old age, although he became quite fat in later life. He was strong enough to draw bows that others were unable to pull and had great stamina. Geoffrey Martel described him as without equal as a fighter and as a horseman. Examination of William's femur, the only bone to survive when the rest of his remains were destroyed, showed he was approximately 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m) in height.
Connections
He had a younger sister called Adelaide born to his parents and a half-sister, Muriel and two half brothers, Robert and Odo born to his mother and the Viscount of Conteville, whom his mother married.
William got married to Matilda of Flanders, who was a granddaughter of France’s King Robert II. Some say that she refused to marry him for some unknown reasons but was ended becoming his wife. There were no records of William being unfaithful to his wife. They say that he loved her very much. They both together had 10 children - Robert, Richard, William, Henry, Adeliza, Cecilia, Matlida, Constance, Adela and Agatha, in no particular order. His sons were married to the daughters of different countries like Conversano, Scotland, Louvain. These relations had brought powerful connections between the kingdoms.
William the conqueror had a very special bond with his mother. His mother was often humiliated for being a mistress to his late father. William never spared or forgiven anyone who had made such comments about his mother. He never hesitated to take severe actions against them.