What Impact Did William The Conquer Have On The American Era

Throughout history there have been many historical figures, who through their actions and life have impacted the course of history. One such figure is William I, King of England. William the Conquer is one of the greatest rulers and military leader of the middle ages. His life and rule of England from 1066-1087, introduced new polices and changes in England that had a profound effect on not only England’s history but that of all the countries influenced by the English in the years to come. William the Conquer is best remembered in history for the Norman conquest of England, which brought forth innovations in church, administration, language, record keeping and introduced the beginning of the common law, the feudal system, Norman architecture,

and a new ruling class in England.
William is often referred to as William the Bastard or more commonly as William the Conqueror due to his birth status and later accomplishments. He was born in 1027 or 1028 in Falaise, Normandy to Robert I, Duke of Normandy, and Herleva. At the time of his birth, his parents were not married, making William the only and illegitimate son of Robert I. When William was seven his father decided to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, but before leaving he convinced the nobles of the duchy to recognize his son as his successor, thereby securing Williams position as heir. At the age of eight William became the new duke of Normandy, when his father died in 1035 after returning from his pilgrimage. His illegitimacy and young age put him at a great disadvantage and when his great-uncle Robert, archbishop of Rouen and one of his main supporters, died in March 1037, William faced many difficulties in maintaining control over Normandy. As violence, corruption and civil war broke out William found himself having to constantly defend his life and position as duke of Normandy.
Many of his enemies and members of the ducal family fought for control of the dukedom. One of Williams’s early supporters, thanks to his father, was King Henry I of France and throughout his early life he went through many guardians as they all died. William was knighted at the age of fifteen by the king and it “marked a turning point in favor of a strong ducal power; the 15-year-old William was determined to play a more prominent role in Norman affairs” ("William the Conqueror" Hist., para. 5). By the time William was nineteen he came to face his greatest challenge in 1046, when his cousin Guy of Burgundy, with the support of several lords, lead a rebellion in an attempt to depose William and take control of Normandy. Eventually William proved victorious and with the help of King Henry I of France, he defeated Guy and his army at the Battle of Val-ès- Dunes near Caen. This battle not only established William’s authority and control over Normandy, but it allowed William to demonstrate his power as a warrior for the first time. Although William still had to continue to defend his land, his ability to retain strong allies and his training in military warfare helped him maintain his control over Normandy and prevail in many battles to come.
Over the next few years, William not only continued to fight in many battles and grow as a leader, and warrior, but he also took an interest in the welfare of the Norman church. William’s interest in the church led him to appoint not just his half-brother Odo, bishop of Bayeux in 1049, but other as well; these bishops appointed by William went on to strengthened the church in Normandy. This move and his interest in the church would help him later in life. William’s talent in obtaining strong alliance influenced his decision to negotiate a marriage to Matilda of Flanders. In 1049 William entered negotiation with Count Baldwin V of Flanders, an ally of King Henry from a distinguished lineage, for Matilda hand in marriage. It said that Matilda at first rejected William proposal because of his status as a bastard and when he heard of it, he was so enraged that he rode to Bruges, found Matilda and dragged her by her braids before leaving. This incident offended her father, but before anything could happen Matilda settled the matter by refused to marry anyone but William. They didn’t marry until around 1052 because Pope Leo IX refused to give consent on the grounds that William and Matilda were distinctly related. It was more likely it was due to the fact that Matilda’s father was against the emperor, Henry III, who the Pope supported (“William the Conqueror”, Historic… para.7). Despite this William and Matilda married, and would eventually have four sons and five daughters. William decision to marry Matilda was a political move to seal an alliance with a powerful, rich neighboring state, and strengthened his position in the east.
At around the same time that William was strengthening his position in the church, consolidating power and gaining allies, he was constantly fighting battles and eventually meet his distance cousin Edward the Confessor, King of England. William and his main supporter King Henry did not remain allies for long. The last known cooperation between William and King Henry was when they joined forces against the Count of Anjou, Geoffrey Martel, who had managed to occupy Maine. They were successful in driving Geoffrey away, where William then took advantage of the situation and secured the strongholds at Alençon and Domfort for himself. This increased his power, strengthened his southern frontier and gained him lordship over the Bellême family. William’s growing power led Henry, Geoffrey Martel and other Norman rebels to launch not one but two attacks against William. William and his allies were able to defeat their enemies both times, the last being in1057 at the Battle of Varaville. With the death of Henry and the Count in 1060 the power balance shifted to William allowing him to eventually conquer Brittany and Maine. By this time William proved to be a powerful, capable, leader. William also began associating with King Edward the Confessor of England and over time they developed some form of friendship. Around 1052 William visited his childless cousin Edward the Confessor, whose mother was the sister of William's grandfather, and according to some William was promised the succession to the English throne. It was this promise, among other factors, that influenced William’s later ambition and actions.
All these battles and decisions made by William help fortify his power and position in Western Europe, thereby making him the most powerful ruler of northern France. By the early 1060s William was recognized as a ruthless leader and a power to be reckoned with. In 1064 William met with Harold Godwin, the Earl of Wessex, King Edward's brother-in-law and one of the most powerful English lords. According to some Harold joined William on his military campaign in Brittany and swore to support William’s claim to the English throne. However when Edward the King of England died in 1066 it is said he named Harold Godwin his successor and with the support of the English Witan Harold claimed the throne of England for himself. This betrayal angered William, who then made important decisions that not only affected the rest of his life, but lead to one of his greatest accomplishments.
William’s commitment to invade England and claim the English throne had a profound effect on the course of English history and the outcome of this decision is one of the reasons why he is so important to history. Upon learning that Harold had taken the English throne, William began preparing to take what he believed was his by right of heredity and by the two promises made to him. William began by raising his army and gaining support among his allies, and neighboring providences, as well as securing his dukedom by placing loyal supporters in important positions and leaving authority in the hands of his wife and eldest son Robert. His favorable relationship with the church proved a good move on his part, as he was able to gain the support and approval of the Pope and church for his invasion. Harold for his part anticipated Williams’s invasion and began assembling his army for such an attack, but what he didn’t expect was for “two separate invasion forces” to “set out almost simultaneously for England” (White 26). Harold waited for William’s attack throughout the summer but when it didn’t come by in September, he dismissed his troop’s home and soon after learned that King Harald Hardrada of Norway was invading from the north. This invasion promoted Harled to reassemble his army and march north to face the threat and during the Battle of Stamford Bridge, King Harold defeated the invading forces. Soon after his victory King Harold received news that in his absence William had landed in Pevense. William had actually been delayed, but his timely arrival was a contributing factor in the eventual outcomes of the battle.
Luck was not on King Harold side, and the events that followed played in Williams favor. King Harold quickly set about gathering what troops he could and without rest led around 7,000 men to Hasting to face the Normans. William had landed unopposed in Pevensey and with around 7,000 men proceeded to take control of Pevensey and Hastings, where he reorganized his troops. The two armies met and fought on Senlac Hill on October 14, and though tired and exhausted the Anglo-Saxon were able to hold off the Normans for a while using the English phalanx, but ultimately the Normans superior number of cavalry and archers as well as their tactics and feigned retreats proved too much for the English. By nightfall William had defeated the English and King Harold lay dead along many of his men. In one of his Biographies it is stated that “His unifying work in Normandy, particularly the development of Caen and the integration of the far west, his unquestioned leadership of the Norman aristocracy, and the honor gained from his relationship with the Norman church, made the conquest of England possible” (Patourel, para. 7). Following William’s victory in the Battle of Hastings, he proceeded to conquer the rest of England, thereby asserting his claim to the throne of England by both heredity and conquest. Today the village and battlefield grounds, where William defeated Harold, are marked site open to the public.
The Norman conquest of England can be seen as one of the greatest take-over in the history of Western Europe, in fact to this day England has never been successfully invaded since then.

William the Bastard is often remembered as William the Conquer because of his greatest achievement and the reason why he is important to world history- the Norman conquest of England. With his conquest of England, William was crowned King of England on Christmas day in Westminster Abbey. William’s rule and “The Norman invasion--the watershed event in all of English history--brought with it innovations in warfare, political organization, record-keeping, taxation, architecture, and most of all language that are still felt today.” (“William the Conqueror”, Science, para.1). As king, William created one of the most powerful centralized monarchies in Europe and established a Norman aristocracy. The lands William conquered were either kept by him or distributed among his followers. Landowner were made direct vassal, who owned loyalty and military services to the King, thus introducing France‘s feudal system in England. William also started the very beginning of the common law, in order to effectively rule and establish his control over the legal system, when he set up a Kings court (Kua, para.1). In the Kings court judges appointed by the king settled the disputes of the noble class. These new policies were then mixed with some of the already advanced governmental system of the Anglo-Saxons, “resulting in the future development of a Parliament and a protection of basic

rights”