William The Conqueror: The King Willian I Of England

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Much of the modern day British Empire was brought about by a single King of England who never even learned to speak English. Willian I of England, also known as William the Conqueror, and less favorably as William the Bastard, became the King of England after his victory at the Battle of Hastings in October of 1066. Despite the fact that he was born in Normandy, spoke no English, and was illiterate, Willian and his army defeated the forces of Harold Godwine, then King of England, in a battle that is said to have lasted roughly seven hours. (Beck, 2005) William I of England was born around 1028 in Falaise, Normandy. He was the illegitimate child of Robert I, the duke of Normandy and a woman named Herleve who was the daughter of a local …show more content…

During his youth, the lands of Normandy were lawless, with lesser nobles taking power for themselves and ignoring the Ducal throne completely. When William came of age and was knighted at the age of 15, much changes when he was finally able to take a personal hand in the ruling of his lands. He began to efficiently reclaim the power of his thrown from the local Barons, many of whom were his kin. In this endeavor, William was aided by the favor of Henry, the King of France. It was during this time that William also began to gain favor with the Church and the Papacy, connections that would be of great use to him later in …show more content…

This was done by strengthening his allegiance with Henry of France, and working to gain power outside his own Duchy. He battled to strengthen his borders, as well as conducting negotiations with his cousin, the then King of England, Edward the Confessor. During these negotiations, it is said the William was named heir to the throne of England by the childless Edward. He also took a wife during this time and had several children of his own. When Edward the Confessor died in January of 1066 without an heir of his own, Harold Godwin was made King of England, despite the claim that Edward had named William of Normandy his heir, and despite Harold’s own oath of fealty to William which had been made the previous year. William took this oathbreaking as a reason to plan his conquest of England, and with the blessing of Pope Alexander II he spent the next seven months securing his own Duchy and preparing an army to launch an attack upon England. After being heavily delayed by weather, William’s army set sail in late

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