William the Conqueror - Duke of Normandy, King of England (since 1066), organizer of the Norman Conquest of England, one of the largest political figures in Europe of the XI century.
His invasion of England had significant consequences for this country.
Childhood
Like any historical person of the Middle Ages, William 1 is known from written sources, which for the most part are poorly preserved. Because of this, historians are still arguing about when the Duke of Normandy was born. Most often, researchers refer to 1027 or 1028.
William 1 was born in the city of Falez. It was one of the residences of his father Robert the Devil - Duke of Normandy. The ruler had the only son who was to inherit the throne after his death. However, the problem was the fact that William was born out of an official marriage, which means he was considered a bastard. Christian tradition did not recognize such children as legal.
However, the Norman nobility was very different from its neighbors. In its ranks there was a strong inertia of the traditions and customs of pagan times. From this point of view, the newborn could well inherit power.
Father's death
In 1034, William's father went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. In those years, such a journey was fraught with many dangers. Because of this, he made a will in which he indicated that his only son should have become the heir to the title in the event of his death. The duke seemed to feel his fate. Having been in Jerusalem, he went home and died on the way to Nicaea the following year.
So William 1 became the Duke of Normandy in a very childhood. Moreover, his title "First" corresponds to his royal title in England. In Normandy, he was the Second. Many representatives of the aristocracy were unhappy with the illegal origin of the new ruler. Nevertheless, the feudal lords from among the ill-wishers could not offer a decent alternative figure. Other members of the dynasty either became priests or were also minors.
The weakness of power in the duchy turned into the fact that Normandy could become easy prey for hostile neighbors. However, this did not happen. The numerous counts and dukes who ruled in this region of France were engaged in internecine wars.
Rise of the Norman feudal lords
The ruler of Normandy had a legitimate overlord - the king of France, Henry I. According to tradition, it was he who was to knight the boy when he would come of age. And so it happened. The ceremony took place in 1042. After that, William 1 received the legal right to rule his duchy.
Every year he increasingly intervened in government. This caused discontent among numerous feudal lords. Due to the outbreak of conflict, William had to flee from Normandy to the king of France. Henry I could not help his vassal. He gathered an army, of which Wilhelm himself led.
The French met the rebel barons in the Dune Valley. Here in 1047 a decisive battle took place. The young duke proved himself to be a brave warrior, which earned the respect of others. During the battle, one of the feudal lords came over to his side, which finally upset the order of the opponents. After this battle, William managed to regain his own duchy.
Maine County War
Having become the sole ruler of Normandy, the new duke began to pursue an active foreign policy. Despite the fact that formally the king continued to rule the king, his vassals enjoyed great freedom, and in a sense were completely independent.
One of Wilhelm’s main competitors was Count Anjou Geoffroy. In 1051, he invaded the small county of Maine next to Normandy. William had his own vassals in this province, because of which he went to war against a neighbor. Count Anjou in response secured the support of the king of France. Henry led to Normandy and other feudal lords - the rulers of Aquitaine and Burgundy.
A lengthy internecine war began, which came with varying success. In one of the battles, William captured Count Pontier Guy I. He was released two years later, becoming a vassal of the duke.
The king of France Henry I died in 1060, and after him the count of Anjou also died. After the natural death of his opponents, William decided to make peace with Paris. He took the oath to the new king - the youngest Philip I. The feud in Anjou between the heirs of Geoffrey allowed Wilhelm to finally subjugate the neighboring Maine.
Applicant to the English throne
In 1066, King Edward the Confessor died in England. He had no heirs, which aggravated the question of the continuity of power. The king was in a warm relationship with William - they were allies. The grandfather of the Duke Richard II at one time helped the fugitive Edward find refuge during the next internecine war. In addition, the king did not like his environment of magnates and the ambitions of numerous Scandinavian monarchs, who also had the right to power.
Because of this, Edward was guided by his southern friend. William 1 The Conqueror himself sailed to England, where he stayed with his ally. A trusting relationship led the monarch to send Harold Godwinson (his vassal) to the duke of Harold shortly before his death to offer him the English throne after his death. On the way, the messenger was in trouble. Count Guy I of Pontieu captured him. Wilhelm helped Harold go free.
After such a service, this feudal lord swore allegiance to the future king of England. However, after a few years, everything changed dramatically. When Edward passed away, the Anglo-Saxon nobility proclaimed Harold king. This news unpleasantly surprised William. Using his legal right, he gathered a loyal army and went on ships to the northern island.
Organization of a campaign in England
From the very beginning of the conflict with the British, William 1 (whose biography was full of well-calculated actions) tried to convince the surrounding European states of his innocence. To this end, he made widely public the oath that Harold had given. Even the Pope reacted to this message, supporting the Duke of Normandy.
Wilhelm, defending his reputation, contributed to the fact that more and more free knights were pouring into his army, who were ready to help him in the struggle for the taken away throne. Such "international" support led to the fact that the Normans made up only a third of the army. In total, about 7 thousand well-armed soldiers appeared under the banners of William. Among them were both infantry and cavalry. All of them were seated on ships and simultaneously landed on the British coast.
It is difficult to name the poorly thought-out campaign conducted by William 1. A brief biography of this medieval ruler consists entirely of wars and battles, so it is not surprising that he was able to effectively apply his past experience in his main test.
War with harold
At this time, Harold was busy trying to resist the invasion of the Norse Vikings in the north of England. Upon learning of the Normandy landing, Harold rushed south. The fact that his army had to fight on two fronts had the most sad effect for the last Anglo-Saxon king.
On October 14, 1066, enemy forces met at Hastings. The ensuing battle lasted more than ten hours, which was unbelievable for that era. By tradition, the battle began with a full-time battle of two selected knights. The duel ended in defeating the Norman, who cut off the head of his enemy.
Next came the turn of archers. They shot the Anglo-Saxons, who were immediately hit by cavalry and infantry. Harold's army was defeated. The king himself died on the battlefield.
The Siege of London and the Coronation
After such a triumph of the enemy, all of England was defenseless before William. He went to London. The local nobility split into two unequal camps. The smaller part wanted to continue to resist strangers. However, every day more and more barons and counts came to William's camp, who swore allegiance to the new ruler. Finally, on December 25, 1066, the gates of the city were opened in front of him.
Then at the Westminster Abbey , the coronation of William took place. Despite the fact that his power became legal, there was still disagreement in the province of local Anglo-Saxons. For this reason, the new king William 1 began to build a large number of castles and fortresses, which would be a stronghold for the loyal troops in various regions of the country.
The fight against the resistance of the Anglo-Saxons
The first few years, the Normans had to prove their right to power with brute force. The north of England remained rebellious, where there was a strong influence of the old order. King William 1 The Conqueror regularly sent armies there and himself led several times the punitive expeditions. His situation was complicated by the fact that the rebels were supported by the Danes, who sailed from the mainland on ships. There were several important battles with enemies, the winners of which were always the Normans.
In 1070, the Danes were expelled from England, and the last rebels from the old nobility obeyed the new monarch. One of the leaders of the protest, Edgar Etelling, fled to neighboring Scotland. Its ruler Malcolm III sheltered the fugitive.
Because of this, another campaign was organized, at the head of which stood William I. the Conqueror himself. The biography of the king replenished with another success. Malcolm agreed to recognize him as ruler of England and promised not to host his Anglo-Saxon enemies. As a confirmation of their intentions, the Scottish monarch sent his son David as a hostage to William (this was a standard rite for that time).
Further reign
After the wars in England, the king had to defend his ancestral lands in Normandy. His own son Robert rebelled against him, unhappy that his father did not give him real power. He enlisted the support of the matured king of France, Philippe. For several years, another war continued, in which Wilhelm was again the winner.
This feud distracted him from internal English affairs. However, a few years later he returned to London and dealt with them directly. His main achievement is the Doomsday Book. During the reign of William 1 (1066-1087), a general census of land holdings in the kingdom was carried out. Its results were reflected in the famous Book.
Death and heirs
In 1087, the king’s horse stepped on burning coals and knocked him over. In the fall, the monarch was seriously injured. Part of the saddle pierced his stomach. Wilhelm was dying for several months. He died on September 9, 1087. William bequeathed the Kingdom of England to his second son, and the Norman Duchy to Robert, the eldest.
The conquest of England was a turning point in the history of the country. Today in every UK history book there is a photo of William 1. His dynasty ruled the country until 1154.