Born by was by Duke Robert I whowas the Duke of Normandy and his mistress Herleva in c1028 in Falaise. Willian succeededhis father, in 1035 when he- the king of Normandy dead. Given that William wasthe firstborn son of king Robert he became the sole heir of Normandy kingdom.William became the new duke ofNormandy at 8 years old. After a great struggle like taking control of Londonby mounting a campaign across it and forcing Edgar Atheling to surrender. He was crowned a King on Christmas Day 1066 at Westminster Abbey and ruled England till September 1087. He got married in the year 1050 to Matilda Blander.
Thecouple gave birth to least nine children. King William dead inRouen, France and was buried in St Stephen’s Abbey, Caen, Normandy. Hiseldest son, Robert Curthose became the heir of Normandy. William expected to become a King after the death ofEdward the confessor. But When Edward the Confessor died he was shocked tolearn that Harold Godwineson had taken the crown and was most likely planningto attack England .He went to a one day battle “hasting battle” at Senlac Hilland won the battle thus gaining control of London which was the Englishtreasury. His relationship with the church was purelygratitude. As a religious leader he took part in church councils, making appointmentslike appointing the Archbishop of Rouen, Maurilius to the Norman episcopate.
Although he was very religious he managed to bring most of the church’s ordinaryfunctions under the authority of common law by separating ecclesiastical courtsfrom lay courts.EARLYLIFE CHALLENGESBeing the only heir of Normandy yet he was a bastard,these landed him into a series of battles over power with his relatives fromwithin to distant. Although William faced several challenges uponbecoming duke –with his illegitimate birth, his Archbishop Robert, his uncle togetherwith the king of France, Henry I, were there to help him to succeed to hisfather’s duchy.Concerned about William’s wellabout, as a young king, French king Henry I played a major role on lending anhand whenever needed. For instance, when Guy of Burgundy, William’s cousin tried to over through him in 1046, atVal-és-Dunes king Henry I helped him defeat him and secured control overNormandy.On the other hand, with the help ofHenry, William was able to capture Alençon and Domfrontcastle in Maine, France in 1051–52.
Again with King Henry’s – besieged therebels- help Arques-la-Bataille castle was handed back to William in 1053. Other times Henry the French king wasnot that supportive. For instance, together with Geoffrey of Anjou they decidedto invade Normandy in 1054, but they gave up at Mortimer when part of theirforce forced them to due to the fear of Normandy’s organized force. Not being satisfied with theoutcome, Henry and Geoffrey led another attack in 1057, Varaville battle, withdetermination William was able to defeat them again. In 1050, William married the daughter of Count Baldwin V of Flanders, Matilda Flanders.
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The union strengthened William’s status because his father in-law happened tobe one of the most powerful French leaders, with ties to the German emperors andthe French royal house.WILLAM THE CONQUEROR’S SKILLSA ruthless leaderHis cousin led a rebellion against him he asked for support fromthe French king and won the battle thus emerged as a ruthless leader due to thepunishments he enforced on the rebels, he chopped off their feet and hands toinstill fear and establish Normandy as a powerful state. Socialable and born skilled leader He was able to unite his kingdom by all means. English was nothis first language but, more than anyone since his death he had more influenceon the evolution of the English language—adding a slew of French and Latinwords to the English dictionary.
He also introduced skilled Normanadministrators in his regime who were responsible making England the mostpowerful government in Europe.Wiseand strategic leaderHe wisely organizedhis solders at any given time of war. For instance, When Harold was crowned theking after the death of Edward the confessor and was supported by Witan, acouncil of English whose work was to decide the successor. William decided toattack England and enforce his claim. He assembled an army on the French coastto wait for Halold’s army who were to return very weak since they were from awar and he won the battle. He also requested for reinforcement from the Frenchking whenever he needed one.AuthoritativeLeaderHe forced the north by laying waste to their villages,destroying farmlands and robbing agricultural communities of their livelihoodsthus famine struck making them eating cats, dogs, and even human flesh tosurvive after a series of rebellions they gave in thus he managed to uniteEngland, under his authority.
