Medieval Information

Born at 1028, he was the son of Robert I, duke of Normandy. He was a descendant of the Vikings, thus he could easily claim the throne. When his father went on a pilgrimage in 1034 and died on the return trip, William became duke at the age of seven. His father's brother (who was the archbishop) moved to his house in order to protect him. Many of his relatives were assassinated. Even though many attempts were made to kill the young boy, he always managed to flee; in many nights, William had to hide.

Originally from Normandy, William spread feudalism throughout the land. After many years, he finally managed to form an army. When William arrived England, he was met with a fearsome battle that lasted all day; the battle of Hastings. Beginning at dawn, this battle was a struggle between opposing forces. At first, they were equal in strength, but as time passed, the Norman soldiers proved to be much better trained, thus defeating the Saxon army decisively. Harold himself was killed by an arrow making his army demoralized giving an abrupt end to the battle.

William conquered London in which many lords swore allegiance to him. He was crowned king on Christmas Day, 1066.

William established many castles throughout England. He ruled there for five years in which he stabilized rebellions, and addressed many political issues. He also built many fortresses, his most notorious one; which still stands today, is the Tower of London.


After this time, William returned to Normandy for 12 years. He solved many political unrests and after this time, he went back to England.

William died ill in Normandy on September 9, 1087.