(1027
Ð September 9, 1087)
Compiled by D. A. Sharpe
William the Conqueror, born 1027,
died September 9, 1087, is my seventh cousin, 26 times removed. The ancestor in common with William
and me is the ninth century Norwegian Viking, Eystein
Glumra Ivarsson. Glumra Ivarsson
is William's sixth great grandfather and Glumra Ivarsson is my 32nd great
grandfather on my Mother's Abney side of the family. William is the 17th great grandfather
of affluent Englishman Edward Southworth, first husband of Alice Carpenter, on
my Father's side of the family. Alice,
through her second marriage, is my seventh great grandmother. William is the
31st great grandfather to my Westmoreland grandchildren: Katie, Jack, Lily, Sarah and Sam. William
is the paternal grandfather of 14th great grand uncle of Edward Southworth, the
first husband of my 7th great grandmother Alice Southworth Bradley.
Early in his adult life, he was
known as William II, Duke of Normandy. It
was later that he became better known as William I, or William the Conqueror,
King of England. He subdued
rebellious vassals, defeated King Henry I of France at Val des Dunes (Henry is William's
first cousin, twice removed). William
defeated Harold, Saxon King of England at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. He was crowned King of England on
December 22, 1066, according to some reports.
Others place the coronation on Christmas day. The coronation was in Westminster
Abbey. So, it can be said that
this part of our family did not immigrate to England. They conquered it!
"William I, a Frenchman, was
the first of many, many English Kings to be crowned in Westminster Abbey. Westminster Abbey marked the scene of
many great events in English history. All
the English rulers from the time of William the Conqueror, except Edward V and
Edward VIII, were crowned there. Technically,
William was not the actual first coronation in Westminster. Harold,
the counselor to King Edward the Confessor, sought to usurp the crown upon
Edward's death, in spite of William's coming to claim
it. Harold had a rush job done
to crown himself in Westminster Abbey. However,
Harold's coronation, in a sense, does not count, as he was not of Royal blood. William was of Royal blood. In fact, William was a first cousin,
once removed to King Edward the Confessor.
"What was the background about
why William got involved in England?
"King Edward the Confessor (1002?-1066), an Anglo-Saxon king descended from Alfred the
Great, was crowned in 1042. As
king, Edward lacked influence among England's Anglo-Saxon nobles, because he
had lived in the Normandy region of northwestern France before becoming king. Edward's Anglo-Saxon father-in-law,
Godwin, Earl of Wessex, tried to dominate Edward's reign. Edward resisted Godwin's efforts by
relying on Norman advisers and administrators. Godwin died in 1053.
"King Edward was a pious man. He founded Westminster Abbey in 1042,
which was completed in 1065. In
1161, Pope Alexander III canonized Edward (declared him a saint) and gave him
the title of Confessor.
"King Richard I is the ancestor
common to William I and King Edward. Richard
is the great grandfather of William, and the grandfather of Edward
"Edward was childless, and a
dispute arose over who should succeed him.
His first cousin, once removed, William, Duke of Normandy, claimed
Edward had promised him the throne. But
when Edward died in1066, the English nobles chose Harold, Godwin's son, as
king. William then invaded
England, defeated Harold, and was crowned king. So, William rallied the troops and
stormed across the English Channel to make claim on Edward's alleged promise to
him.
ÒWilliam invaded England on
September 28, 1066 and prepared for victory.
ÒThe Battle of Hastings Plans:
"Harold learned that William
had landed at Pevensey in the south of England when he was in the north of the
country recovering Stamford Bridge and York.
He marched his troops south as fast as possible, stopping in London for
reinforcements. He took up
position at Caldbec Hill, along the Sentlache Ridge, a few miles north of
Hastings. As the ridge had deep
ravines, streams and marshy ground on either side, Harold blocked William's
only road out of the Hastings peninsula so forcing him into a frontal attack. By positioning his army at the top of
the hill, he had clear visibility all around him and forced William's army into
continually running up the hill to attack. Harold built a shield wall that
stretched in rows along the ridge and which was made up of his housecarls,
thegns (nobles) and fyrdmen. Being
skilled fighters, the housecarls and thegns were positioned in between the
fyrdmen who were unskilled, poorly armed and inexperienced peasant soldiers.
Harold expected the wall to hold firm against assault and for William's men to
tire and weaken from having to attack uphill.
This would eventually allow Harold's army to launch a counter-attack
with relatively fresh troops strong enough to defeat the opponent.
"William was unprepared for
Harold's speedy arrival at Caldbec Hill, but quickly gathered his troops and
went to meet him at Senlache. His
army was divided into three sections, each with a commander. The left section
comprised mainly of Bretons, the central section were
Norman under William's command, and the right section was made up of the French
and Flemish. Each section was
divided into three rows - the archers, the infantry and the cavalry. William's plan was to use the archers
first to send their arrows into the English ranks, followed by the infantry in
hand-to-hand combat and to finally advance with the cavalry who had the height
and power of being on horseback. The effect would be a three-pronged attack and
a gradual build up in power that would demoralize the English.
"THE BATTLE:
"The battle took all day
beginning early in the morning of 14th October 1066 with William's archers
firing the first arrows into English ranks.
William followed up his plan with an attack by the infantry and then by
the cavalry, but Harold's army was stronger than expected and William's army
sustained many casualties. The Bretons on the left flank
panicked due to their lack of experience, the unexpected strength of Harold's
army and the noise and confusion. They failed to keep in line and got ahead of
the other two sections on their right. In
their panic they began to retreat. Harold's less
experienced fighters broke rank when they saw the Bretons retreating, and
William's army slaughtered them.
"William retreated and
regrouped. The second and following assaults went according to William's plan
and he supported his troops by joining in the charge on horseback. Both sides became more tired as the
day wore on and suffered heavy casualties.
As the supply of arrows was running low, William ordered the archers to
fire them high into the air for the final assault so that they fell into the
rear ranks of the English army. This
caused high casualties and the collapse of the English shield wall. The
Norman's penetrated the ranks and killed Harold. With the morale of the English troops
shattered by the death of their leader, the battle ended in defeat for the
English, although the housecarls (the Pingalio) and thegns continued to fight
to their deaths. However,
more recently, historian Nicholas Hooper criticized Larson and stated that
"it is time to debunk the housecarl"; according to Hooper, housecarls
were not in effect distinguishable from Saxon thegns, and were mainly retainers who received lands or pay
(or both), but without being really a standing army. Hooper asserts that while
the Housecarles might well have had superior esprit de corps and more
uniform training and equipment than the average Thegn, they would not
necessarily have been a clearly defined military elite. Over the following months, William captured
Canterbury, Winchester and London. He was crowned king on Christmas Day 1066.
"WHY DID HAROLD LOSE?
"Harold was badly prepared to
face William's troops. William had spent months preparing for invasion in a
secure position and environment in Normandy. Harold's tenure as king was weak
from the time of his accession and, although aware of the threat from Normandy,
he was occupied by other events at home.
"William built up his army and
support in feudal tradition promising lands in England to those who joined his
army and eternal paradise to anyone who died during the battle. He'd also obtained the approval of
the Pope in his plans so gaining greater support and turning the invasion into
a crusade. The knights were
recruited with their own horses, men and equipment. Over the months, William's army was
rigorously disciplined and trained before being ready to sail for England, but
they had to wait until September before having a favorable wind. William's
plans suffered a setback when the fleet got caught in a storm and he had to
take refuge and regroup in the Somme estuary.
However, as a result, the distance he had to cover in his crossing was considerably
shorter and the next opportunity he had to sail was at the time when Harold was
in the north of England.
"William's decision to land at
Pevensey was important. Pevensey was on a lagoon to the west of Hastings and
was a scarcely populated area. The
lagoon was a shelter from the weather as the ships could be beached high up on
the land at high tide. The Hastings peninsula was bordered by Pevensey Lagoon
to the west and the River Brede to the east so providing it with natural
protection from attack and only one way in and out of the peninsula to the main
land in the north.
"William quickly established
his presence on the peninsula including building up the Roman Fort at Pevensey
and taking Hastings.
"Harold was not so lucky in his
plans. Some weeks before the
invasion, he had mobilized troops along the coast and sent his navy to the Isle
of Wight to intercept William's fleet, but he was unable to keep them there, as
they became demoralized waiting for William's army to set sail and concerned about
gathering in the harvest in their home towns.
Harold disbanded them at the beginning of September and lost many of his
ships in the same storm from which William had been forced to take refuge. When
he received news that William had landed at Pevensey, Harold was fighting the
invasion of Harald Hardrada of Norway in the north.
"Despite his battle plan and
his choice of a strategic location, Harold's army was exhausted from having to
travel north and fight at Stamford Bridge, and then hastily return south
without time to rest. Harold's
support from the north was limited, and, although the Earls of Mercia and
Northumberland had begun riding south, they turned back when they heard of
Harold's death. Except for the
housecarls and thegns, Harold's men were not trained and did not have the
distant attack advantage of the archers or the power of the cavalry. In
accordance with English tradition, those of Harold's army who were on horseback
rode to the battle location and then fought on foot while William's cavalry
walked to the location and then mounted for battle.
"THE RESULTS
"William was crowned king of
England on Christmas Day 1066 (some say December 22 instead). There followed 88
years of Norman rule. The French and English cultures merged and the feudal
system was introduced. This led to a tough discipline and training and it took
away much of the Anglo-Saxon's freedom and rights. England's strength grew and she
became a powerful force in European politics because of her tie with Normandy. Her army and navy were built up as
well.
In 1085 William ordered a survey of
English assets and this became known as the "Doomsday Book." William's reign was not easy, and
there were rebellions which were quickly suppressed, but the Norman Conquest
changed the face of England forever."
Source: World Book Encyclopedia, CD version,
1998
AND HERE ARE THE LATEST WORDS!
There is another claim of world
significance made for King William I, as learned from the lectures of
University of North Carolina English literature professor, Dr. Elliott Engel. Dr. Engel highlighted the historical
fact that conquerors of the world traditionally required the conquered peoples
to use for language in commerce and in government the language of the
conqueror. William the Conqueror
chose not to do that. He allowed
the conquered English people to continue their language in commerce and in
government transactions, while the French of the conquerors became commingled,
often using French and English words in the same sentences so that people from
both backgrounds would understand the meanings. These French words,
in reality, became embedded into the English language, thus being a major
reason that English has evolved into being the language of the world having the
largest number of words.
So, it can be said that William the
Conqueror is responsible to a large degree for the English language having the
largest vocabulary in the world. In
Dr. Elliott's 1994 lecture at the Richardson, Texas Civic Center, he said that
the Oxford Dictionary then contained about 450,000 words. He said that a complete French
dictionary would have about 150,000 words and that a complete Russian
dictionary would have about 130,000 words.
"The history of Windsor Castle
begins in the year 1070, when William the Conqueror built the original wooden
structure located in what is now the inner most point of the castle. William
chose the site for its superior military advantages; namely, that attackers
would have to battle uphill in order to reach and
overtake the castle. Although
none of original wooden structure built by William remains in the Windsor
Castle of today, the modern Windsor Castle still occupies the same ground. Henry II was the first monarch to
transform the wooden fortress to a stronghold of stone, adding a stonewall
which stood tall around Windsor Castle England. Parts of this wall can still be seen
today."
Source:http://www.destination360.com/europe/uk/windsor-castle.php
William died September 9, 1087 from
wounds received in a battle at Mantes, England. After being wounded he died at Rouen,
England.
The New Law of the Land as set down
by William the Conqueror and his advisors:
"First that above all things he
wishes one God to be revered throughout his whole realm, one faith in Christ to
be kept ever inviolate, and peace and security to be preserved between English
and Normans.
"We decree also that every
freeman shall affirm by oath and compact that he will be loyal to king William
both within and without England, that he will preserve with him his lands and
honor with all fidelity and defend him against his enemies.
"I will, moreover, that all the
men I have brought with me, or who have come after me, shall be protected by my
peace and shall dwell in quiet. And
if any one of them shall be slain, let the lord of his murderer seize him
within five days, if he can; but if he cannot, let him pay me 46 marks of
silver so long as his substance avails. And when his substance is exhausted,
let the whole hundred in which the murder took place pay what remains in
common.
"And let every Frenchman who,
in the time of king Edward, my kinsman, was a sharer in the customs of the
English, pay what they call "Scotland lot." This was done according
to the England. This decree was ordained in the city of Gloucester.
"We forbid also that any live
cattle shall be bought or sold for money except within cities, and this shall
be done before three faithful witnesses; nor even anything old without surety
and warrant. But if anyone shall
do otherwise, let him pay once, and afterwards a second time for a fine.
"It was decreed there that if a
Frenchman shall charge an Englishman with perjury or murder or theft or
homicide or "ran," as the English call open rapine, which cannot be
denied, the Englishman may defend himself, as he shall prefer, either by the
ordeal of hot iron or by wager of battle. But if the Englishman be infirm, let
him find another who will take his place. If one of them shall be vanquished,
he shall pay a fine of 40 shillings to the king. If an Englishman shall charge a
Frenchman and be unwilling to prove his accusation, either by ordeal or by
wager of battle, I will, nevertheless, that the Frenchman shall acquit himself
by a valid oath.
"This also I command and will,
that all shall have and hold the law of the king Edward in respect of their
lands and all their possessions, with the addition of those decrees I have
ordained for the welfare of the English people.
"Every man who wishes to be
considered a freeman shall be in pledge so that his surety shall hold him and
hand him over to justice, if he shall offend in any way. And if any such shall escape, let his
sureties see to it that they pay forthwith what is charge against him, and let
them clear themselves of any complicity in his escape. Let recourse be had to
the hundred and shire courts as our predecessors decreed. And those who ought of right to come
and are unwilling to appear, shall be summoned once; and, if for the second
time they refuse to come, one ox shall be taken from them, and they shall be
summoned a third time. And if
they do not come the third time, a second ox shall be taken from them. But if they do not come the fourth
summons, the man who is unwilling to come shall forfeit from his goods the
amount of the charge against him, "ceapgeld" as it is called, and in
addition to this a fine to the king.
"I prohibit the sale of any man
by another outside the country on pain of a fine to be paid in full to me.
"I also forbid that anyone
shall be slain or hanged for any fault, but let his eyes be put out and let him
be castrated. And this command
shall not be violated under pain of a fine in full to me."
Source: http://www.britannia.com/history/monarchs/laws.html
In 1066, Halley's Comet was seen in
England May 16 and thought to be a bad omen.
Later that year Harold II of England died at the Battle of Hastings on
October 14. Illustration of
Halley's Comet is shown on the Bayeux Tapestry, and the accounts which have
been preserved represent it as having then appeared to be four times the size
of Venus, and to have shone with a light equal to a quarter of that of the
Moon.
Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comet_Halley
It is a positive note for me to
discover that the number one priority in William's list of law principles cited
above centers upon the worship of God through Christ. The fierceness of William's
conquering activities had led me to believe he was pagan, which was the
Norman's Norwegians' roots. However,
the Roman Catholic Church, the main Church of Europe in those years, apparently
had its influence on William in his French Norman rearing.
"Windsor Castle was originally
built by William the Conqueror, who reigned from 1066 until his death in 1087.
His original wooden castle stood on the site of the present Round Tower
("A"). The castle
formed part of his defensive ring of castles surrounding London, the site
chosen in part because of its easily defendable position.
"Early in William's reign he
had taken possession of a manor in what today is Old Windsor, probably a Saxon
royal residence. A short time later between 1070 and 1086, he leased the site
of the present castle from the Manor of Clewer and built the first motte-and-bailey
castle. The motte is 50-feet high and consists of chalk excavated from a
surrounding ditch, which then became a moat.
"Now the castle was defended by
a wooden palisade rather than the thick stone walls seen today. The original
plan of William the ConquerorÕs
castle is unknown, but it was purely a military base and nothing structural
survives from this early period. From that time, onwards the castle has
remained in continuous use and has undergone numerous additions and
improvements. His successor William II is thought to have improved and enlarged
the structure, but the Conqueror's youngest son King Henry I was the first
sovereign to live within the castle.
"Windsor Castle (51°29'02?N, 0°36'16?W) is the largest inhabited castle in the
world and the oldest in continuous occupation. Together with Buckingham Palace
in London and Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh it is one of the principal official
residences of the British monarch. The
castle is located in the Berkshire town of Windsor, in
the Thames Valley to the west of London.
Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windsor_Castle
Yet, both in Normandy and in
England, William was faithful to tradition, and in England, especially, it
became a cardinal feature of his administration to respect, and to utilize, the
customs of the kingdom he had conquered. This is especially documented in David
C. Douglas's book, "William the Conqueror," Chapter 12 (pp. 289-316).
Source: David C. Douglas, "William the
Conqueror," University of California Press, C 1964 ISBM 0-520-00350-0 (this book is in my personal library)
Another famous landmark of London,
nestled on the River Thames, is the Tower of London.
"According to Shakespeare, in
his play Richard III, the Tower of London was first built by Julius Caesar.
This supposed Roman origin is, however, just a myth. Its
true foundation was in 1078 when William the Conqueror ordered the White Tower
to be built. This was as much to protect the Normans from the people of the
City of London as to protect London from outside invaders. William ordered the
Tower to be built of stone which he had specially imported from France. He chose this location because he
considered it to be a strategic point being opposite the site where Earl Godwin
had landed in Southwark in 1051during his Saxon rebellion against the Norman
influence of Edward the Confessor. It was King Richard the Lion Heart who had
the moat dug around the surrounding wall and filled with water from the Thames.
The moat was not very successful until Henry III employed a Dutch moat building
technique. The moat was drained in 1830, and human bones were in the refuse
found at its bottom."
Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_London
Compiled by:
Dwight Albert (D. A.) Sharpe
805 Derting Road East
Aurora, TX 76078-3712
817-504-6508