William the Conqueror

William the Conqueror was born in 1027 or 1028. He was the illegitimate some of Robert I, sixth duke of Normandy, and Herleve, a mere commoner's daughter. When his father died in 1035  (while still a child) he became the ruler of Normandy. His early years were filled with conflict and strife; they coincided with one of the darkest periods in Norman history. Private wars were constantly being fought among greater Norma families; his court was in shambles; and nearly all his guardians had been murdered. From 1046 (when he reached maturity) until 1054 he faced six long years of uninterrupted war and struggled to survive. Finally, in 1054 the Battle of Mortemer, he had succeeded in crushing all his enemies. Never again was his position in Normandy challenged. 

No doubt the severity of his long struggle which occupied his youth and early manhood marred his character and shaped his outlook on life. His personality certainly must be kept in mind when considering his achievements, especially his conquest of England in 1066. Like many other Normans, William was a talented ruler. He reigned over England from 1066 to the time of his death to 1087. He subdued rebellions and invasions thrust upon him by the Anglo-Saxons and the Danes and Norweigians in England, and by his other feudal lords in France and Normandy. He achieved peace and stability primarily by replacing the old English aristocracy with his Norman vassals. The symbols of the security and order are the numerous castles and feudal estates which they established, the most famous being the White Tower of the Tower of London. He subdued the Scottish in the north and the Welsh in the west. He laid the foundations for the modern bureaucratic state in England by creating the Domesday book, a record of all the resources in the kingdom and the annual income of his subjects. While carrying on many of the Anglo-Saxons tradition, he imported continental feudalism to England. This way he could demand an oath of fealty from all the magnates in his realm and impose law and order on his subjects. Finally, he reformed the English church, which he promised Alexander II he would do in exchange for papal sanction of his conquest. Because of such measures as these William laid the foundations for successful medieval monarchy in England during the Middle Ages. For this reason the period between 1066 and 1154 is known as the age of Anglo-Norman institutions.

Below is an assessment of William the Conqueror from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle:

If anyone would know what manner of man King William was, the glory that he obtained, and of how many lands he as lord, then will we describe him as we have known him, we who had looked upon him and who once lived at his court. This King William...was a very wise and great man, and more honored and more powerful than any of his predecessors. He was mild to those good men who loved God, but severe beyond measure to those who withstood his will. He founded a noble monastery [Battle Abbey] on the spot where God permitted him to conquer England., and he established monks in it, and he made it very rich. In his days the great monastery at Canterbury was built, and many others also throughout England; moreover, this land was filled with monks who lived after the rule of St. Benedict; and such was the state of religion in his days that all who would, might observe that which was prescribed by their respective orders.

King William was also held in much reverence. He wore his crown three times every year when he was in England: at Easter he wore it at Winchester, at Pentecost at Westminster, and at Christmas at Gloucester. And at these times all the men of England were with him, archbishops, bishops, abbots and earls, thanes and knights. So also was he a very stern and wrathful man, so that none durst do anything against his will, and he kept in prison those earls who acted against his pleasure. He removed bishops from their sees and abbots from their offices, and he imprisoned thanes, and at length he spared not his own [half-]brother Odo. This Odo was a very powerful bishop in Normandy. His see was that of Bayeux, and he was foremost to serve the king. He had an earldom in England, and when William was in Normandy he [Odo] was the first man in this country, and him did William cast into prison.

Amongst other things, the good order that William established is not to be forgotten. It was such that any man...might travel over the kingdom with a bosom full of gold unmolested; and no man durst kill another, however great the injury he might have received from him. He reigned over England, and being sharp-sighted to his own interest, he surveyed the kingdom so thoroughly that there was not a single hide of land throughout the whole of which he knew not the possessor, and how much it was worth, and this he afterward entered in his register. The land of the Britons [Wales] was under his sway, and he built castles therein; moreover he had full dominion over the Isle of Man; Scotland was also subject to him...; the land of Normandy was his by inheritance, and he possessed the earldom of Maine, and had he lived two years longer, he would have subdued Ireland by his prowess, and that without a battle.

Truely there was much trouble in these times, and very great distress. He caused castles to be built and oppressed the poor. The king was also of great sternness, and he took from his subjects many marks of gold, and many hundred pounds of silver, and this, either with or without right, and with little need. He was given to avarice and greedily loved gain. He made large forests for the deer, and enacted laws therewith, so that whoever killed a hart or a hind should be blinded. As he forbade killing the deer, so also the boars; and he loved the tall stags as if he were their father. He also commanded concerning the hares, that they should go free. The rich complained and the poor murmured, but he was so sturdy that he took no notice of them; they must will all that the king willed, if they would live, or keep their lands,...or be maintained in their rights. Alas that any man should so exalt himself.... We have written concerning him these things, both good and bad, that virtuous men may follow after the good, and wholly avoid the evil, and may go in the way that leadeth to the kingdom of heaven.