Guide Note

William, Duke of Normandy was the architect of the Norman Conquest, a military and cultural invasion that brought England under the rule of a French-speaking aristocracy and created the hybrid of Anglo-Saxon and Continental culture and language that is now recognized as English.

Fast Facts

1. Born: Circa 1027, Falaise, Normandy
2. Reign: 1066-1087
3. Predecessor: Harold II
4. Successor: William II
5. Son of: Robert I, Duke of Normandy (illegitimate)
6. Also known as: William the Bastard
7. Died: September 9, 1087, Rouen, France
8. Effectively replaced the British nobility with Normans
9. Instituted French as the court language
10. Began construction of the Tower of London
11. Had 4 sons and 6 daughters
12. Has no authentic portrait
13. Ordered the Domesday Book compiled

1. 1035: Succeeded father as Duke of Normandy (at age 8)
2. 1052: Visited London, later claimed to have been promised the throne
3. 1053: Married Matilda of Flanders
4. 1054-1057: Defended Normandy against Henry I of France
5. 1066: Supported as claimant to English throne by Pope Alexander II
6. 1066:Conquered England
7. 1072:Invaded Scotland

In 1066, the death of Edward the Confessor led to a disputed succession. When the dark-horse candidate Harold Godwinson was crowned king, William and another claimant, Harald Hardrata of Norway, separately invaded the country. The ensuing battle between Harold and Harald (at Stamford Bridge) has confused schoolchildren ever since. It was the English one who was the winner, and his weakened armies were in turn defeated by William at the Battle of Hastings. His seizure of London and subsequent coronation as William I effectively ended Anglo-Saxon rule in Britain -- although resistance and rebellion would continue for years afterward. William's continuing ambitions would lead to his death in battle in Mantes-la-Jolie, France in 1087, aged 59.