William+the+Conqueror

William’s childhood was very rough and challenging. He was born in 1028, at Falaise in Normandy, France. William’s father was Robert the Magnificent, a great duke of Normandy. One day his dad was riding his horse, when he caught the site of a beautiful women washing linen, and fell in love with her. Her name was Arlette, and she was a tanner’s daughter. He was already married, but in the same year they had a son named William. From the beginning, William’s dad knew that William would grow up to become a great ruler.

When William was seven his father died, so he became duke in place of him. Before his dad had died, he had forced the Normans to let William be duke when he died. The Normans did not like this idea, but went along with it. Because the Normans did not agree, they were always trying to kill William, when he was young. William wanted to marry his cousin Matilda, but the pope would not let him. William was very mad about this, so the pope excommunicated him from the Catholic Church. Later, William had a disloyal son, who became part of the French army. His name was Robert, after his father. Robert was disloyal to William. Robert’s army was always trying to topple William but they never succeeded. Although, William’s childhood was tough, he fought strong through everything.

What William is remembered for most, is his adventurous conquest. William was the Duke of Normandy from 1035-1087. He led his Normans to win the famous Battle of Hastings, on October 14, 1066. During the battle, William built a fortress for him, called, “The Tower of London,” to protect himself. The battle of Hastings was fought between the Normans and the Saxons. The leaders were Harold Godwinson and William the Conqueror, and it was fought over who would be crowned the King of England. William and Harold were distant cousins. Harold Godwinson, the leader of the Saxons, was the last one that William killed, to win the battle. To congratulate the Normans for the win, William gave them lots of land in England.

William was supposed to become king after Edward the Confessor, the King of England two times before William ruled, died, but Harold Godwinson did instead. Edward promised the throne to William, because William helped Edward and his family. William was announced King of England, after he killed Harold at the Battle of Hastings, on Christmas Day of 1066. William was the first Norman King of England. He was crowned king at Westminster Abbey. During the ceremony, people thought there was a riot outside, but it was just a happy crowd, so they rushed to the houses around the abbey to hide. It was very hard for William to control both England and Normandy.

During William’s conquest, he was all new, fresh, and unstoppable. His later years went a little downhill from his conquest times. On September 9, 1087, William was fighting in a battle against the French army. He was now very fat. His horse lost its footing and he was thrown against the pommel of his saddle, and thrown into some hot embers. He had to many burns and sadly died from injuries. Now, he is buried in Normandy, France. William’s childhood was very rough and challenging. He was born in 1028, at Falaise in Normandy, France. William’s father was Robert the Magnificent, a great duke of Normandy. One day his dad was riding his horse, when he caught the site of a beautiful women washing linen, and fell in love with her. Her name was Arlette, and she was a tanner’s daughter. He was already married, but in the same year they had a son named William. From the beginning, William’s dad knew that William would grow up to become a great ruler.

You can see how just one man can change all of history. William’s Conquest was one of the most important events in English history. William was an excellent ruler, and won many battles for England. Without William fighting in the Battle of Hastings, the Saxons might have crushed the Normans. After the Conquest, the Normans changed part of England’s culture. William was a great ruler all around and from the beginning. He and the Normans are remembered greatly today for their fantastic adventures that they fought through.