William+the+Conquer

William the Conquer built stone castles all over England Carrie Mutombo April 8, 2008 __ William the Conqueror  __ By: Carrie Mutombo William the Conqueror, a true war hero, grew up to be a duke and eventually King of England. He was a powerful and intelligent man whom everyone loved. William the Conqueror was a ruler with an iron fist. William the Conqueror was born in Falise, Normandy in the year 1028. He was the son of Robert I, Duke of Normandy. Many nobles and barons thought that William didn’t have the right to be duke, but Robert I forced them to change their minds. William became duke at the age 7 when his father died. Since William was so young, barons and other nobles plotted to murder him. The murderers told the court jester about these plans, but the court jester did not agree with them. He told William and escaped just in time. William the Conqueror also had the support of King Henry, King of England, and with his support, William would’ve been dead at that time or not as successful. By the age of 20 William was known by the Normans as a strong leader. Edward the Confessor, King of England at that time, was very confused about who should become king after him. William was the oldest heir at the time. This was because William’s father, Robert had been betrothed to Estrith, the sister of King Canute, who had ruled England. William was crowned King of England on Christmas Day 1066 in Westminster Abbey. He ruled for a few years and was a good ruler too, but soon after Edward became ill. On his deathbed, Edward the Confessor made a grant that his brother-in-law Harold Godwineson would become king instead. William was so mad at Harold that he prepared an invasion known as the Battle of Hastings. The Battle of Hastings was one of the most major battles over the course of Europe’s history. It was a battle fought between William the Conqueror and Harold Godwineson right after the death of Edward the Confessor. Edward the Confessor had promised William the throne, but had made a deathbed grant that Harold would take over. Knowing that William would try to regain the throne, Harold prepared to defend the coast while William gathered troops from Normandy and northern France. Instead of fighting in the south like Harold had suspected William would do, he stroke north instead forcing Harold and his troops to march north. William was a clever man, and during Harold’s absence from the south William landed his armies there without opposition. Discovering the trick that William had pulled Harold ran south with his tired army. William the Conqueror’s army and Harold’s finally met at the Hill of Senlac, near the town of Hastings. Again using his cleverness against Harold, William pretended to fall back causing Harold to retreat in fake victory. With Harold’s back turned away, William charged down, and since he was at the top of the hill charging down was a success. But it still took William 5 more years to earn back the throne. William the Conqueror wanted to marry his cousin Matilda, daughter of the Count of Flanders. The pope refused to let the marriage happened but William married Matilda anyway and got banned from the Catholic Church. William the Conqueror died in 1807 while setting fire to a French city called Mantes. But at this scene he was thrown against the pommel of his horse into the fire and died from his injuries. William made many enemies in his life and defeated them all including Harold, the French, and even his disloyal son. He was the first Norman King of England, a strong leader, and also a wonderful husband. He was a ruthless man and would not give up without a fight. No wonder William is called a conqueror. **__ Works Cited  __** May, Robin. __Life and Times: William the Conqueror and the Normans.__ New York. The Bookwright Press, 1984. Rosenthal, Joel T. "William I, the Conqueror." __World Book Online Reference Center__. 2008. [Place of access.] 28 April 2008 . Rosenthal, Joel T. "Hastings, Battle of." __World Book Online Reference Center__. 2008. [Place of access.] 28 April 2008 .