Transcript How_did_William_the_Conqueror_transform_England

How did William the Conqueror transform England?
(Year 6)
William I was born in about 1028 in Normandy, France, the illegitimate child of the Duke of Normandy. After his father’s
death in 1035 when he returned from a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, William who was his only surviving heir became Duke of
Normandy at just 8 years of age. William survived through violence early on in his reign and was protected by King Henry I of
France. Violence was around people fighting for control of his dukedom. During this time some of William’s guards died and
his teacher was murdered. It was a time of severe anarchy which means that the government lacked control of its people.
King Henry I knighted William in 1042, William would have been around 14 years of age at this time. William did gain control
of his duchy but his enemies called him ‘The Bastard’ which was a term used for children born to parents who were not
married.
By 1064 William had conquered and won two provinces close to each other called Brittany and Maine. At his time, the King
of England, Edward the confessor whose mother was a sister of William’s grandfather promised William succession to the
English throne. When Edward died in 1066, his brother-in-law and most powerful of the English lords, Harold Godwin
claimed the throne of England for himself even though he had made a promise to William to support his claim. The Witan
which was a council of English lords and chose who would be crowned king, was on Harold’s side. William because of this
betrayal, decided to invade England to stake his claim on the throne.
William and his army were delayed for several weeks in attacking England and so the Norwegian army invaded England from
the North sea. Harold had been preparing for William’s invasion from the south and so very quickly moved his army
northwards to defend England from Norway. Harold defeated the Norwegians but made a wrong move by moving his army
back down the country to meet William but they had not rested and were tired from fighting and defeating the Norwegians.
On 14 October 1066, the two armies met and the famous Battle of Hastings was fought. King Harold and his two brothers
were killed in the battle, no one was able to raise a new army which meant non one was now in William’s way and he could
be king. William was crowned King of England on Christmas Day 1066. This changed English history forever…….
Timeline
• 1028 - William I was born to Robert of Normandy & Herleva of Falaise.
• 1035 - William’s father Robert dies – William becomes Duke of Normandy.
• 1064 - Harold supports William’s claim to the throne (some historians say this was while Harold was held captive and
others believe Harold did this of his own free will).
• Jan 1066 - Edward the Confessor dies but Harold takes the Crown.
• 28 Sept 1066 - William arrives in the south of England and marches towards Hastings.
• 14 Oct 1066 - Battle of Hastings begins. The battle lasts all day. Harold was killed by an arrow to the eye.
• Oct 1066 - William takes control of the English treasury.
• 25 Dec 1066 - William I crowned King of England in Westminster Abbey.
• 1067 - William gives out land to people he could trust and goes back to Normandy. He leaves England in the hands of two
trusted regents, Odo of Bayeux, his half-brother who was the greatest landowner in England and made Earl of Kent. Odo
is said to have asked for the Bayeux tapestry to be made which tells the story of the Battle of Hastings. The second was
William Fitz Osborn who was William’s friend and a castle builder who was given lots of land and the title of Earl of
Hereford.
• Sept 1068 – Birth of Henry I – a fourth son was born to William and Matilda of Flanders at Selby in Yorkshire.
• 11 May 1068 – William’s wife Matilda was crowned Queen consort at Westminster Abbey or in Winchester Cathedral.
• 1070 – William refused to give the church power and even though William was very religious he would not give the church
more power than he had. William would not let any bishop visit Rome or speak with the Pope without his say so.
Timeline continued…….
• 1070 – Many of William’s new barons were burned or slaughtered because people were unhappy. Large areas of
Yorkshire, Cheshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire and Derbyshire were abandoned because of Williams brutal ways.
• 1071 – The Hereward the Wake defeated this Williams last problem he needed to deal with before becoming king.
• 1072 – Forest Law introduced. This meant that all the animals living in woodland areas and even the leaves on the trees
were owned by the king. This made life very difficult for everyday people who could no longer kill animals for food or even
gather sticks for a fire.
• 1073-1076 – England at this time was quite secure so William spent a lot of his time back in Normandy defending himself
against King Philip of France and Count Fulk le Rectin of Anjou.
• 1078 – William’s son Robert who had never been allowed to enjoy money and power of royal blood began to work for his
father.
• 1085-1086 – William came back to England because there was a threat of an invasion from Scandinavia.
• 1086 – The Doomsday Book was made under the strict orders of William, it is said that this was done because of the need
for more money. The findings from the book was that over a quarter of the land belonged to William and his family, twofifths were shared between the Barons and the church owned the rest.
• July 1087 – William was injured from a raid into Normandy. This would kill William.
• 9 Sept 1087 – William died in France from the wounds he got at the Siege of Mantes in the July. He left Normandy to his
eldest son Robert Curthose. He left both his sword and the English crown to his second son William. William I was buried
in St Stephens Abbey, Caen, Normandy, France.
Robert Duke of
Normandy
Herleva of Falaise
William the conquer
Matilda of Flanders
Robert
Richard
William
Rufus
Henry
Agatha
Adeliza
Cecilia
Matilda
Constance
William’s victory in the Battle of Hastings in 1066 changed everything in England. William brought in laws
so he could control the English people. William invented the feudal system which means that the king is
at the top, then the Nobles, then the Knights and finally the peasants at the bottom. Everyone relied on
each other to make the country work and that is why William was one of the best rulers of England He
was a clever man but was a brute.
William built castles to make sure the Normans were protected and kept control, he tied people down by
the Doomsday Book which was the first census in England that counted every piece of land, person or
animal so that William knew what taxes he could demand of the people. William said that people could
only worship one God and that there would be one faith to make sure that there was peace between the
Normans and the English, William did not want any fighting that could ruin his control. All freemen had to
swear on oath to be loyal to the king and they had to defend him. There would be penalties that had to
be paid for any men who were loyal men of William and were murdered. There were laws on the selling
of cattle. All land rules set out by Edward the Confessor were kept along with William’s rules. The law
favoured Frenchmen over Englishmen on crimes such as murder, theft or perjury. The law was never to be
challenged, the King ruled and anyone breaking the law had to pay a fine to the king. People were often
blinded or castrated for crimes they had not committed but they could not challenge the law.
What is the difference between life under King William I and life now
under a coalition government headed by David Cameron & Nick Clegg?
Medieval Times – Life under King William I
Now – Life under a shared coalition government
Feudal System
Democracy
Allowed to worship only 1 God
Respect for all religions
Law never to be challenged
Freedom of speech
People were owned like slaves
Individual freedom
Serfs do not own land
Working class often own land
Serfs cannot vote
Everyone over 18 can vote
Serf cannot change their status or marry a
princess for example
Working class person can become a millionaire and
marry who they like
Rules until he dies
Runs the country for a maximum of 4 years and then has
to be re-elected
Guilty until proven innocent and often sentenced
to death
Innocent until proven guilty through a court of law
Power top down from king to people
Based on ownership of property
Power from bottom up from people to parliament
Based on support of people
How are feudalism & democracy similar?
• Both have leaders that give orders to people under them
• Both represent control over the country
• Both have power over people
• If a person breaks the law then he will be punished
• People are bound by the law
• The law plays a major part in society
• Kings and queens live in castles
• Can be a huge divide between rich and poor
Conclusion
King William I made major changes when he came to rule and
transformed England. The Anglo Saxon way of life was changed forever.
He was known as a tyrant and his laws made sure he controlled
England and did not lose power after he conquered. He is known as
one of the best rulers of England. William's invasion was the last time
that England was successfully conquered by a foreign power.