"The Conqueror" King of England William I (1024 - 1087)
William was duke of Normandy and,
as William I, the first Norman king of England. He defeated and killed the last
Anglo-Saxon king of England (Harold,
Earl of Wessex I) at the Battle of Hastings. William was born in around 1028,
in Falaise, Normandy the illegitimate son of Robert I, Duke of Normandy and our 31st great Grandmother, Herleva
de Falaise who was the Grand
daughter of King Malcolm II of Scotland and who was our 31st great Grandfather.
He was known as 'William the Bastard' to his
contemporaries. On his father's death in 1035, William was recognised as heir,
with his great uncle serving as regent. In 1042, he began to take more personal
control. From 1046 until 1055, he dealt with a series of baronial rebellions.
William's political and military successes helped him in negotiations to marry
Matilda, daughter of Count Baldwin of Flanders in 1053.
Early in 1066, Edward, king
of England died and Harold, Earl of Wessex was crowned king. William was
furious, claiming that in 1051 Edward, a distant cousin had promised him the
throne and that Harold had later sworn to support that claim.
William landed in England
on 28th September 1066, establishing a
camp near Hastings. Harold had travelled north to fight another invader, Harold
Hardrada, King of Norway and defeated him at Stamford Bridge near York. He
marched south as quickly as he could and on 14 October, his army met William's.
It was a close-fought battle lasting all day, but Harold was killed and his army
collapsed.
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| The crowning of William I |
William was victorious and on Christmas Day 1066, he was crowned
king in Westminster Abbey. A Norman aristocracy became the new governing
class and many members of the native English elite, including bishops, were
replaced with Normans.
The policies of William the Conqueror, king of England, may be largely responsible for
eventually making England the most powerful nation in Europe.
However, there were several
revolts in the next five years, which William used as an excuse to confiscate
English land and declare it his personal property. He then distributed the land
to his Norman followers, who imposed their unique feudal system.
Among those
who benefited from this was Henri
de Ferrières, our 27th great Grandfather from which the Farrar name came from. Eventually,
Normans replaced the entire Anglo-Saxon aristocracy. William, however, retained
most of England's institutions and was intensely interested in learning about
his new property.
