William the Conqueror

William the Conqueror, or William the Bastard, was born in 1028. William conquered England and was made king in 1066 and died in 1087.


William was the son of Robert of Normandy and Herleva. Robert and Herleva were not married so William was illegitimate. When Duke Robert went in 1030, but died when he was returning. William was now the Duke of Normandy at seven years old. However, young William was not without a guard. However, on March 15, 1037, William's great uncle died and by 1040, Turchetil, Alen, Gilbert and Osbern were killed. Finally, in 1040, William started to control Normandy.


When Edward the Confessor, King of England, died he had no descendant to rule England. Edward had made the claim that he was to be the next to receive the throne. However, Harold had already claimed the throne. To William, this was a betrayal, since Harold had given to William countless oaths.


King Harold had just defeated the King Hardrada, when the news that William of Normandy had just arrived at Pevense Bay, reached him. Harold made the mistake of driving his troops so hard that some of them fell behind, so he was left with a smaller army than he had after his defeat of Hardrada. He also refused to let his brother Gyrth lead the army to fight William, and as a result he ended up being shot with an arrow, and was killed. William the conqueror was in control of many old lands of Wessex and by December he even controlled London. Finally on the Christmas Day of 1066, he was made the King of England. Finally on September 9, 1087, William the Conqueror became sick and died. The entire Battle of Hastings is recorded upon the Bayeux Tapestry(Newman 63).


William the Conqueror, or William the Bastard, was born in 1028. William conquered England with one mighty strike (Wernick72). However, every great mortal hero will eventually die, just as William died on September 9, 1087.

Newman B., Paul. Daily Life in the Middle Ages. McFarland & Company, Inc.: Jefferson, North Carolina. 2001.

Wernick, Robert. The Seafarers: The Vikings. Time-Life Books: Alexandria, Virginia, 1979.