Standard 7.35 Examine the Norman Invasion, Battle of Hastings, and the impact of the reign of William the
Conqueror on England and Northern France.
The excerpts and map below are about William the Conqueror, his life, and his impact.
Explain the events that led William I to conquer England. How did he defeat the English? How did his rule
change England?
Use evidence from each of the three sources as well as information you have retained from class.
Source A
Medieval Sourcebook
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: Assessment of William I
If anyone would know what manner of man King William was, the glory that he obtained, and of how many
lands he as lord, then will we describe him as we have known him, we who had looked upon him and who
once lived at his court. This King William...was a very wise and great man, and more honored and more
powerful than any of his predecessors. He was mild to those good men who loved God, but severe beyond
measure to those who withstood his will. He founded a noble monastery [Battle Abbey] on the spot where
God permitted him to conquer England, and he established monks in it, and he made it very rich. In his days
the great monastery at Canterbury was built, and many others also throughout England; moreover, this land
was filled with monks who lived after the rule of St. Benedict; and such was the state of religion in his days
that all who would, might observe that which was prescribed by their respective orders.
[…]
Amongst other things, the good order that William established is not to be forgotten. It was such that any
man...might travel over the kingdom with a bosom full of gold unmolested; and no man durst kill another,
however great the injury he might have received from him. He reigned over England, and being sharp-sighted
to his own interest, he surveyed the kingdom so thoroughly that there was not a single hide of land
throughout the whole of which he knew not the possessor, and how much it was worth, and this he afterward
entered in his register. The land of the Britons [Wales] was under his sway, and he built castles therein;
moreover he had full dominion over the Isle of Man; Scotland was also subject to him...; the land of Normandy
was his by inheritance, and he possessed the earldom of Maine, and had he lived two years longer, he would
have subdued Ireland by his prowess, and that without a battle.
Truly there was much trouble in these times, and very great distress. He caused castles to be built and
oppressed the poor. The king was also of great sternness, and he took from his subjects many marks of gold,
and many hundred pounds of silver, and this, either with or without right, and with little need. He was given to
avarice and greedily loved gain. He made large forests for the deer, and enacted laws therewith, so that
whoever killed a hart or a hind should be blinded. As he forbade killing the deer, so also the boars; and he
loved the tall stags as if he were their father. He also commanded concerning the hares, that they should go
free. The rich complained and the poor murmured, but he was so sturdy that he took no notice of them; they
must will all that the king willed, if they would live, or keep their lands,...or be maintained in their rights. […]
Source-- Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, sub anno 1086, as it appears in F. A. Ogg, A Source Book of Medieval History(New York, 1907)
Source B
1066--William the Conqueror invades England
Claiming his right to the English throne, William, duke of Normandy, invades England at Pevensey on Britain’s
southeast coast. His subsequent defeat of King Harold II at the Battle of Hastings marked the beginning of a
new era in British history.
William was the illegitimate son of Robert I, duke of Normandy[...].The duke, who had no other sons,
designated William his heir, and with his death in 1035 William became duke of Normandy at age seven.
Rebellions were epidemic during the early years of his reign, and on several occasions the young duke
narrowly escaped death. Many of his advisers did not. By the time he was 20, William had become an able
ruler and was backed by King Henry I of France. Henry later turned against him, but William survived the
opposition and in 1063 expanded the borders of his duchy into the region of Maine.
In 1051, William is believed to have visited England and met with his cousin Edward the Confessor, the
childless English king. According to Norman historians, Edward promised to make William his heir. On his
deathbed, however, Edward granted the kingdom to Harold Godwine, head of the leading noble family in
England and more powerful than the king himself.
In January 1066, King Edward died, and Harold Godwine was proclaimed King Harold II. William immediately
disputed his claim. In addition, King Harald III […] of Norway had his eyes on England, as did Tostig, brother of
Harold. King Harold rallied his forces for an expected invasion by William, but Tostig launched a series of raids
instead, forcing the king to leave the English Channel unprotected. In September, Tostig joined forces with
King Harald III and invaded England from Scotland. On September 25, Harold met them at Stamford Bridge and
defeated and killed them both. Three days later, William landed in England at Pevensey.
With approximately 7,000 troops and cavalry, William seized Pevensey and marched to Hastings, where he
paused to organize his forces. On October 13, Harold arrived near Hastings with his army, and the next day
William led his forces out to give battle. At the end of a bloody, all-day battle, King Harold II was killed–shot in
the eye with an arrow, according to legend–and his forces were defeated.
William then marched on London and received the city’s submission. On Christmas Day, 1066, William the
Conqueror was crowned the first Norman king of England, in Westminster Abbey, and the Anglo-Saxon phase
of English history came to an end. French became the language of the king’s court and gradually blended with
the Anglo-Saxon tongue to give birth to modern English. William I proved an effective king of England, and the
“Domesday Book,” a great census of the lands and people of England, was among his notable achievements.
Upon the death of William I in 1087, his son, William Rufus, became William II, the second Norman king of
England.
Source—History Channel http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/william-the-conqueror-invades-england
Source C