9 September: William the Conqueror

William the Conqueror (William I) died on this date in 1087. Here are some facts about him.

1. We don't know the exact date of William the Conqueror's birth, only that it was in about 1028. He was the illegitimate child of the Duke of Normandy, Robert I and his mistress, Herleva. He was descended from Vikings who'd invaded France years before.
2. Although he was illegitimate, he was, nonetheless, Duke Robert's only son, and so he became duke when Robert died in 1035. He was seven or eight years old. The fact he was so young, not to mention illegitimate resulted in anarchy as any number of people were contending for power. At least four of William's guardians were killed by rivals. It's even said that William's uncle used to hide him in the houses of peasants to protect him, but there's no reliable evidence for this.
3. William was first cousin once removed to Edward the Confessor, king of England who died childless. Therefore he had a claim to the English throne and this was what was behind his invasion in 1066, when he defeated and killed Harold Godwinson in the Battle of Hastings. Or more accurately, at Battle, near Hastings. William built an abbey to mark the spot where God granted him victory. It still stands today.
4. Not all of England welcomed William with open arms. There was resistance and a rebellion so more people died after the battle than during it. William destroyed crops and livestock in the North of England so thousands of people didn't have enough food to survive, let alone carry out a rebellion. Tensions were already high when he was crowned, on Christmas Day 1066 at Westminster Abbey. The Normans were expecting trouble, and when the congregation shouted their assent to William’s rule, they mistook that for a riot and began setting fire to buildings around the abbey, which caused an actual riot.
5. So what did William the Conqueror ever do for us? He abolished slavery in England, for a start. Before 1066 as many as 30% of the population were slaves, many of whom were badly treated with impunity. William banned slavery and by the 12^th century, there were no slaves in England. He rebuilt most of the abbeys and cathedrals – the Anglo-Saxons didn't build in stone but the French did, so William had them all re-built, starting with Canterbury Cathedral from 1070. Before 1066 we didn't have castles, either, or not many, anyway. The few we did have had been built by French friends of Edward the Confessor. By the time William died, there were about 500 castles in England and Wales. One of the Castles he built was the White Tower, the keep of the Tower of London. He also introduced the concept of chivalry, at least where political prisoners were concerned. The Normans only executed one earl in William's reign, and it was 230 years before any more were bumped off. Finally, it's down to him that William became such a popular name. He introduced the name to England.
6. William I ordered a survey of all of the landholdings in England. This took about a year to complete. This was the Domesday Book.
7. His wife was called Matilda, and unusually for the time, there is no evidence that he was ever unfaithful to her or had any illegitimate children. They had at least nine children including the next two kings of England, William II and Henry I. Some say more than 25 percent of the English population is distantly related to William I, including, of course, every English monarch since.
8. So what was he like? There's a common myth that William was exceptionally tall for the time and that Matilda was uncommonly short. However, the evidence gleaned from what is left of their skeletons suggests this isn't true - Matilda was 152cm (5’) tall, and William 173cm, or around 5' 9”. William was, however, described by contemporaries as “strong”, burly and robust and able to pull bows that others could not. He is said to have had a guttural voice and to have become quite fat in old age. His favourite hobby was hunting, and he didn't have a particular talent for learning languages. Throughout his reign, he never managed to learn English, and so French became the language used in English courts for hundreds of years.
9. William the Conqueror died on 9th September 1087, while protecting his lands in France. Accounts differ as to whether he suffered a fatal injury or simply became ill. He died at the priory of St Gervais near Rouen at the age of about 59. His death and burial were not exactly dignified. As soon as he was dead, his body was looted by his attendants, and his funeral service was chaotic. A fire broke out in Caen as his body was carried through the streets; during the ceremony a heckler complained that the church had been built on his father’s property without compensation; and if that wasn't enough, it turned out he was too fat too fit into the stone sarcophagus prepared for him. When the monks tried to force his body into it, William's bowels burst causing such a stench that the congregation fled.
10. William the Conqueror was never called that in his lifetime. People who liked him called him William the Great and those who didn't called him William the Bastard. The nickname William the Conqueror didn't appear until the 1120s, and it was the 13^th century before it was commonly used.

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