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- William faced several challenges on becoming duke, including his illegitimate birth and his youth: the evidence indicates that he was either seven or eight years old at the time. [h] He enjoyed the support of his great-uncle, Archbishop Robert, as well as King Henry I of France, enabling him to succeed to his father's duchy.
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Nov 25, 2020 · With that said, Rollo went on to become the first Duke of Normandy. Owing to their close proximity to the French, the Normans gradually adopted the culture and language of their neighbor. Did you know: William the Conqueror was the great-great-great-grandson of Rollo, the famed Scandinavian invader who led the Vikings on raids in northern France?
What's clear is that Robert, who didn't have any other children, saw William as his legitimate heir, an unusual step at the time. And when Robert died during a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, 8-year-old William became Duke of Normandy.
- Dave Roos
Jan 30, 2019 · William the Conqueror (c. 1027-1087), also known as William, Duke of Normandy, led the Norman Conquest of England in 1066 when he defeated and killed his rival Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings.
- Mark Cartwright
Jan 16, 2019 · Williams the Conqueror's invasion of England got off to a spectacularly successful start when his 5-8,000-strong army was victorious over the similarly sized Anglo-Saxon army led by Harold Godwinson, King Harold II of England at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066 CE.
- Mark Cartwright
- He became Duke of Normandy as a child. According to the chronicler William of Malmesbury, Robert I, Duke of Normandy (1027-35) met a lady named Herleva: “Her beauty had once caught his eye as she was dancing, and he could not refrain from sleeping with her; and henceforth he loved her above all others, and for some time kept her in the position of a lawful wife.”
- His wife. Matilda, the daughter of Baldwin V, Count of Flanders, at first rejected William’s courtship because she would not marry a bastard. According to a 13th-century chronicle, the young Duke responded by riding to Baldwin’s palace in Bruges, where he forced his way in, and then “with his fists, heels, and spurs” beat Matilda.
- His family. As William consolidated his rule over Normandy, he made use of a trusted inner circle of supporters, chief among them his two half-brothers (on his mother’s side) Odo and Robert.
- His claim to the English throne. The King of England since 1042 was Edward the Confessor. Being a highly religious man, Edward decided to be celibate and never had any children.
William I (c. 1028 – 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman monarch of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 1087. A descendant of Rollo, he was Duke of Normandy from 1035 onward.
To oversee his expanded domain, William was forced to travel even more than he had as duke. He crossed back and forth between the continent and England at least nineteen times between 1067 and his death.
