William I of England

William I (c. 1028 – 9 September 1087), was King of England from 1066 to 1087, and as Guillaume II was Duke of Normandy from 1035 to 1087. Known alternatively as William of Normandy (Fr. Guillaume de Normandie), William the Conqueror (Fr. Guillaume le Conquérant) and William the Bastard (Fr. Guillaume le Bâtard), he was the illegitimate and only son of Robert the Magnificent, Duke of Normandy, and Herleva, the daughter of Fulbert, a tanner. Born in Falaise, Normandy, now in France, William succeeded to the throne of England by right of conquest by winning the Battle of Hastings in 1066 in what has become known as the Norman Conquest.

William's reign

William initiated many major changes. In 1085, in order to ascertain the extent of his dominion, William commissioned the compilation of the Domesday Book, a survey of England's productive capacity similar to a modern census. He also ordered the building of a number of castles, among them the Tower of London. His conquest also led to Norman French replacing English as the language of the ruling classes, for nearly 300 years.

Related Topics:
1085 - Domesday Book - Census - Castle - Tower of London - Norman French - English

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William is said to have deported large numbers of the old landed classes into slavery through Bristol. Many of the latter ended up in Umayyad Spain and Moorish lands, converting and taking high positions in the state.

Related Topics:
Umayyad - Moorish

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He died aged 60 at the Convent of St Gervais, near Rouen, France, on September 9, 1087 from abdominal injuries received from his saddle pommel when he fell off a horse at the Siege of Mantes. He was buried in the St. Peter's Church in Caen, Normandy. In a most unregal postmortem, William's corpulent body would not fit in the stone sarcophagus, and burst after some unsuccessful prodding by the assembled bishops, filling the chapel with a foul smell and dispersing the mourners. http://historyhouse.com/in_history/william/

Related Topics:
Rouen - September 9 - 1087 - Mantes - Buried - Caen - Normandy - Corpulent - Sarcophagus - Bishops

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William was succeeded in 1087 as King of England by his younger son William Rufus and as Duke of Normandy by his elder son Robert Curthose. This led to the Rebellion of 1088. His youngest son Henry also became King of England later, after William II died without a child to succeed him.

Related Topics:
1087 - William Rufus - Robert Curthose - Rebellion of 1088 - Henry

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