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William the Conqueror


    

        Guillaume et Mathilde. Fresque disparue de l'église Saint-Etienne, relevée par Ducarel, Antiquités anglo-normandes, 1827. Musée de Normandie - Ville de Caen
A life, a story

1027      Birth of William in Falaise, Normandy. His is the illegitimate son of Robert The Magnificent, duke of Normandy, and Arlette, the daughter of a tanner. This is why he is nicknamed « William the Bastard ».

1035     Aged 8 , William becomes the duke of Normandy after his father's death at Nicea, on his way back from a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
 
1047       Victory at Val-ès-Dunes, near Caen. With the help of Henry I, King of France, William crushes the rebels.


circa 1050       Wedding with Mathilda of Flanders celebrated at Eu despite Pope Leo IX’s ban.
            
1050       William is excommunicated by the Pope for having married his cousin (cousin at the 5th degree)

1054       William stops the French army at Mortemer.
1057       Battle of Varaville (William chases out the soldiers of Henry I, King of France)

1059        After a series of skilled negotiations led by Lanfranc, Prior of the abbey of the Bec-Hellouin, William starts the construction of two abbeys in Caen in order to reconcile with the Pope. These abbeys are the Men’s Abbey and the Women’s Abbey.

1066       Death of Edward the confessor, King of England and William’s cousin. The King’s council chooses Harold as a successor. Despite the promise made to William, Harold is crowned King of England. From then on, William is forced to go war…
His fleet leaves Dives sur Mer on the 10th of September, but contrary winds force him to wait at Saint Valéry sur Somme. Finally, on the night of the 28th , William’s ships cross the Channel and get to Pevensey, on the south-eastern coast of England.
14th of October : The Normans win over the English army during the Battle of Hastings. Harold is killed.
25th of December : William is declared king and is crowned at Westminster.

The crusades start at this period and the Norman Empires in the Middle-East start to appear.

1083       Death of Queen Mathilda

1087       Death of William The Conqueror. He is buried at the church of Saint Etienne in Caen.
His sons succeed him. Thereby, William Rufus becomes king of England and Robert Curthose is duke of Normandy.