William the Conqueror
William I the Conqueror was "one of the greatest soldiers and rulers of the Middle Ages". (Encyclopędia Britannica, 1997) He was declared, while he was still a child, Duke of Normandy in 1035 after the death of his father, Robert I "the devil". His early years of reign were filled with conflict and strife since they correspond with one of the darkest periods of Normandy. However, he succeeded in crushing all his enemies and his throne was forever secure. During those years, he learned to fight and rule. His long struggle to gain peace during this period marred his character and shaped his outlook on life. In 1066, William the Conqueror invaded England to claim his right to the English throne and on December 25th of that year, England was conquered. Therefore, William the first' became the first Norman king of that country while at the same time remaining the Duke of Normandy. The conquest of England by William I the Conqueror altered the course of English history. William I, as the French ruler of Normandy, brought in England his French culture which changed England's language and politics system. In the years after the conquest, William set up his government on a firm basis: he established feudalism into England, which was the mo
st significant and major political change in the English system. William's first step to establish his feudal system was to take back all the land out off the hands of the Anglo-Saxons and to carefully redistribute it to his own vassals. When William distributed the lands among his vassals, he avoided giving great territorial concentration to the same hands. This would insure that no one would be a threat to his royal power. His distribution of the lands was a reward for his vassals implication into the invasion of England but it was more to secure their allegiance to him since they had some obligations in having and keeping their land. In dividing up the lands among his vassals, William insured his authority all over the kingdom because each land had a lord that acted as a tenant of his land. Therefore, the vassals that had a land became member of his council. In doing so, William's kingdom monarchy was strengthen by "the bond of tenure"(Stenton 411)which insured that his will remained supreme. "From this technical distinction follows a difference of great importance; the king's influence over his council becomes direct and inevitable to a degree impossible before the Conquest"(Stenton 411). Under Edward the Confessor, the prior king of England, nobles held titles to their own land which allowed them to go their "own way with but scanty regard to the personal wishes of the king"(Stenton 412). One point that reveals how William's authority was well established through the feudal system is when looking at the records of the inventory of his realm called the Domesday book. The Domesday book is a compilation of records about "how much
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1107
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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