Land that King William's great-great-great grandfather received after pillaging northern France in the late 9th and early 10th centuries.
Unmarried father of King William I the Conqueror, William's predecessor as Duke of Normandy; his illegitimacy led to a nickname, William the B*st*rd.
Mother of King William I the Conqueror.
House of King William I the Conqueror.
1028: Town of William's birth.
Predecessor of King William I, as King of England, albeit uncrowned.
1035: Seven-year-old William becomes the Duke of Normandy when his father dies in Nicea on his way home from pilgrimage to this holy land.
Despite support from this French king, the first dozen years of his minority reign was turbulent; his illegitimacy was raised as an issue, and several guardians were executed in struggles to control the young duke.
1040s: During his siege of Alençon, residents hung animal hides, mocking this occupation of the father of William's mother; he had their hands and feet cut off.
1047: A rebellion led by Guy Burgundy was put down at this Battle near Caen, in which William was said to have performed admirably; though struggles continue William begins to exercise control over his realm.
William promulgates this effort to limit the permissible days and locations of warfare, in his duchy.
1050s: Despite being forbidden by Pope Leo IX and the Council of Rheims, William marries this daughter of Count Baldwin V of Flanders, one of the more powerful French territories; William seems to have remained faithful to her, unusual for the period.
His wife had originally refused to marry him because he was this.
1049: Duke William made his half-brother, Odo, a man of lax morality, known for extortion and robbery, but a generous benefactor of the arts, bishop of this see; he became a renowned warrior-bishop.
1051: There are indications that this English king either offered to make William his heir, or William thought this occurred; at the very least, William claimed it.
1064: Some sources claim this future king took part in William's Breton campaign renouncing his claim to the throne; this may have been propaganda; he is elected king two years later.
While English sources claim the new king was crowned by Ealdred, Archbishop of York, Norman sources claim this Archbishop of Canterbury, who had been excommunicated by several popes for simultaneously holding the bishopric of Winchester, crowned him.
Williaim of Potiers, William's chaplain claimed that this Pope consented to William's planned invasion; the claim is questionable, but it is certain that the pope gave approval after the conquest.
1066: After King Harold defeats and kills his brother Tostig, who had himself invaded to claim the crown, at this battle, William sets sail and lands at Pevensey Bay.
1066: William builds a castle here, using it as a base of operations to ravage the interior, waiting for Harold.
14 Oct 1066: Harold's exhausted army had taken a defensive position atop this site six miles from William; William leads his army from his castle; the battle begins at 9 am.
This was the first casualty of the Battle of Hastings; he rode beside William lifting the spirits of the men by singing about heroic deeds; he was killed by the English while taunting them by juggling his sword.
1066: After the Battle of Hastings rages for about nine hours, Harold's death gives William victory; meanwhile, this son of Edward the Exile is proclaimed king in London; but the nobles soon abandon him and submit to William.
Harold's mistress, Edith Swanneck, pleads for Harold's body, offering William Harold's weight in this for the body, William refuses.
This famous tapestry recounts the Battle of Hastings.
1066: William is crowned here on Christmas Day.
1066: William was illiterate, and spoke no English, thus this became the language of the English court for centuries, and transformed the English language, infusing it with new words.
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(EM) Means English Monarch
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