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The rise of Feudalism in Europe
William the conqueror king of England
The rise of Feudalism in Europe
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Who is William the conqueror, what was his legacy, his back ground, how he conquered England, and the last question is how did he die? All the answers and explanation for these questions are below.
William the conqueror was born in 1028 in Falaise, Normandy. He is well known as William the Conqueror but his name is William the Bastard. At the age of 8, William the conqueror became duke of Normandy after the death of his father Robert I. Robert I was a very powerful duke but he died from the return trip from Jerusalem. William was the child of Herleva (the mother) and Robert I also known as Robert the magnificent (the father). His two brothers Odo of Beyeux, Robert, count of Mortain and his sister Adelaide of Normandy. Violence plagued his
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Norman army led by Duke William of Normandy sailed to England and defeated the Saxon army of Harold Godwinson at the battle of Hastings. Battle of Hastings is the major battle against Harold Godwinson. Harold Godwinson was the king of England before William the conqueror, in this battle William defeated Harold by shooting an arrow in the eye. William the conqueror conquered England and this is how he became very famous. He also has a very special part in the history of medieval Europe. He ruled from 1066 to 1087 which is 21 years. He was well known after he became a duke and even more after he became the king of England. William the conqueror was the first ever English monarch too and also the king who made the feudal …show more content…
William, 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 and established feudalism into England which was the most political change in the English system. The Feudal system was a powerful social system in Medieval Europe. This system was all about taking all the land back out off the hands of Anglo-Saxons and to carefully redistribute it to his own vassals who were the lords. The king gave the lords/vassals land in exchange for military service, lords were in turn tenants of the nobles or knights, while the peasants were obliged to live on their lord's land and give him homage, labour, and a share of the produce, nationally in exchange for military protection. King is the main person then working for him are the lords, working for the lords are the knights and working for the knights are peasants or serfs. This system still happens in our modern times but with a slight change. Like the kings now we have these people known as the central bankers, below them as in ranks are the Dukes in the medieval days now it is known as the Big bankers. By rank the third ones are the priests and bishops which is now called the corporate elite. The next one is known as the Royal ministers who are the constables and the chiefs. Just like the royal
The feudal system was one that arose in England after the invasion and conquest of William I. It has been said that this was the perfect political system for this time period. Life was really hard back in the Middle Ages and safety and defense were really hard to come by after the empire fell. There were no laws to protect the poor, so they turned to their lords to keep them safe. The king was in complete control of the system and he owned all the land. One quarter was kept as private property and the rest was given to the church or leased
October 14th of the year 1066 two armies faced each other near the town of Hastings. 10,000 Norman troops under the command of William of Normandy faced 8,000 Anglo-Saxon soldiers led by Harold the current king of England.
William of Rubruck was a traveling Franciscan monk. He lived from about 1200 to 1256. He accompanied King Louis IX on the seventh crusade and became close with him. Louis feared Europe was next on the Tartars list to be conquered. His reaction was to send William to the Court of the Great Khan in 1253 to convert them to Christianity and to assure that Europe was safe from invasion.
William the Conqueror and his Patronage William I, better known as William the Conqueror, began his medieval and political career at a young age when his father left him to go on a crusade. Effectively William became the Duke of Normandy. He had to fight against other members of the Norman royalty who desired William's land and treasure. William learned at an early age that the men who ruled Europe during the middle ages were primarily interested in their own greed at the expense of all else, including the concepts chivalry and honor. He soon became a feared military commander, conquering all in Normandy who would oppose his interests.
William served faithfully under three kings and served as regent for a fourth. His loyalty and honor never hesitated and were never compromised. His oaths of fealty and innate sense of honor governed and directed his entire life. Because of his commitments, William Marshall will remain the most outstanding knight of the Middle Ages.
The upper echelons belonged to the aristocracy whose positions were granted them by birth and within this group there was a hierarchical system. The king was at the top of the hierarchy and the gentry at the bottom. Wood describes the gentlemen of the gentry as a help to the commoners. These men lent money to those of lower social standing and also purchased goods from them as well as acted as their representatives to the higher social structures. In turn the commoners paid allegiance to the gentlemen through conscription and political support.
1066: The Year of the Conquest, written by David Howarth, tells of one of the most important dates in the history of England. In 1066, William the Conqueror and William of Orange fought the historical Battle of Hastings. The outcome of this battle lead to many changes to the English people. The Norman people became assimilated into the English way of life. Howarth proceeds to tell the tale of the Battle of Hastings through the eyes on a common Englishman.
To be more specific, he was the Duke of Normandy, a province of France whose culture was descended from the Norse influence of Vikings. In a series of tactfully genius military battles, William the Conqueror captured the English throne. Few figures in history can boast of conquering an entire nation, and even less can claim that they kept control and influenced their new lands. After his invasion and being crowned king of England, William began to dig into England like a tick and his Norman culture spread. William had pulled off an amazing feat through his invasion of England and as well as his earlier life when he rose to power in Normandy, which allowed him to embark on such a rigorous campaign.
When you hear of historical figures that “conquered” a certain time period, you think of barbarians, spartans, or other gruesome, battle-tested men. While William I, the King of England and Duke of Normandy, was also nicknamed the “Conqueror”, he achieved success reigning over his time period in very different ways than that of Genghis Khan or Alexander the Great. Regardless of his path to success, William I played a huge part in the religious evolution of England. Using his advantageous leadership position, William I was able to be prosperous for many decades. His illustrious career is historical proof that a country does not need to be overtaken by brute force alone. William the Conqueror was a very commendable leader, and he used his knowledge, leadership, and military prowess to conquer multiple countries for almost the entirety of his life.
Kings are generally thought to be beautiful, God-like humans from a certain genealogy. They are placed at the throne due to whom they were born to and/or who they marry. Richard of Glouster is born of the royal family but, he does not possess the qualities of a King to be legitimate according to Shakespeare’s Richard III. Richard and his brothers are all entitled to the throne if their father dies. By killing his two brothers, Richard is the only person in his immediate family entitled to the throne.
Henry was crowned in December of 1154, though england was only a part of his realm called the Angevin Empire. (Axelrod, Alan, and Charles L. Phillips. “Henry II's Campaigns in Wales.” Wars in the Medieval World (600 to 1450), Facts On File, 2015. Ancient and Medieval History, online.infobase.com/HRC/Search/Details/236945?q=henry the II.
As a king, William replaced disloyal nobles and ducal servants with his friends and limited internal rebellion. His reign ensured flourish to the Norman church due to his adoption of English structure to the church. He built castles including the Tower of London to hold the country securely. In his final 15 years of life, he was more frequent Normandy than in England and would stay long without paying a visit to the kingdom. He was later taken to Rouen where he lay for five weeks dying.
"King Charles I: Biography from Answers.com." Answers.com: Wiki Q&A Combined with Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus, and Encyclopedias. Web. 20 Oct. 2010. .
On the 14th of October 1066, Duke William of Normandy defeated King Harold at the Battle of Hastings. His win could be summed up by the fact that William was a better leader. Other factors that contributed to William’s victory include: William was better prepared, the English army was severely weakened as Harold had just fought off an invasion in the North of England, and Harold made a fatal mistake of prematurely entering the Battle of Hastings.
King Alfred managed to keep the Danes out of Wessex and continued to fight the Danes. He is the only English king to earn the soubriquet “great” due to his many achievements during his reign. Alfred was the first king of the West Saxons to identify himself as “King of the Anglo-Saxons” (Richard Abels, pg 24), and is often referred to as King of the West Saxons by his fellow companion Asser, from Tyddewi , Dyfred. His eminent defence against the Danes made him a warrior and he showed his expertise on the field of battle.