1066-William The Conqueror

8: Berlin Wall falls. This impacted people because after the wall fell there was a sense of freedom and happiness in Germany which resonated into the States and many people today still talk about that monumental day.

One of the most famous and well-known maritime disasters involving passenger liners took place during the early part of the twentieth 20th century. The Titanic sank with a huge loss of life in the early hours of April 14, 1912. The story of this ship still fascinates people, and many historians have written books about the liner’s short life and death.

It still strikes people's interest till this day. Many many lives were taken. This devastating event that left a mark into today's history that researchers still invest their time in. “The sinking of the titanic was a mixture of bad luck and terrible management. This page outlines the timeline of events that led to the Titanic's sinking on April 14, 1912” (The Sinking of Titanic).

Even though William the Conqueror descended from a line of Vikings who had lived in France for over 200 years, William had more of an impact on the English language than the majority of influential English people of the time. The “French-speaking Normans brought a whole new vocabulary to England, whose language was closely related to German”(Barlow 8). Although he is most well known for the Norman invasion of 1066 that overthrew the Anglo Saxon reign, which had lasted for over six centuries, William was a very religious man. He was moral and righteous by the standards of the time, and devoted much of his time to the Norman church.

Raging to be king, William would do whatever it took to be the King of England. William would go into war and kill other men to have the superior power. William’s army killed Harold, William’s enemy, so that he would be king. After Harold was dead, this left the throne wide open for William. By the end of his life, William had conquered the thing he wanted most, to be king.

In winter of 1066 the king of England, Edward III died without any heirs to the throne. This sparked a bitter rivalry between Harold Godwin son, William Duke of Normandy and Herald Harridan, all of whom had claims to the throne. Eventually, Harold II was elected into power despite William’s claim to the throne. The Norman leader felt cheated because he had to have a blood tie to the throne, despite him being Norman and Edward III being Anglo-Saxon. In spring of 1066 the Normans sent a mission to Rome to seek Papal support for an invasion of England, the rivalry for the throne had escalated into a full-fledged conflict that would alter the course of history.

From king Henry's reign from 1399 to 1413 he had to deal with a lot tragedies. During his reign he foiled many assassination attempts, rebellions, and plots to restore King Richard to the throne. He was must successful at foiling these potential tragedies because of his well trained and loyal military (wikipedia).

The storyline began with King Henry II grieving over the grave of Thomas Becket inside a tomb. It then shifts to his earlier memories, leading up to his present. The flashback commenced with Henry and Becket as very close friends, Becket, a servant and personal advisor to Henry. The movie went so far as to depict Henry II as being homosexual, because of his relationship with Thomas Becket, however this may not have been true. The strength of their friendship was displayed through their conversations and relations: Becket was nearly always by Henry's side, and Henry would often refer to Becket for advice and suggestions. Becket was an Anglo-Saxon; he was a diligent worker and intelligent, making him a very good aid to the king.

The father and son relationship is one of the most important aspects through the youth of a young man. In Shakespeare’s play Henry IV, he portrays the concept of having "two fathers". King Henry is Hal’s natural father, and Falstaff is Hal’s moral father. Hal must weigh the pros and cons of each father to decide which model he will emulate. Falstaff, who is actually Hal’s close friend, attempts to pull Hal into the life of crime, but he refuses.

Could you imagine yourself becoming the leader of a country at merely the age of nine months old? King Henry VI of England did it. Henry was the only son of King Henry V and Catherine of Valois (Wikipedia). By the time Henry V died, he had not only consolidated power as the King of England, but had also effectively accomplished what generations of his ancestors had failed to achieve through decades of war: unification of the crowns of England and France (Wikipedia). For that one single victory by Henry V, he became very popular for that effort. By the sounds of it, Henry was an outseanding King and loved by the people. His son, Henry VI, seemingly had to follow in his fathers footsteps and perhaps do something even greater than his now deceased father. There was only one problem: How can you run a country when you are only a child? England was okay after the death of Henry V because Henry VI had regents that ran the country for him. Under normal circumstances of this magnitude, the wife of a deceased King ran the country, but the English did not want Catherine of Valois to run the country for the simple fact that she was French; so therefore they gave the power to this infant in hopes of greatness. Because young Henry was too young to run the country and had regents to run the country for him until he became of age, Catherine made sure that her son was well-educated. While politics and foreign policies were being negotiated by Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, Bishop Henry Beaufort, and John, Duke of Bedford, young Henry VI was either learning or being told to go play (Crow). Henry was finally officially crowned King of England at Westminister Abbey on November 6, 1429 at the age of eight and King of France at Notre Dame in Paris on December 16, 1431. Henry did not assume the reins of government until he was declared of age in 1437 (Wikipedia).