William the Conqueror Life and Accomplishments

There have been many influential influences to the English culture throughout its hundreds of years of existence, but there was one man who arguably was one of the most important figures to have ever changed the course of English culture forever. This man was no inventor who sparked a new age, nor an artist who introduced a romantic theme. Shockingly, this man was not even of English descent, but rather a conqueror from a foreign land. He is most well known as William the Conqueror and the date 1066, is remembered as the year of his arrival to Anglo-Saxon England when he began the famous Norman invasion. This alien invader to the British island was a Duke in the northern region of France. 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 in England and as well as his earlier life when he rose to power in Normandy which allowed him to embark on such rigorous campaign.

The Duke of Normandy, couldn’t have chosen a better time in which to invade England. King Edward the Confessor of England had died January of 1066 with no heir to take his place, and William’s distant family claims to the throne were an opportunity to declare himself king. With the support of the Church and an army of around 7,000, William landed his arm...

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... had animal hides laid about as an insult towards William’s mother. This slight infuriated William to such a great extent, he lashed out by savagely killing many of the citizens of the town, to defend his mother’s name. This act of brutality marked one of the last times of anarchy and William now had complete authority over Normandy. Through excellent skill in combat, thought out courting, and striking fear William had regained control of what was once his father’s.

Works Cited

"William I." DISCovering Biography. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Student Resources in Context. Web. 18 Mar. 2014.

"William the Conqueror." Science and Its Times. Ed. Neil Schlager and Josh Lauer. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale, 2001. Student Resources in Context. Web. 18 Mar. 2014.

"William the Conqueror." UXL Biographies. Detroit: U*X*L, 2003. Student Resources in Context. Web.18 Mar. 2014.