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... ... middle of paper ... ... 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.
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 was finally able to see clearly what was important. It wasn’t his job that allowed him to think creatively or knowing the Declaration of Independence by heart. He no longer cared about the labels that were cast upon him, people could call him terrorist for all he cares. The thing in which he feared in the past, were now his ammunition to get exactly what he wanted: a straight shot to a payphone to hear his family’s voice, a chance to fix the physics of his daughter’s pictures, and to let his wife know that she came before his work. Alexi successfully showed us how to shed the weight of frivolous problems, enabling us to move more quickly to the things that we need most.
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.
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.
...arn how to speak English but could never get the hang of it. Because William was illiterate and French was the only language he could speak, French has been spoken in England for many years after his ruling and is still spoken today. William the Conqueror has changed everyday life up to now and his amazing story is still told today and can be found in many England libraries and museums.
William raged to be the King of England. All he wanted was to be a king or ruler. In 1065, King Edward of England had become ill. Later on January fifth, 1066, King Edward died. Who would be the next king was the question...
5. Howe, Helen, and Robert T. Howe. From the Ancient and Medieval Worlds. N.p.: Longman, 1992. Print.
Howe, Helen, and Robert T. Howe. A World History: Ancient and Medieval Worlds. Volume 1. White Plains, NY: Longman, 1992. 533.
William had managed to seize Pevensy and was proceeding towards Hastings. However, he decided to take a short break at Hastings where he was to reorganize his troops before advancing into London to claim the throne of the English kingdom. However, it is said that King Harold arrived near Hastings where William the Bastard saw his opportunity to vanquish his rival. After a fierce daylong battle between the two troops, those of William emerged victors having killed King Harold. This battle was the end of the nickname William the Bastard and William became known as William the Conqueror. Subsequently, William the Conqueror marched into London, the city submitted to him and he was crowned King William the Conqueror on Christmas day in 1066. William the Conqueror ended the reign the Anglo-Saxons kings and ushered in the first Norman as the king of
This article was written about how King Alfred helped shape England’s culture to be what it is today. He was chosen to become king from other members in his family because he was the manliest. He learned something after the previous king’s mistake. The previous king left his men to perish in a battle they would lose. Alfred promised to not let his land and people become that vulnerable again in battle. In his reign, he made many military feats to ensure England had strong defenses. Of these included naval patrols where half the military forces were on duty while the other half were off duty. Forts were also constructed around the country for defense. One of his battles, Chippenham, even became a popular folk tale. He loved literature at a young
Alfred was not the average king. He encourages learning in young men and he loved to help protect people of all classes. In 870ce Alfred went to war against the Vikings, and the Battle of Ashdown was the first war the Vikings had lost. The Vikings had conquered all of the Anglo Saxon Kingdoms except Wessex (Alfred’s kingdom). Eight years later Alfre fought the Danish King and his army. With the surprise attack by the Danes, Alfred was lucky to escape with only a few of his men. Alfred the built his army and counter attacked the Danes. The battle was a fierce war. Alfred came out victorious and negotiated for the Vikings to turn to Christianity, they also had to remain on the Eastern side of Britain in Danelaw.
The Tower of London arose as a result of the fight concerning who would succeed King Edward the Confessor as the next King of England. King Edward had initially promised William I, the Duke of Normandy, that he would have the throne upon King Edward's death. However, upon his deathbed, he was persuaded to relinquish the throne to his brother-in-law Harold, Earl of Wessex, who was English. This enraged Duke William, who led his army into England from France to obtain what he considered was his rightful throne. He easily defeated Earl Harold at the Battle of Hastings and was crowned King of England on Christmas Day. However, Duke William-who was now called King William the Conqueror-was in a country that was largely hostile toward him. In order to provide protection for himself, he built wooden forts across the country. Realizing that he needed a more permanent structure to show the English he was there to stay, and in case of a large attack, he decided to build a fortress to protect himself.
King Alfred of Wessex (r. 871-899) (Alfred the great) led the Anglo saxons against the invading Danes that England became in any true nation.
As its name suggests, Middle English is the language that was spoken in the country of England around the 12th to 15th centuries. Middle English became the prominent language in England near the end of the 11th century shortly after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror in 1066. Unlike England's preceding language, Old English, Middle English evolved into much more of a written language. There were many writers and educated English scholars who worked to translate Old English texts into the new Middle English language. There were also writers, such as Geoffrey Chaucer, who used the Middle English language to write new works which employed new and creative literary techniques. One such work, The Canterbury Tales, is a work that has been recognized as having an extreme significance on the development of the Middle English language. This work is argued to be the greatest literary contribution to the Middle English language and is credited with popularizing the language among literary scholars. However, despite its historical influence on the Middle English language, the significance of the work is less seen today because of the evolution of Modern English. As a result, it is important to investigate the origins of this work and in so doing, make an effort to realize the overall importance of reading the text in its original Middle English language.
The final shift towards their evolution, and the big culture bomb, started with the Norman invasion of Britain; this battle caused an influx of culture into a mainly homogenous society. It started in 1066 when William the Conqueror won at the Battle of Hastings (Delahoyde 1), took the British crown by force, and brought French language and its influence into the quaint British countryside (McIntyre 12). This French influence gave the final shove and created the next step towards a modern language; it provided a stepping-stone into becoming a more advanced society with a more advanced language. Without the French, there would be no evolution from Old English to Middle English.