William Of Autun.pdf - GBLCreations

When King Edward died, however, the witenagemot (royal council ) elected Harold king. Determined to make
good his claim, William secured the sanction of Pope Alexander II (died 1073) for a Norman invasion of
England. The duke and his army landed at Pevensey on September 28, 1066.On October 14, the Normans
defeated the English forces at the celebrated Battle of Hastings, in which Harold was slain. William then
proceeded to London, crushing the resistance he encountered on the way. On Christmas Day he was crowned
King of England in Westminster Abbey.
The English did not accept foreign rule without a struggle. William met the opposition, which was particularly
violent in the north and west, with strong measures; he was responsible for the devastation of great areas of the
country, particularly in Yorkshire, where Danish forces had arrived to aid the Saxon rebels. By 1070 the Norman
conquest of England was complete.
William invaded Scotland in 1072 and forced the Scottish king Malcolm III MacDuncan (died 1093 ) to pay him
homage. During the succeeding years the Conqueror crushed insurrections among his Norman followers,
including that incited in 1075 by Ralph de Guader, 1st earl of Norfolk, and Roger Fitzwilliam, Earl of Hereford,
and a series of uprisings in Normandy led by his eldest son Robert (1054?-1134), who later became Robert II,
Duke of Normandy.
His Achievements
One feature of William's reign as king was his reorganization of the English feudal and administrative systems.
He dissolved the great earldoms, which had enjoyed virtual independence under his Anglo-Saxon predecessors,
and distributed the lands confiscated from the English to his trusted Norman followers. He introduced the
Continental system of feudalism; by the Oath of Salisbury of 1086 all landlords swore allegiance to William, thus
establishing the precedent that a vassal's loyalty to the king overrode his fealty to his immediate lord. The feudal
lords were compelled to acknowledge the jurisdiction of the local courts, which William retained along with many
other Anglo-Saxon institutions. The ecclesiastical and secular courts were separated, and the power of the papacy
in English affairs was greatly curtailed. Another outstanding accomplishment was the economic survey
undertaken and incorporated in the Domesday Book in 1086 .
In 1087, during a campaign against King Philip I of France, William burned the town of Mantes (now Mantes-la-
Jolie). William's horse fell in the vicinity of Mantes, fatally injuring him. He died in Rouen on September 7 and
was buried at Caen in Saint Stephen's, one of the abbeys he and Matilda had founded at the time of their marriage
as penance for their defiance of the pope. William was succeeded by his third-born son, William II.
Biographic entry: B1581
"William I (of England)," Microsoft (R) Encarta. Copyright (c) 1993Microsoft Corporation. Copyright (c) 1993
Funk & Wagnall's Corporation
More About WILLIAM I 'THE CONQUERER' OF NORMANDY:
Burial: Abbaye De St. Etienne, Caen, Normandie 821
Christening: 1066, Norman Conquest, As An Adult 821
Children are listed above under (39) William I 'The Conquerer' Of Normandy.
41. KING OF ENGLAND HENRY I 'BEAUCLERC' OF 10 ENGLAND (WILLIAM I 'THE CONQUERER' OF 10 NORMANDY,
ROBERT I 'THE MAGNIFICENT' OF 9 , RICHARD II 'THE GOOD' OF 8 , RICHARD I 'THE FEARLESS' OF 7 , WILLIAM I
'LONGSWORD' OF 6 , POPPA OF NORMANDY 5 DE VALOIS, BERENGER 4 DE BAYEAUX, PEPIN II OF 3 PERONNE,
CUNIGUNDA (CUNEGONDE) 2 DE LAON, WILLIAM OF 1 AUTUN) 822,823,824 was born Abt. September 1068 in Selby,
Yorkshire, England 825,826,827,828 , and died December 01, 1135 in St. Denis, Seine-St. Denis, France 828 . He
married (1) EDITH (EDA) FITZFORNE 829 . She was born Abt. 1085 in Greystoke, Cumberland, England 830,831,832 ,
and died Abt. 1152 in Hook Norton, Oxfordshire, England 833,834,835 . He married (2) PRINCESS OF DEHEUBARTH
NEST VERCH RHYS OF WALES 836 . She was born Abt. 1073 in Dynevor Castle, Llandyfeisant, Carmarthenshire,
Wales 837,838 , and died Abt. 1136 838 . He met (3) GLEVA DE TRACY 839 in (Not Married) 840 . She was born Abt.
1068 in Barnstaple, Devon, England 840 , and died Aft. 1090 840 . He married (4) UNKNOWN MISTRESS 841 . He
married (5) ANSFRIDE (CONCUBINE) 841 Abt. 1086 in England 842 . She was born Abt. 1069 in Sparshalt, Berkshire,
England 842 . He married (6) SIBILLA CORBET 843 Bef. 1100 844 , daughter of ROBERT II CORBET. She was born Abt.
1077 in Caen, Calvados, France 845,846 , and died Aft. 1157 846 . He married (7) MATILDA (EDITH) OF
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