William the Conqueror was born at Falaise in either 1027 or 1028.His father was Robert I, duke of Normandy and his mother was Herleva, the daughter of a tanner.

Robert I, Duke of Normandy was an ally of the French King Henry I and also assisted the two English brothers Edward (to become Edward the Confessor) and Alfred, sons of Aethelred King of the English who was over thrown by Canute in 1016. Robert may had tried to assist Edward and Albert in their attempts to retake the English throne back from Canute. It may have been for this assistance that Edward was to promise Robert's son William (the Conqueror) the future crown of England. ^[1]

In the eighth year of his life William (the Conqueror) became the Duke of Normandy when his father Robert died on a pilgrimage at Nicea. Robert's death led to a period of instability in Normandy as William was too young to take his father's place and the nobles in the region took the opportunity to settle old feuds and to increase their private wealth. ^[1]

A revolt flared up in Normandy against Duke William. The revolt was led by William's cousin, Guy of Brionne, the son of the Count of Burgundy. William was able to get the support of other Norman lords and Henry, King of France, and together they defeated the rebels at the battle of Val es Dunes.

With the Godwins in exile, Edward the Confessor invited William, Duke of Normandy to England. It is at this point that it is thought Edward promised the English thone to William in the event of his death.

William the Conqueror besiged Arques-la-Bataille castle in Normandy. Its owner William count of Arques had rebelled and the siege the lasted for several months until it surrendered after agreeable terms were arranged.

In spite of objections from Pope Leo, William married Matilda his cousin, the daughter of Baldwin V, Earl of Flanders and Adela of France.

Battle fought between Henry, the King of France, and William, the Duke of Normandy. Henry wanted to take control of the Normandy area which was preventing the French access to the English Channel. The Normans defeated the French. ^[2]

The siege of Domfront, a strong stone castle in Angevin, ended when the garrison surrendered. The garrison feared the same punishment dealt out to defenders of Alençon by Duke William who showed them no mercy.

Another battle fought between Henry, the King of France, and William, the Duke of Normandy. Again the Normans defeated the French King's army. ^[2]

Some years earlier William had supported the exiled Count Herbert of Maine when Geoffrey Martel invaded the province and captured its main town Le Mans. As part of the pact William and Herbert agreed that if Herbert died without an heir the province could be claimed by William. William's eldest son Robert Curthose was betrothed to Herbert's daughter (Margaret?) but she died before they could be married. When Herbert died William claimed Maine in the name of his son and invaded. Robert was made Count of Maine when the province was captured. ^[3]

With the support of William of Normandy, Lanfranc was put forward as a candidate for the abbacy of the William's Abbey of St. Etienne. He was appointed to the position. At Bec, Anselm was appointed to the position of prior,

A mysterious meeting is reported to have taken place in Normandy between William the Conqueror and Harold in 1064 or 1065. In the meeting it was claimed that Harold agreed that William should become King of England when Edward the Confessor died. From what is known of Harold it seems unlikely that he would agree to something like this. We know that he went against this agreement when he assumed the role as King after Edward's death. The Bayeaux Tapestry shows Harold travelling to, or being shipwreked on the land of Guy, count of Ponthieu. Harold was captured by Guy and held at his castle at Beaurain until William the Conqueror arranged for his release. The tapestry possibly shows Harold swearing an oath while his hands rest on what appear to be sacred relics. After this his returned to England.

William the Conqueror and Matilda attended the dedication of Matilda's church, the Holy Trinity at Caen. To show their devotion they gave their daughter Cecilia to the church to be raised as a nun. ^[4]

William the Conqueror made preparations to invade England. His invasion fleet gathered in the estuary of the River Dives and other ports in Normandy. ^[1]

King Harold gathered an army and waited on the south coast of England to defend the country against William's invasion.

William the Conqueror's invasion fleet arrived at St-Valery-Sur-Somme further up the Normandy coast. William had either decided to move the fleet to the inlet or the fleet was forced to take shelter there after being hit by a storm. William's fleet remained there waiting for winds blowing in the right direction to take them to England.

Harold Hardrada's forces invaded England and started ravaging the countryside as they made their way to York. English forces led by Earl Edwin and Earl Morcar battled with Harold Hardrada at Gate Fulford, but the English were severely beaten. Following this defeat King Harold was forced to march his army away from the south coast where they were preparing to defend against William the Conqueror's invasion to deal with the invasion in the north.

King Harold defeated the invasion threat from Harold Hardrada, King of Norway and his own brother Tostig, both of whom were killed. This stretched his forces to the limit as they quickly had to march south to defend against William the Conqueror's invasion from Normandy.

Just after dawn the main part of William's fleet landed on the English coast at Pevensey while some split from the main group and came ashore at Romney.

William the Conqueror moved his army to Hastings. The village of Hastings in 1066 was on a peninsula of land with marsh and water on two sides. The area was a natural defensive site with a hill to the north that could be used as a lookout point. William possibly built extra defences at Hastings while he prepared to move towards London.

King Harold was resting his army in York when he learnt that William had landed on the south coast.

King Harold had to march south from Stamford Bridge to counter the threat of invasion from William the Conqueror.

King Harold and his army reached Caldbec Hill near the road from London to Hastings. Here they prepared for the battle to come. ^[5]

William the Conqueror and King Harold met in battle at Hastings. Although Harold had the superior position on the battlefield his tactics failed and he was killed. This left England open for William to continue with his invasion plans.

Click here to see details of the Battle of Hastings

After his victory at the battle of Hastings William moved along the south coast to Dover where extra fortifications were built in the existing castle at the top of the cliffs. From there he moved on to Canterbury. After the death of King Harold the archbishops of York and Canterbury, Ealdred and Stigand supported the plan to put Edgar the Atheling on the English throne but William moved too quickly for this to be done and Edgar was too young and inexperienced to take on the role. Canterbury submitted to William and he moved on to London. Instead of entering London from the south he moved around the west of the city crossing the Thames at Wallingford. Finally archbishop Stigand and the other Anglo-Saxon leaders submitted to William and after turning south at Little Berkhamsted William the Conqueror entered London.

On Christmas Day, William the Conqueror was crowned as King of England in Westminster Abbey. ^[1]

Odo,the Bishop or Bayeux, became William the Conqueror's deputy in England and was assisted by William Fitz Osbern until Osbern's death in 1071. Odo also became the Earl of Kent and his wealth and land became considerable.

William the Conqueror granted Arundel Castle to Roger de Montgomery. ^[6]

William returned to Normandy taking as guests Edgar the Aetheling (the grandson of Edmund Ironside), Stigand (Archbishop of Canterbury, the Earls of Mercia and Northumbria and the brothers Edwin and Morcar. ^[1]

William the Conqueror ordered the building of Warwick Castle.

Many of the northern English lords escaped to Scotland and to the court of Malcolm III when it was clear that William the Conqueror had control of the country.

William and the Normans started construction of the castle at Nottingham. This would have been a wooden building. It was built on the high ground above the town using the steep slope down to the river Leen as a defence. ^[7]

William the Conqueror ordered that all church bells should be sounded at eight o'clock each night as a signal for everyone to put out fires and candles and retire to bed. The term appears to come from the French couvre feu meaning cover the fire. ^[8]

William the Conqueror ordered that building work on a castle at Lincoln was to be started.

William the Conqueror had the first of two castles built in York. At the point the castle would have been a simple motte and bailey type fortification.

Although William had defeated Harold at Hastings, Harold's mother Gytha and her forces still had not submitted to William's rule. They refused to pay the taxes that William demanded and held out at Exeter until their defences were broken. William had to take heavy casualties in the confrontation. William was still collecting the land tax known as Danegeld. After the city fell, William had a castle constructed to keep control of the population there. ^[1]

Following the rebellion in the West William orders the construction of a castle at Exeter. ^[9]

William brought his wife Matilda of Flander to England to crown her Queen of England. Matilda's coronation took place at Westminster Abbey and the ceremony was performed by the archbishop of York. ^[1]

Henry, the future king of England, was born at Selby in Yorkshire. ^[10]

William the Conqueror had a second motte and bailey castle built at York. The second castle being built across the river from the first.

Wiilliam laid waste to the northern lands of England to bring the area for ever under his control. The destruction was so severe that towns were left without inhabitants and so much of the crops and animals were burnt and destroyed that thousands of Northumbrians died of hunger. William also ordered that the land be poisoned so that crops would not grow again for years to come. This has become known as the Harrying of the North.

William the Conqueror placed Lanfranc in the position of Archbishop of Canterbury a move designed to strengthen his hold on the English throne. Thomas of Bayeux, a pupil of William's brother Odo, was put in the position of Archbishop of York after the death of Ealred who died on September 11th, 1069. Archbishop Stigand was imprisoned in Winchester.

William the Conqueror continued his castle building programme at both Chester and Stafford. ^[9]

Using the prehistoric hill fort's defensive position to good use, the Normans built a new castle on the Old Sarum site. William the Conqueror paid off his soldiers here in this year.

William orders a castle to be built at Ely. ^[9]

The rebels Hereward the Wake and Morcar on the Isle of Ely were attacked and defeated by William the Conqueror.

A Norman army attacked the northern Welsh town of Bangor and destroyed the Cathedral there. ^[11]

Robert D'Oilly was given the task of building a castle at Oxford by William the Conqueror at the important Thames river crossing. A motte and bailey castle would have been the type of castle built at this time. ^[12]

William orders the castle as Durham to be built. ^[9]

Serlo, William the Conqueror's chaplain, revived the floundering monastery at Gloucester and started major rebuilding work. Serlo died in 1104.

In response to the earlier Scottish raid into northern England, King William took an army into Scotland. At the Treaty of Abernethy between William the Conqueror and Malcolm III of Scotland, Malcolm agreed to pay homage to William and gave his eldest son as hostage.

It is possible that William the Conqueror was planning to attack King Malcolm to prevent him protecting Edgar the Aetheling and to stop him advancing into the north of England. The treaty 'Peace of Abernethy' brought a solution to the situation where Malcolm agreed to become William's vassal and to expel Edgar. ^[1]

Edgar the Aetheling joined forces with King Malcolm in Scotland and King Philippe I of France in an attempt to take the English throne. A storm in the North Sea brought the endevour to an end and Edgar surrendered to William the Conqueror.

King William crossed the Channel to Normandy where he put down a revolt in Maine. ^[13]

The absence of William in Normandy encouraged a rebellion led by Roger, earl of Hereford, and Ralf de Guader, earl of Norfolk and Earl Walfeof against the Norman King. The rebellion was halted at Worcester by Bishop Wulfstan and Walter de Lacy whose army prevented the rebels crossing the River Severn. When William retuned to England, the leaders of the rebellion were imprisoned except Earl Walfeof who was executed. After the rebellion, King William deprived several of the earls of their titles and did not re-appoint them.

After the destruction of the North by King William, a monk called Aldwin rebuilt sections of the damaged monastery at Jarrow including the upper part of the central tower and brought back monks.

Roger Fitz Osbern joined an unsuccessful uprising against the king and lost. The castle then passed to the crown. ^[7]

William the Conqueror had to contend with several rebellions making up the Norman Conquest, the last of which was a rebellion by three earls over a marriage. William forbade the marriage of Emma, the daughter of William FitzOsbern, 1st Earl of Hereford to Ralph, Earl of East Anglia (Norfolk). Ignoring William's refusal Ralph and Emma secretly married. Along with Roger Earl of Hereford, Emma's brother, Ralph plotted to rebel against William. Involved in the plot was Waltheof, Earl of Northumbria, an Anglo-Saxon earl. Soon after the rebellion started Waltheof had second thoughts and confessed. The rebellion collapsed and Waltheof was arrested.

During the winter of 1078/9 William the Conqueror laid siege to Gerberoy Castle which was the stronghold of his son Robert who had rebelled against him. ^[13]

The first of two castles located in London taking the name Baynard's Castle was built shortly after the Norman Conquest by Ralph Baynard, a Norman who was granted large amounts of land by William the Conqueror. The castle was demolished by King John in 1213.

In a battle outside Gerberoy Castle William the Conqueror was unseated from his horse. The person responsible was his son Robert. When Robert discovered he had unhorsed and injured his father he assisted William to remount and leave the battlefield. This was a humiliating defeat for William who had been seen to be invincible. ^[13]

To defend the estuaries of Essex against attacks from the Danes William the Conqueror ordered the construction of a new castle at Colchester.

Possibly with the the help of Matilda, his mother, the rebellious Robert was reconciled with his father William.

William the Conqueror visited South Wales and St. David's. He met Rhys ap Tewdwr, the ruler of the area and allowed him to remain in control of the region for a yearly sum of money.

William the Conqueror may have ordered the creation of a castle at Cardiff during his tour of Southern Wales. The first castle on the site would have been a motte and bailey type and it was built on the site of existing Roman fortifications. ^[14]

Richard was killed while hunting in the New Forest.

William imprisoned his half-brother Odo, Bishop of Bayeux.

Word reached King William that Canute IV of Denmark was gathering a very large invasion fleet and preparing to invade England. Internal disputes delayed the fleet setting sail. In response William employed many mercenaries from Normandy as he was unable to trust the support of the local Anglo-Saxons. He also ordrered the land on the east coast to be laid waste so it did not provide resources for the invaders. ^[13]

At the Christmas Council William the Conqueror ordered the creation of survey of property with their values and populations county by county covering most of England. Commissioners were sent all over England, apart from the far north, to make a record of the population, value, state and ownership of the land. The book known as the Domesday Book consisted of two volumes and was completed by 1088.

William the Conqueror called a meeting at Old Sarum where he invited his most important vassals and tenants-in-chief in England to swear allegiance to him. The oath is now known as the Oath of Salisbury.

William the Conqueror of England died at the abbey of St Gervais, near Rouen. ^[1]

William Rufus was crowned at Westminster Abbey by Archbishop Lanfranc after the death of his father William the Conqueror.

Constance died childless.

A large number of barons, led by Stephen Langton the Archbishop of Canterbury, meet King John on an island in the Thames at Runnymede. They forced the king to sign the 'Great Charter' or Magna Carta that would limit the power of the monarchy. The barons insisted that the old feudal contract should be reinstated and that the king should abide by the laws that the rest of the population did. The feudal contract allowed the barons to run their own lands, renting it from the king but paying rent by supplying knights rather than money. This feudal system had been set up by William the Conqueror. ^[15]