Editing William the Conqueror (section)

{{Short description|King of England (1066–1087) and Duke of Normandy (1035–1087)}}
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{{Use British English|date=May 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox royalty
| image        = William the Conqueror (TFA).jpg
| caption      = William is depicted in the [[Bayeux Tapestry]] during the [[Battle of Hastings]], lifting his helmet to show that he is still alive.
| succession   = [[King of England]]
| reign        = 25 December 1066 – 9 September 1087
| coronation   = 25 December 1066
| cor-type     = [[Coronations of William the Conqueror and Matilda|Coronation]]
| predecessor  = {{plainlist|
* [[Edgar Ætheling]] (uncrowned)
* [[Harold II]] (crowned)}}
| successor    = [[William II of England|William II]]
| succession1  = [[Duke of Normandy]]
| reign1       = 3 July 1035 – 9 September 1087
| predecessor1 = [[Robert I, Duke of Normandy|Robert I]]
| successor1   = [[Robert Curthose|Robert II]]
| spouse       = [[Matilda of Flanders]] {{awrap|({{married-in|1051/2}}; {{died-in|1083}})}}
| issue        = {{plainlist|
* [[Robert II, Duke of Normandy]]
* [[Richard (son of William the Conqueror)|Richard]]
* [[Adeliza]]
* [[Cecilia of Normandy|Cecilia]]
* [[William II, King of England]]
* [[Constance of Normandy|Constance, Duchess of Brittany]]
* [[Adela, Countess of Blois]]
* [[Henry I, King of England]]}}
| issue-link   = #Family and children
| house        = [[House of Normandy|Normandy]]
| father       = [[Robert the Magnificent]]
| mother       = [[Herleva of Falaise]]
| birth_date   = {{circa|1028|lk=yes}}<ref name=Bates33/>
| birth_place  = [[Falaise, Calvados|Falaise]], [[Duchy of Normandy]]<!--, Kingdom of France-->
| death_date   = 9 September 1087 {{awrap|(aged about 59)}}
| death_place  = Priory of Saint Gervase, [[Rouen]], Duchy of Normandy
| burial_place = [[Saint-Étienne de Caen]], Normandy
}}
'''William the Conqueror'''{{efn|{{langx|fr|Guillaume}}; {{langx|la|Guillelmus}}; {{langx|nrf|Williame|label=[[Old Norman]]}}; {{langx|ang|Willelm}}}} ({{circa|1028|lk=yes}}<ref name=Bates33>Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33</ref>{{nbsp}}– 9 September 1087), sometimes called '''William the Bastard''',<ref name=DNB />{{efn|He was regularly described as {{lang|la|bastardus}} (bastard) in non-Norman contemporary sources.<ref name=DNB/>}} was the first [[Norman king of England]] (as '''William I'''), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of [[Rollo]], he was [[Duke of Normandy]] (as '''William II''')<ref>Potts "Normandy, 911–1144" p. 31</ref> from 1035 onward. By 1060, following a long struggle, his hold on [[Normandy]] was secure. In 1066, following the death of [[Edward the Confessor]], William invaded England, leading a Franco-Norman army to victory over the [[Anglo-Saxon]] forces of [[Harold Godwinson]] at the [[Battle of Hastings]], and suppressed subsequent English revolts in what has become known as the [[Norman Conquest]]. The rest of his life was marked by struggles to consolidate his hold over England and his continental lands, and by difficulties with his eldest son, [[Robert Curthose]].

William was the son of the unmarried Duke [[Robert I of Normandy]] and his mistress [[Herleva]]. His [[Legitimacy (family law)|illegitimate status]] and youth caused some difficulties for him after he succeeded his father, as did the anarchy which plagued the first years of his rule. During his childhood and adolescence, members of the Norman aristocracy battled each other, both for control of the child duke, and for their own ends. In 1047, William quashed a rebellion and began to establish his authority over [[Duchy of Normandy|the duchy]], a process that was not complete until about 1060. His marriage in the 1050s to [[Matilda of Flanders]] provided him with a powerful ally in the neighbouring [[county of Flanders]]. By the time of his marriage, William was able to arrange the appointment of his supporters as bishops and abbots in the Norman church. His consolidation of power allowed him to expand his horizons, and he secured control of the neighbouring county of [[Maine (province)|Maine]] by 1062.

In the 1050s and early 1060s, William became a contender for the throne of England held by the childless Edward the Confessor, his first cousin once removed. There were other potential claimants, including the powerful English earl Harold Godwinson, whom Edward named as king on his deathbed in January 1066. Arguing that Edward had previously promised the throne to him and that Harold had sworn to support his claim, William built a large fleet and invaded England in September 1066. He decisively defeated and killed Harold at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066. After further military efforts, William was [[Coronations of William the Conqueror and Matilda|crowned king on Christmas Day, 1066]], in London. He made arrangements for the governance of England in early 1067 before returning to Normandy. Several unsuccessful rebellions followed, but William's hold on England was mostly secure by 1075, allowing him to spend the greater part of his reign in [[continental Europe]].

William's final years were marked by difficulties in his continental domains, troubles with his son, Robert, and threatened invasions of England by the [[Danish attacks on Norman England|Danes]]. In 1086, he ordered the compilation of the ''[[Domesday Book]]'', a survey listing all of the land-holdings in England along with their pre-Conquest and current holders. He died in September 1087 while leading a campaign in northern France, and was buried in [[Caen]]. His reign in England was marked by the construction of castles, settling a new Norman nobility on the land, and change in the composition of the English clergy. He did not try to integrate his domains into one empire but continued to administer each part separately. His lands were divided after his death: Normandy went to Robert, and England went to his second surviving son, [[William Rufus]].