William the Conqueror

Interviewer: "Hello Wiliam, what is your story?"

William the Conqueror: "I was born 1027 A.D. in Falaise, France son of Duke Robert I. At a young age, I inherited my father's land.  Luckily, I had many people that backed me up, like Henry I who protected me when my cousin tried to take my domain from me in 1046.  We defeated my cousin and others at the Battle of Val-es-Duens, but I still had to deal with Count of Anjou in the South.  I then married Matilda, who I love dearly, in 1053.   Not that this was why I married Matilda, but she was very politically linked.  She was the daughter of the Count of Flanders and a decendant of King Alfred the Great.  Meanwhile, I was slowly extending my land claim in Normandy, getting ready to take on England.  My vassal captured Harold II on his way to France in 1064.  Making a few deals with Harold, I conquered much of northern France. After that, I tried to win over the locals of France by strengthening my ties with the Catholic Church- it worked.  Then, in 1066 King Edward died without an heir so the people selected the powerful Harold II.  Fighting for the thrown in the Battle of Hastings, we killed Harold in a day.  10 weeks later I was crowned King of England."

Interviewer: "Is that why you are called the conqueror?"

William: "Yes. Before then, NO ONE defeats England."

Interviewer: "What would you say your impact was on history?"

William: "That would be when I was king.  On the throne, I called for a census of all my people, buildings, proplerty, livestock, etc. that would allow me to tax sufficiently.  People call it the Doomsday Book. I would do work for the people in my land and created a strong executive branch for future government types."

("William the Conqueror." World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 8 Nov. 2010. )