William the Conqueror: A cunning military strategist or simply a brutal tyrant?

Born around 1028, William was the illegitimate son of Robert I, Duke of Normandy, and a woman named Herleva, who was not of noble birth.

This earned him the nickname William the Bastard, but, as the son of a duke, he still had a claim to power.

When Robert died on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 1035, William, who was only eight, inherited the duchy of Normandy.

However, many Norman nobles opposed his rule, which led to years of instability in the duchy.

William had to rely on a small circle of loyal supporters to survive. 

Over time, William built a strong network of alliances, married Matilda of Flanders in 1051, and expanded his influence through concerted military campaigns.

In 1047, at the Battle of Val-ès-Dunes, he crushed a rebellion by rebellious Norman barons.

So, by the early 1060s, William had successfully crushed rebellious nobles. His growing reputation for ruthlessness began to attract attention beyond Normandy.

When King Edward the Confessor of England, who had no direct heir, reportedly promised William the English throne, it created the foundation for his claim.

Harold Godwinson, however, had a different vision for England. Upon Edward’s death in January 1066, Harold, who was the most powerful noble in England, took the crown for himself. 

William's claim to the English throne rested on his belief that Edward had promised him succession years earlier.

In William’s view, Harold’s coronation was an unlawful usurpation, which justified military action.

Determined to take what he considered rightfully his, William began to prepare for invasion.

He secured the blessing of Pope Alexander II, which gave his claim religious legitimacy.

Harold, on the other hand, faced both internal and external threats to his new rule, most notably from the Norwegians. 

In early 1066, William spent months gathering support from the Norman aristocracy, securing ships, and assembling an army of both Norman knights and mercenaries from across northern France.

Meanwhile, tensions in England escalated. In September 1066, Harold Godwinson faced an unexpected invasion from the north.

Harald Hardrada of Norway, who also claimed the throne, invaded with a fleet, which landed in Yorkshire.

Harold responded swiftly by marching his forces northward and defeating Hardrada’s army at the Battle of Stamford Bridge on September 25.

It was a bloody victory, but it came at a cost. Harold’s army, exhausted and depleted, had little time to recover.

Just days later, on September 28, William’s invasion fleet landed on the south coast of England, near Pevensey.

This forced Harold to make a rapid march south, gathering as many men as he could along the way. 

By October 14, 1066, the two armies faced each other near Hastings. William’s forces were disciplined and well-prepared, a mix of cavalry, infantry, and archers.

Harold’s army, largely made up of infantry, including many inexperienced soldiers, took a defensive position on a ridge.

The battle began with William’s archers loosing volleys of arrows, followed by a cavalry charge.

Harold’s men held their ground and allowing their shield walls to absorb the initial attacks.

However, William quickly adapted his tactics. His cavalry feigned retreat several times, which drew parts of Harold’s army into pursuit, breaking the defensive line.

As the day wore on, this tactic proved decisive. In the chaos that followed, Harold was killed, likely struck by an arrow to the eye.

With their leader dead, the English forces crumbled. 

Following his victory at Hastings, William moved swiftly to consolidate power. He marched on London, where he faced minimal resistance.

On Christmas Day 1066, William was crowned King of England in Westminster Abbey. 

After William’s coronation in 1066, he faced the immediate task of consolidating his rule in England.

Initially, resistance persisted, especially in the north, where rebellions threatened his authority.

To help secure his power, William introduced a series of calculated measures. He confiscated lands from Anglo-Saxon nobles who had opposed him and redistributed them to Norman barons who were loyal to his cause.

This redistribution formed the basis of the new Norman aristocracy, which was tied directly to William’s authority.

Additionally, he ordered the construction of numerous motte-and-bailey castles across the country.

These fortifications, such as the Tower of London, which was completed in the early 1080s, became symbols of the new era of Norman control.

Such castles allowed William to control key regions by enabling rapid military responses to local unrest. 

To further entrench his control, William introduced the feudal system to England, which created a rigid hierarchy of landownership.

Under this system, William granted land to his Norman lords, who in turn swore fealty and provided military service when required.

This ensured that power flowed directly from the king. This system was already in use in Normandy.

Thanks to it, the lords controlled their lands but remained bound to him by mutual obligation.

In return for military support and loyalty, William offered them protection and economic benefits.

By the 1070s, his authority in England had been firmly established, which allowed him to turn his attention back to Normandy. 

In Normandy, William’s rule had always been defined by strong leadership and careful diplomacy and it remained a crucial part of his power base.

This dual rule of England and Normandy created a powerful cross-Channel empire, which would persist under his descendants for generations. 

In 1069, rebellions erupted in the north of England, which were supported by Danish forces.

Determined to crush the rebellion, William launched a brutal campaign known as the Harrying of the North.

Over the course of 1069 and 1070, his forces systematically laid waste to large parts of northern England.

Villages were burned, crops destroyed, and livestock slaughtered. The land was left desolate, and thousands of people were either killed or forced to flee.

Contemporary chroniclers, such as Orderic Vitalis, recorded the famine that followed, which claimed the lives of many who had survived the initial violence.

William’s actions were a deliberate policy of terror, designed to prevent future uprisings in the region by crippling its ability to resist. 

In addition, other rebellions flared in the west, particularly in Exeter, which had a history of resistance to Norman rule.

In 1068, the citizens of Exeter refused to swear loyalty to William, leading him to lay siege to the city.

After 18 days, Exeter surrendered, and William punished the rebels by confiscating their lands and installing loyal Normans in key positions of power.

His approach was clear: defiance would be met with swift and harsh retaliation.

Similar tactics were employed in other regions, including East Anglia, where Hereward the Wake led a rebellion.

William’s forces eventually subdued the revolt, and those who had supported Hereward faced execution or exile. 

His methods in both England and Normandy demonstrated that, above all, William valued control.

Those who challenged his rule were shown no mercy, whether they were Anglo-Saxon lords, rebellious townsfolk, or Norman barons. 

In 1085, William ordered the creation of the Domesday Book, which was a comprehensive survey of his new kingdom.

This monumental task involved sending royal commissioners across England to assess landholdings, livestock, and resources.

The purpose of the survey was clear: William needed detailed knowledge of his kingdom’s wealth to maintain control and ensure efficient taxation.

The survey covered most of England, excluding some regions such as the north, which had suffered devastation during the Harrying of the North.

Completed in 1086, it provided William with precise information about who held land, the size of their estates, and the economic productivity of those lands. 

The book recorded around 13,418 places, detailing the number of villagers, plough teams, mills, and fisheries on each estate.

For example, the entry for Winchester lists over 100 burgesses and several mills.

This level of detail enabled William to assess the wealth of his barons, which helped him manage his vassals by holding them accountable for the land they controlled.

The book also allowed him to track the transfer of property since the Norman Conquest, ensuring that all lands granted to his Norman supporters were properly registered and that no Anglo-Saxon lords retained large estates that could challenge his authority. 

The Domesday Book remains one of the most detailed medieval records in European history.

By knowing exactly who owned land and how much it produced, William reduced the potential for rebellion and guaranteed the loyalty of his barons through economic pressure. 

In the summer of 1087, William the Conqueror’s life came to a violent end. While undertaking a campaign against King Philip I of France, William led an assault on the town of Mantes, which had rebelled against his rule.

During the siege, his horse stumbled, throwing William into the pommel of his saddle and causing severe internal injuries.

He was taken to the nearby town of Rouen, where his condition rapidly worsened.

By early September, William knew his death was imminent. On September 9, 1087, he died after weeks of agony, surrounded by clerics and nobles.

His body, according to accounts, was bloated due to the injury, and the funeral itself became infamous when his corpse burst as it was lowered into the grave and filled the church with a terrible stench.  

Thankfully, before his death, William had made arrangements for the division of his lands.

They were divided between his three surviving sons. William Rufus, his second son, received the crown of England, while Normandy, the duchy which William had governed before becoming king, was left to his eldest son, Robert Curthose, who had long clashed with his father and was known for his rebellious nature.

Henry, the youngest of William’s sons, received no immediate title but was granted a substantial amount of treasure.

William’s decision to divide his territories instead of keeping them united under one ruler led to years of conflict between his sons, as both William Rufus and Robert sought to dominate each other’s lands.

This ultimately set the stage for future instability in the Anglo-Norman realm.