William I

Timeline

1. 1035–1065Rouen, Normandy · NormandyAfter his father Robert I died in 1035, the seven-year-old William inherited the Duchy of Normandy and endured a turbulent childhood with the support of royalist factions. He defeated rebellious nobles at the Battle of Val-ès-Dunes in 1044, gradually consolidating power. He visited England in 1051, reportedly securing a promise of the succession from his cousin King Edward; in 1064 he compelled Harold Godwinson to swear to support his claim to the English throne.
2. 1066Hastings · SussexIn September 1066 William landed in England at Pevensey with a combined Norman, Breton, and Flemish force, and on 14 October killed King Harold II at the Battle of Hastings. He then marched on London, suppressing resistance along the way, and on 25 December was crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey by Ealdred, Archbishop of York, completing the decisive step of the Norman Conquest.
3. 1067–1086Winchester · HampshireAfter his coronation William suppressed rebellions across England, granted confiscated lands to Norman nobles, and imposed a strict feudal system. In 1070 he appointed Lanfranc Archbishop of Canterbury, reorganizing the English church. In 1071 he besieged the Isle of Ely, crushing the last Anglo-Saxon resistance led by Hereward. In 1086 he held the Salisbury assembly, strengthening oaths of direct allegiance, and commissioned the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of English landholding and property, a milestone in the history of medieval administration.
4. 1087Rouen, Normandy · NormandyIn July 1087, while William was campaigning against the Vexin region of France, his horse was startled, causing a severe abdominal wound. He died on 9 September at the Abbey of Saint-Gervais in Rouen. On his deathbed he left the Duchy of Normandy to his eldest son Robert Curthose, the English throne to his second son William Rufus (William II), and five thousand pounds in silver to his youngest son Henry.