William the conqueror

William was the son of Robert the Duke of Normandy, and Herleva of Falaise. He was born in 1027. In 1035, Robert went on a pilgrimage, but before he settled out on his he forced his lords to swear to protect William. It is said that William was illegitimate, and though he was, he was the only living son of Robert. Robert of Normandy died in 1035 on his way to pilgrimage. Robert had left him several Norman guardians to watch over him. Many Normans did not want an illegitimate son as their leader and in 1040 some people made an attempt to kill William. The plan failed but they did manage to kill his guardians. Shortly after, William was forced to accept Ralph of Wacy as his guardian and leader of his armed forces. He was not happy with this because Ralph had been involved in the plot against him.

In 1047, the same people rebelled against William again. They, once again failed but these two situations taught him to trust no one. William believed that if someone betrayed him, then he should show no mercy to them in return. William is well known as a violent leader. When William had taken over a town, he ordered that those who had abused him should have their hands and feet cut off. Sometimes it was worse then this. In 1051, William met Edward the Confessor, the King of England. William had claimed that Edward promised him the throne of England. But at the meeting of Edward's death there were no witnesses at the meeting.

In 1053, William married Matilda of Flanders, the daughter of Count Baldwin of Flanders. They had nine children. During the reign of William, his power in Normandy was constantly under threat. William and Matilda eventually married, and they seemed to have been quite happy together. They had at least four sons and five daughters. The pope didn't agree with the marriage because William and Matilda were distant cousins. The King of England promised to make William king after he had died. He also promised to marry William's daughter Agatha. But King Harold broke both of these promises, which would start the Norman invasion of England.

One feature of William’s reign as king was his reorganization of the feudal and administrative systems. He introduced the Continental system of feudalism, also establishing that a vassal’s loyalty to the king was far more greater then his loyalty to his lord. William also did another outstanding accomplishment which was the economic survey undertaken and incorporated in 1086. William and his sons had great financial resources not only because of England's wealth but because money was needed to support the king and his family, and everything else. William set up a taxation inauguration which became the important key to the political history of the Middle Ages. (Norman Cantor)

Though he is well known as one of the greatest rulers of the middle ages, William's later years were sad, hard ones. He lost his wife, Matilda in 1083 and grew so very fat that while on a military campaign in the year 1087,he fell of his horse and injured his stomach on his saddle horn. The wound never healed and this led to an illness from which he never recovered from. On September 9, 1087, William died. His body had become so bloated and big from the swelling that the people had a hard time fitting him into the tomb. While they struggled to wedge it in, his body burst open, and puss squeezed out everywhere. The whole church had filled with the smell of the rotting body. (book rags)

Online book: http://www.bookrags.com/research/william-the-conqueror-scit-0212345/
Cantor, F, Norman. The civilization of the Middle Ages. New York. 1993. Harpercollins publishers, inc.