Medieval Kings Series

Thursday 28th September 1066 is probably a typical early autumn morning with a pleasant day to look forward to but for the people in part of the earldom of Wessex, hell is about to descend. Around 9am, a Norman duke disembarks his army on the beach. The local population must wonder what is happening. England is not at war, the Fyrd has not been raised, no beacons are lit, so who are these people and what do they want? One person who is sure what he wants is their leader, Duke William of Normandy. What he wants is the English crown denied to him by the usurper King Harold Godwine. William is certain that the recently deceased King Edward of England promised him the succession and on this autumn morning he has arrived to claim it. So starts the cataclysmic events of 1066 where the future of England and France have their history changed forever. The Saxon rule of England is eradicated in a blitzkrieg operation and just 14 weeks later, on Christmas Day, William of Normandy is crowned "King of the English" at Westminster Abbey by an English archbishop. With this coronation, the Normans formally arrive and unlike previous "visitors" (Romans, Danes etc) they are here to stay and their impact on society is permanent. For your average English serf, not much immediately changes– same status, different boss and certainly, at first this is probably the case. However, within a generation, most things Anglo-Saxon have been swept away. What follows is the story of how this happened. The format is a timeline of the key events. No complicated arguments or elaborate theorising, just a straightforward, but detailed, blow by blow account told in date order.

Mortally wounded storming the town of Mantes in August 1087, it was a further three weeks before King William "The Conqueror" died. During this time, knowing he was dying, he must have pondered on the succession of England and Normandy. In terms of Normandy, the succession was already granted by right and custom to his oldest son Robert Curthose. However, their relationship was poor with Robert being mostly in revolt against his father since 1078. Despite this, William could not withhold Normandy from him. Under more positive circumstances there is little doubt that Robert would also have been crowned King of England, but "The Conqueror" did not trust him to govern so he chose a younger son, William "Rufus" to be King of England. This had a massive impact on the politics of both England and France. The "English" nobles (French!) with lands on both sides of the Channel, are content if their lord is both King of England and Duke of Normandy but now two brothers hold these roles, and they dislike each other enough to wage war. The dilemma for the nobles is who do they support at the risk of being dispossessed by the other brother. This sets the stage for chaos as Robert thinks he should be King and "Rufus," needs to possess Normandy to keep his kingdom united. Add to the intrigue, the Conqueror's youngest son Henry. He was gifted his mother's lands in England when she died in 1083 but they have been withheld from him. Even worse, he is disposed and warred on by his brothers but eventually rises to be both King and Duke only to suffer a personal tragedy which drastically affects the future of the English monarchy, This is the timeline of their story.