William the conqueror, has been known as the first English king since the Battle of Hasting on the 14th of October 1066. Although he was French, the current Duke of Normandy, William I, conquered England, hence the name.
The battle of Hastings took place on the 14th of October 1066 as a result of a disputed succession after Edward the Confessor died childless on 5th January 1066, leaving no direct heir to the throne. There were three strong claimants whom all believed they had some sort of right to the throne. The claims made were connected to three main components: family ties, promises made, and political realities. William was one amongst the three who had laid claim to the English throne. William had been a descendant of Rollo and became the Duke of Normandy from 1035 up until his death, and since he was a distant cousin of Edward, he claimed that he had promised the throne in 1051, when Edward visited France, believing himself to be the rightful king of England.
Another amongst the three was Harold Godwinson, Edwards brother in-law. The Godwinson’s family had been a large yet turbulent family, who had dominated the majority of England during Edwards rein. Harold arguably had the strongest claim to the throne and is still believed to have been the rightful king of England, as when Edward was dying, he was promised the throne. However, the oath Harold swore to William was later decided as invalid as it was made under the threat of death. Ever since, Harold has been known as the last Anglo-Saxon king of England.
On the 28th of September 1066, William had finally landed in Pevensey, east of Sussex, after taking several months to prepare his army that consisted of 600 ships to carry about 7,000 men, including around 2,500 cavalries across the channel. However, they had been delayed in their journey, due to the wind blowing strongly against their ships, delaying them. When he arrived, William seized Pevensey and then began his march to Hastings, he arrived in Hastings on the 28th of September 1066. William used the next two weeks to take time in organizing his forces during the lead up to the battle.
15 days after William’s arrival, on October 13th, Harold had arrived near Hastings with his army, preparing for battle. The very next day William led his forces out to fight for what, he believed, was rightfully his. The battle itself lasted nine hours, consisting of the death of 2,000 Normans and 4,000 English soldiers. During the battle Harold had made a handful of mistakes that had led to his misfortune and death, his main mistakes had been a lack of training amongst his army and an overall lack of preparation before the fight, as well as this many of his forces had either died or been severely injured in their previous battle at Stamford Bridge. On the contrary William had excellent leadership skills, winning the battle due to his strategic tactic, although Harold’s unluck did help William achieve his goal.
At some point during the fight Harold had been shot in the eye and killed by a Norman soldier, and later had his body passed to William Malet for burial. As a direct result of this William was now king of England as well as the official language being change to French for just under 300 years. During William s rein of England new systems had been put into place such as the Domesday book as well as the use of terror, patronage, and concession being used so William could have total control, building himself a name as one of the cruellest kings of England.
