Fifth Generation  

11. King William de Normandie I "the Conqueror"-[18092] (Robert I "The Magnificent" (Duke)⁶, Richard "the Good" II (Duke)³, Richard I "The Fearless" (Duke)², William I "Longsword" (Duke)¹) was born in 10-1028 in Falaise, was christened in 1066, died on 9-9-1087 in St. Gervais, Rouen at age 58, and was buried in Abbey of St. Stephen, Caen, Normandie, France.

General Notes: On September 9, 1087, William I was injured when a horse bolted as a burning roof collapsed in Mantes within sight of Paris. William's protruding stomach struck the pommel of the saddle and he died in intense agony several days later in Roen, France.

William The Conqueror, or William the Bastard as he was known in his day, though out of his hearing, was the illegitimate son of of Robert I, Duke of Normandy. The Normans were Vikings who had settled in northern France and had taken on the lifestyle of the French aristocracy without losing that passion for conquest. William was descended from RAGNALD, the ancestor of the Earls of Orkney.

While in Normandy, William believed the throne of England had been promised to him by EDWARD THE CONFESSOR as far back as 1051. Although historians have found nothing of a record of Edward's promise, William held to its provision.

When Edward died in 1066, Harold Godwinson, Earl of Wessex, assumed the throne and was crowned king. William saw him as a usurper and prepared for warfare by building alliances. During the decade of the 1050's William worked at this consolidation and found himself in a number of skirmishes in defense of Normady against Henri I of France, giving him and his army battle experience.

William acquired territories, namely; Maine in 1062, Anjou, and Brittany. He prepared for the invasion of England in September 1066 and the campaign lasted until the 25th of December 1066 when he was crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey. His dominion was primarily in the south covering the old kingdoms of Wessex, Kent, Sussex and Essex. Within a year William began a slow campaign of territorial acquisition and this continued until 1068 when he brought his wife, Matilda to England to be crowned queen.

Within the process of this campaign, William had caused to be built 78 castles, the most famous being the Tower of London.

The King of Denmark and Edgar of Atheling joined forces and decided to recapture England, and they did manage to capture York in September of 1069. This angered William and he abandoned his previous campaign of slow calculated military movement and marched north, this time destroying everything in his path. In 1070 the Danish retreated, made a brief second attempt then abandoned the Isles.

To pay for his considerable army, William had to raise taxes. To determine how to levy this tax he ordered a survey conducted, now known as the Domesday Book.

In July 1087, while beseiging the town of Mantes, his horse jumped over a ditch and William received an injury from the pommel of the saddle which ripped his stomach. The wound caused peritonitis. William lingered for five weeks and died in September.

His body was returned to Caen for burial but the tomb was not large enough for his considerable girth. Finally the attendants attempted to force the body into the tomb, the already decaying and swollen body burst open letting out an intense smell of putrefaction that caused most to flee the site. Only a hardy few completed the burial.

Noted events in his life were:

• Life Summation: WILLIAM I "THE CONQUEROR".
Also called "THE BASTARD".
King of England, late November/early December 1066-9 September 1087.

Crowned: Westminster Abbey, 25 December 1066.
Titles: King of England, Duke of Normandy and County of Maine.

Born: Falaise, Normandy, Autumn 1028.
Died: St. Gervais, Rouen, 9 September 1087, age 59.
Buried: Abbey of St. Stephen, Caen.

Married: c1053, Matilda, daughter of Baldwin V of Flanders, 10 children.

William married Countess of Flanders Matilda van Vlaanderen-[18093] [MRIN:6108], daughter of Baldwin V of Flanders Vlaanderen-[18112] and Unknown, in 1053 in Notre Dame Cathedral d'eu. Matilda was born about 1031 in Flanders (Belgium), died on 11-2-1083 in Caen, Normandie, France about age 52, and was buried in Eglise de la Sainte Trinitbe, Caen, Normandie, France.

General Notes: Died 1083

French Mathilde, or Mahault, De Flandre queen consort of William I the Conqueror, whom she married c. 1053. During William's absences in England, the duchy of Normandy was under her regency, with the aid of their son, Robert Curthose (see Robert II [Normandy]), except when he was in rebellion against his father. The embroidery of the Bayeux tapestry was once wrongly attributed to her.

Children from this marriage were:

+ 12 M    i. Duke Robert de Normandie II-[18113] was born circa 1052 in Normandy, France, died on 2-10-1134 in Cardiff Castle, Wales at age 82, and was buried in St. Peters Church, Gloucester, England.

   13 M    ii. Prince of England Richard de Normandie-[18114] was born in 1054 in Normandy, France and died in 1081 in New Forest, Hampshire, England at age 27.

   14 F    iii. Princess of England Cecilia Normandie-[18119] was born about 1055 in Normandy, France and died on 7-30-1126 in Caen, Calavados, France about age 71.

Noted events in her life were:

• Profession: Nun.

   15 M    iv. King of England William de Normandie II "Rufus"-[18115] was born c1056 in Normandy, France and died on 8-1-1100 in New Forest, England at age 44.

General Notes: William II Rufus (1087–1100)

Under William I's two sons William II Rufus and Henry I, strong, centralized government continued, and England's link with Normandy was strengthened. Rebellion by Norman barons, led by the king's half uncles, Odo of Bayeux and Robert of Mortain, was soon put down by William II, who made promises of good government and relief from taxation and the severity of the forest laws. Odo of Bayeux was banished, and William of St. Calais, bishop of Durham, tried for treason. As an ecclesiastic he rejected the jurisdiction of the king's court. But Lanfranc pointed out that it was not as a churchman but as lord of his temporal fiefs that he was being tried. He was finally allowed to leave the country, in return for surrender of his fiefs.

William II's main preoccupation was to win Normandy from his elder brother Robert. After some initial skirmishing, William's plans were furthered by Robert's decision to go on crusade in 1096. Robert mortgaged his lands to William for 10,000 marks, which was raised in England by drastic and unpopular means. In his last years William campaigned successfully in Maine and the French Vexin so as to extend the borders of Normandy. His death was the result of an “accident” possibly engineered by his younger brother Henry: he was shot with an arrow in the New Forest. Henry, who was conveniently with the hunting party, rode post haste to Winchester, seized the treasury, and was chosen king the next day.

WILLIAM II "Rufus", King of England, 9 September 1087 to 2 August 1100. Crowned at Westminster 26 September 1087.

Born: Normandy c 1057
Died: New Forest 2 August 1100, age 43.
Buried: Winchester Cathedral.

   16 F    v. Adeliza Normandie-[18120] was born about 1057 in Normandie, France and died in 1065 about age 8.

Noted events in her life were:

• Profession: Nun

   17 F    vi. Princess of England Constance de Normandie-[18121] was born about 1061 in Normandy, France, died on 8-13-1090 in England about age 29, and was buried in St. Edmondsbury, Suffolk, England.

Constance married Alain IV of Brittany-[18122] [MRIN:6123].

   18 F    vii. Princess of England Adela Normandie-[18116] was born c1062 in Normandie, France, died on 3-8-1135 in Marsilly, Aquitaine at age 73, and was buried in Caen, Normandie, France.

Adela married Count Stephen Blois-[18117] [MRIN:6121].

   19 F    viii. Princess of Normandie Gundred de Normandie-[19134] was born in 1063 in Normandie, France and died on 5-27-1085 at age 22.

   20 F    ix. Agatha Normandie-[18123] was born about 1064 in Normandy, France, died before 1086 in Calavados, France, and was buried in Bayeux, Calavados, France.

+ 21 M    x. King Henry "Beauclerc" I-[18090] was born in 9-1068 in Selby, Yorkshire, England, was christened on 8-5-1100 in Selby, Yorkshire, died on 12-11-1135 in Gisors, St. Denis, France at age 67, and was buried on 1-4-1136 in Reading Abbey, Berkshire, England.