William Shakespeare 's The Conqueror

Despite the support from The Witan, Harold’s claim to the throne is problematic due to an oath. It is believed that Harold had made an oath to William Duke of Normandy, that he would help secure the throne for William upon Edward’s death. William profoundly believed that he would be the new King of England upon Edward’s death. It never occurred him that he would have to conquer England, in the words of Howarth. William’s relation to Edward, the promise Edward allegedly made, and Harold’s oath was security to William. The Norman’s angst against Harold as

However, Edward did something very odd—he promised the crown to William, Duke of Normandy—a cousin through Edward’s mother, Emma. This perplexingly odd promise was made even stranger when, according to the Bayeux Tapestry, Harold was shipwrecked off the coast of Normandy and brought to stay at the court of William. There he supposedly swore an unbreakable oath, giving William his loyalty and support in his path to the crown. He returned to England. Yet when the king died, his dying words seemed to be appointing Harold “protector” of England, which was interpreted as “king”. So Harold was named the king, breaking his supposed promise to William. Furious, William invaded England. Freshly crowned, Harold was not only dealing with this Norman threat, but also an invading Norwegian Viking army, led by Harald Hardrada, who, like William, also believed he had a claim to the throne. Harold easily defeated Harald’s forces at the Battle of Stamford Bridge (near York), but then was forced to drive his tired, bedraggled army to Hastings to confront the invading Norman troops. There, at the famed Battle of Hastings, William became William the Conqueror, decisively defeating the English, killing Harold, and winning the crown.

William was a better leader because although Harold had the upper hand in the battle and they were losing, William managed to outwit and defeat the English. In the Bayeux Tapestry there is a scene depicting that in the days preceding the

King Henry IV must also contend with his son, Prince Hal, who’s not the honorable prince he had hoped him to be. He feels it is “an honorable spoil” not to have “a son who is the theme of honor’s tongue,” when he learns of Northumberland’s son Hotspur’s victories, which, should be “a conquest for a prince to boast of” (1.1.74,80, & 76). Pangs of jealousy strike Henry’s heart caused by the differences between his son and Northumberland’s. So much so, he wishes “it could be proved that” someone, or something, “had exchanged in cradle clothes, their sons at birth” (1.1.85-87).

William’s father went on a pilgrimage in 1034 to release his sins. While returning home from his journey, he died suddenly. Having no other heir, William took his place as Duke of Normandy.

When Edward came into power in 1042, England was in a poor state financially and also because of threats of an invasion and this made the first few years of his rule difficult. Edward was faced with many problems which he had to overcome. These problems involved; powerful Earls, (especially the Godwine’s), the foreign policy and the domestic policy. Edward both failed and succeeded in these problems due to a number of factors. These include a lack of knowledge about his kingdom and some may argue that he was naïve in his decisions. With some evaluation, we will be able to judge if Edward was a successful King or not.

Harold Godwinson was born in the 1022s to a powerful Anglo-Saxon family in Wessex, United Kingdom. Throughout his life, he achieved many great things, including being the last Anglo-Saxon to be crowned King of England and being the Earl of Wessex. He was at the top of the social structure from the 6th of January 1066 until his death fighting the Norman Invaders on the 14th of October at the Battle of Hastings. The Battle of the Hastings was a major event during this time period and marked the beginning of the Norman Conquest of England.

William was already good and experienced at ruling so thus should be no problem for him. William was already the ruler of Normandy and was doing a great job so being ruler of England wouldn’t be a

Arguably the most important factor in the exertion of power over the English was the ability by the Normans to act militarily. The warlike attitude of the Normans, combined with the religious aspects that will be discussed later, provided them with a ready and capable army with which to support William’s claim to the throne. The early years of William’s rule, after the 1066 defeat of Harold, emerged as a sort of military occupation within England by the Normans. These years were crucial in the Norman advance within England. When William came to England he arrived with a large support of military men and much of these supporting military men remained in England because of their military duties. This army aided William not only in the initial battle against Harold, but later as well, through their

While she was there it was so distracting to the troops because queens never went on crusades (ehistory). When she went to the crusade she started an unhealthy relationship with her uncle. However, at the second crusade their marriage soured, and they got divorced. Once her marriage was ruined, she kept her possession of Aquitaine and Poitou. Being divorced, she had so much wealth that she attracted very rich men, like her second husband, King Henry (Baily). The second husband of Queen Eleanor, King Henry II, was the grandson of King William. Originally King William was the first person to ever fight to become the king and win, as he defeated King Harold of England (Combee and Grussendorf) King Henry and Queen Eleanor got married in May 1152. At that time Eleanor was 30 and Henry was 18. After 2 years of being married Henry became the king of England with Eleanor as queen. Their empire was so vast that it stretched from the south Pyrenees to the north cheviots. Moreover, King Henry had two rebellious sons which were Geoffrey, Duke of Brittany, and Young King Henry, but they later were killed and were dramatically killed when they were both 28 years old. When the two sons died it left only Richard and John who later started to revolt against their father. Even though King Henry was Eleanor’s husband, she sided with her sons, by supporting them with troops and money as

Of William I’s (1066-1087) sons, William the II (1087-1100) was a better king than his younger brother Henry I (1100-1135). William I’s was the first Norman king to rule England. He split his heritance between his three living sons. Robert received the rule of Normandy, William II received England and Henry I received five thousand pounds. In early medieval England a good king was a heroic soldier and a strong leader who was fair but enforced the law. It was also important that they were Christian and unsinful. William II “The Rufus”-because of his red face or temper, was true to himself and what he believed in while Henry I “Beauclerc”-because of his high level of education, was a brutal and selfish king, not only to his people, but also

William arrived at Torbay, on November 5th 1688 ready to fight for the throne. He was a brave man, for James II’s army was double the size of William’s army. Although it didn’t matter because James II’s army was deserting to the other side, James II army had abandoned him. When William of Orange was welcomed into London, James II fled to France in disguise. Parliament claimed that by abandoning his country, the king had abdicated and the throne was now left vacant. On February 6th 1689 Mary and William became King and Queen of England.

There is a critical difference between the two countries that seems to have heavily contributed to the reason William won, and Harold lost. Although his troops were fighting on their home soil, they simply were not as warlike and aggressive as the Normans, and were doomed to failure.

1. “Cease to look upon Edmund as the enemy of your house; look upon him as a son, and make him so indeed!—How say you, Sir Philip? My son!—Yes, my Lord; give him your daughter: He is already your son in filial affection! Your son William and he are sworn brothers; what remains but to make him yours? He deserves such a parent, you such a son; and you will by this means, ingraft into your family, the name, title, and estate of Lovel, which will be entailed on your posterity for ever.” — The Old English Baron, 110

The Norman invasion of England in 1066 stands out in British history as the last time the isle was successfully invaded (Kramer.34). The invasion followed as a result of the death of the English king, Edward the Confessor, as he died childless on January the 4. 1066 (Barlett). The throne was left vacant and consequently three most mighty men disputed the line of succession: Harland Goodwinson, the head of one of the most notable and powerful noble families in the whole of England, Harald Hardrada, king of Norway, and William, Duke of Normandy (Wold.5).