WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR

Born illegitimate. Died King of England.

William was born around 1028, the illegitimate son of Robert I, Duke of Normandy, and Herleva, a tanner’s daughter. His enemies called him “the Bastard” his entire life. He became Duke of Normandy at the age of seven when his father died on pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

His childhood was a war for survival. Assassinations, rebellions, and betrayals marked his early years. By the time he reached adulthood, William had learned that power was taken and held by force — never given. He became the most formidable military commander in Europe.

Hastings — The Day England Changed Forever

When Edward the Confessor died in January 1066 without a clear heir, William claimed the English throne. He assembled a fleet, crossed the Channel, and landed at Pevensey on September 28th. Sixteen days later, on October 14, 1066, his Norman cavalry and archers faced the Anglo-Saxon shield wall of King Harold Godwinson on Senlac Hill.

The battle lasted all day. The Normans feigned retreat, drawing the Saxon fyrd out of formation. The cavalry wheeled and struck. By evening, Harold was dead — an arrow through the eye, if the Bayeux Tapestry is to be believed — and England belonged to the Normans.

William was crowned King of England in Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day, 1066. The men who fought for him were rewarded with English land. The Cantrells received estates in Lancashire. The Domesday Book of 1086 recorded every holding — the first comprehensive census of England.

He remade an entire civilization.

William didn’t just conquer England — he replaced its ruling class entirely. Anglo-Saxon lords were stripped of their lands. Norman French became the language of court and law. The feudal system was imposed from top to bottom. Castles rose across the landscape — the Tower of London, Windsor Castle, hundreds more.

The Norman Conquest is the single most transformative event in English history. The language, the law, the architecture, the class structure — all of it traces back to William and the men who crossed the Channel with him. Including the family who would become the Cantrells of Lancashire.