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KF5JRV > TODAY 28.09.18 12:29l 58 Lines 3048 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 22158_KF5JRV
Read: GUEST
Subj: Today in History - Sept 28
Path: IW8PGT<IR2UBX<SR1BSZ<EA2RCF<F1OYP<AB0AF<KF5JRV
Sent: 180928/1125Z 22158@KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NA BPQ6.0.16
Claiming his right to the English throne, William, duke of Normandy,
invades England at Pevensey on Britain’s southeast coast. His subsequent
defeat of King Harold II at the Battle of Hastings marked the beginning
of a new era in British history.
William was the illegitimate son of Robert I, duke of Normandy, by his
concubine Arlette, a tanner’s daughter from the town of Falaise. The
duke, who had no other sons, designated William his heir, and with his
death in 1035 William became duke of Normandy at age seven. Rebellions
were epidemic during the early years of his reign, and on several
occasions the young duke narrowly escaped death. Many of his advisers
did not. By the time he was 20, William had become an able ruler and was
backed by King Henry I of France. Henry later turned against him, but
William survived the opposition and in 1063 expanded the borders of his
duchy into the region of Maine.
In 1051, William is believed to have visited England and met with his
cousin Edward the Confessor, the childless English king. According to
Norman historians, Edward promised to make William his heir. On his
deathbed, however, Edward granted the kingdom to Harold Godwine, head of
the leading noble family in England and more powerful than the king
himself.
In January 1066, King Edward died, and Harold Godwine was proclaimed
King Harold II. William immediately disputed his claim. In addition,
King Harald III Hardraade of Norway had designs on England, as did
Tostig, brother of Harold. King Harold rallied his forces for an
expected invasion by William, but Tostig launched a series of raids
instead, forcing the king to leave the English Channel unprotected. In
September, Tostig joined forces with King Harald III and invaded England
from Scotland. On September 25, Harold met them at Stamford Bridge and
defeated and killed them both. Three days later, William landed in
England at Pevensey.
With approximately 7,000 troops and cavalry, William seized Pevensey and
marched to Hastings, where he paused to organize his forces. On October
13, Harold arrived near Hastings with his army, and the next day William
led his forces out to give battle. At the end of a bloody, all-day
battle, King Harold II was killed–shot in the eye with an arrow,
according to legend–and his forces were defeated.
William then marched on London and received the city’s submission. On
Christmas Day, 1066, William the Conqueror was crowned the first Norman
king of England, in Westminster Abbey, and the Anglo-Saxon phase of
English history came to an end. French became the language of the king’s
court and gradually blended with the Anglo-Saxon tongue to give birth to
modern English. William I proved an effective king of England, and the
“Domesday Book,ö a great census of the lands and people of England, was
among his notable achievements. Upon the death of William I in 1087, his
son, William Rufus, became William II, the second Norman king of
England.
73 de Scott KF5JRV
Pmail: KF5JRV@KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NA
email: KF5JRV@ICLOUD.COM
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