The story of King William I of England reads like a fairy tale, rich with crowns and kings, castles with knights in shining armor and lovely ladies in flowing gowns. Unlike a magical story, it is filled with turmoil and death, deadly battles in which the shiny armor is put to the test and many times there was less good than there was evil doings. William spent his early manhood dealing with those who opposed him and successfully built his duchy into a European power base before turning his interest to the land across the channel. He chose a bride who dressed in the rich robes of the daughter of a count and a French princess who first refused him but then would have no other, and according to historians, lived happily together.
He is known in history as ‘William the Conqueror’, a name he earned for his ability to quash all rebellions in his duchy and even more so by the successful invasion in 1066 of the land he coveted, the Anglo Saxon country of England.
France was divided into vast land areas called a duchy with a duke to rule under the lordship of the king and smaller lands called counties under the control of a count, a lesser title. He inherited the vast duchy on the northwest coast of France from his father Robert 6th Duke of Normandy also called the Magnificent and Diablo, the devil, depending on which end of his sword one faced. His mother, the duke’s concubine/mistress, was named Herleva/Arletta.
The Duke and the Tanner’s Daughter
On a morning in the fall of 1026 the young Robert climbed to the parapets of the castle Falaise to gaze out across the countryside, when he heard the sound of singing in the valley below. He looked down from the battlements and discovered the source of the music was a girl singing in a lilting voice as she worked on dyeing garments in the trenches below; the custom of the time was to work the dyes into linens or leather by trampling them under bare feet. Owing to the warmth of the day, she had drawn up her dress so that her lower extremities were revealed to Robert’s admiring gaze.
Mesmerized by the lovely vision, he realized that he needed to know her identity and called his guard to investigate and bring her to him. The knight reported that she was Herleva the daughter of Fulbert, the tanner and a soldier in the castle. They informed the father that the son of the duke would have her brought to him. Fulbert was honored but protective of his beautiful daughter and was quick to ask if she would obey.
She replied that she might accept the invitation but would not be brought as a harlot through the back door but as a guest, and only if a horse were provided for her.
Soon, an envoy returned for Herleva with a horse covered in a robe for her comfort as agreed and she rode through the castle gate to meet the admirer who awaited her. Robert learned that Herleva had watched him from afar and had dreamed of being in his company one day.
It was not long before Herleva sang her melodies to a baby boy whom Robert named William to honor his grandfather,William I ‘ Longsword,’ Duke of Normandy killed in a treacherous ambush by the Count of Flanders in 963.
[The castle of Falaise was built by Richard I,Duke of Normandy on a crag above the river Ante which attracted the common folk to serve the castle which developed into a village. It was the home of his son Richard II ‘s family in 1026 . His grandson Robert did not become the duke until 1028.]
The child of the duke led an idyllic life surrounded by family and servants and protected by his father’s position.He was tutored by a kindly monk who was his mentor and companion as was the custom for boys of his class in the medieval age. Robert doted on his son taking him on forays throughout the duchy and hunting in the deep forests, William’s favorite adventure.The duke boasted of his little boys athletic ability to his colleagues and proudly shared with his knight, Eustace, how his five year old could lift his great sword.
In 1035 , the duke called his barons before him on the eve of a pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the purpose of announcing his heir in case he did not return.As they took their places before the throne of the duke there was an expectant atmosphere that penetrated the great hall of their ancestor Rollo the Viking because there were many legitimate claimants among those in attendance.
[ Rollo was the first ruler of the land on the north west coast of Francia, given to him by King Charles in 911 named the land of the Northmen, or Normandy, for his Norse family and followers who settled there.]
When Robert presented his son as their new ruler they were not only astonished but angry and a palpable threatening mood swept across the gathering. Although there was an unspoken reluctance and outrage nevertheless as was the custom they came one by one before the boy pledged their fealty and on bended knee placed their hands between his small palms. Then the king, Henry I raised the coronet of a duke above his head and gave his assent which brought laudable cheers from those loyal to Robert and the jealous angry barons feigned their delight knowing they could wait for a different outcome.
From that day forward William would face a dangerous and difficult battle of wits to achieve the fame for which he earned his place in history.
Statue of William the Conqueror in Falaise, Normandy, France.
Compiled by Sandi B. Johnson, Historian
This document has been compiled by Sandra B. Johnson as an example of the interrelationships that merged the Anglo-Saxon and the Franco Norman Families. The Anglo Norman of England ARE the English of the present time.
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