William the Conqueror: A cunning military strategist or simply a brutal tyrant?

William was born around 1028 as the illegitimate son of Robert I, Duke of Normandy, and Herleva, the daughter of a tanner from Falaise who held no noble status.

Though many nobles scorned his lineage and gave him the name 'William the Bastard', Robert obtained oaths from his barons recognising William as heir before departing on pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 1035.

After Robert’s death during the journey, William, still a child, had inherited the duchy and had immediately become the target of rivals who viewed him as an unworthy successor. 

For years, Norman nobles had plotted against him, fearing that a boy-duke born outside wedlock lacked both authority and support.

Power struggles soon turned deadly, and several of William’s protectors died as they tried to shield him from assassination or rebellion.

Alan of Brittany, one of his earliest guardians, died in 1040 under circumstances that some chroniclers described as "suspicious".

The exact cause was never confirmed. Another protector, Osbern the Seneschal, who guarded the young duke, was also murdered.

Trusted allies like Archbishop Robert of Rouen and Gilbert of Brionne tried to defend his rule, yet their efforts did not prevent repeated outbreaks of violence across the duchy. 

By 1047, William had gained enough maturity and allies to strike back. He had appealed to King Henry I of France, who had provided military assistance to crush a rebellion at the Battle of Val-ès-Dunes.

The rebels included powerful nobles such as Guy of Burgundy, and their defeat led some into exile, and others later reconciled with William.

However, that victory did not bring peace, but it allowed him to punish rebellious barons with exile, execution, or seizure of property.

As a result, William's authority slowly hardened into firm control. 

Later, William married Matilda of Flanders around 1051, which created a powerful alliance with one of the most influential noble families in northern Europe.

Papal authorities raised objections on grounds of close kinship, but William and Matilda had already married and later built religious houses as penance.

This marriage gave him outside recognition, which reduced opposition and strengthened his claims to status outside Normandy.

At the same time, he reinforced his power internally by promoting knights who had remained loyal during the chaos. 

When Edward the Confessor died in January 1066 without a direct heir, Harold Godwinson claimed the crown and received the backing of the Witan.

William, however, argued that Edward had promised him the throne during an earlier visit around 1051 and that Harold had sworn an oath of fealty to support his claim.

According to Norman sources, Harold made that oath over sacred relics, which William cited as justification for war.

The Bayeux Tapestry, which was created shortly after the conquest, depicted this moment as central to William's cause. 

To prepare his invasion, William had gathered a fleet of ships, had recruited knights and mercenaries from Normandy and surrounding regions, and had reportedly secured papal backing from Pope Alexander II.

At the same time, Harold had marched north to repel a Viking invasion led by Harald Hardrada.

Harold’s subsequent victory at Stamford Bridge came at great cost, for his army suffered heavy losses and had little time to recover before turning south. 

On 28 September 1066, William landed at Pevensey with thousands of troops, where he quickly established a defended position.

Modern estimates suggest he brought between 7,000 and 8,000 men. His force likely included cavalry, infantry, and archers.

On 14 October, his forces met Harold’s army at Hastings where Harold’s troops formed a dense shield wall, while William relied more on his archers and cavalry.

Early attacks failed, but fake retreats lured parts of the English line into the open.

As a result, Harold’s forces became vulnerable to flanking attacks and continuous volleys of arrows. 

By the end of the day, Harold had fallen, either from an arrow to the eye or during a final cavalry charge and the battlefield later became the site of Battle Abbey.

With the king dead and his army shattered, William advanced toward London. Key nobles submitted before resistance could be organised, and William entered the city unopposed.

He was crowned at Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day 1066. 

After securing the crown, William moved quickly to dismantle the old Anglo-Saxon aristocracy.

For example, within a decade, he had redistributed approximately four-fifths of England’s land to his Norman followers.

This shift in land ownership created a new elite class that owed its wealth and survival entirely to the king.

At least 500 motte-and-bailey castles appeared across the countryside to protect Norman lords and intimidate local people. 

While William retained some Anglo-Saxon administrative structures, such as the shire and hundred courts, he replaced English officials, who had previously held those posts, with Normans in many areas.

Sheriffs enforced royal orders, collected taxes, and presided over legal disputes on the king’s behalf.

To ensure submission, William introduced harsh penalties, which in some cases included collective fines when locals failed to identify or hand over the killers of Norman lords. 

Norman French gradually became the language of court and legal administration, even though Latin remained the main language in official documents.

English, once used by nobles and clergy, became the language of commoners. This language gap deepened the sense of conquest, as legal decisions and royal proclamations excluded the population from understanding the decisions that affected their lives. 

William also intervened in the Church. In 1070, he appointed Lanfranc, former Abbot of Bec and a loyal supporter, as Archbishop of Canterbury and worked with him to enforce clerical celibacy, expel married priests, and bring the English Church in line with Continental reforms.

When he replaced English bishops such as Stigand with foreign clergy, William removed another potential source of resistance.

Rebellion broke out almost immediately after William’s coronation, as English resistance appeared in multiple regions, including Kent, the West Country, and the north.

In 1069, a large revolt in Yorkshire, supported by Danish raiders, twice seized control of York in 1069.

William responded with harsh force, initiating what became known as the Harrying of the North. 

His troops burned crops, destroyed entire villages, killed livestock, and salted fields to prevent future planting.

According to chroniclers like Orderic Vitalis and Symeon of Durham, the destruction led to famine and mass starvation.

Archaeological evidence, which has shown that many settlements in Yorkshire and Durham were abandoned, supports the written accounts of large-scale destruction.

Some modern historians suggest that possibly tens of thousands may have died from famine and violence, but estimates vary widely. 

To prevent future uprisings, William built castles at strategic locations such as Durham, Warwick, and Nottingham.

Each fortress became both a military base and a symbol of Norman control.

Norman garrisons enforced order and launched swift reprisals when unrest stirred among the local population. 

In 1075, William faced the Revolt of the Earls, a conspiracy involving three powerful nobles: Ralph de Gael, Roger de Breteuil, and Waltheof of Northumbria.

Although they had benefited from the conquest, they had grown dissatisfied with their treatment.

Waltheof was the last major Anglo-Saxon noble and was executed in 1076, while the others were imprisoned or exiled.

William crushed the rebellion and seized their estates. This rebellion revealed that internal threats could be as dangerous as English uprisings. 

In 1085, William ordered an unprecedented survey of his kingdom. Known as the Domesday Book, it listed the land, livestock, population, and taxes of nearly every part of England.

Royal commissioners questioned landholders and recorded who had owned what in the time of Edward the Confessor and who held it now.

The survey began in early 1086 and was mostly conducted during 1086, though compiling and editing continued after that year. 

The survey provided William with detailed information on land ownership and obligations.

For example, it allowed him to calculate how many knights each baron owed for military service.

It also helped resolve land disputes by providing a definitive record of ownership and value.

Over 13,000 settlements were recorded, with some counties compiled into a separate volume now known as Little Domesday. 

To many English subjects, the survey seemed threatening, since the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle described it as invasive and frightening, noting that nothing escaped the king’s notice.

The term 'Domesday' suggested a final judgment, and many subjects regarded its rulings as final.

Once recorded, each entry became a final judgment. 

The Domesday Book improved administration and tax collection and it also reminded the population that William’s officials knew exactly how much land and wealth each person held, which emphasised royal oversight.

When he used information as a tool of power, William turned detailed record-keeping into a tool of political control. 

In 1087, William invaded the French town of Mantes after King Philip I mocked his obesity and poor health. D

uring the assault, William’s horse stumbled amid burning rubble and caused internal injuries.

He was carried to the priory of Saint-Gervais, where he suffered for weeks before dying on 9 September. 

According to Orderic Vitalis, his body decayed rapidly, and it allegedly burst during the funeral after attendants forced it into a stone tomb.

Before his death, William had divided his lands among his sons, which created a division that would soon provoke a new kind of conflict.

Normandy went to Robert Curthose, who had rebelled against him earlier. England passed to William Rufus, his second son.

Henry, the youngest, received a monetary inheritance but no land. 

Ultimately, William had conquered a kingdom, installed a foreign aristocracy, built a network of castles, and imposed order through both violence and recordkeeping.

While some remembered him as a brilliant organiser who transformed England, others recalled a conqueror who ruled through bloodshed and force.