William the Conqueror: Duke of Normandy

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The year 1066 was one of the most fateful in all of history. It was a year of battles, it was a year of invasions, and it is often cited as the beginning of the end of the Viking age. This is the story of the second of three claimants to the English throne in 1066. Duke William of Normandy.
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[@HistoryTime]

*Watch my latest history documentary here* :- kzbin.info/www/bejne/mWSrommLlquEp80 Hey guys. Thanks for stopping by and welcome to History Time... If you enjoyed this video then don't forget to like, subscribe and share. More than 50 new videos coming this year. If you can't wait until then- I post one history article every day here:- facebook.com/HistoryTimeOfficial/

[@theblackprince1346]

History Time Always enjoy the vids keep it up 👍

[@TXetc]

Great work!

[@vozhdvon8660]

Really cool, enjoyed as always

[@edlopez787]

Please create a video on the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains, 451 A.D.

[@igorjajic6898]

can you explain on 06.24 riten words САВАШ,......on tapistery ?

[@WWIIKittyhawk]

My family name “Delamore” can be traced back to the Norman invasion of Britain. My ancestors from my mums side were of Norman French origin. They came to England as part of the invasion in 1066. So my family has been in England for over 900 years. Pretty cool when I found that out online.

[@darrenhudson5503]

WWII Kittyhawk as one with Anglo Saxon descent..congratulations 👅

[@johnbuckley1584]

Probably got seven shades of shit kicked out of them then by my ancestors here in Cheshire. Werian Se Angelcynn.

[@Luckyheraclius89]

Same m8te

[@johnorchard4]

How do you know this?

[@theZCAllen]

@@johnbuckley1584 did you really just do a 'I bet my dad could beat up your dad'?

[@Lorkhane]

I am proud to be Norman and live in Normandy

[@brandonhughes645]

That music just makes me want to cry from nostalgia.

[@chadhill455]

haha When ever I see Pembroke Castle on a video I always get excited. I live about 15 mins from it.

[@danielmalachi8793]

chad hill Same for me but with Dover Castle!

[@cutebutsadisticable]

Lucky for both of you!!! I want to go visit over there but it costs so much to get over there from the states

[@EURIPODES]

@@danielmalachi8793 Dover castle still looks to be in great shape. It must have done it's job well.

[@koba2955]

Great videos. Keep making them please.

[@HistoryTime]

Of course :) SO much on the way. Hundreds of vids..

Nice, keep the good work 👍

[@drussthelegend2046]

Great series thank you

[@Raptormonkey]

This is sooo awesome. I love your channel

[@mohammedsaysrashid3587]

nice historical video from excellent channel

[@JG-wz4bt]

William the conquerer was rollo from vikings great great grandson. Took a few years but he eventually done what Ragnor, Rollo, floki, Bjorn, ivar, harold etc etc etc never managed to do in full. Thats a dedicated family 💯

[@itsad7194]

ye true

[@disputedname]

what the fuck did I just read

[@phoenixrose1192]

The Normans were no longer northmen in 1066, just as they were no longer Normans by the 12th century. So no, the Vikings never conquered England.

[@mijanhoque1740]

Rollo and Ragnar were not even related mate the whole Vikings show is pure historical fiction

[@townsley2]

It’s hard for any Englishman to admit they were frenchified

[@bonchance9241]

one of my ancestors Roger Daniel ,fought for William in 1066 & was granted land in Cheshire as reward .

[@johnorchard4]

How do you know this?

[@littlet-rex8839]

According to my genealogy, William is one of our grandfather's, (along with 50 million others I suppose)

[@zpurst6912]

Bon Chance I have this with the Beaumonts and land in Leicestershire :)

[@AleeshaWeesha]

@@littlet-rex8839 I just discovered that my ancestor, Muriel de Conteville, was Williams maternal half-sister. Their mother was Herleve Falaise. I haven't found any more information on Muriel yet but you can read about her brother, William's half-brother Eudes de Conteville, Bishop of Bayeux also known as Odo.

[@johnmiloscia]

I'm actually related to the great william the conqueror. We learn something new every day

[@hiddenriverarts]

Many of us are. It is pretty cool to think about how many of us alive today are actually relatives. It is one of many reminders of how connected we all are.

[@vickielewallen3799]

Amazing history. William was a descendent of the Viking ruler Rollo, according to Wikipedia, and a large percent of the population of England (and the US) are decended from William the Conqueror, and so from Rollo. I want to know more about history, connections, etc, it is a fascinating subject.

[@Englishman-_-Mongolia2022]

No, hardly anyone in England has norman ancestry. We are Anglo-Saxon, Briton and Nordic.

[@Fatherland927]

"A large percentage of England is descended from william". That is false.

[@davidmason4244]

​@@Englishman-_-Mongolia2022facts but they're are certainly some descendants like the Vincent's

[@unrealsieve9430]

i managed to trace a direct ancestry back to William the Conqueror for myself@@Englishman-_-Mongolia2022

[@zoetropo1]

5:32 is inaccurate: The situation was that Brittany was contested between William’s uncle Eudon and his cousin Conan. The Breton-Norman war of 1064 was an endeavour to aid Eudon against Conan’s encroachment. It succeeded in delaying Conan’s expansion into Anjou and Maine by two years. Eudon’s second son Alan Rufus was captain of William’s palace guard and continued as military commander for the Normans on both land and sea into the reign of William II. Alan Rufus was also in charge of economic affairs, being quite the market genius. In 1089, in the aftermath of the rebellion of 1088, he took the bold step of founding Parliament. In 1091, William II and Alan Rufus invaded the Normandy of Robert Curthose, to popular acclaim. King Philip I of France panicked and sent Pope Urban II to negotiate - yes, that Pope. Had Alan’s popular heir Arthur I been supported by William Marshal instead of John, the Angevin empire would not have fallen.

[@michaelratliff905]

Very Good! enjoyed that , according to my famiiy my relative come with William in 1066 as a Knight,

[@MeetThaNewDealer]

William the Conqueror = Aegon the Conqueror

[@HistoryTime]

Pretty much. Except he brought castles as his secret weapon instead of dragons.

[@fireandblood8142]

yeaaahhh bro Fire and Blood!!!

[@roderickclerk5904]

@Aidan Langridge IKR

[@MrEvanfriend]

@@HistoryTime Castles and cavalry. The Anglo-Saxons fought exclusively on foot. Even the nobles, who might get to where the fight was on horseback, would dismount and fight as infantry.

[@chebli23]

Im not even from europe but its history facinates me. Great video, thanks!

[@andynixon2820]

That great battle is mentioned in the Anglo Saxon chronicles as an epic two line poem . Its a wonderful thing to read a captures the moment brilliantly . Not sure how our brethren north of the border would feel about it though .

[@patavinity1262]

Actually, he was the third king of 1066. Edward the Confessor came first.

[@seeker5738]

Patavinty, 👍👍he was. And England could have managed well without him.

[@darrynmurphy4764]

Fifth if you include Harald Hardrada. Admittedly he obviously failed to become King of the English, yet still as King of Norway there was still five Kings on English soil in the one year

[@thejmoneyshow]

@EnglishXnXproud Both sides of my family were on those boats! /smile

[@zoetropo1]

EnglishXnXproud: Conan II of Brittany was also descended from Alfred the Great, as was King Stephen.

[@c.norbertneumann4986]

He was the fourth king of 1066. Third king was Edgar Aetheling who was chosen as king by the Witenagemot after Harold's death. He was king from 15 Oct. 1066 - 17 Dec. 1066.

[@LionKing-ew9rm]

YOU really deserve more views/subscribers!!!! Thumbs Up!!!

[@HistoryTime]

Thanks buddy!

[@elainegoad2111]

William the Conquer was a great or great grandson of Rollo (the Walker) 1st Duke of Normandy and hew was a Viking. Normandy was named for the North Men, Norse Men, Vikings . Normandy was settled by Vikings, they became Christianized and had an alliance with the Kingdom of the Franks (to become France). If you are English, Scottish or Irish , you definitely have Viking ancestry and the Kings descended from William have a Viking ancestry. Vikings were originally a Germanic people, migrating to Scandinavia in BC time period. History is fascinating !

[@42stea]

I think an important thing to remember is just because the King has a certain bloodline that doesn't make the subjects that bloodline. Sure there would be some intermarrying, but all in all I wouldn't be surprised is the bulk of William's subjects in Britain were still Anglo-Saxon or even still Breton from the pre-Anglo age.

[@dirk4977]

William actually put a LOT of Normans in positions of power, expelling or killing the former Anglo-Saxon lords

[@42stea]

@@dirk4977 I don't deny that I I'm talking about the bulk population of the land; farmers, peasants, traders etc. you can't just replace the whole population. But British history likes to pretend as if "well the Britons are gone were Anglo-Saxon now" "well the Anglo-Saxons are gone were Norman now" etc. When we only really have evidence of at best changes in the aristocratic class.

[@dirk4977]

Yeah you're right, thought you meant subjects as in nobles. My bad

[@pij6277]

No.. Vikings were non Europeans. Native white Europeans where everywhere wherever Vikings went. So how could these aforementioned ethnicities be all Viking? Look up European genetics, every European ethnicity is a mixture of numerous genetically diverse races. There's nothing genetic wise among the Europeans that could be preserved.

[@CandaceTarbat]

I didn't see Château de Caen in the castles at the end of the video. It was built around 1060 by William the conqueror. It's really nice to be able to walk through a castle in the middle of a town.

[@MrLeighman]

Love the art work at the of normans.

[@matthewread7220]

Easily one of my favourite channels. You teach history better than any lecturer iv ever had. Great work as usual.

[@frazerward4827]

Just excellent

[@mogyesz9]

BazBattles did great videos on boh on Stamford Bridge and Hastings battle.

[@southernwanderer7912]

I didn't see the Tower of London (the White Castle) mentioned at the end, which is the castle most affiliated with William the Conqueror in England. How could that be missed?

[@KoenBoyful]

Found out yesterday that William the conqueror, Charlemagne, King Louis VII (and previous), and all others are great grandfathers of my. But what historians say: 1/3 of Europeans come from Charlemagne. It took me 1.5 years to found out with wire I had to follow to get to him

[@sumnerwaite6390]

My ancestor Robert de Clayton left France with William and was given land in England for his service....

[@elbat5946]

Your videos are fking great!

[@gertmoelders8809]

This account needs more subs

[@HistoryTime]

Thanks mate! Tons more content on the way! And very soon!

[@bluebird5361]

As one of your recent subscribers, I have been appreciating your videos. Alas, I am suffering with this one because the background music is too loud, especially for the hearing disabled. Please keep it IN the background.

[@muther1997]

This would be an awesome story for a movie

[@elwolf8536]

Hope Hollywood stays well clear of English history

[@takshashila2995]

great!

[@fireandblood8142]

Great video, I loved it. I love Norman history (since I am Norman myself lmao), William or rather Wilgelm in old Norman is my favorite historical character. Such a great king who has turned the history of the world upside down and will remain forever etched in our memories.

[@hannahdyson5603]

You forgot to add genocide on his list of acheviements

[@robertstorey7476]

The biggest theft in English history and a reign supported by terror...some achievement.

[@reginaldamoah8608]

Not a fan. Also I think he called himself Guilleme as he spoke French.

[@caroldavis236]

@@reginaldamoah8608 or

[@kenhanson27]

F and blood. He was also a cruel land thieving bastard.

[@wyverntheterrible]

Good video, but calling WIlliam and Harold "one time allies" is a bit off the mark. Harold was held under duress, he would certainly have met a 'mysterious death, 100% nothing to do with being poisoned' whilst being 'made guest' in Normandy, had he not sworn his allegiance. And even then the Duke made him do so on a table that unbeknownst to Harold contained Holy Relics beneath it.

[@williamthebastard6489]

Thanks for making stories about me

[@globalcombattv]

Hey mate, have you ever considered uploading English subtitles? If not, love you either way

[@intothemultiverse1033]

Soon it will be 1000 years since the battle of Hastings - insane

[@Stache73]

Informative video as always, shame about the bit boxy sound to your voice in this video that I have not experienced before in any of your other videos!?

[@elainegoad2111]

My maternal ancestor, Adleme de Gordun, come from Normandy as a knight in William's army. Eventually, his descendants became the Gordon Clan of Scotland. William was descended from Rollo (Rolf) first Duke of Normandy, a Norseman (Viking)

[@jamesmilne4233]

I'm descended from your ancestors retainer. I don't know whether they fought on foot or on horseback at Hastings, but subsequently when the De Gordun were granted land in Scotland, and changed their name from de Gordun too Gordon. Following their feudal lords northward, my family changed their name from Molyneux to Milne, and settled in Aberdeenshire. Which explains their vast number, in a land with very few mills.....

[@elainegoad2111]

Your people were problably "septs" of the Gordon Clan and if they were farmers were probably "Yeomen" Bowmen and fought with the daggar when called up to serve. They wore a special hat called a "rug" and a cape that indicated their status. Gordon's were given Strathbogie Castle and later the castle was re-named Huntly after the location in Aberdeenshire. You can find pictures of Huntly Castle on the internet and You Tube. I am related on my mother's side who were/are Huntley's. Best Wishes !

[@jamesmilne4233]

@@elainegoad2111 And I wear my ancient Gordon tartan with pride.

[@garychynne1377]

thank yew

[@richard9444]

I'm proud of our British history.... Until 1997

[@Crafty_Spirit]

Who else played Empire Earth as a child? William was one of my first virtual companions

[@danielpatrick3761]

5:50 "Harold had himself crowned as king". That's a bit misleading. The Wittan met and chose Harold as King, such as has been English traditon going back into antiquity. The way you say it sounds like he snatched the throne....

[@billdehappy1]

yes thats exactually how he did tho, snatch the throne so its acuratte said of him.

[@robertstorey7476]

Harold was chosen as king because he was the most powerful man in the country , an entirely sensible way of doing things.

[@billdehappy1]

yes without houner & respedct for tradition or wishes, look how you want on it he still stold it :)

[@danielpatrick3761]

@@billdehappy1 No it isn't. The Wittan chose the English kings, and the Wittan chose Harold. How is that 'snatching the throne'?

[@williamlong8859]

Thank you, Notwithstanding a monarch stating whom they want to succeed them, it is the Wittan that makes the decisions in succession. William Stole the Saxon Crown.

[@kerriefuller1696]

I found it helpful to listen to The Lost Tapes of History podcast - ep 1 is William I and the English Tutor!

[@soundknight]

Now there would be a great movie

[@Wyzerwizardness79]

Agreed

[@SuiLiF]

Rollo was my 34th great grandfather. William the Conqueror was my 29th great grandfather.

[@Wyzerwizardness79]

I'm related as well. Hello family 😃😁

[@mandywyman5747]

Was my great grandfathers as well

[@ludoviciusmagnus5125]

Congrats you r French. Bonsoir. Dieu et mon droit!

[@koolmckool7039]

Hey cousin.

[@vladriot510]

8:50 sound cuts the rest of the video

[@cassandrarose11]

3:10 the tone changes suddenly and it threw me off, I checked my headphones and everything. Had to rewind to make sure I wasn't imagining things lol Just me?

[@DarkSolace33]

I had the same issues also.

[@ww12tt]

25.000 men? Don't you think those numbers are highly exaggerated? by the end of the early middle ages and during the high middle ages even an army of only 3.000 men was considered a large army, and Barbarossa's army on the third crusade of probably 15.000 was considered as huge

[@HistoryTime]

Barbarossa's army during the Third Crusade was on campaign far away from Germany so probably would have been a much more professional force. The rebel Norman barons in 1047 (the de-facto rulers over most of Normandy at the time) were fighting on home turf so it would've been easier to raise an army of peasantry into a semblance of a fighting force. Though yes, numbers are always debatable during this period.

[@ww12tt]

Sure, i just think even the usage of peasantry for an area as limited in scope as Normandy with the general reluctance of the usage of deploying unfree peasants to warfare, the number seems quite high. Even local campaigns were relatively restricted in numbers, but i guess if the feuds under Williams reign were intense enough, they could get quite high

[@ingnavar]

Phaha The Bulgars had an army of 120 000 same for the Byzantynes and the Franks you know nothing about history

[@bremnersghost948]

Look at the crowds and violence sports event attract, especially International events, a King or the Church would have had no problem calling up any number of men who are bored with the daily toil and looking for some excitement, offer them decent wages, food, drink, women and plunder and that is all that's needed to fill the ranks. Even more so when men are motivated by Faith or Nationalism.

[@reed3249]

They also thought the great heathen viking army was exaggerated until they found the a viking summer camp in England and realised it could easily hold numbers over 10000, bigger than all English cities at the time except maybe London.

[@vesavius]

Norman history is the best history. These boys treated the world like their own private property and gave zero shits, and that would be the bedrock of the British mentality for hundreds of years onwards, which makes British history the second best history.

[@earthstick]

7:38 The feigned retreat. The images of the cavalry show people wearing plate mail.

[@rox3186]

Rollo great great great grandson

[@73bay09]

The audio stops at 8:46. Anyway to fix it? Thank you

[@jamellfoster6029]

Matilda of Flanders was also the niece of King Henry of France... William was the son of Edward the Confessor's cousin, Robert, Duke of Normandy... William's grandpa was Edward's uncle...

[@koolmckool7039]

Old Billy Boy the Conqueror, was one of my ancestors, so.... France! I want Normandy now!

[@joshuatraffanstedt2695]

Same. Multiple times. I've found 3 different branches of my family tree that lead directly to him.

[@koolmckool7039]

@@joshuatraffanstedt2695 Shall we establish the Republic or Normandy cousin?

[@chammybooo3232]

He's the inspiration for Aegon the Conqueror

[@phoenixrose1192]

In 1069 William the Conqueror celebrated Christmas in York. It was exactly three years since his coronation as king of England, which had taken place in Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day 1066, just a few weeks after his victory at the battle of Hastings. To mark the anniversary, William had ordered his crown and other regalia to be brought from Winchester to York, so he could wear them ceremoniously during the winter festivities. But the mood in York that Christmas can hardly have been very festive, for throughout 1069 the city had been subjected to repeated waves of violence. The cathedral church of York Minster - presumably the location in which the king heard Mass on Christmas morning - was in a terrible state, having been ransacked by William’s soldiers during the spring. In the words of the contemporary Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, it was “completely laid waste and burned down”. Much of the rest of the city, meanwhile, had been reduced to ashes by a fire started by the garrisons of its two new Norman castles in September, and the castles themselves had subsequently been destroyed by an invading Danish army. The English archbishop of York, Ealdred, had been so distressed by the news that the Danes were coming that he had fallen ill and died shortly before their arrival. Since William’s own arrival in December, however, the suffering had increased dramatically. A few weeks earlier, he had divided his army up into small units and sent them out into the Yorkshire countryside with orders to burn and destroy everything that was capable of sustaining human life - the barns full of carefully harvested crops, the beasts still standing in the fields, and those that had already been slaughtered as food for the winter. Consequently, while the king feasted that Christmas, many others were beginning to starve and, in the months that followed, countless thousands would die as a result of famine. This episode, known since the late 19th century as ‘the Harrying of the North’, was the most notorious of the Conqueror’s career. “Nowhere else,” said the 12th-century historian Orderic Vitalis, “had William shown such cruelty.” Yet 950 years after the event, historians continue to disagree over its extent, its long-term effects, and even its morality. Some doubt that the king’s troops could have caused so much destruction in such a short space of time. Some have accused William of committing genocide, while others have insisted that this was a perfectly normal way for a medieval ruler to make war. At the distance of almost a millennium, is it possible to reach a meaningful verdict?

[@phoenixrose1192]

England in revolt The Conqueror had come north in the autumn of 1069 to deal with a rebellion, the most serious of his reign to date. Almost as soon as he had been crowned, William had faced uprisings from Englishmen determined to reverse the outcome of Hastings. In the summer of 1067, while he was celebrating his victory in Normandy, there had been revolts in Kent and the Welsh Marches. Towards the end of the same year, warnings of a larger rebellion had brought him back to England, and he had spent the early months of 1068 in the West Country, suppressing resistance orchestrated by the surviving members of the family of Harold Godwinson. Then, during the summer, a conspiracy involving the earls of Mercia and Northumbria had led William to carry war into those regions, planting castles in Warwick, Nottingham, Lincoln, Cambridge, Huntingdon and York. Castles were still a novelty in England, and Orderic Vitalis attributed the success of this campaign to their construction. Because of these new fortifications, said the chronicler, “the English, in spite of their courage and love of fighting, could put up only a weak resistance”. While the Midlands were tamed by this military innovation, the north was barely affected, with the single castle at York serving as a lone outpost of William’s authority. But that was about to change. When a foreign-born mercenary named Robert Cumin was appointed as the new Earl of Northumbria at the start of 1069, the Northumbrians responded by slaughtering him in Durham, along with all his men, and then marching south, hoping to retake York. William, who was back in Normandy, was once again forced to rush across the Channel and advance into northern England in order to raise the siege. Before returning south, he reinforced York with a second castle on the opposite banks of the Ouse. “In the face of the rebellion, William must have feared that the Norman conquest was in danger of being reversed” But two castles were not enough to save the city when a third northern rebellion erupted at the end of the summer. This time the trigger was an invasion sponsored by King Swein of Denmark, led by his brother, Asbjorn. Northern England had strong cultural and commercial links with Scandinavia as a result of earlier Viking settlement, and Danish intervention was evidently seen by many natives as preferable to rule by Normans. The leaders of Northumbrian society who had fled to Scotland the previous year now returned, “riding and marching with an immense host, rejoicing exceedingly”, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Together with the Danes they seized York, destroyed both its castles, and put the city’s sizeable Norman garrison to the sword.

[@phoenixrose1192]

Conquest on the line When William marched his army north in the autumn of 1069, therefore, it was with the knowledge that his earlier strategy had failed. He must also have been afraid that the Norman conquest, which we take for granted as a decisive historical turning point, was in serious danger of being reversed. Among the rebels was Edgar Ætheling, a member of the Old English royal line who had been proclaimed king in London after the battle of Hastings, and may have been crowned in York that autumn. As William was struggling to tackle the rebellion in the north, new risings broke out in both the West Country and the Welsh Marches, forcing him to send troops and commanders from his side, and eventually obliging him to cross the Pennines and confront these rebels in person. When he returned to Yorkshire in December, he was frustrated to discover that the Danes had returned to their ships in the river Humber and were beyond his reach. Faced with the prospect of defeat, William decided on a new, twofold solution. His first move was to buy off the Danes, promising them a large sum of money and permission to plunder the coast, provided they departed in the spring. The next step was to render northern England uninhabitable by subjecting it to a merciless harrying. There was military strategy in this. As another 12th-century historian, William of Malmesbury, explains, by destroying everything, the king was ensuring that there would be nothing to sustain the Danish army if they reneged on their pledge to go home. But, as both Malmesbury and Orderic attest, the king also ordered the harrying because he was angry. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of his soldiers had been killed at the start of the year in Durham and more recently in York. William, says Orderic, “made no effort to restrain his fury”. The harrying was an act of vengeance. From a purely military point of view, the campaign of devastation was a great success. At the start of the new year, William pursued the native leaders of the north as far as the river Tees, where they were forced to submit. The Danes, who predictably failed to leave as promised, were reduced to a miserable diet and considerable hardship - so much so that, when their king arrived in the spring of 1070, expecting to lead them to victory, he was quickly persuaded to make terms and depart. For the rest of William’s reign, there were no further risings in northern England. Edgar Ætheling, who fled back to Scotland and then to Flanders, eventually made his peace with the king in 1074. Eating horses and humans But from a human perspective, and a moral one, the campaign had been appalling. “So terrible a famine fell upon the people,” wrote Orderic, “that more than 100,000 Christian folk of both sexes, young and old alike, perished of hunger.” Another 12th-century writer, John of Worcester, reported that people were reduced to eating horses, dogs, cats and even human flesh. Simeon of Durham, adding to John’s account, asserted that the land between York and Durham lay uncultivated for the next nine years, its deserted villages haunted only by wild beasts and robbers. It is sometimes objected that these 12th-century chroniclers are too late to be credible, and that more closely contemporary accounts are not as sensational or as judgmental. But there is enough earlier evidence to corroborate the claims of later writers. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, a telegraphically terse source for this period, reports that William went to Yorkshire in 1069 and “ruined it completely”. William of Jumièges, who was possibly writing his Deeds of the Norman Dukes at the behest of the Conqueror himself, described how the king “massacred almost the whole population, from the very young to the old and grey”. Marianus Scotus, writing in Germany in the 1070s, reported that famine in England had caused people to resort to cannabalism, substantiating the account of John of Worcester. Most compelling of all, the late 11th-century chronicler at Evesham Abbey in Worcestershire penned a haunting picture of starving refugees turning up in great numbers at the abbey gates, only to die from exhaustion, or “through eating food too ravenously” - a line that recalls the tragic fate of some of those liberated from Nazi concentration camps. “Every day,” the Evesham Chronicler lamented, “five or six people, sometime more, perished miserably and were buried by the prior of this place.” The extent of the human suffering is also confirmed by Domesday Book. The famous document, the product of a kingdom-wide inquiry into landholding carried out at William’s command in 1086, is a uniquely valuable source for historians, not least because it preserves statistical data for not one but two (sometimes three) sets of dates - the condition a particular estate was in at the time of the survey, and its condition in 1066. Domesday can thus be used to demonstrate precisely how much had changed as a result of the Conquest, and in the case of the Harrying the answer is: a lot. In the folios that cover the northern shires - and, most especially, Yorkshire - the word that occurs time and again is “waste” (Latin: vasta). And the counties with the most waste were those in northern England and the Welsh Marches, harried by William in 1069-70, and also Sussex, which had been ravaged during the Hastings campaign. But the overwhelming majority of waste was concentrated in Yorkshire, which accounted for more than 80 per cent of the total for all of England. Other shires had recovered their values by the time of the survey, but in Yorkshire almost two-thirds of all holdings were still described as waste in 1086. Since 1066 the shire had lost more than 80,000 oxen and 150,000 people. Domesday, in other words, corroborates the scale of the death-toll given by Orderic Vitalis. Like most medieval chroniclers, Orderic had probably plucked his figure of 100,000 from the sky to mean “an awful lot”, but on this occasion the administrative record suggests he may actually have under-recorded the scale of human losses. “One account asserted that, for nine years, the land between York and Durham was haunted only by wild beasts and robbers” It is the scale of the suffering, in the end, that serves to condemn William. Historians will point out that harrying was the normal method of warfare practised by premodern armies. The Roman writer Vegetius, whose manual On Military Matters was much read in the Middle Ages, insisted that the whole point of war was “to secure supplies for oneself while destroying the enemy by famine”. The Vikings had repeatedly harried England in the early 11th century, and the shortlived King Harthacnut had harried the people of Worcestershire.

[@phoenixrose1192]

Burning and killing But, as the historian John Gillingham observes, it was rare that ravaging “was taken to the point of starving non-combatants to death”. Looting, burning and killing were all normal practice, but William’s destruction of all means of sustenance in Yorkshire was clearly extraordinary in its extent and thoroughness. The king must have known that the human cost would be terrible, but he nevertheless gave the order. In modern times we would have no hesitation in branding such an act as genocide - a term coined in 1944. Contemporaries did not do so, but they were clearly shocked by the amount of death William had caused. According to Orderic Vitalis, one soldier in the king’s army, Gilbert d’Auffay, returned to Normandy at this point, declining the offer of estates in England. Another, named Reinfrid, moved to sorrow by the effects of the Harrying, became a monk at Evesham, and later returned to Yorkshire to refound the derelict abbey of Whitby. The most shocked of all was Orderic himself. As a monk writing in Normandy in the 1120s, he looked back fondly on William’s reign. A major source for his own chronicle was a contemporary biography of the king written by William of Poitiers; Orderic was for the most part content to parrot its praise. But although he had spent most of his life in Normandy, Orderic had been born in England, and his mother was English. Born just five years after the Harrying, he must have heard many tales of horror from his mother and other locals until his father sent him to Normandy at the age of 10. Accordingly, when he came to write about these events, he departed from his usual panegyric. “When I think of helpless children, young men in the prime of life, and hoary grey-beards all perishing of hunger,” he said, “I am so moved to pity that I would rather lament the grief and sufferings of the wretched people than make a vain attempt to flatter the perpetrator of such infamy.” William had broken no human law, and would not be condemned by any earthly court. But Orderic declared that the king’s “brutal slaughter” would surely be punished. “For the almighty Judge watches over high and low alike; he will weigh the deeds of all in an even balance and, as a just avenger, will punish wrongdoing, as the eternal law makes clear to all men.” -Historyextra ‘Was William the Conqueror a war criminal? The brutal story of the Harrying of the North’

[@Fatherland927]

William the bastard*

[@zoetropo1]

The Normans were partly (about 5%) descended from Norsemen. Most of their ancestors were either Gauls or Bretons, as the Conqueror’s family tree reveals.

[@jamesmilne4233]

Genetic evidence counters this. Williams family tree does not show him as 5% Frank. I dispute your ascertain, and call your claim Shenanigans!!! Should you show up in my part of Auckland I will therefore take you out with my broom. DNA shows Normans appear nearly identical on the male lineage to the Anglo Saxons who had developed in Northern Germany alongside the Danes who lived alongside them and subsequently made up the majority of the norse force which occupied Northern France and became known as Normans. DNA does not show any Frankish influence in British DNA at all. If they had been 95% Frank, they would show up like a red DNA flag, which they don't. What you do not understood is it was not a small group of elite norse chieftains who settled in Normandy. No (local populations could push them out) it was a vast wave of male immigrants, possibly followed by some following families. I think someone has been watching too much of Vikings, and has got his history very very wrong. Rollo settled with a unified force. No masacre of Norsemen occured. My only issue is I didn't catch this BS when it was posted so I could nub it out 6 months ago.

[@jamesmilne4233]

@F. E. U Crap. Factually untrue and demonstrates you don't know the subject matter on any level whatsoever.

[@jamesmilne4233]

@F. E. U No I'm stating FACTS. My tested DNA shows my fathers lineage comes from Denmark despite the fact my family lived in Scotland from the time of King David 1124-53. You can be as dismissive as you like, but facts are facts. And your 5% argument is just simply scientifically wrong. I repeat you do not have any idea what you are talking about. The "Norman" conquest of Southern Italy was not some French folly either, but just too many war crazed Scandinavian horse lords with no where else to go, and that was prior to 1066. F. E. U. you are a historical conspiracy theorist who attempts to pollute the internet with misinformation. You hide behind a random set of letters. I front up to my statements with my real name, unlike yourself who simply posts BS. And I'm university educated, have researched my family history, proudly wear my Gordon kilt, and work bloody hard. You sit in your mothers basement popping white heads. Good day to to you, you silly little muppet.

[@jamesmilne4233]

@F. E. U And my knowledge of this time does not come from Wikipedia it comes from a lifetime of study and an obsession with getting facts right. You are just simply discredited.

[@jamesmilne4233]

My blood carries the hopes and dreams of everyone I have inherited it from. That is what makes it important. Where are you from F. E U. with your all knowing background and righteousness? I never said I had a bum life, are you like Trump and throw out insults that actually reflect on yourself? Let it all out, when at school did you realise you didn't really fit in?

[@anniemaymcneely2013]

My ancestor! Very proud of that. The Enigma of Hastings by Edwin Tetlow is an excellent book on this subject.

[@Wyzerwizardness79]

Hello family 😃

[@mandywyman5747]

My ancestor too. Hello family

[@koolmckool7039]

Hey brothers.

[@phoenixrose1192]

He also committed genocide against the English people in Northern England (where I’m from). Nice (!) 😒

[@feelsgoodman9751]

He also reigned for a long time, could have been a longer vid

[@unitor699industries]

i am playing crusader kings 2 as william duke of normandy just came to see his story

[@vladriot510]

sound stops at 8:47

[@thethreeedgedsword7253]

Peabody: Norman; Granted land by William the Conquerer for distinguished service at the battle of Hastings 1066 Brown: Norman; Granted land by William the Conquerer for distinguished service at the battle of Hastings 1066 Roosevelt: Norman; Granted land by William the Conquerer for distinguished service at the battle of Hastings 1066 Astor: Norman; Granted land by William the Conquerer for distinguished service at the battle of Hastings 1066 Russell Root Taylor Cabot Low Lovett All Norman families...each ones descendants have extensive connections to the course of history. All with descendants connected to the battle of Hastings. You could spend just a little time looking up the history of those families...and, well...you'll see:) History as we know it would be completely different if William had lost the battle of Hastings. William won Hastings only 12 years after the great schism between Eastern Orthodox and catholic Eastern Orthodox. It was only 30 years later that Christianity began its first crusades, with the first (the peasants crusade) in 1096. And 1099 the Knights Templar (now freemasonry) and Hospitilars (now the Knights of Malta)where created. None of this would be has Hastings gone differently...if I'm correct, and please please correct me if I'm wrong; but I believe William the conquerer was a descendant of Rollo the Viking...910 ad I think. Sorry, rant done...I'm just throwing random stuff I've learned about dear William, don't take my stuff as combative or corrective. Awesome video:)

[@Tipi_Dan]

+Michael Marleau - William was descended from the First Duke of Normandy, Rolf "the Ganger" (AKA "Rollo"). Rolf was called the Ganger because he was gangly. He traced his own ancestry to Fjornbrot, a king of Finland during the 400s. Those with Norman ancestry directly tied to Rollo have a pedigree that extends nearly 3/4 of the way back to Christ. Only some Welsh pedigrees exceed that in antiquity of origin.

[@Sarahshausofcrochet]

William the Conqueror is the sixth generation descendant of Rollo. Rollo was granted Normandy during the Viking invasion.

[@Sarahshausofcrochet]

Tipi Dan where can I find more information about Rollo’s ancestry?

[@Tipi_Dan]

Go to the library and request a library loan search for "House of Clifford" by Hugh Clifford, Lord Chudleigh. There are only a few copies in the US, and the work is not available online as a PDF or in any other form.

[@Sarahshausofcrochet]

Tipi Dan thanks. I’ve been tracing our genealogy and the furthest back I could trace it is Rollo.

[@johnkerr2438]

Charlemagne would be so proud.

[@Wahatoyas]

Found out I'm a decendant of rollo and William the conqueror

[@scottcowan6798]

Odd.. You used a stock image of Threave Castle (near Castle Douglas, South west Scotland) near the beginning..

[@headshotfaze9371]

NOT JOKING, I looked up videos about William the conqueror/bastard because today I found my family tree and found out he's my ancestor. Somewhere down the line though they moved to America, before that we were vikings

[@alexdaley4083]

What about Edgar the aethling?

[@jameslindsay9553]

That is the one of greatest sadness and injustice to truly come to the last Legimate Anglo Saxon King.The Mistake the Witan did was to first choose Harold as King first when in fact it should have gone to Edgar with Harold as his general and mentor.Also when Harold died even though they they agreed to Edgar they should have stuck with him and not give in to William who was for all intense and purposes a pychopath.He was no Canute and England lost its language and germanic ways.But its funny when they say the normans were of viking stock when in fact even the name William is not Viking but more French.So the french ways took over.Its such a shame as i love beowulf

[@johnkerr2438]

A people's language and culture defines their identity more than their appearance and genetic heritage. The Normans and the French people who resided in their dukedom WERE autonomous from the kingdom of France. But that didn't make them any less French. That unique relationship between France and Normandy is a result of events that occurred around 150 years before 1066. That's a long time! The English that we speak today is a direct result of the fusing of Old English(Anglo-Saxon) and French. The Norman conquest of England was actually a French invasion. 1066 was the year when the peoples of England, who were ethnically and culturally Celtic, Germanic and Scandinavian, began to become who we know today as the English.

[@fireandblood8142]

thank you for telling the hard truth to those who refuse to admit that England was ruled by French kings for 400 years.

[@johnkerr2438]

This type of white washing reminds me of how you never hear about the Welsh, Northern Irish, Scottish and English anymore ......now you just hear British and when people say British they really mean English. It's like the "others" of Britain never existed. If any group is the "other" it should be the English.......as they are really just the descendants of proto-viking invaders.

[@fireandblood8142]

I couldn't agree more. I know that in France (I'm French, Norman more specifically) a lot of people talk about England rather than UK. It bothers me because England is only a province of the United Kingdom. They seem to describe everyone living on the British Isles as English just because their "national language" is now English. It really pisses me off because we French have a strong connection with the Scots for centuries and yet most of us confuse them with the English. The same can be said about the Welsh and the Irish. Everyone call them either British or English, not by their true name.

[@hersirivarr1236]

The irony is that England's French kings managed to lose (almost) all of England's French land. Notes on English identity though. In the early 900s many Saxons and Danes were referred to as being Anglo-Saxons and Anglo-Danes. Alfred the great styled himself as being an Anglo-Saxon king, rather than a West Saxon king. It can be argued that the idea of 'Englishness' was shared by the Saxons and Danes living in Britain even before the unification of England. The Venerable Bede, who was writing before the Viking Age, referred to collection of Germanic people in Britain as being Ænglecynn, literally, 'English kin'. The most populated and productive regions of Scotland have never been predominantly Gaelic. Lothain and Galloway were English and Cumbric respectively. And later they were 'Scots Inglis' (English speakers) as opposed to 'Scots Irish' (Gaelic speakers). The same is roughly true with Wales, with many exclusively English Boroughs established by Edward Longshanks becoming the key economic power bases in Wales. The lands of the British Isles (including Ireland) outside of England have been massively Anglicized. Either through adopting the culture of the new settler overlords (Wales), having the invading culture forced upon you (Ireland) or even adopting the culture of the people your nation conquered (Scotland). Despite all the clamoring and moaning of the non-English British, Celticness is basically dead. It is a corpse held aloft by frothing nationalists who so greatly over romanticize the history of their non-sovereign nations that I can hardly take it seriously. And I'm part of the Scottish diaspora.

[@kilroyturner]

Hersir Ivarr blood is still a defining part of a nation though, if someone physically looks a lot different than you than realistically you will think they are not the same as you, this is very true here in the New World...

[@williamlove3087]

Interesting information about one of my ancestors

[@francoispellerin4268]

Le Havre wasn't founded until 1517.

[@Cougari72]

The third king. Edgar Aetheling was king for 6 weeks following the battle of Hastings and only submitted to William after his support disappeared as the Normans approach London

[@johnorchard4]

Edward the Confessor died in 1066, but since that was January, it would have still been considered 1065 in those days. In the modern calendar though, Edward must be counted too!

[@silversurfer640]

He was the third jing that year.

[@NepherionDraconian]

Greenhalgh castle too

[@hereigoagain5050]

Thanks for another informative video. Too bad today's leaders are unwilling to join the glory of the field of battle. Question. WC ushered in a new age of feudal rule. Where Anglo-Saxon farmers "free" (however defined) before the conquest? I look forward to a followup video on the legacy of WC. BTW. Interesting to learn that the Normans used some of the same battle tactics that made the Mongols so formidable centuries latter. Who would have guessed that long ship sailors would excel at horse.

[@johnorchard4]

Most were free before the conquest, and many were still free afterwards. If you look for villages or manors in which there was a tenure called meadstead, you will find a quite different set-up than the manor type we may have been taught about in school.

[@nole8923]

In a nutshell, he was smart but he was an a-hole. This was one of those times in history where the bad guy wins.

[@phoenixrose1192]

It really was, if there was a moment in English history I would personally change if anyone had a time machine handy, it would be this event. Though the sinking of Titanic is another example as well…🥺

[@FunkyHonkyCDXX]

Might want to think about remaking this one with your new gear

[@zoetropo1]

A feudal age, yes, but also the beginning of Parliament and universities.

[@richardduplessis1090]

'Militarism' would NOT have even been a concept in those days.

[@williamtim5893]

The last kingdom brought me here

[@zoetropo1]

William’s guardian was Alan III, Duke of Brittany. He was besieging the rebellious Roger I of Montgomery when he (Alan) died of a poisoned riding glove. The same thing happened to his son Conan II when Roger II of Montgomery was left in charge of Normandy. Roger II continued to be underhanded, grabbing land illegally and conniving with rebels into the late 1080s. Usually his wife Mabel of Bellême gets all the infamy, but we know better.

[@mat3714]

Great work but leave the music it's distracting

[@janaburritt6939]

Both of my parents were descendant of William the conqueror and one of his Knights. But I am more excited to be related to Noah and to Adam and Eve 🤠❤️😊

[@eazy8579]

Anyone else get an audio glitch with the audio getting scratchier

[@danielellis4749]

In 1066, England had three kings, not two: Edward the Confessor, Harold of Wessex, and William the Bastard.

[@nathanarmstrong7636]

My ancestor. Woooo.

[@davidmcgarry8910]

The title of this video is wrong. William was the fourth king of England in 1066. Edward died on January 5, 1066. Harold died on October 14, 1066. Edgar was then proclaimed king and his reign lasted till early December. William became king when Edgar submitted to him at a meeting in Berkhamstead.

[@orphieus87]

My last name is dilworth, I believe it has relation to this

[@nerdyguy1152]

This video fails to explain why Rollo convert to christianity. It’s Becoz vikings couldn’t sack paris (HEAVILY FORTIFIED and defended by Odo of France from 885 to 886) and chartres (defended by Robert 1 of france in 911) but the french couldn’t expel them either (the french did manage to defeat them). There was a stalemate. Thus the french proposed a deal and the vikings took it. Win-win. And unlike England which had 4 viking kings in total, France had 0 Viking kings

[@LucidWanderer]

Actually the Viking did sack Paris in the year 845

[@nerdyguy1152]

@@LucidWanderer i made it clear in my message that paris was successfully defended from 885 to 886 (which is 45 years later). Of course the vikings’ surprise tactics didn’t work well in both france and england because both places started off with heavy fortifications at major places since 860s

[@haydeen6535]

I dont think that has anything to do with the context of this video. Rollo was centuries before William. This is about William, not Rollo.

[@chuch541]

Rollo was literally Williams father, is this dude serious? Why even comment?

[@haydeen6535]

@@chuch541 William the Conqueror came nearly two centuries after Rollo.

[@thebeautyofcatholicism4227]

I can trace my Father's side back to Hulbert De La Heuse who was born in Normandy, France but died in England 1070. Can someone help with where that name originated?

[@kathleengarvey4634]

To be precise, William was the 3rd king in 1066. Edward the Confessor then Harald Godwinson and finally William

[@bredmond812]

I have a question: if Edward the Confessor was a real king, how could Edward the Longshanks be called Edward the First? It's not like monarchs reset their naming after the change of a dynasty. As an example, Elizabeth II is from the Windsor Dynasty, whereas Elizabeth I is from the Tudor Dynasty. Elizabeth of Windsor is not called Elizabeth the first.

[@danielpatrick3761]

Because the Normans started all kings names again after 1066. Edward Longshanks was the first post invasion king to have an English name, the vast majority had French names, and still do to this day.

[@tilesetter1953]

Forever Changes Right, anglo-saxon kings were no longer recognized as kings of England.

[@tilesetter1953]

Brandon Redmond Windsor! Hahaha, more like Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.

[@johnhall3867]

The Buruns' are my family.

[@nerdyguy1152]

And needless to say that william the conqueror imposed norman french language on england, not dane, not swede, not norse. Facts are facts. No bias

[@alicemi4155]

Of course. He imposed his own language (and dialect), why would he impose anyone else's? He didn't see himself as Scandinavian, and he wasn't going to impose any language he himself didn't understand or use.

[@nerdyguy1152]

alice mi that makes perfect sense. I feel so glad to speak with someone who can actually think on youtube. Nice to meet u!

[@phoenixrose1192]

Until the Normans integrated and spoke Anglo-Norman, which was a precursor of Middle English. So they integrated and stopped being Norman, as they had stopped being Northmen before, as you say.

[@nerdyguy1152]

@@phoenixrose1192 in fact the normans continued speaking norman-french until the end of hundred years war, and english language became so different from old english as it’s been injected with lots of norman-french elements

[@phoenixrose1192]

@@nerdyguy1152 Actually the “Normans” at this time had mixed Anglo-Saxon and Norman heritage. So they spoke Middle English at the time, it definitely went both ways.

[@colinp2238]

Was Pevensey originally a Roman settlement?

[@HistoryTime]

Indeed it was. It was originally a Roman shore Fort built in the Fourth Century to fend off aggressors such as the pesky Angles and Saxons.

[@colinp2238]

Thanks.

[@tunahelpa5433]

I just typed in a very long comment. When I added it someone else's comment appeared under my name. Obviously I don't know who posted it. They wanted subtitles. Sorry for that guy but even more sorry for myself. My orig comment was that the poster used poor grammar in describing Battle of Val-ès-Dunes.

[@tunahelpa5433]

Also, thanks and kudos to the poster for providing these neat history lessons

[@tonyt1399]

Surely you meant to title this, William the Conqueror: The Third king of 1066, wasn't Edgar Aetheling technically the second?

[@danielpatrick3761]

Yes.

[@HistoryTime]

It's just a title guys. And actually no, Edgar was the third in order. . You've got 5 kings/ serious claimants to the throne in 1066 - All of whom I'll be making videos on eventually. Edward the Confessor, Harold Godwinson, Edgar Atheling, William and Harald Hardrada.

[@johnorchard4]

But there were three actual kings in England in 1066. Edward, Harold and William!

[@kevincasey5035]

@@johnorchard4 Yep, three crowned Kings as you say. Edgar Ætheling was chosen by the Witan to rule but was never crowned.