William the Conqueror Edward Augustus Freeman Batoche Books Kitchener 2004 Originally published 1888. This edition 2004 Batoche Books
[email protected] Contents Chapter 1: Introduction ..................................................................................................5 Chapter 2: The Early Years of William: A.D. 1028–1051 ...............................................8 Chapter 3: William’s First Visit to England: A.D. 1051–1052 ...................................... 19 Chapter 4: The Reign of William in Normandy: A.D. 1052–1063 ................................ 23 Chapter 5: Harold’s Oath to William: A.D. 1064? ........................................................ 32 Chapter 6: The Negotiations of Duke William: January–October 1066........................38 Chapter 7: William’s Invasion of England: August–December 1066............................48 Chapter 8: The Conquest of England: December 1066–March 1070 .......................... 57 Chapter 9: The Settlement of England: 1070–1086 ......................................................68 Chapter 10: The Revolts Against William: 1070–1086 .................................................81 Chapter 11: The Last Years of William: 1081–1087 .....................................................98 Chapter 1: Introduction The history of England, like the land and its people, has been specially insular, and yet no land has undergone deeper influences from without. No land has owed more than Eng- land to the personal action of men not of native birth. Britain was truly called another world, in opposition to the world of the European mainland, the world of Rome. In every age the history of Britain is the history of an island, of an island great enough to form a world of itself. In speaking of Celts or Teutons in Britain, we are speaking, not simply of Celts and Teutons, but of Celts and Teutons parted from their kinsfolk on the mainland, and brought under the common influences of an island world.