William The Conqueror: The Viking-Blooded King Of Europe

In just over a century, the descendants of Rollo the Viking transformed Normandy into one of the most powerful duchies in France. But that was nothing compared to what this small territory would become. In the 11th century, one man would make Normandy richer and more powerful than anyone imagined. Well, as Duke of Normandy, William made the duchy a leading player on the international scene. They called him William the Bastard. But he would soon get a new nickname, the Conqueror. William is the most able soldier of the 11th century, operating in a very, very violent and competitive atmosphere. As he leads his men into one of the greatest battles in medieval history. On paper, this would have been seen as almost foolhardy, too ambitious to be even possible. And makes the Normans the new masters of England. So this is the first time that a Norman duke has also been a king of somewhere else and has integrated Normandy into a cross-channel kingdom. This is the story of the extraordinary events that would change the destiny of Europe. By the beginning of the 11th century, Normandy in the northwest of the Kingdom of France is one of the country's most prosperous regions. After several centuries of Viking invasions, peace finally reigns. Trade is booming and rich fisheries and fertile land feed its people. This wealth funds construction. New villages and monasteries are appearing all over the province. With nearly 700,000 inhabitants, it is one of the most populous in the country. The only problem is that this duchy is ruled by a child. William's father died suddenly when he was only eight. So now the boy is Duke of Normandy. Remember the biblical statement, woe to the land whose king is a child. We must always think of the failure of authority as was normal in society and see a crisis coming as a result. In this case, the crisis is in the Norman nobility. At the time, the Duchy of Normandy, like all of the principalities of the kingdom, is governed by a feudal system. A duke gives lands to the lords, his vassals. In exchange, they owe him fidelity and obedience. The larger a lord's domain, the stronger their power. So they're constantly at war with their neighbouring lords to expand their territory. When William's father dies, Normandy's lords sense a political vacuum. The duchy descends into violence. With the duke removed, this is an opportunity for different families, different members of the elite to settle scores and to, as it were, pursue vendettas over estates, over castles, control of monastic houses, control of resources, economic resources. So that's what's so frightful about it. Some of those lords even want to seize power over all of Normandy. To do it, they will murder the relatives of the young duke in order to take their place. They're looking to have influence over the young duke William and they look towards their enemies and allies and the pieces on the chessboard are moving around and they're trying to position themselves in a good place. William is surrounded by death. One night, a man sneaks into the room the 12-year-old shares with his guardian and murders the duke's protector while he sleeps. Growing up in the midst of such violence will have quite an influence on William's character. So at an early age, he will have learned that he cannot trust all those who are around him. He will have learned to be wary and he will have learned the need to, at times, assert his own authority against those who would wish it otherwise. And he'll soon prove it. William has grown up and he's ready to teach a lesson to anyone who threatens his authority. A lord from western Normandy has seized his castle of Falaise. It was where his mother came from, where he was born, and it is very important that is identified as the first military campaign in which he was leading. The castle at Falaise is a great fortress and it is, of course, the ducal fortress at this time as well. It's a symbol of power. It's this great symbol of lordship in the landscape, of course, and it's so important, this ducal palace. William needs to prove that he is no longer a vulnerable young boy. He must get his castle back and restore order in Normandy. Fail at Falaise and it's a major setback for William. Succeed and it's a demonstration that he's here to stay and he means business. So it's a test case. But it won't be easy. Falaise is a real fortress. Protected by two rivers and built on a rocky outcrop more than 130 feet high, the castle is almost inaccessible. And it's built of stone, which is rare in Normandy at the time. The main body consists of two courtyards, a low and a high one, separated by an open ditch and with towers topped with wooden hoardings designed to protect the entrances and provide refuge in case of attack. Solid stone ramparts surround the entire fortress and block any attacks by battering rams. There's no way for the young duke of Normandy to attack Falaise head on. So he decides to lay siege to it. One of the better tactics of warfare in this period, you want to actually try to avoid killing people as much as you can. You try to avoid open battle. The idea behind a siege is essentially to cut off the castle from its supplies, to simply block it from anything coming in or coming out. So then you trap the people inside and then it's simply a waiting game. It can be quite brutal, right? If you have no access to water when your food starts running out. Historians have very little information about the siege of Falaise. The most likely hypothesis is that it was very short. There would have been no fighting. William's show of force was enough to make the rebels capitulate. The young duke is sending a clear message. He will no longer permit any challenge to his authority. Now William is clearly commanding the duchy. It means that those disruptive elements, which don't disappear overnight, look to target him rather than his guardians. So for the first time, the rebels will attempt to assassinate William himself. In 1046, the duke prepares to spend a weekend hunting at a manor along with all the principal lords of lower Normandy, unaware that most of them are hatching a plot against him. There would have been an oath between these plotters to swear to eliminate the duke. It was aimed to overthrow William, a sort of palace revolution, so to speak. But someone overhears their conversation. He runs to warn William. William's said to have jumped on a horse in response to this news and immediately ridden east. The whole future of Normandy is at stake. Alone in the forest, William rides more than 60 miles to escape his enemies. William reached the town of Valais in one go, where he was able to take shelter. This assassination attempt will leave its mark on William forever. It has a strong impact on his personality. It makes him very intolerant of opposition. It makes him a ruthless man. The young duke has had enough of a divided Normandy. It's time to unify the duchy under his banner. Just how remains to be seen. William is still young. He doesn't have the military control of an army that is going to face significant opposition, who have military experience, who have powerful vassals. William now comes up with an idea worthy of a great politician. In 1047, he arrives at the court of King Henry I of France to ask for his help to put down the revolt. William appeals to King Henry of France for assistance because this is the first big direct rebellion against him now as duke and as running the show in Normandy. And it's clearly a very serious one. And as his nominal lord, Henry is a logical person to turn to. In feudal France, all the dukes are under the authority of the king. They are his vassals. They owe him fidelity and obedience. In exchange, the king owes them all protection, especially military protection. For Henry, William was his vassal. William held Normandy as a fiefdom of the French king. So for Henry, an attack on his vassal was like an attack on royal authority. So therefore, Henry helped out with William's problems. He considers that young William is the only legitimate prince. And therefore, all those who are opposed to William are already showing their claims to be illegitimate. It is a strong political act. The two new allies prepare for military action to put down the rebellious lords. In 1047, it leads to the Battle of Val-es-Dunes. William's army has only 550 men, but they are now reinforced with 950 soldiers loyal to the king. Having the king's support is another form of legitimacy that William can say that he isn't the right on this. He is fighting a legitimate battle with legitimate support from legitimate kings. The rebels have about 1,100 men and a strong motivation of their own. If they win, they take over the duchy. But suddenly, just as this battle is about to begin, one of the rebels approaches William. This one man will change the course of the battle and the destiny of Normandy. His name is Raoul de Tesson. He's one of the plotters who just a few weeks earlier vowed to kill the duke. This time, though, his motives seem peaceful. When he arrived, he gave him a clout on the cheek and said, there, I fulfilled my oath. I swore I would hit you first. Now, I'm at your command. About 250 of the plotters change sides and join the loyalist ranks. Now, the rebels are clearly outnumbered. This is hugely problematic for the rebels' chances of success in terms of this. They're caught unaware. But it's also terrible for morale. Because whenever anyone changes sides, this is kind of a sign that you're on the losing side anyway. So that's kind of a decisive moment. At 10 a.m., the battle gets underway, with insults and war cries from the men to pump up their courage, followed by a charge into combat. William quickly proves himself to be a shrewd field general. It's mobilizing his resources, using the landscape to shield his shadowing of armies, and then using the landscape to approach and fall upon an enemy before they have time to organize. William is very good at exploiting the landscape against his enemies. He proves it at Val-les-Dunes. He knows that there's a river about six miles to the west. So he forces the rebels back to it, knowing that for soldiers in heavy armor, it's an impassable obstacle. The battle becomes a rout. Legend has it that the River Orne ran red with blood. There's no reference to prisoners being taken, that the final stages of the battle were a massacre. William did not fight many battles, but in every case, the final stages of victory are a massacre. After Val-les-Dunes, there's no one who can really step forward to try to challenge him. So he genuinely becomes the most powerful man in Normandy. He's seen now as the Duke of Normandy. He is the man who holds the power. A unified Normandy will now be able to grow. First, though, William has to create a lasting peace. So he invokes the Truce of God, which prohibits the Norman lords from waging war from Wednesday to Monday, and during certain periods of the year, Advent and Christmas, Lent and Easter, Ascension and Pentecost. Up until now, this has been an injunction of the Catholic Church. But when William himself sanctions it as law, it becomes much more convincing. From now on, it's not just excommunication, it's the sword and ducal justice. That's to say, one risks death. William will put Normandy in a stable peace and will finally allow the province to become one of the richest in France. That created the conditions for exchange, for growth of markets, for the peasantry to till the land, pasture animals in peace without having crops destroyed, fields ruined, cattle stolen. That really is that peace. A peace that Normandy, you know, hasn't had in some time. Normandy and its people now benefit from a spectacular economic boom. William has a lot of resources at its command. There is a lot of good land and, of course, land is where the money is. The agricultural base of the entire area gives a lot of wealth and a lot of power. And, of course, you have the seaboard as well, so you have the fishing. And fishing, especially of herring and the type, was hugely important to the medieval economy. So there's those elements that make it very wealthy. As the duchy prospers, William is able to raise huge sums through taxes. Now he has the financial power to undertake military campaigns. All that remains is to convince the whole kingdom of that power. The city of Caen, located in present-day Calvados, becomes his showpiece. At the time, Caen is only a small peasant settlement with meadows, some churches and mills, and a port. William will transform it into one of the duchy's largest cities. He builds a vast stone castle that covers more than 12 acres, an extraordinary size. As the population expands, a village grows up at the foot of the castle. Soon it is surrounded by a wall. So the development of Caen is a great statement by William that he is now a very powerful duke of Normandy. He signs this statement with two buildings in come. The Abbey aux Dames and the Abbey aux Hommes, both masterpieces of Norman Romanesque art. It is a vivid show of power by the duke. An abbey in the Middle Ages affects thousands and thousands of people. To build an abbey, you need to call on masons, hundreds, even thousands of masons, blacksmiths, glaziers. So you give a lot of work to a lot of people. There's a century's worth of work. So it's an extraordinary guarantee, a dynamic, and William is the first to do this. Soon, new abbeys are springing up throughout the whole duchy. Before William, in 150 years, the dukes of Normandy had founded only 12 abbeys. In just 20 years, William builds 27 of them. This is where you see the political will of a man who will transform Normandy. The duchy is now the greatest and richest military power in France. And William may not stop there. Soon, a whole new kingdom could belong to him. In England, the king, Edward the Confessor, has no heir. He's the son of a Norman princess and a cousin of William. So he promises his cousin that on his death, he'll pass the crown of England on to him. The prospect that a duke of Normandy might be king of England is now becoming increasingly clear. And so for Henry, this now means that William is becoming a problem. The king of France begins to eye his former ally with suspicion. William's ambition seems to be spreading beyond his duchy. Around 1050, William marries Mathilde, a descendant of Charlemagne. She is also the niece of King Henry I, a princess of royal blood. The marriage brings the duke of Normandy into one of the most prestigious families in Europe. And that's not all. Mathilde is also the daughter of the Count of Flanders, a major maritime principality in northern France. With this marriage, the duchy has gained a powerful new ally. If William tries to invade new territories, he'll have Flanders' support. William has become a formidable power, perhaps even more powerful than the king. Normandy is starting to become a threat. So even though the duke of Normandy is, on technical terms, a vassal of the king of France, it's still a competition. Seven years previously, Henry I helped young William secure Normandy. But now he needs to weaken him. He goes to war against his former ally. His goal is to converge on Rouen, the Norman capital, and take it. I think he tries to clip William's wings. It's more about punishing and marginalizing William, of teaching him a lesson, cornering him, undermining his power. There's a degree to which William's got too big for his boots. On their march to the capital, the royal troops invade Norman villages and sack them. They slaughter women and children. But William orders his men to avoid confrontation. He's waiting for the right moment. William had this strategy of shadowing invading armies or attacking armies rather than engaging them full on. So he employed a tactic of battle avoidance because battles were very risky. But William seems to have caught the rearguard of the French unprepared. One morning in March, near the Norman village of Mortemer, William's strategy pays off. His men notice that Henry's soldiers are drunk and their camp undefended. French soldiers had been indulged in a night of plunder and drinking and raping, so they're caught unawares. And this actually is a feature of many aspects of William's life when we think of his personality. He always attacks before his opponents are ready. Normans blockaded the escape routes for the French and so it turned into a massacre. When he hears of this disaster, the king is furious. He withdraws from Normandy and comes to a truce with the duke. Three years later, Henry I tries his luck again with even more disastrous results. This time his men are massacred at the Battle of Varaville. Never again will the king try to interfere in Norman affairs. William's hands are free at last. Over the next 10 years, he enlarges his duchy by conquering the neighboring men. He organizes military expeditions to Brittany and builds several strongholds to secure his border. Never has Normandy been so strong. But on the 5th of January 1066, there's a dramatic turn of events. Over in England, King Edward is at death's door. Now William can get his hands on the English crown. But on his deathbed, Edward promises the title to his faithful confidant and right-hand man. The wealthy aristocrat, Harold Goodwinson. The next day, the very day of the funeral, Harold is hastily crowned King of England. The news hits William like a bombshell. He was furious. In his mind, he was the legitimate prince. According to Norman law, it is only the first designation of an heir that is valid. Because they believe that decisions at the time of death may be subject to pressure or misguided spirits of the dying ruler. But according to the English law, it is the last designation that has value. Therefore, we have two sets of law and two legitimate princes. Who can decide? No one but God. And God always decides on the battlefield. William's mind is made up. He will cross the channel and take the English crown by force. To many, William's plan is pure madness. He intends to move from one side of the English channel to the other in the middle of the night a thousand ships carrying some 15,000 men, 5,000 horses and all the essential war material. It'll be a very high-risk landing. If the plan fails, Normandy itself will be done for. So it is quite ambitious. It's quite bombastic. And I think to some degree, he had the logistics. He had the leadership. He had the brutality. He had so many things behind him that worked. But I think on paper, this would have been seen as almost foolhardy, too ambitious to be even possible. To pull it off, the duke will need the support of as many nobles as possible. So in March 1066, he gathers them all together and makes his case. Many are reluctant. An expedition on this scale has not been attempted at all before. So yes, there's considerable hesitancy amongst the Norman barons who see this as a high-risk and potentially low-gain venture as well. So they don't necessarily think he can do it. It's not the sort of thing the Normans have done previously. They fought their immediate neighbours. They've not gone on a set of boats across a large expanse of sea and fought in a completely different kingdom. But William knows how to convince them. He emphasises the possible gains. And he does clearly make also much of this, that there is great wealth in England in terms of this. And he looks to recruit in terms of that well beyond his own frontiers. So the eventual army has a significant Norman element, but large numbers of Bretons, large numbers of men from Flanders, who again he's saying, come with me, and if we win, riches will be yours. William gets their support. A gigantic war enterprise is set in motion. It has to be swift. The new King of England mustn't have time to prepare his defences. It calls for enormous resources, not least of them, a fleet of 1,000 ships. Those vessels are dracars, the same ships used by the Vikings a century earlier. They're requisitioned or built in record time. Normandy is rich in forests of oak and beech and can provide the necessary wood. 7,000 trees are cut down and transported to the coast. He also has to find 5,000 horses suitable for combat and thousands of soldiers. It is remarkable the speed with which William is able to exploit the resources of an 11th century principality. In mid-July 1066, William asks all his forces to rally at Dives-sur-Mer on the Normandy coast. In this base camp of about 250 acres, the disparate groups of soldiers gather together. The masts of the ships stretch as far as the eye can see. More than 1,000 tents are pitched. There are 15,000 men in total, thousands of soldiers, plus sailors, cooks, grooms, blacksmiths, carpenters. That's a lot of men and horses to feed for two months. It is estimated that 30 tons of wheat were produced each day, 20 tons of oats for the horses, 15 tons of straw, 100,000 liters of water for the horses, and the same for men. It's estimated that they needed 26,000 gallons of wine, as well as all this equipment and other food which had to be supplied to them. It's hugely expensive because if you don't feed and look after the troops, they're not going to hang around forever. Not to mention, back in the Middle Ages, the hygiene problems of such a concentration of men and animals. It's estimated that there was 5 million pounds of horse manure that had to be dealt with, and 700,000 gallons of horse urine. So all these things had to be considered. So it's a huge logistical operation. But the weather is working against them. The winds aren't favorable to a channel crossing. The ships lie stranded in port. This was probably the most impressive part of the entire campaign, is the fact that he keeps the army together for many months, keeps them supplied, keeps up morale sufficiently, that they do not simply give up and go back to where they've come from. William puts this weight to good use. At the time, one great battle would usually be decisive. But his army must be able to stand up to the formidable forces of the new King Harold. First, he needs to train his men to train his knights. They come from all over Europe. He's not going to bring them along like that without training. They must be trained. They must be taught to form elite corps. They also have to master the technique of embarking and disembarking 5,000 horses in record time. The Normans are the descendants of the Vikings, yet this is the first time they'll attempt a maritime operation like this. They will board at low tide to avoid any pitching and rolling that could scare the horses. The ship is firmly moored to dry land. The horses board ship by a sloping ramp. 5,000 horses and 15,000 men all have to be boarded within four or five hours. As the tide comes in, little by little, it smoothly raises the ship. The moorings can be cast off gradually. The ship should then float smoothly on the current down to the estuary and out to sea. We can even imagine the training, the dedication that would go into having more horses that are that calm and that able to take command in order to simply board a ship and stay still on a ship, not to panic, not to fight, not to buck. You know, this is an incredible amount of skill and training both on the parts of the horses and their masters. It's an insane operation. The smallest grain of sand could have been a catastrophe. The 12th of September, 1066. After six weeks of preparations at Dives-sur-Mer, the troops finally embark. But they don't head for England. Their first port of call is Saint-Valéry in the Bay of the Somme. From there, it's a shorter passage to reach Pevensey, the landing place that William has chosen. For thousands of men, the long wait is over. The 28th of September, the winds are finally favorable. At 6 p.m., the whole fleet is at sea. It's running at a speed of five knots. William's vessel takes the lead. But at dawn, he finds himself alone off the English coast. His men think that it's a total failure, that the expedition is lost. To show that he's not afraid, William asks to be served a feast. And he'll eat and drink heartily. It's to reassure his men, obviously. Everything's going to plan, lads, right? No cause for anxiety. It's a bit like a reassuring comment from a pilot after turbulence. It's, as it were, all shall be well. And indeed, a man said at one point, I see a forest moving forward. This is indeed the entire fleet. The Normans can disembark. No enemy awaits them. Harold's troops are in the north of the kingdom, where he has just defeated the Norwegians, who are also claiming the crown of England. The Normans come ashore and get ready. In the coming days, William's men will change the history of England and Normandy forever. William, this time, is looking for battle because he wants to have a decisive battle to try as the best way to conquer the land. Because if the enemy king is killed, then it's easier for William to take control. Although he avoided battle on most occasions, he knew at times he had to take a risk. The Battle of Hastings takes place on the 14th of October, 1066. William's 8,000 men take up their positions in a steep field, a few miles from the landing site. They're divided into three groups, each in the same formation. In the first row, the archers, about 1,000 of them. In the second line, the 5,000 infantrymen. At the rear are the knights on horseback, 2,500 of them. This is the Norman way. The Normans are the only ones to fight on horseback. The Normans were the first to select horses. And they're going to have a breed of fearless horses that are not afraid of anything and that are real battle horses. By now, William's great rival, Harold, is waiting for them. He has an advantage. He knows the lay of the land. He set up his army on Senlac Hill, which dominates the plain from the height of 130 feet. His 8,000 men are positioned on a ridge only 7,500 yards long. In the middle, Harold has lined up his house carls, all formidable professional warriors. The English have this reputation for fighting on foot. And they are some of the best infantry in Europe. Soldiers were packed so tightly together behind the shield wall. And by setting up his infantry in a defensive formation on the top of a hill, he maximizes their prospects for defending against a cavalry attack. Because it's very hard for Norman cavalry to breach the ranks of a well-trained army arrayed on top of a hill. So the English have the high ground, but the Normans have the ability to cover the distance. William has little room for maneuver. It has to be a frontal assault. At the cry of Normandy, William urges on his troops. The English jeer back at them. Hit hard and fast, those are the orders. At 9am, William unleashes his archers. His archers try to soften up the English ranks, which is a good strategy. Archers are particularly effective against massed infantry. But even so, the hill will have taken some of the efficacy out of the Norman archery. But the archers can't get any closer. From the top of the hill, the English rain javelins down on them. So William orders his infantry to storm the hill. The men are massacred. So the Normans and their allies are having a hard time breaking down the English. So they're losing optimism and morale. It's a massacre. The first phase of the battle is catastrophic for the Normans. It's a disaster. So William sends in the cavalry. He must breach the English line at all costs. Desperate to inspire his men, the Duke himself takes the lead. And then, William falls from his horse. Rumor goes through the Normans that William has been killed, that he's actually been killed within the action. This isn't true. We know this, of course. But in the heat of battle, you know, think men, horses, you know, sweat, blood, dirt everywhere. That moment of panic when you realize that your leader is dead, if you think that your leader is dead. So panic ripples through the Norman side. This is the famous moment where William is said to have raised up his helmet to show his face to his men, to show that I'm still alive and to rally the ranks. William knows that he has to show himself. He has to be seen to be their leader. Being a leader is, you know, a leader of men is being a military leader. He has to be seen and he has to reassure his men that he is still there. It's 11 a.m. The fighting has been going on for two hours. This is usually how long a battle lasts in the Middle Ages. But on October the 14th, 1066, the stakes are such that neither side is ready to give up. William and his men try to find a way to regain control. Somehow, they must force the English army to leave the top of the hill and come down to them. But their leader, King Harold, is holding firm. The instructions that he will give are, do not leave your ranks under any circumstances. But then William decides to try an old Norman ruse, the false flight. The idea is to pretend that his army is in retreat. Believing they've won today, hundreds of Englishmen would then descend from the hill and rush off in pursuit of their fleeing opponents. It's a complexity you can't imagine. There must be deaths. It's necessary to be credible so that the English, at some point, would believe that this is it. We got the Normans and when they run away, we'll chase them. What it involves is a very clear command to be given at the moment in which the army, which is seemingly retreating, turns around and attacks. William's cunning plan works. The English fall into the trap. By leaving their hilltop, they leave themselves vulnerable. It becomes a bloodbath. By losing their position, the English lose, I think, the best chance that they would have had to essentially defend. And now they're on the run and now they're being slaughtered in the field. The fighting has been going on for seven hours. The moment of truth is approaching. William must finish the battle before night falls by killing Harold. He sends out a four-man hit squad. In the thick of the action, Harold is brought down by an arrow to the eye. Death on battlefield is probably the easiest way to hand over a kingdom. By right then, that becomes yours. It is the clearest victory. It's the clearest defeat that can happen. The battle, one of unprecedented violence, is over. It leaves behind 3,000 dead on the English side, 2,000 among the Normans. William, known now as William the Conqueror, is the new master of the kingdom. Two months later, on the 25th of December 1066, in London, William is crowned king of England and thus enters into legend. So this is the first time that a Norman duke has also been a king of somewhere else and has integrated Normandy into a cross-channel kingdom. By gaining the crown of England for Normandy, William has made the duchy a leading player on the international scene. Normandy's power and influence is probably at its greatest in the years following William's victory at 1066. Particularly once he becomes securely established in England by the 1070s, he is now one of the most powerful rulers in Europe. He has Europe's most centralized kingdom, England, under his control. But he also is, simply by virtue of being duke of Normandy, a leading power in northern France. By comparison, the king of France's territory now looks insignificant. This will lead to much jealousy. Now you have one man who is both a vassal to the king of France, but also a king, an equal king, a brother king as well. So you have incredibly complicated and nuanced relationships that have to be enacted here. This imbalance between the king of France and the duke of Normandy has only just begun. William's death in 1087, 21 years after his coronation, changes nothing. The conflict will last for more than a century and a half. One after the other, the dukes of Normandy will stand up to their French sovereign through recurring wars and incessant rivalries, until, that is, the point of no return. Richard the Lionheart is both the head of the duchy of Normandy and the king of England. But through a series of alliances and inheritances, he now also owns the majority of the kingdom of France. The king, Philip Augustus, is trembling in his boots. Next to Richard's empire, his territory looks weak. These two giants will have to face each other in a final reckoning. The fate of Normandy is at stake.