King Of Normandy A Hero's Journey

William believed he would be welcomed with open arms as the new king, but he severely misinterpreted the situation. The throne of England was far from that of Normandy. It was beyond Edward’s ability to promise the throne to William auspiciously and conclusively. However, a similar situation occurred with Harold Earl of Wessex. As he lay dying Edward’s dying word left the care of his wife and kingdom in the hands of Harold. Howard mentions that this could have been misinterpreted as well. Harold’s dying words of, “I commend this woman and all the kingdom to your protection” does not explicitly label Harold as the King. Edward’s dying words did give Harold a higher leverage in that early English laws labeled The King as ruler and protector of the people and not the actual territory. Harold’s claim to the throne is made more legitimate because The Witan later chooses him.

However, Edward did something very odd—he promised the crown to William, Duke of Normandy—a cousin through Edward’s mother, Emma. This perplexingly odd promise was made even stranger when, according to the Bayeux Tapestry, Harold was shipwrecked off the coast of Normandy and brought to stay at the court of William. There he supposedly swore an unbreakable oath, giving William his loyalty and support in his path to the crown. He returned to England. Yet when the king died, his dying words seemed to be appointing Harold “protector” of England, which was interpreted as “king”. So Harold was named the king, breaking his supposed promise to William. Furious, William invaded England. Freshly crowned, Harold was not only dealing with this Norman threat, but also an invading Norwegian Viking army, led by Harald Hardrada, who, like William, also believed he had a claim to the throne. Harold easily defeated Harald’s forces at the Battle of Stamford Bridge (near York), but then was forced to drive his tired, bedraggled army to Hastings to confront the invading Norman troops. There, at the famed Battle of Hastings, William became William the Conqueror, decisively defeating the English, killing Harold, and winning the crown.

William was a better leader because although Harold had the upper hand in the battle and they were losing, William managed to outwit and defeat the English. In the Bayeux Tapestry there is a scene depicting that in the days preceding the

William’s father went on a pilgrimage in 1034 to release his sins. While returning home from his journey, he died suddenly. Having no other heir, William took his place as Duke of Normandy.

When Edward came into power in 1042, England was in a poor state financially and also because of threats of an invasion and this made the first few years of his rule difficult. Edward was faced with many problems which he had to overcome. These problems involved; powerful Earls, (especially the Godwine’s), the foreign policy and the domestic policy. Edward both failed and succeeded in these problems due to a number of factors. These include a lack of knowledge about his kingdom and some may argue that he was naïve in his decisions. With some evaluation, we will be able to judge if Edward was a successful King or not.

William was already good and experienced at ruling so thus should be no problem for him. William was already the ruler of Normandy and was doing a great job so being ruler of England wouldn’t be a

The night air was heavy with silence. Clouds drifted across a calm sky, and a full moon shone in the distance. In a small hut on the outskirts of the valley, an old man lay in bed, awake in the peaceful slumber of the village. His breaths came in rattling gasps, his forehead burned, and his joints felt stiff with pain. He shifted on the blankets, his withered hands clenched in fists as he tried to suppress the wave of bitter memories coming to him. His life had been nothing more than work, loss, tragedy. He remembered all of his hope, his ambition, in his youth, and he smiled bitterly. No one would remember him as the man that he had once hoped he would become. Now, as his breathing became heavier and he felt himself fading on the brink of

Arguably the most important factor in the exertion of power over the English was the ability by the Normans to act militarily. The warlike attitude of the Normans, combined with the religious aspects that will be discussed later, provided them with a ready and capable army with which to support William’s claim to the throne. The early years of William’s rule, after the 1066 defeat of Harold, emerged as a sort of military occupation within England by the Normans. These years were crucial in the Norman advance within England. When William came to England he arrived with a large support of military men and much of these supporting military men remained in England because of their military duties. This army aided William not only in the initial battle against Harold, but later as well, through their

William came back to village, face the problem of Prime night, and is invited to fight against England, but he refused. Returning to his land and refusing its calling are one of the first steps of the hero's trajectory. He married in secret with Murom who is killed for disobey the prima nocte and he starts his fight for justice by killing the part of the enemy. The hero leaves his common life to face challenges in a new reality and start his journey as a hero. England send many armies and many battles are fought. William and his followers won the battles, and he now wants to invade England and give freedom to his people. In this time William is recognized as a hero and he understand his purpose, more allies, and more enemies. He fights no only

William was born to Robert I of Normandy and Herleva, a woman who lived with Robert I but was lower than a wife, in 1028 (“William I”). In a royal family being the eldest male child gives you direct claim to the throne, and luckily for William he was

William the Conqueror was the duke of Normandy. His brother was king of England, but he died. As a result, William thought that he should be king. However, Herold, the former king's step-brother, was appointed to be king. The pope gave William permission to fight, and he won the battle. During his reign, William helped England. William can be symbolized by a lion, a jet, and a tornado.

William was born in 1027 to Robert, Duke of Normandy and Herleve of Falaise. They were never married so William was known to his enemies as 'William the Bastard'. He became the Duke of Normandy at age 8 when his father died in 1035 however because he was so young and he was born out of marriage meant that many Norman lords did not approve. As a result, they tried to kill him in 1040 but their plan failed. Seven years later the lords in Western Normandy rebelled against him but once again they failed. These incidents taught him to trust no one and show no mercy when he was betrayed. In 1051, he was besieging Aleçon and citizens of the town said he was illegitimate. When Aleçon had fallen he ordered that those who had taunted him have their hands

William arrived at Torbay, on November 5th 1688 ready to fight for the throne. He was a brave man, for James II’s army was double the size of William’s army. Although it didn’t matter because James II’s army was deserting to the other side, James II army had abandoned him. When William of Orange was welcomed into London, James II fled to France in disguise. Parliament claimed that by abandoning his country, the king had abdicated and the throne was now left vacant. On February 6th 1689 Mary and William became King and Queen of England.

Afterwards, life in Normandy went on pretty much as usual. Some of their men did not return, but there were always more warriors to take their place. The thanes that had fought for William took over English lands, and got as much out of them as they could, so they were more prosperous than before. The Normans drank their wine, and continued with their violent lives. However, the English never became Norman, and they did get their country back.

The Norman invasion of England in 1066 stands out in British history as the last time the isle was successfully invaded (Kramer.34). The invasion followed as a result of the death of the English king, Edward the Confessor, as he died childless on January the 4. 1066 (Barlett). The throne was left vacant and consequently three most mighty men disputed the line of succession: Harland Goodwinson, the head of one of the most notable and powerful noble families in the whole of England, Harald Hardrada, king of Norway, and William, Duke of Normandy (Wold.5).