1 00:00:00,720 --> 00:00:05,080 Speaker 1: Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of iHeartRadio and Grim 2 00:00:05,120 --> 00:00:10,480 Speaker 1: and Mild from Aaron Manky listener discretion advised. Hey, this 3 00:00:10,640 --> 00:00:13,720 Speaker 1: is Dana Schwartz, host of the podcast Noble Blood, just 4 00:00:13,840 --> 00:00:16,239 Speaker 1: checking in before the episode to do a little bit 5 00:00:16,280 --> 00:00:19,639 Speaker 1: of housekeeping. First of all, thank you for being a listener. 6 00:00:19,920 --> 00:00:22,480 Speaker 1: But if you want to contribute and support the show, 7 00:00:22,560 --> 00:00:26,119 Speaker 1: I put episode scripts and additional reading materials up on 8 00:00:26,239 --> 00:00:30,639 Speaker 1: our patreon, which is patreon dot com slash Noble Blood Tales. 9 00:00:30,720 --> 00:00:34,120 Speaker 1: There's a link in the episode description and over on 10 00:00:34,159 --> 00:00:36,839 Speaker 1: the patreon. 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Thanks so much. 18 00:01:06,280 --> 00:01:10,880 Speaker 1: When Edward the Confessor, King of England died childless on 19 00:01:11,000 --> 00:01:16,280 Speaker 1: January fifth, ten sixty six, the Council had already determined 20 00:01:16,600 --> 00:01:19,640 Speaker 1: that his successor would be his brother in law, a 21 00:01:19,680 --> 00:01:24,680 Speaker 1: man named Harold Godwinson, the most powerful noble in the country. 22 00:01:25,440 --> 00:01:30,440 Speaker 1: Harold was crowned the very next day, January sixth, ten 23 00:01:30,680 --> 00:01:36,000 Speaker 1: sixty six. Holding a coronation so quickly after the last 24 00:01:36,120 --> 00:01:41,479 Speaker 1: king's death seems frankly a little suspicious. It's the sort 25 00:01:41,520 --> 00:01:44,560 Speaker 1: of thing that a historian might look back on and 26 00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:49,320 Speaker 1: double check the dates about smelling something akin to a coup. 27 00:01:50,040 --> 00:01:54,440 Speaker 1: There is a perfectly reasonable explanation that all of the 28 00:01:54,480 --> 00:01:58,200 Speaker 1: nobles in England were already at Westminster for the feast 29 00:01:58,280 --> 00:02:02,120 Speaker 1: of the Epiphany. But we would be naive to imagine 30 00:02:02,120 --> 00:02:07,480 Speaker 1: that Harold wasn't interested in securing his throne as officially 31 00:02:07,600 --> 00:02:12,280 Speaker 1: as he could, as quickly as he possibly could, because 32 00:02:12,320 --> 00:02:16,600 Speaker 1: even though the English nobles supported him, his claim to 33 00:02:16,680 --> 00:02:21,440 Speaker 1: the throne of England wasn't particularly air tight. He was 34 00:02:21,480 --> 00:02:25,320 Speaker 1: the brother of the dead king's wife, and the dead King, 35 00:02:25,520 --> 00:02:29,720 Speaker 1: Edward had allegedly chosen him as his successor on his deathbed. 36 00:02:30,560 --> 00:02:34,639 Speaker 1: But there were other men who wanted the throne of England. 37 00:02:35,200 --> 00:02:39,600 Speaker 1: In the north there was Harold Hadrada, Viking, King of Norway, 38 00:02:40,240 --> 00:02:46,000 Speaker 1: and in the south in Normandy there was William Harold 39 00:02:46,040 --> 00:02:50,520 Speaker 1: Godwinson knew that William was planning on invading England with 40 00:02:50,600 --> 00:02:53,520 Speaker 1: a fleet of ships, and so in the spring of 41 00:02:53,600 --> 00:02:57,640 Speaker 1: ten sixty six, Harold posted a standing army at the 42 00:02:57,680 --> 00:03:00,840 Speaker 1: southern coast of England. He and his men would be 43 00:03:00,919 --> 00:03:05,920 Speaker 1: ready when William, Duke of Normandy finally sailed across the 44 00:03:06,000 --> 00:03:10,480 Speaker 1: Channel to fight for England. But there was one problem. 45 00:03:10,840 --> 00:03:16,640 Speaker 1: William just wasn't coming. He was ready, don't be mistaken, 46 00:03:16,760 --> 00:03:21,919 Speaker 1: and he wanted to invade England. The problem was the weather. 47 00:03:22,720 --> 00:03:26,360 Speaker 1: For months, William and his large force of men and 48 00:03:26,480 --> 00:03:31,520 Speaker 1: mercenary soldiers, thousands of them, just sat in a field 49 00:03:31,639 --> 00:03:36,560 Speaker 1: in Normandy, waiting for the winds to change. William was 50 00:03:36,600 --> 00:03:40,560 Speaker 1: a strong and ambitious leader, ready to fight for a 51 00:03:40,600 --> 00:03:44,560 Speaker 1: throne that he believed was rightfully his, a claim that 52 00:03:44,680 --> 00:03:50,040 Speaker 1: the Pope himself backed up incidentally. But instead William had 53 00:03:50,080 --> 00:03:54,120 Speaker 1: to watch day by day and week by week as 54 00:03:54,160 --> 00:03:59,440 Speaker 1: his stores of supplies diminished gradually, and as his soldiers 55 00:03:59,560 --> 00:04:04,040 Speaker 1: began fighting illness and the loss of morale that came 56 00:04:04,200 --> 00:04:09,320 Speaker 1: from doing nothing. William didn't want to be worrying about 57 00:04:09,480 --> 00:04:14,000 Speaker 1: food supplies or sanitation in a Norman field. He wanted 58 00:04:14,160 --> 00:04:18,839 Speaker 1: to be winning battles, conquering a country, becoming a king. 59 00:04:19,680 --> 00:04:24,599 Speaker 1: But fate had other ideas, and as the soldiers began 60 00:04:24,680 --> 00:04:28,279 Speaker 1: to mumble to themselves as the weeks turned into months, 61 00:04:28,960 --> 00:04:34,680 Speaker 1: maybe Fate did not want William conquering England. In the 62 00:04:34,680 --> 00:04:39,200 Speaker 1: middle of September, William finally led his Norman fleet north 63 00:04:39,520 --> 00:04:42,720 Speaker 1: from the River Deef in Normandy, but rather than making 64 00:04:42,800 --> 00:04:46,240 Speaker 1: it across the Channel, the winds blew them east across 65 00:04:46,279 --> 00:04:49,400 Speaker 1: the French coast to Poitier, where they were forced to 66 00:04:49,440 --> 00:04:54,440 Speaker 1: spend another two weeks in terrible weather, trying to suppress 67 00:04:54,560 --> 00:04:59,119 Speaker 1: the growing certainty that the universe was sending them some 68 00:04:59,200 --> 00:05:04,440 Speaker 1: sort of sn But fate is tricky, and even trickier 69 00:05:04,880 --> 00:05:09,080 Speaker 1: when we're looking back on events a thousand years ago 70 00:05:09,160 --> 00:05:14,280 Speaker 1: through the narrative of propaganda and folklore. While William was 71 00:05:14,360 --> 00:05:18,360 Speaker 1: waiting with his rain soaked and weakened fleet in Poitier, 72 00:05:18,839 --> 00:05:21,800 Speaker 1: watching the weather vein every day, he could not have 73 00:05:21,960 --> 00:05:26,080 Speaker 1: known that the rain was protecting him, that the delay 74 00:05:26,240 --> 00:05:29,440 Speaker 1: in crossing the channel would prove to be a strategic 75 00:05:29,760 --> 00:05:33,520 Speaker 1: coup when it came to his ultimate battle with King 76 00:05:33,680 --> 00:05:39,760 Speaker 1: Harold at a place called Hastings, William, Duke of Normandy 77 00:05:39,920 --> 00:05:43,560 Speaker 1: is sometimes referred to as William the Bastard because of 78 00:05:43,600 --> 00:05:48,600 Speaker 1: his illegitimate birth, but he has another more famous nickname, 79 00:05:49,160 --> 00:05:53,320 Speaker 1: William the Conqueror. I hope it's not a spoiler, then, 80 00:05:53,680 --> 00:05:57,120 Speaker 1: to tell you that when William and his fleet ultimately 81 00:05:57,360 --> 00:06:02,159 Speaker 1: did make it to England, they would defeat Harold inarguably 82 00:06:02,360 --> 00:06:07,000 Speaker 1: the most famous and influential battle in all of English history. 83 00:06:07,680 --> 00:06:10,560 Speaker 1: But the journey to cross the Channel was not the 84 00:06:10,600 --> 00:06:15,640 Speaker 1: only challenge William faced. In fact, even after his victory 85 00:06:15,680 --> 00:06:19,359 Speaker 1: at the Battle of Hastings, his future as King of 86 00:06:19,360 --> 00:06:25,000 Speaker 1: England was far from secure. Like his predecessor, William would 87 00:06:25,000 --> 00:06:29,640 Speaker 1: put together a coronation as quickly as possibly. William knelt 88 00:06:29,839 --> 00:06:34,800 Speaker 1: in Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day ten sixty six, where 89 00:06:34,800 --> 00:06:39,920 Speaker 1: he was anointed with oil and proclaimed King William the First. 90 00:06:40,520 --> 00:06:44,400 Speaker 1: He had won the Battle of Hastings, but William's battle 91 00:06:44,520 --> 00:06:49,000 Speaker 1: for the future of England was far from over. I'm 92 00:06:49,080 --> 00:06:59,640 Speaker 1: Dana Schwartz, and this is noble blood. Before William the Conqueror, 93 00:06:59,760 --> 00:07:03,040 Speaker 1: King of England was William the Conqueror, King of England. 94 00:07:03,400 --> 00:07:06,680 Speaker 1: He was the Duke of Normandy. And if you'll indulge me. 95 00:07:06,760 --> 00:07:10,520 Speaker 1: I think it's worth just a momentary detour to explain 96 00:07:10,720 --> 00:07:16,679 Speaker 1: historically exactly who the Normans were, because the Normans weren't French, 97 00:07:17,200 --> 00:07:21,160 Speaker 1: at least now. At the beginning the ninth century was 98 00:07:21,200 --> 00:07:25,360 Speaker 1: a time that pagan vikings from Denmark, Norway and Iceland 99 00:07:25,880 --> 00:07:30,000 Speaker 1: enjoyed plundering across the British Isles and France, and they 100 00:07:30,000 --> 00:07:34,680 Speaker 1: did so fairly successfully. So successfully in fact, that in 101 00:07:34,960 --> 00:07:38,560 Speaker 1: nine hundred and eleven, the King of the Franks, Charles 102 00:07:38,600 --> 00:07:43,120 Speaker 1: the Third, also given the unfortunate nickname Charles the Simple, 103 00:07:43,680 --> 00:07:46,960 Speaker 1: made a deal with the Viking king Rolo to give 104 00:07:47,040 --> 00:07:51,040 Speaker 1: him the land that eventually would become the Duchy of Normandy. 105 00:07:51,720 --> 00:07:54,800 Speaker 1: You can think of it as a take this land 106 00:07:54,840 --> 00:07:57,960 Speaker 1: and leave us alone deal, with the added bonus that 107 00:07:58,040 --> 00:08:01,880 Speaker 1: the Vikings or Northmen on the north coast of France 108 00:08:02,240 --> 00:08:06,640 Speaker 1: would protect the Franks from other Vikings, and so those 109 00:08:06,760 --> 00:08:13,280 Speaker 1: Vikings or Northmen became Normans. Over the next one hundred years, 110 00:08:13,360 --> 00:08:17,440 Speaker 1: the Normans converted to Christianity and intermarried with the French, 111 00:08:17,920 --> 00:08:22,960 Speaker 1: adopting the French language, but always remaining their own unique people, 112 00:08:23,560 --> 00:08:29,119 Speaker 1: known for their reputations as cunning and ruthless fighters, particularly 113 00:08:29,280 --> 00:08:34,720 Speaker 1: fast and brutal in war. William was probably born around 114 00:08:34,880 --> 00:08:40,120 Speaker 1: ten twenty seven, a direct descendant of the legendary Rollo himself. 115 00:08:40,840 --> 00:08:44,360 Speaker 1: William was the son of the Duke of Normandy, a 116 00:08:44,400 --> 00:08:48,360 Speaker 1: man given the pretty great nickname of Robert the Magnificent. 117 00:08:49,200 --> 00:08:51,600 Speaker 1: As you might have guessed by the fact that I 118 00:08:51,640 --> 00:08:55,320 Speaker 1: couldn't give you an accurate birthday for William, we don't 119 00:08:55,320 --> 00:08:58,960 Speaker 1: know a ton of details about his early life. We 120 00:08:59,040 --> 00:09:02,920 Speaker 1: do know, though, that his parents were not married. William's 121 00:09:02,920 --> 00:09:06,040 Speaker 1: father was the Duke of Normandy, but his mother was 122 00:09:06,160 --> 00:09:10,360 Speaker 1: usually identified as the daughter of a tanner, though that 123 00:09:10,440 --> 00:09:14,360 Speaker 1: sort of partnership out of wedlock wasn't uncommon in Normandy, 124 00:09:14,800 --> 00:09:20,440 Speaker 1: even among the noble class. William was, as everyone knew, illegitimate, 125 00:09:20,720 --> 00:09:24,840 Speaker 1: which brought about his first nickname, a nickname given by 126 00:09:24,880 --> 00:09:28,640 Speaker 1: his enemies that would appear in chronicles and history books 127 00:09:28,640 --> 00:09:34,840 Speaker 1: for centuries, William the Bastard. But illegitimate as he was, 128 00:09:35,400 --> 00:09:39,000 Speaker 1: William was his father's only son, and so he was 129 00:09:39,040 --> 00:09:43,960 Speaker 1: officially recognized as Robert's heir in ten thirty five, when 130 00:09:43,960 --> 00:09:47,720 Speaker 1: William was about eight years old. It was a designation 131 00:09:47,880 --> 00:09:51,360 Speaker 1: complete with a swearing in ceremony and the approval of 132 00:09:51,440 --> 00:09:54,560 Speaker 1: the French king. And it was a good move on 133 00:09:54,720 --> 00:09:58,680 Speaker 1: the part of William's father, because Robert the Magnificent died 134 00:09:58,840 --> 00:10:03,280 Speaker 1: before William ten years old. Even though it had been 135 00:10:03,440 --> 00:10:06,960 Speaker 1: established that William was his father's heir and he was 136 00:10:07,120 --> 00:10:10,960 Speaker 1: now Duke of Normandy, it didn't prevent the chaos and 137 00:10:11,160 --> 00:10:15,440 Speaker 1: breakdown of order that sometimes happens when a child becomes 138 00:10:15,480 --> 00:10:19,640 Speaker 1: a ruler. It would be generous to call William's early 139 00:10:19,760 --> 00:10:24,640 Speaker 1: years as Duke tumultuous. He was constantly surrounded by murder 140 00:10:24,679 --> 00:10:29,520 Speaker 1: and war, under constant threat of assassination. His tutor was murdered, 141 00:10:29,679 --> 00:10:34,199 Speaker 1: three of his guardians died violently. It's hard to try 142 00:10:34,240 --> 00:10:38,200 Speaker 1: to unpack the psychology of a historical figure, and even 143 00:10:38,240 --> 00:10:41,720 Speaker 1: more challenging when that figure lived a thousand years ago. 144 00:10:42,240 --> 00:10:45,280 Speaker 1: But we know that when William will grow up, when 145 00:10:45,280 --> 00:10:49,000 Speaker 1: he conquers England, he will rule with an iron fist. 146 00:10:49,559 --> 00:10:53,400 Speaker 1: He will build great towers that stand as monuments to 147 00:10:53,480 --> 00:10:57,640 Speaker 1: his power and control. He will crush his kingdom within 148 00:10:57,679 --> 00:11:02,280 Speaker 1: a vice of order and hierarchy. And so maybe it's 149 00:11:02,320 --> 00:11:05,320 Speaker 1: not too great of a leap to imagine that that 150 00:11:05,600 --> 00:11:09,800 Speaker 1: instinct might have been a perfectly natural response to a 151 00:11:09,960 --> 00:11:16,680 Speaker 1: childhood spent understanding viscerally the discomfort of anarchy, living in 152 00:11:16,800 --> 00:11:26,439 Speaker 1: a duchy tearing itself apart without a strong leader. At 153 00:11:26,559 --> 00:11:30,400 Speaker 1: fifteen years old, William was knighted and he finally began 154 00:11:30,520 --> 00:11:34,040 Speaker 1: his campaign as a young adult to bring order to 155 00:11:34,120 --> 00:11:37,839 Speaker 1: the anarchic lands he ruled over. He grew into a 156 00:11:37,960 --> 00:11:42,520 Speaker 1: striking figure, not tall, but taller than average and broad, 157 00:11:43,000 --> 00:11:47,040 Speaker 1: with red hair and a reputation as an incredibly level 158 00:11:47,160 --> 00:11:51,000 Speaker 1: headed leader who understood when to take risks in battle 159 00:11:51,360 --> 00:11:55,520 Speaker 1: and when to play defensively. And so, now, with a 160 00:11:55,679 --> 00:11:59,600 Speaker 1: young William squarely on the throne of the Duchy of Normandy, 161 00:12:00,160 --> 00:12:03,600 Speaker 1: let's pop back up across the channel over to England. 162 00:12:04,200 --> 00:12:08,720 Speaker 1: The King Edward the Confessor had no sons. Edward was 163 00:12:08,760 --> 00:12:14,880 Speaker 1: William's cousin. Edward's father had been married to William's grandfather's sister. 164 00:12:15,520 --> 00:12:19,760 Speaker 1: Not close cousins, but cousins, and Edward had been dealing 165 00:12:19,800 --> 00:12:24,240 Speaker 1: with his own challenges as a leader in England. Danish 166 00:12:24,360 --> 00:12:27,440 Speaker 1: vikings had invaded and taken the throne, and so for 167 00:12:27,520 --> 00:12:32,240 Speaker 1: a time Edward was actually in exile in Normandy. That 168 00:12:32,400 --> 00:12:35,640 Speaker 1: was still when William was a young man, but according 169 00:12:35,679 --> 00:12:41,120 Speaker 1: to Norman sources, the two cousins really connected. Edward knew 170 00:12:41,200 --> 00:12:43,959 Speaker 1: that soon he would return to England and become king, 171 00:12:44,400 --> 00:12:47,360 Speaker 1: and he promised young William that if he died without 172 00:12:47,400 --> 00:12:50,440 Speaker 1: a son, he would be his heir to the English throne. 173 00:12:51,120 --> 00:12:54,760 Speaker 1: At least that's the way William and the Normans tell it. 174 00:12:56,120 --> 00:12:59,840 Speaker 1: As an adult, William had his eyes set on England, 175 00:13:00,400 --> 00:13:03,840 Speaker 1: but a passing comment that an exiled king had made 176 00:13:03,880 --> 00:13:06,599 Speaker 1: to him back when William was a child wouldn't be 177 00:13:06,760 --> 00:13:10,560 Speaker 1: enough to claim the throne, and so when William was 178 00:13:10,600 --> 00:13:13,720 Speaker 1: in his early twenties, he married the daughter of the 179 00:13:13,760 --> 00:13:17,640 Speaker 1: Count of Flanders, which gave him more strength and firepower, 180 00:13:18,320 --> 00:13:22,080 Speaker 1: enough allegedly that he was able to strong arm the 181 00:13:22,160 --> 00:13:27,360 Speaker 1: still airless Edward into officially making William his heir in 182 00:13:27,520 --> 00:13:31,640 Speaker 1: ten fifty one. At least that's how the Normans tell it. 183 00:13:32,280 --> 00:13:36,479 Speaker 1: But over in England there were other nobles vying for control, 184 00:13:37,000 --> 00:13:41,800 Speaker 1: especially as King Edward began to weaken. The most powerful 185 00:13:41,920 --> 00:13:45,120 Speaker 1: nobleman in England at the time was a man named 186 00:13:45,200 --> 00:13:50,000 Speaker 1: Harold Godwinson, whose sister was married to King Edward. The 187 00:13:50,040 --> 00:13:55,679 Speaker 1: Confessor consider Harold like the English hometown hero. Earlier in 188 00:13:55,880 --> 00:14:00,000 Speaker 1: Edward's rule, when England lost some popularity for seemingly showing 189 00:14:00,000 --> 00:14:04,600 Speaker 1: owing favoritism to Normans, it was Godwin and his sons 190 00:14:04,640 --> 00:14:07,640 Speaker 1: who were able to rally forces and use the situation 191 00:14:07,840 --> 00:14:13,400 Speaker 1: to their advantage. Harold had fought campaigns subjugating Wales and 192 00:14:13,600 --> 00:14:18,600 Speaker 1: dealing with rebellious Northumbrians. He seemed like the natural choice 193 00:14:18,640 --> 00:14:22,800 Speaker 1: for a successor for the King of England, because well, 194 00:14:22,840 --> 00:14:26,600 Speaker 1: he was already sort of handling the job. The problem, 195 00:14:26,640 --> 00:14:30,000 Speaker 1: of course, was that he wasn't yet King Edward was, 196 00:14:30,440 --> 00:14:35,040 Speaker 1: and Edward was using his childlessness to his advantage as 197 00:14:35,080 --> 00:14:39,480 Speaker 1: a diplomatic tool, leading other people on, so no one 198 00:14:39,520 --> 00:14:45,360 Speaker 1: attacked him. Around ten sixty five, Edward sent Harold on 199 00:14:45,520 --> 00:14:50,120 Speaker 1: an embassy to Normandy. According to the Normans, the purpose 200 00:14:50,160 --> 00:14:53,840 Speaker 1: of that journey was for Harold to confirm that Edward 201 00:14:53,920 --> 00:14:57,080 Speaker 1: was naming William as heir to the throne of England. 202 00:14:57,800 --> 00:15:01,040 Speaker 1: But on the way to Normandy, Harold was captured off 203 00:15:01,080 --> 00:15:05,040 Speaker 1: the coast and ransomed. While he was being held as 204 00:15:05,840 --> 00:15:09,600 Speaker 1: something between a hostage and a guest, Harold was made 205 00:15:09,680 --> 00:15:13,280 Speaker 1: to swear on holy relics to promise that he would 206 00:15:13,360 --> 00:15:18,560 Speaker 1: uphold William as Edward's heir, and Harold did swear it, 207 00:15:19,240 --> 00:15:23,080 Speaker 1: at least according to the Normans. Whether it was under 208 00:15:23,160 --> 00:15:27,080 Speaker 1: duress or because they were threatening him is another question. 209 00:15:32,040 --> 00:15:36,320 Speaker 1: It was probably around a year later, January of ten 210 00:15:36,440 --> 00:15:40,520 Speaker 1: sixty six, that Edward the Confessor, still without a son 211 00:15:40,720 --> 00:15:46,880 Speaker 1: and having caused so much trouble, finally died. According to England, 212 00:15:47,120 --> 00:15:49,800 Speaker 1: on his deathbed, he turned to his brother in law 213 00:15:49,880 --> 00:15:53,920 Speaker 1: Harold and declared that he would be his heir. Harold 214 00:15:54,080 --> 00:15:57,360 Speaker 1: did not need to be told twice. The English written 215 00:15:57,520 --> 00:16:02,000 Speaker 1: or Council officially supported him, as did all the other nobles, 216 00:16:02,320 --> 00:16:06,080 Speaker 1: and so Harold quickly held a coronation at Westminster Abbey, 217 00:16:06,440 --> 00:16:10,880 Speaker 1: knowing probably that he would have to deal with William eventually, 218 00:16:11,440 --> 00:16:14,960 Speaker 1: but also probably correctly thinking that it would be easier 219 00:16:14,960 --> 00:16:18,600 Speaker 1: to deal with William from a secure place atop the 220 00:16:18,720 --> 00:16:24,440 Speaker 1: throne of England. William in Normandy was of course furious, 221 00:16:25,160 --> 00:16:30,600 Speaker 1: especially considering that Harold had sworn on holy relics that 222 00:16:30,720 --> 00:16:34,360 Speaker 1: he would respect William's claim to the throne. And so 223 00:16:34,560 --> 00:16:39,600 Speaker 1: William did the medieval European equivalent of going to the manager. 224 00:16:40,280 --> 00:16:44,400 Speaker 1: He petitioned the Pope. He told the Pope that Harold 225 00:16:44,440 --> 00:16:47,960 Speaker 1: had forsaken his oath, an oath sworn on holy relics, 226 00:16:48,400 --> 00:16:51,480 Speaker 1: and the Pope agreed with him and gave William his 227 00:16:51,640 --> 00:16:56,920 Speaker 1: blessing to invade England. Harold actually made the decision not 228 00:16:57,320 --> 00:16:59,880 Speaker 1: to send an emissary to the Pope to plead his case, 229 00:17:00,520 --> 00:17:04,479 Speaker 1: probably thinking that because he had already been coronated and 230 00:17:04,800 --> 00:17:10,159 Speaker 1: was a consecrated king, his position was secure and so 231 00:17:10,440 --> 00:17:15,119 Speaker 1: God was on William's side, even if the wind wasn't. 232 00:17:16,000 --> 00:17:19,680 Speaker 1: William assembled his fleet and soldiers on the northern coast, 233 00:17:20,160 --> 00:17:23,359 Speaker 1: ready to set sail and battle Harold in England. But 234 00:17:24,119 --> 00:17:26,959 Speaker 1: as I talked about in the introduction to this episode, 235 00:17:27,440 --> 00:17:32,080 Speaker 1: the weather was not cooperating. The wind wasn't right, and 236 00:17:32,160 --> 00:17:37,080 Speaker 1: so William had to wait, managing sanitation and food for 237 00:17:37,440 --> 00:17:41,800 Speaker 1: thousands of soldiers, doing nothing but losing morale by the day. 238 00:17:42,960 --> 00:17:45,880 Speaker 1: It might seem like this might have put William at 239 00:17:45,920 --> 00:17:50,240 Speaker 1: a disadvantage, but as luck would have it, he wasn't 240 00:17:50,280 --> 00:17:54,399 Speaker 1: the only person trying to conquer England. In the north 241 00:17:54,480 --> 00:17:59,360 Speaker 1: of England, Harold Hardrada, King of Norway, was invading, and Harold, 242 00:17:59,440 --> 00:18:02,479 Speaker 1: King of England had to march as soldiers up to 243 00:18:02,560 --> 00:18:06,840 Speaker 1: take care of that, and all the while, Harold, King 244 00:18:06,880 --> 00:18:10,040 Speaker 1: of England, had been funding a standing army on the 245 00:18:10,119 --> 00:18:13,639 Speaker 1: southern coast of England, just waiting for William and the 246 00:18:13,680 --> 00:18:18,359 Speaker 1: Normans to arrive. Well mid September, after months of paying 247 00:18:18,400 --> 00:18:22,560 Speaker 1: them to do nothing, Harold had to finally release the 248 00:18:22,600 --> 00:18:26,520 Speaker 1: men and dissolve the force, which meant that when William 249 00:18:26,600 --> 00:18:30,480 Speaker 1: and his men were finally able to sail up to England, 250 00:18:31,040 --> 00:18:36,720 Speaker 1: they faced surprisingly little resistance until they reached Hastings. How 251 00:18:36,720 --> 00:18:40,960 Speaker 1: many men did William have, simply put, we do not know. 252 00:18:41,400 --> 00:18:45,119 Speaker 1: One chronicle gives the number at fourteen thousand men, but 253 00:18:45,240 --> 00:18:49,200 Speaker 1: another says the force numbered one hundred and fifty thousand. 254 00:18:49,760 --> 00:18:54,320 Speaker 1: I've also seen fifty and sixty thousand. Like so many 255 00:18:54,320 --> 00:18:58,879 Speaker 1: things about William the Conqueror's famous invasion of England, the 256 00:18:59,000 --> 00:19:07,400 Speaker 1: stories have become a little distorted into legend. There are 257 00:19:07,480 --> 00:19:12,560 Speaker 1: a handful of legends specifically about William's crossing. As the 258 00:19:12,640 --> 00:19:15,920 Speaker 1: fleet set out from Saint Valerie. The ship that William 259 00:19:16,040 --> 00:19:18,879 Speaker 1: was on was of course the fastest and the sleekest, 260 00:19:19,320 --> 00:19:22,240 Speaker 1: and in the darkness of the night crossing the channel, 261 00:19:22,840 --> 00:19:26,920 Speaker 1: that ship accidentally sped ahead of its fellows, which meant 262 00:19:26,960 --> 00:19:30,919 Speaker 1: that the next morning William and his ship awoke to 263 00:19:31,000 --> 00:19:34,520 Speaker 1: find the rest of their fleet entirely out of sight. 264 00:19:35,400 --> 00:19:39,520 Speaker 1: According to a chaplain William of Poitier, who is biased 265 00:19:39,560 --> 00:19:41,800 Speaker 1: because he was so close to William the Conqueror, but 266 00:19:42,000 --> 00:19:46,240 Speaker 1: an incredibly useful source. While other lesser leaders might have 267 00:19:46,320 --> 00:19:50,560 Speaker 1: panicked in that situation, quote, like all great generals, William 268 00:19:50,600 --> 00:19:54,440 Speaker 1: apparently displayed nothing but sang froid in that period of stress, 269 00:19:54,840 --> 00:19:58,480 Speaker 1: and were told he just sat down to a hearty breakfast, 270 00:19:59,200 --> 00:20:04,760 Speaker 1: washed down with some spiced wine. End quote. One more legend, 271 00:20:05,200 --> 00:20:08,520 Speaker 1: too cute, in my opinion, to be anything but apocryphal. 272 00:20:09,080 --> 00:20:13,639 Speaker 1: When the ships finally reconnected and landed on the English shore, 273 00:20:14,119 --> 00:20:18,240 Speaker 1: William apparently tripped and broke his fall. With his poems, 274 00:20:18,760 --> 00:20:22,879 Speaker 1: the Norman poet Robert was wrote that William was quote 275 00:20:23,200 --> 00:20:29,280 Speaker 1: grabbing England with both hands. Meanwhile, King Harold had defeated 276 00:20:29,440 --> 00:20:34,879 Speaker 1: the Norwegian king in a particularly brutal battle at Samford Bridge, 277 00:20:35,320 --> 00:20:39,320 Speaker 1: but with William's invasion, Harold had only two weeks to 278 00:20:39,600 --> 00:20:44,240 Speaker 1: march his troops back down to counter the Normans. Harold 279 00:20:44,280 --> 00:20:48,359 Speaker 1: and his men arrived on October thirteenth and were able 280 00:20:48,400 --> 00:20:52,639 Speaker 1: to get themselves into a defensive position for William when 281 00:20:52,680 --> 00:20:57,879 Speaker 1: the Normans attacked the very next morning. The Normans had 282 00:20:58,000 --> 00:21:01,400 Speaker 1: archers and a cavalry, but the English had a shield 283 00:21:01,480 --> 00:21:04,440 Speaker 1: wall and the advantage of a position on a hill. 284 00:21:05,119 --> 00:21:09,200 Speaker 1: William sent charge after charge of cavalry riders up the hill, 285 00:21:09,440 --> 00:21:12,920 Speaker 1: but no matter how fearsome his Viking descended soldiers were, 286 00:21:13,480 --> 00:21:17,480 Speaker 1: the English shield wall did not break, and then after 287 00:21:17,640 --> 00:21:22,560 Speaker 1: several unsuccessful charges, a rumor spread among the Normans that 288 00:21:22,680 --> 00:21:26,680 Speaker 1: their leader, William was dead, killed in the fighting. One 289 00:21:26,720 --> 00:21:30,080 Speaker 1: of the flanks of the Norman cavalry retreated down the 290 00:21:30,160 --> 00:21:33,800 Speaker 1: hill in the confusion, and the English gleefully broke their 291 00:21:33,880 --> 00:21:38,600 Speaker 1: ranks to follow them, assuming that victory was all but inevitable. 292 00:21:39,800 --> 00:21:43,840 Speaker 1: But William wasn't dead, and according to the most common 293 00:21:44,080 --> 00:21:48,040 Speaker 1: narrative of the battle, the narrative that was embroidered onto 294 00:21:48,080 --> 00:21:54,000 Speaker 1: the famous Bayou tapestry, afterwards, William pulled off his helmet 295 00:21:54,160 --> 00:21:57,199 Speaker 1: to show his face to his men. Now with the 296 00:21:57,240 --> 00:22:00,560 Speaker 1: English wall broken, the Normans were able to turn their 297 00:22:00,600 --> 00:22:05,000 Speaker 1: cavalry around to surround the English and begin their slaughter. 298 00:22:05,760 --> 00:22:10,200 Speaker 1: King Harold was killed supposedly by an arrow through the eye, 299 00:22:10,640 --> 00:22:14,080 Speaker 1: and that was that the Battle of Hastings was over 300 00:22:14,520 --> 00:22:19,240 Speaker 1: and William, Duke of Normandy, had become William the Conqueror. 301 00:22:24,600 --> 00:22:27,679 Speaker 1: But winning a battle wasn't going to make William the 302 00:22:27,800 --> 00:22:32,680 Speaker 1: King of England just yet. He had helpfully reverse engineered 303 00:22:32,720 --> 00:22:35,800 Speaker 1: his claim to the throne by having had appealed to 304 00:22:35,840 --> 00:22:38,760 Speaker 1: the Pope and by reminding everyone that he was the 305 00:22:38,800 --> 00:22:42,439 Speaker 1: dead king Edward's second cousin. The idea was that he 306 00:22:42,520 --> 00:22:46,600 Speaker 1: was simply succeeding Edward rightfully, as opposed to how it 307 00:22:46,680 --> 00:22:49,600 Speaker 1: might look, which was that he was a duke from 308 00:22:49,680 --> 00:22:52,960 Speaker 1: Normandy who had led an invading force to conquer a 309 00:22:53,000 --> 00:22:58,080 Speaker 1: different country. After Hastings, William knew that he needed to 310 00:22:58,160 --> 00:23:03,040 Speaker 1: take London. His troops surround the city so that he 311 00:23:03,080 --> 00:23:05,760 Speaker 1: would be prepared in case he needed to starve it 312 00:23:05,880 --> 00:23:10,720 Speaker 1: into a surrender. But to his surprise, when he crossed 313 00:23:10,720 --> 00:23:14,359 Speaker 1: the Thames into the city, he found that London's most 314 00:23:14,440 --> 00:23:18,200 Speaker 1: powerful bishops and the next in the Saxon line, Edward's 315 00:23:18,200 --> 00:23:22,879 Speaker 1: great nephew, were already ready to submit to him. No 316 00:23:22,920 --> 00:23:26,760 Speaker 1: one was left to challenge William with any meaningful claim 317 00:23:26,800 --> 00:23:31,000 Speaker 1: to the throne, and so William made the same decision 318 00:23:31,160 --> 00:23:35,520 Speaker 1: that his predecessor Harold had made a quick coronation to 319 00:23:35,640 --> 00:23:39,199 Speaker 1: secure his claim while he could, rather than wait for 320 00:23:39,240 --> 00:23:42,080 Speaker 1: his wife Matilda to arrive in England to be crowned 321 00:23:42,080 --> 00:23:46,680 Speaker 1: alongside him, or rather than waiting to campaign around England 322 00:23:46,760 --> 00:23:50,120 Speaker 1: to secure the rest of the country first, William had 323 00:23:50,160 --> 00:23:54,360 Speaker 1: his coronation as soon as he could, at Westminster Abbey 324 00:23:54,760 --> 00:24:00,080 Speaker 1: on Christmas Day ten sixty six. The coronation was a 325 00:24:00,160 --> 00:24:05,120 Speaker 1: conscious hybrid of both Anglo Saxon and Norman traditions, read 326 00:24:05,200 --> 00:24:09,800 Speaker 1: in both English and French, with traditions lifted from both, 327 00:24:10,400 --> 00:24:14,320 Speaker 1: but the event didn't go as smoothly as William probably hoped. 328 00:24:14,960 --> 00:24:18,919 Speaker 1: He had posted knights outside of Westminster Abbey, probably to 329 00:24:19,040 --> 00:24:21,960 Speaker 1: deal with anyone who thought they would take the opportunity 330 00:24:22,280 --> 00:24:26,439 Speaker 1: to be an open rebel, but during the coronation itself, 331 00:24:26,840 --> 00:24:30,000 Speaker 1: when the people inside the abbey were loudly proclaiming and 332 00:24:30,080 --> 00:24:34,600 Speaker 1: celebrating William, the guards thought that some sort of assault 333 00:24:34,680 --> 00:24:39,120 Speaker 1: was underway. Their response was to set the local houses 334 00:24:39,240 --> 00:24:44,560 Speaker 1: around the abbey on fire. Because the Norman soldiers couldn't 335 00:24:44,680 --> 00:24:49,240 Speaker 1: understand the local Anglo Saxons and vice versa. The scene 336 00:24:49,440 --> 00:24:54,280 Speaker 1: became like something out of a grisly comedy. Almost everyone 337 00:24:54,320 --> 00:24:57,080 Speaker 1: who had been at the coronation in the abbey raced 338 00:24:57,119 --> 00:25:00,400 Speaker 1: outside to see what all the fuss was about. William 339 00:25:00,520 --> 00:25:05,320 Speaker 1: finished the ceremony with a skeleton crew inside. The chronicler 340 00:25:05,480 --> 00:25:10,200 Speaker 1: Orderic Vitalis wrote, as the fire spread rapidly through the houses, 341 00:25:10,320 --> 00:25:13,160 Speaker 1: the people who had been rejoicing in the church were 342 00:25:13,200 --> 00:25:16,720 Speaker 1: thrown into confusion, and a crowd of men and women 343 00:25:16,800 --> 00:25:21,040 Speaker 1: of every rank and status, compelled by this disaster, rushed 344 00:25:21,080 --> 00:25:24,800 Speaker 1: out of the church. Only the bishop and clergy, along 345 00:25:24,840 --> 00:25:28,399 Speaker 1: with the monks, stayed terrified in front of the altar, 346 00:25:28,760 --> 00:25:33,520 Speaker 1: and only just managed to complete the consecration rite over 347 00:25:33,600 --> 00:25:38,160 Speaker 1: the king, who was trembling violently. Nearly everyone else ran 348 00:25:38,400 --> 00:25:42,320 Speaker 1: toward the raging fire, some to fight bravely against the 349 00:25:42,359 --> 00:25:45,720 Speaker 1: force of the flames, but more hoping to grab loot 350 00:25:45,960 --> 00:25:51,040 Speaker 1: for themselves. Amid such great confusion, The English, believing there 351 00:25:51,080 --> 00:25:55,320 Speaker 1: was a plot behind something so completely unlooked for, were 352 00:25:55,440 --> 00:26:01,160 Speaker 1: extremely angry and afterward held the Normans in suspense, judging 353 00:26:01,160 --> 00:26:06,560 Speaker 1: them treacherous. End quote. It was a grim omen for 354 00:26:06,680 --> 00:26:10,040 Speaker 1: what the next few months of William's reign would look like. 355 00:26:10,840 --> 00:26:14,600 Speaker 1: His goal was complete and utter submission, and to that 356 00:26:14,800 --> 00:26:18,200 Speaker 1: end he constructed the central white tower of the Tower 357 00:26:18,240 --> 00:26:22,520 Speaker 1: of London, meant to project strength and domination to the city. 358 00:26:23,200 --> 00:26:27,240 Speaker 1: Williams spent the next few years dealing with rebels throughout England, 359 00:26:27,760 --> 00:26:32,800 Speaker 1: crushing them with a destructive violence that shocked contemporary chroniclers. 360 00:26:33,440 --> 00:26:36,960 Speaker 1: He undid the English aristocracy at the time and replaced 361 00:26:37,000 --> 00:26:40,920 Speaker 1: them with Normans, and they brought with them new systems 362 00:26:40,920 --> 00:26:44,000 Speaker 1: that we can identify today as the foundation for some 363 00:26:44,119 --> 00:26:49,000 Speaker 1: basic government practices. Even the English language itself is a 364 00:26:49,119 --> 00:26:53,480 Speaker 1: testament to William's power. Take the words we use for 365 00:26:53,720 --> 00:26:57,840 Speaker 1: animals and the words we use when those animals become meat. 366 00:26:58,520 --> 00:27:02,560 Speaker 1: There's swine, but there's all so pork. There's sheep, and 367 00:27:02,600 --> 00:27:06,840 Speaker 1: then there's mutton. There's cows, and then there's beef. The 368 00:27:06,880 --> 00:27:12,360 Speaker 1: former words swine, sheep, cow are Germanic Anglo Saxon words. 369 00:27:12,960 --> 00:27:18,159 Speaker 1: The latter pork, mutton, beef are Norman French words. It 370 00:27:18,320 --> 00:27:21,680 Speaker 1: was the Anglo Saxon who were the lower class farmers 371 00:27:22,000 --> 00:27:25,680 Speaker 1: taking care of livestock, and the new class of Norman 372 00:27:25,960 --> 00:27:32,760 Speaker 1: aristocracy who were enjoying delicacies at their table. William had 373 00:27:32,800 --> 00:27:37,400 Speaker 1: not just conquered Land, he conquered the future of what 374 00:27:37,560 --> 00:27:42,879 Speaker 1: England would become, remaking it in his image, clenched in 375 00:27:42,960 --> 00:27:53,640 Speaker 1: his fist. That's the story of William the conquerors, well conquering. 376 00:27:54,119 --> 00:27:57,400 Speaker 1: But keep listening after a brief sponsor break, to hear 377 00:27:57,560 --> 00:28:10,919 Speaker 1: a little bit about his slightly gruesome ending. If William's 378 00:28:10,920 --> 00:28:16,280 Speaker 1: coronation was a minor disaster, his funeral was a catastrophe. 379 00:28:17,000 --> 00:28:21,400 Speaker 1: Even conquerors are humbled in death. And after William died 380 00:28:21,520 --> 00:28:25,120 Speaker 1: in ten eighty seven while on a campaign outside Normandy, 381 00:28:25,720 --> 00:28:28,840 Speaker 1: his body was looted and he was left bare and 382 00:28:29,119 --> 00:28:33,320 Speaker 1: naked until a passing night brought his body to monks 383 00:28:33,320 --> 00:28:37,840 Speaker 1: in Cayenne for burial, in an eerie echo of his coronation. 384 00:28:38,480 --> 00:28:42,800 Speaker 1: Before William's body was prepared, a fire broke out nearby 385 00:28:42,880 --> 00:28:47,200 Speaker 1: in town. Because of the delay in his burial, William's 386 00:28:47,200 --> 00:28:52,440 Speaker 1: body became bloated and decomposed. There was a stone sarcophagus 387 00:28:52,520 --> 00:28:55,920 Speaker 1: that had been commissioned for him, but William's body was 388 00:28:56,120 --> 00:29:01,400 Speaker 1: simply too big. In the words of our favorite chronicler, Orderic, 389 00:29:01,800 --> 00:29:04,640 Speaker 1: as they tried to, for lack of a better word, 390 00:29:04,840 --> 00:29:10,120 Speaker 1: stuff him into the sarcophagus quote, the swollen bowels burst, 391 00:29:10,320 --> 00:29:15,280 Speaker 1: and an intolerable stench assailed the nostrils of the bystanders 392 00:29:15,400 --> 00:29:21,080 Speaker 1: and the whole crowd. An appropriately gross ending for an 393 00:29:21,080 --> 00:29:35,360 Speaker 1: episode of a podcast called Noble Blood. Noble Blood is 394 00:29:35,400 --> 00:29:40,360 Speaker 1: a production of iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild from Aaron Manky. 395 00:29:41,000 --> 00:29:44,760 Speaker 1: Noble Blood is created and hosted by me Dana Schwartz, 396 00:29:45,120 --> 00:29:49,920 Speaker 1: with additional writing and researching by Hannah Johnston, hannah's Wick, 397 00:29:50,360 --> 00:29:54,760 Speaker 1: Mira Hayward, Courtney Sender, and Lori Goodman. The show is 398 00:29:54,960 --> 00:29:59,280 Speaker 1: edited and produced by Noemi Griffin and rima Il Kahali, 399 00:29:59,720 --> 00:30:05,000 Speaker 1: with supervising producer Josh Thain and executive producers Aaron Manke, 400 00:30:05,440 --> 00:30:10,360 Speaker 1: Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, 401 00:30:10,880 --> 00:30:15,400 Speaker 1: visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen 402 00:30:15,440 --> 00:30:17,040 Speaker 1: to your favorite shows.