William the Conqueror

by David Bates

William the Conqueror was a formidable personality, whose political imagination and ruthless will were the driving force of the Norman conquest of England in 1066. In this biography, David Bates describes he full scope of William's achievements in both Normandy and England, setting them firmly in the context of Europe in an age of change and turmoil. He portrays a duke and king who sought to mold and control a wave of military expansion which had originated in the decades before his birth. He analyses the logistical and administrative problems which William has to deal with in his dual role as Duke of Normandy and King of England, and gives a clear account of such events as the Battle of Hastings, William's campaigns in England, and the making of the Domesday Book.

William showed himself an outstanding soldier and an extremely effective ruler who combined great fortitude with an unbending insistence on his own authority. By the standards of his age, he was a religious man and a loyal husband. But, as this biography vividly illustrates, he was also cruel, greedy, and intolerant ⁠— a man who pitilessly stamped out opposition and shamelessly manipulated facts to justify dubious enterprises.

In writing this book, David Bates has drawn on discoveries he has made during many years of research into William's life and career, as well as the work of other scholars. The result is not only an account of the personality and achievements of William the Conqueror, but also a dispassionate assessment of the Norman contribution to the history of England.

Genres: History, Biography, Nonfiction, British Literature, Medieval History, Medieval, France

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

David Bates is a historian of Britain and France during the period from the tenth century to the thirteenth century. He has written many books and articles during his career The most important among his books are Normandy before 1066 (1982); Regesta Regum Anglo-Normannorum: The Acta of William I, 1066-1087 (1998); The Normans and Empire (2013); and a biography of William the Conqueror (2016). The two most recent of these are an argument that seeks to create an analytical framework for the expansion of the Normans in Western Europe and a radical revision of the life of William the Conqueror published in the Yale University Press English Monarchs series.

He was Director of the IHR from 2003 until 2008, a period he regards as an important phase in a relationship with the IHR which goes back to the summer of 1968 when his time there made a major contribution to his subsequent career.

In addition to the University of London, he has held posts in the Universities of Cardiff, Glasgow, East Anglia, and Caen Normandie. He is now a Professorial Fellow of the University of East Anglia.

Reviews

[Claire Saim · Rating 5 out of 5]

C’est une monumentale biographie qui paraît chez Flammarion, dans la bien-nommée collection Grandes biographies. Parue pour la première fois en 2016 chez Yale University Press, elle a exigé à son auteur, David Bates, pas moins de cinquante ans de travail. Cinquante ans tout d’abord depuis ses recherches pour sa thèse de doctorat. Durant ces années, seize ans ont été nécessaires pour en tirer un manuscrit, puis encore trois ans pour approfondir différents angles de recherche.

Guillaume le Conquérant, roi d’Angleterre de 1066 jusqu’à sa mort en 1087, fut également duc de Normandie dès l’âge de 8 ans. On a pu lui reprocher une naissance obscure, qui lui a valu le surnom de Guillaume le Bâtard. En effet, ses parents, le duc de Normandie Robert le Magnifique  et sa maîtresse, Arlette de Falaise, ne se sont jamais mariés. Ce qui ne l’a pas empêché de s’imposer comme l’un des plus grands rois d’Angleterre.

A quelques jours du Brexit, cette biographie, qui a pour objectif de proposer une perspective très large de ce destin exceptionnel, replace cette figure majeure de la France et de l’Angleterre dans notre Histoire commune. David Bates a mené des recherches poussées des deux côtés de la Manche, notamment en Normandie.

L’auteur, avec beaucoup de lucidité, nous livre un portrait dense, cru, fouillé et sans complaisance sur celui qui a été à l’origine à travers sa conquête, selon lui, d’une tragédie humaine. Agrémentée de photographies, dont des images de la fameuse Tapisserie de Bayeux qui a contribué à la légende, cette biographie se révèle passionnante de bout en bout.

[KiplingKat · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very balanced view of William I. It's well-researched, referencing contemporary (or near contemporary) accounts, and noting the variances between them when recounting events. The author does not lionize William, admitting that William ruthlessly and violently exploited the England for his and his followers personal gain. Nor does he demonize him, pointing out his remarkable accomplishments, his initial attempts at a peaceful assimilation and devoting a chapter to his relationship with the church. Unfortunately, while we have his political motivations clear, in this book we know little of him personally so William is more of a force of nature than a personality. However, this is the first biography of William I I have read, so perhaps this is the best we can know of him, given the sources.

The only issues I had were that a couple times the author made oblique references to events not covered in the text, as if they were common knowledge everyone should know. Perhaps these were things every English school child learns, but for an American it was a bit confusing. He also never covered the remarkable story of William and Mathilda's engagement. I really wanted to know if that was true or not. There was also William's onerous annexation of the forests for personal hunting which I believe was merely mentioned. This was an issue that had a great negative impact on the native population and became a huge issue in English medieval politics, so it deserved more than a sentence or two.

But as an overview of William the Conqueror, it is still good. It is not dry, yet it's very informative.

[Best British Biographies · Rating 4 out of 5]

When David Charles Douglas published his biography of William the Conqueror in 1964, its impact was such that effectively it cleared the field for over a generation. Apart from Maurice Ashley’s biography for the “Kings and Queens of England” series, which was aimed at a broader audience and which drew heavily upon Douglas’s work, nobody would attempt a new biography of William for a quarter of a century. In that time, however, historians of the era continued their work, steadily and gradually expanding our knowledge in ways that warranted revisiting the subject of William’s life.

For the rest of my review, click on the link:

https://www.bestbritishbios.com/2020/...

[Blair Hodgkinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

David Bates' study of the life of William The Conqueror gives a powerful view of the man himself, his triumphs, his failures, his family, his piety and his legacy, neither glossing over his failures nor overrating his successes. The image that emerges is of a man who is very much of his time in terms of his piety and his expectations of power, but dogged, almost unbelievably strong-willed and relentlessly cruel in the pursuit of his goals. An exciting, accessible, informative read.

[gizmo cream soda · Rating 3 out of 5]

the title is a bit of a spoiler but other than that its good

[Gayla Bassham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Continuing my literary path through the history of England. Tons of interesting information here. William's relationship with his wife Matilda is particularly fascinating. I do think the book suffered from poor organization, though.

[Anne Hendricks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well done -I liked it so much, I bought another copy for my father! A must for all English history buffs.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

As close to unbiased a book on Guillaume Duck due Normandy as you can find.

[Brian Hale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting but very in-depth. I enjoyed the details and the research. A trip to Normandy and seeing the Bayeux tapestry impacted my choice to read about William.

[Simon Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not hugely readable like a lot of biographies of pre-tudor english monarchs but it does a good job of explaining the situation and the times surrounding this pivotal character in british history. The issue w William 1 is we hear so much about him as children that one imagines a book about him would be packed with anecdotes and dicriptions of his character - but if the writer is being truthful they cannot do this as the material simply does not exist - as it does not for any of the early monarchs - so one has to chose between reading essentially historical fiction which is 90% made up or reading what can be gleaned from the actual sources - which is what you get here.

[Barbara]

Reviewers on Amazon love this book. I'm interested because I'm reading "1066 The Year of the Conquest" by David Howarth. Howarth appears not to be objective in his portrayal of the William, so I was looking for another biography that wouldn't be terribly dense.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this biography of William the Conqueror. I think Bates succeeded in giving an insight into William as a person of his times, acknowledging the brutality and ruthlessness of his conquest of England and his rule of Normandy.

[Ellis Knox · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good biography, though this is one person where one really needs to read multiple accounts.