History Project



King Edward had died and sadly left no heirs. But William was related to due to Edward's Uncle. However, Harold, a Powerful Noble claimed the crown of England. The people of England wanted Harold to be king and crowned him King Harold II on January 6, 1066, the day after King Edward died. Another man who claimed the English throne was King Hardrada of Norway.

After King Harold defeated the Norwegian invaders, he

After defeating the Norwegian invaders turned to face William. William was ready for battle. William had brought archers and knights. Harold's foot soldiers were no match for William's forces and William won the battle and King Harold II was killed by an arrow.

William spent a lot of time putting down revolts. He became so angry with the revolts that he ordered much of the countryside destroyed. His army burnt farms, destroyed food, and killed throughout the area. This was known as "Harrying of the North."



William ordered a full survey of the landholdings of all of England. He had men go around the land and record who owned the land and all the property they had including such things as livestock, farm equipment, and mills. This information was all put into a single book called the Domesday Book.



Feudalism is a way of looking at how society was organized in medieval times.

William built many castles and cathedrals throughout England. These included Windsor Castle, the Tower of London, Colchester Castle, and the Rochester Cathedral.