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William Conqueror facts

While investigating facts about William Conqueror Death and William Conqueror Family Tree, I found out little known, but curios details like:

When William the Conqueror died his funeral was delayed for several days. By the time they laid him to rest his body was too bloated from decay to fit in his tomb. They tried to force it in and he exploded.

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William the Conqueror (aka William The Bastard) was denied a marriage proposal by Matilda of Flanders who felt marrying a bastard was below her. He won her heart by reading the response and immediately riding 250+ miles from Normandy to Bruges to grab her by the hair and throw her in the mud.

What was william the conqueror known for?

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  1. William the Conqueror’s body exploded at his funeral. He’d died due to an intestinal infection from his horse rearing and throwing him against his saddle pommel. At his funeral, as his too large body was being forced into a too small coffin, his abdomen burst. Mourners ran to escape the stench.

  2. Upon landing in England, William the Conqueror slipped and fell; to play it cool he grasped two fistfuls of soil and proclaimed 'England is ours!'

  3. When William the Conqueror's future wife refused to marry him (because he was illegitimate) he dragged her by her braids in the street; she then decided to marry him

  4. Shakespeare overheard the star of Richard III (Richard Burbage) agree to hook up with an enamored fan at her house. When the actor arrived after the show, Shakespeare answered the door, saying "William the Conqueror was before Richard III."

  5. The first casualty of the Battle of Hastings was William the Conqueror's jester. He allegedly taunted the English army by juggling his sword and was promptly killed for the display.

  6. In 1077, Robert, the oldest son of William the Conqueror, initiated a years-long insurrection against his father after his two younger brothers dumped a full chamber-pot over his head and his father failed to punish them for it.

  7. William the Conqueror’s victory at the Battle of Hastings on October 14, 1066 forever changed the way that English itself was spoken because it introduced French as the language of government & business which was eventually blended w/ Old English and became modern English.

  8. At the coronation of William the Conqueror the crowds cheered so loudly the guards thought it was an assassination on the new king and started killing and burning homes around Westminister Abbey. The clergy finished the coronation despite the fighting.

  9. If absolute primogeniture had applied from the very beginning of William the Conqueror's reign over England, the current monarch of England would, bizarrely enough, be Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg.

william conqueror facts
What were william the conqueror accomplishments?

Why is william the conqueror famous?

You can easily fact check when did william the conqueror became king by examining the linked well-known sources.

In England, less than 1% of the population owns 70% of the land. The dukes and earls (as well as the Queen herself) who own much of this land largely trace lineage to William the Conqueror, who invaded the country in 1066.

When William the Conqueror died he had gotten so fat that he no longer fit in the sarcophagus he had built, at his burial attendants tried to force his body in but he burst spreading a strong odour throughout the church. - source

In 1086 and 1547, the caskets and bodies of William the Conqueror and Henry VIII both exploded during their funerals. - source

Queen Elizabeth II is more directly descended from William the Conqueror through her matrilineage than her patrilineage

William the Conqueror's son, Robert, declared full-scale rebellion against his father and besieged a castle because he felt his brothers weren't punished severely enough by William for having dumped poo over him - source

When was william the conqueror born?

Curfew" comes from the French phrase "couvre-feu", which means "fire cover". Its original meaning refers to a law made by William The Conqueror that all fires should be covered at the ringing of the 8 o'clock bell to prevent the spread of destructive fire within communities in timber buildings.

How tall was william the conqueror?

On Christmas 1066 When William the Conqueror was crowned king of England, people cheered so loudly that the guards outside attacked people and houses near to Westminster Abbey were burned down in a riot.

After William the Conqueror conquered England in 1066 French was the official language of England for almost 300 years

When William the Conqueror became king of England, French took over as the language of the court, administration, and culture - and stayed there for 300 years.

Who made the Bayeux Tapestry?

Bishop Odo of Bayeux, half brother of William the Conqueror, is the supposed commisioneer of the Bayeux Tapestry in the 1070s. It is embroidered in Kent, England by an unknown embroiderers artists.

When did william the conqueror died?

William the Conqueror outlawed capital punishment in England in the 11th century. Instead of execution, William decreed that criminals would be blinded and castrated.

At William the Conqueror's funeral, the stone sarcophagus was found to be too short, so they tried to force the bloated corpse in, but "the swollen bowels burst, and an intolerable stench assailed the nostrils of the by-standers and the whole crowd."

70% of the land in England is still owned by 1% of the population, largely descended from William the Conqueror's army.

The Harrying of the North: a series of campaigns by William the Conqueror in Northern England, in which farms were destroyed after rebels refused to fight him in open battle. It killed around 4.5% of England's population through starvation and is considered by some scholars to be genocide

When did william the conqueror became king?

Ever since since William the Conqueror invaded England and made himself king in 1066, every king and queen of England since then has been related to him

70% of the land in England is owned by just 0.3% of the population. And they are largely descended from William the Conqueror's army of 1066 A.D

Rollo (who you may remember from the show Vikings) was the great-great-great-grandfather of William the Conqueror, who effectively started the British royal family. They're descended from a big bearded viking.

There are 3 towns in Normandy that include the name "Montgomery". One is named for Sir Bernard Montgomery, who helped lead the D-Day invasions. The other 2 are named for his ancestors, who were part of William the Conqueror's invading army in 1066.

We still have William the Conqueror's tax "census" from 1086

William the Conqueror’s dead body popped when his pallbearers failed to put it in his tomb

Today marks the 950th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings. This marked a new chapter in English History. The Queen is the 22nd Great Granddaughter of William the Conqueror - the victor of the battle. He was crowned king of England on 25th December 1066 at Westminster Abbey.

There have been only two aquatic invasions across the English Channel. Occurring on D-Day and in 1066 by William the Conqueror

William the Conqueror carried out an act of genocide against the North of England called The Harrying of the North

William the Conqueror (5"10)'s wife Queen Matilda of Flanders was only 4"2 tall. A dwarf was Queen of England.

The North of England was subject to one of the worst Genocides of all time by William the Conqueror in The Harrying of the North.

In "1066 when King William of Britain (William the Conqueror) was rescued from a runaway horse and carriage by an unknown chimney sweep. He was summarily invited to the Princess’ wedding and all sweeps declared to be good luck."

In Bayeux, home of the Bayeux Tapestry recording the Norman invasion of England, there is a British war cemetery with the inscription “We, once conquered by William, have now set free the Conqueror’s native land.”

The English language consists of 45% French/French-derived words, primarily because the entirety of then-England was ruled by French Speaking Normans after the conquest of William the (well named) Conqueror.

In 1087, William the Conqueror was fat-shamed by King Philip of France. William was temporarily resident in a weight loss clinic in Rouen, and Philip said there would be a great show of candles at William's churching, in reference to a blessing given to new mothers after childbirth.

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