William the Conqueror

William was the son of Robert, Duke of Normandy, and became duke himself as a boy of about seven, surviving years of rebellion and plots. He grew into a hard and able ruler. When King Edward the Confessor of England died in January 1066, William claimed that Edward had promised him the throne, but the English nobles crowned Harold Godwinson. William gathered a fleet, crossed the Channel, and on 14 October 1066 defeated and killed Harold at the Battle of Hastings, a story told in the Bayeux Tapestry. He was crowned king in Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day. English revolts followed, and in the north he answered them with the Harrying of the North, a campaign of destruction that caused widespread famine. He built castles such as the Tower of London, gave English lands to Norman lords, and brought French words into the English language. In 1085 he ordered the great survey known as the Domesday Book. He died in 1087 after an injury while fighting in France.

Faith: A Catholic king who founded two abbeys at Caen and saw himself as a champion of the Church. Source: Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)