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Conflict14 October 1066

Norman Conquest of England

Also called: Battle of Hastings

In 1066 Duke William of Normandy defeated King Harold II of England at the Battle of Hastings and took the throne, founding the Norman dynasty.

The Bayeux Tapestry — the death of Harold II at the Battle of Hastings, late 11th century
The Bayeux Tapestry — the death of Harold II at the Battle of Hastings, late 11th century

Myrabella · Public domain · Source

When King Edward of England died childless in January 1066 the nobles made Harold king, but Duke William of Normandy, claiming Edward had promised him the crown, crossed the Channel. Harold defeated the invading King Harald of Norway in the north and hurried south, only to be killed at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October. William was crowned at Westminster that Christmas.

William I confiscated land and granted it as fiefs to Norman knights, requiring every vassal to swear loyalty directly to the king, and so built a feudal monarchy stronger than those on the Continent. He also ordered the land survey known as the Domesday Book (1086). With a French-speaking ruling class, many French words entered English, and the English kings’ possession of lands in France sowed the seeds of the later Hundred Years’ War. At this time Goryeo was in the reign of King Munjong.

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States at the time
England · conquered
France
Places
Hastings

People

  • William the Conqueror1087

    commander · Duke of Normandy who won the Battle of Hastings in 1066 and became king of England (Norman dynasty)

Before and after

Earlier
AD 911 Founding of the Duchy of Normandy

Themes that include this event

  • Medieval Europe and ByzantiumAD 476 – 1077

    From the fall of Rome in the West to Canossa — the feudal West built by the Franks and the papacy, Byzantium as heir of Rome, and a church divided east and west