“william the conqueror” from famous men of the middle ages by j. h. haaren and a. b. poland on the death of edward the confessor, the throne of england was claimed by william, duke of normandy. , clad in complete armor, was in the very front of the fight, urging on his troops. at one time, a cry arose in his army that he was slain, and a panic began. william drew off his helmet and rode along the lines, shouting, "i live! i live! fight on! we shall conquer yet! " the battle raged from morning until night. harold himself fought on foot at the head of his army and behaved most valiantly. his men, tired as they were from their forced march, bravely struggled on hour after hour. at last, william turned their lines and threw them into confusion. as the sun went down, harold was killed, and his men gave up the fight. from hastings, william marched toward london. on the way, he received the surrender of some towns and burned others that would not surrender. london submitted, and some of the nobles and citizens came forth and offered the english crown to the norman duke. on december 25, 1066, the "conqueror," as he is always called, was crowned in westminster abbey by archbishop ealdred. both english and norman people were present. when the question was asked by the archbishop, "will you have william, duke of normandy, for your king? " all present answered, "we will." at first, william ruled england with moderation. the laws and customs were not changed, and in a few months after the battle of hastings the kingdom was so peaceful that william left it in charge of his brother and went to normandy for a visit. while he was gone, many of the english nobles rebelled against him, and on his return he made very severe laws and did some very harsh things. he laid waste an extensive territory, destroying all the houses upon it and causing thousands of persons to die from lack of food and shelter, because the people there had not sworn allegiance to him. he made a law that all lights should be put out and fires covered with ashes at eight o'clock every evening so that the people would have to go to bed then. a bell was rung in all cities and towns throughout england to warn the people of the hour. the bell was called the "curfew," from the french words "couvre feu," meaning "to cover fire." to find out about the lands of england and their owners, so that everybody might be made to pay taxes, he appointed officers in all the towns to report what estates there were, who owned them, and what they were worth. the reports were copied into two volumes, called the "domesday book." this book showed that england at that time had a population of a little more than a million. william made war on scotland and conquered it. during a war with the king of france, the city of mantes was burned by william's soldiers. as william rode over the ruins, his horse stumbled, and the king was thrown to the ground and injured. he was borne to rouen, where he lay ill for six weeks. his sons and even his attendants abandoned him in his last hours. it is said that in his death struggle he fell from his bed to the floor, where his body was found by his servants. 4 part a what caused william the conqueror to become motivated to compile the "domesday book"? a desire to create more revenue for england a need to exert control over all aspects of society a paranoia after being betrayed by his men a responsibility to create more duties for his officers 5 part b which is another of william the conqueror's actions that resulted from the answer to part a? "during the months of preparation, william sent an embassy to the english court to demand of harold that he give up the throne." (paragraph 6) "william, clad in complete armor, was in the very front of the fight, urging on his troops." (paragraph 10) "he made a law that all lights should be put out and fires covered with ashes at eight o'clock every evening, so that the people would have to go to bed then." (paragraph 15) "it is said that in his death struggle he fell from his bed to the floor, where his body was found by his servants." (paragraph 17) 6 part a what effect do the specific word choices in paragraphs 2-4 have on the tone of the passage? they present a rude and outspoken tone. they reveal an honest and combative tone. they reveal a thoughtful and introspective tone. they create a tense and confrontational tone. 7