William the ConquerorMissing Works Cited William the Conqueror was the bastard son of Robert the Devil, the sixth Norman duke, and the daughter of a tanner named Arlette. At that time, it was common for noble men to have children without marriage. Robert was eighteen or nineteen when he first saw William's mother, Arlette. He summoned her to his castle and Arlette moved in with Robert and stayed there until he got rid of her. When William was about seven years old, his father went on a pilgrimage to the holy city of Jerusalem. During the return trip from Jerusalem, “Robert was stricken with a violent illness, due, it was suggested, to poisoning.” (Russelle). Before leaving on his journey, Robert had made William his heir. When Robert died, William became the next Duke of Normandy. After his father's death, William was placed in the care of a guardian. These guards were murdered. One of the most notable guardians was Seneschal Osbern. He is notable because his son William Fitz Osbern was William's friend and later became a lieutenant in his army. “The seneschal was finally murdered in his bed, in the very presence of the child; whereupon the young duke was saved by his mother's brother and hidden in the houses of the peasants and the hovels of the poor. (Russelle). William couldn't trust anyone in his father's family; they didn't want William to be the Duke. His mother's family members were the ones who protected him when he was young. William's guardians decided that they would "make him an effective fighter and politician." (Russelle). It is to their credit that William was not murdered during his childhood, they protected him well. William mad...... middle of paper ...... The English people never organized themselves nor joined forces to become a threat to William. In 1085 and 1086, William received a royal commission to compile the Domesday Book. “The Domesday Inquiry, so called because no one could escape its judgment.” (Black-smith). The commissioners counted every person, every animal, and the amount of land each person owned. He had this survey carried out to be able to account for land ownership and to know how much the people should be taxed. In 1087, William was fighting at Mantes when he struck his swollen belly on the pommel of his saddle. This accident turned out to be fatal. “Guillaume died in Rouen, the Norman capital, on September 9, 1087: he was buried in Saint-Étienne, his magnificent church in Caen. » (Blacksmith). After William's death, his son William Rufus became king of England. He becomes William II.