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These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated: 1 00:00:11,629 --> 00:00:13,556 - Almost 1,000 years ago, 2 00:00:13,556 --> 00:00:18,109 a man assembled an armada of 15,000 warriors. 3 00:00:18,109 --> 00:00:21,754 He had made Normandy a rich, powerful land, 4 00:00:23,054 --> 00:00:25,563 but hatred was at his door. 5 00:00:29,953 --> 00:00:33,708 Mocked, detested and envied, his burning ambition led him 6 00:00:33,708 --> 00:00:37,203 to formulate a wild, yet meticulously planned scheme 7 00:00:37,203 --> 00:00:40,337 to invade England and become king. 8 00:00:45,048 --> 00:00:47,172 For this, he would go down in history 9 00:00:47,172 --> 00:00:49,535 as William the Conqueror. 10 00:00:55,671 --> 00:00:58,149 What remains of his story? 11 00:00:58,149 --> 00:01:00,135 Largely erased, forgotten 12 00:01:00,135 --> 00:01:03,584 and left in ruins, traces do remain. 13 00:01:03,584 --> 00:01:06,439 Thus the line between one man's dream 14 00:01:06,439 --> 00:01:09,318 and historic reality becomes blurred. 15 00:01:16,165 --> 00:01:17,617 - It could be a bit higher, 16 00:01:17,617 --> 00:01:19,713 but it's not bad. 17 00:01:22,617 --> 00:01:25,534 - Yes, the neck was totally bare. 18 00:01:26,546 --> 00:01:27,669 - We can see their shaven necks 19 00:01:27,669 --> 00:01:29,671 on the Bayeux Tapestry. 20 00:01:29,671 --> 00:01:31,552 It probably helped when wearing the helmet, 21 00:01:31,552 --> 00:01:33,931 or the headgear that went underneath. 22 00:01:49,075 --> 00:01:51,964 - Our story begins with a little riddle. 23 00:01:52,610 --> 00:01:54,245 The exact date of William's birth 24 00:01:54,245 --> 00:01:56,149 has never been known. 25 00:01:56,149 --> 00:01:58,157 But it is commonly accepted 26 00:01:58,157 --> 00:02:01,629 that he was born around 1027. 27 00:02:03,309 --> 00:02:04,746 What we know for certain 28 00:02:04,746 --> 00:02:07,343 is that he was raised in Falaise in Normandy, 29 00:02:07,343 --> 00:02:11,163 in the castle of his father, Robert the Magnificent. 30 00:02:11,598 --> 00:02:12,724 As the Duke of Normandy, 31 00:02:12,724 --> 00:02:14,512 his father had influence. 32 00:02:16,646 --> 00:02:18,016 His mother Arlette however 33 00:02:18,016 --> 00:02:21,300 was a local girl with no noble blood. 34 00:02:22,560 --> 00:02:26,279 William was therefore considered a bastard. 35 00:02:29,654 --> 00:02:33,279 What was going on at this grandious ceremony? 36 00:02:34,990 --> 00:02:38,780 What was Robert the Magnificent's plan? 37 00:02:41,252 --> 00:02:43,503 - Before setting off on a pilgrimage, 38 00:02:43,503 --> 00:02:46,361 Robert the Magnificent, 39 00:02:46,361 --> 00:02:48,517 the duke who ruled Normandy 40 00:02:48,517 --> 00:02:53,305 from 1030 to 1035, officially enthroned 41 00:02:53,305 --> 00:02:57,588 little William when he was only seven. 42 00:02:58,635 --> 00:02:59,967 He inherited a duchy 43 00:02:59,967 --> 00:03:04,213 with theoretically the recognition of nobles. 44 00:03:04,213 --> 00:03:08,132 But they did not uphold their commitment. 45 00:03:22,741 --> 00:03:25,110 - Upon the death of Robert the Magnificent, 46 00:03:25,110 --> 00:03:29,016 the Normans contested young William for two reasons. 47 00:03:29,016 --> 00:03:31,662 Firstly, because he was a bastard. 48 00:03:31,662 --> 00:03:34,882 It wasn't as fashionable as in the previous century, 49 00:03:34,882 --> 00:03:37,560 when practically all the Dukes of Normandy 50 00:03:37,560 --> 00:03:40,812 were of illegitimate birth. 51 00:03:40,812 --> 00:03:42,924 Secondly, because he was a child 52 00:03:42,924 --> 00:03:45,047 and certain ambitious uncles of William 53 00:03:45,047 --> 00:03:48,186 were staking their claim to power. 54 00:03:48,490 --> 00:03:50,900 At one point, around 1045, 55 00:03:50,900 --> 00:03:53,752 they tried to assassinate him in Valognes. 56 00:04:11,510 --> 00:04:14,615 - Luckily a jester in Valognes, 57 00:04:14,615 --> 00:04:17,377 a close friend of William called Gaul, 58 00:04:17,377 --> 00:04:19,820 overheard the would be assassins 59 00:04:19,820 --> 00:04:22,619 and their accomplices plotting. 60 00:04:23,863 --> 00:04:26,828 He went straight to wake the Duke in his bed, 61 00:04:26,828 --> 00:04:30,102 and ordered him to leave as quickly as possible. 62 00:04:30,102 --> 00:04:32,865 Taking only a cloak and jump on his horse 63 00:04:32,865 --> 00:04:36,880 or be murdered in a matter of minutes. 64 00:04:41,600 --> 00:04:46,600 William fled and rode all night towards Falaise. 65 00:04:47,147 --> 00:04:48,247 He must have crossed the ford 66 00:04:48,247 --> 00:04:51,913 of the Bois des Fays, which was extremely dangerous. 67 00:04:55,812 --> 00:04:57,582 He must have crossed the Besson, 68 00:04:57,582 --> 00:05:00,185 avoiding the towns where accomplices may be waiting. 69 00:05:00,185 --> 00:05:03,261 He also crossed the forest of Boisville. 70 00:05:03,261 --> 00:05:05,139 - This flight helped forge the myth 71 00:05:05,139 --> 00:05:08,414 of William as young, brave and headstrong. 72 00:05:08,414 --> 00:05:10,505 A bastard and a loner, 73 00:05:10,505 --> 00:05:12,552 capable of riding 150 kilometers 74 00:05:12,552 --> 00:05:15,213 with killers at his heels. 75 00:05:16,712 --> 00:05:18,844 Texts of the time transform this event 76 00:05:18,844 --> 00:05:22,785 into legend, but struggle to authenticate the details. 77 00:05:23,815 --> 00:05:26,410 Was William's horse spooked? 78 00:05:26,410 --> 00:05:28,436 Perhaps William was unseated. 79 00:05:29,963 --> 00:05:34,443 What if there never was a river to cross? 80 00:05:34,443 --> 00:05:37,771 What can historians say with certainty? 81 00:05:37,771 --> 00:05:41,013 In fact, just what do we know about William? 82 00:05:41,013 --> 00:05:42,688 It was all so long ago. 83 00:05:42,688 --> 00:05:44,597 What was he really like? 84 00:05:45,921 --> 00:05:47,403 - We obviously have portraits 85 00:05:47,403 --> 00:05:52,404 of William from the 14th, 15th and 19th centuries. 86 00:05:52,534 --> 00:05:55,232 Even statues like the one in Falaise. 87 00:05:55,232 --> 00:05:57,495 And this is a more or less romantic vision 88 00:05:57,495 --> 00:06:00,930 of the character, not based on anything historical. 89 00:06:10,029 --> 00:06:13,654 William never doubted his own legitimacy. 90 00:06:13,654 --> 00:06:15,788 Most of the Dukes of Normandy 91 00:06:15,788 --> 00:06:18,924 came from illegitimate marriages. 92 00:06:18,924 --> 00:06:21,291 Consequently, he was totally in line 93 00:06:21,291 --> 00:06:23,425 with his ancestors and considered 94 00:06:23,425 --> 00:06:28,425 that those who challenged his legitimacy were rebels. 95 00:06:28,453 --> 00:06:32,615 And that it was his duty to punish them for that. 96 00:06:38,145 --> 00:06:40,962 William took refuge in Falaise, 97 00:06:40,962 --> 00:06:45,463 and there aged 18 took his first political initiative. 98 00:06:45,463 --> 00:06:48,696 He called upon his sovereign, the king of France, 99 00:06:48,696 --> 00:06:50,691 and with his help was able 100 00:06:50,691 --> 00:06:52,291 to bring down the accomplices 101 00:06:52,291 --> 00:06:56,627 who wanted to take his power, 102 00:06:56,627 --> 00:07:00,025 that was the Battle of Val-es-Dunes. 103 00:07:00,564 --> 00:07:01,438 - William and the king 104 00:07:01,438 --> 00:07:03,838 faced between one and 2,000 warriors 105 00:07:03,838 --> 00:07:05,461 commanded by the rebel barons 106 00:07:05,461 --> 00:07:07,360 with the bewitching names, 107 00:07:07,360 --> 00:07:10,489 Ranulph de Briquessart, Grimoald du Plessis, 108 00:07:10,489 --> 00:07:12,961 and Hamon le Dentu. 109 00:07:14,202 --> 00:07:15,386 - Historians consider 110 00:07:15,386 --> 00:07:16,804 that it was a great battle 111 00:07:16,804 --> 00:07:20,212 and a chance for William to prove his worth. 112 00:07:21,775 --> 00:07:24,602 They even say that the fighting was so terrible, 113 00:07:24,602 --> 00:07:26,831 and the massacre on such a scale 114 00:07:26,831 --> 00:07:31,056 that the river Orne ran red with blood. 115 00:07:40,275 --> 00:07:42,737 William settled in Caen, 116 00:07:42,737 --> 00:07:44,274 where he built his castle 117 00:07:44,274 --> 00:07:48,555 making the town the capital of lower Normandy. 118 00:07:50,279 --> 00:07:51,837 - It's hard to pick one's way 119 00:07:51,837 --> 00:07:54,534 through this warren of ruins today. 120 00:07:54,534 --> 00:07:57,457 What here dates back to William? 121 00:07:57,457 --> 00:08:00,242 The ramparts, the ditches, the keep, 122 00:08:00,242 --> 00:08:02,268 the artillery turrets are just a succession 123 00:08:02,268 --> 00:08:05,916 of changes wrought through the centuries. 124 00:08:05,916 --> 00:08:07,793 Yet on the ground there are traces 125 00:08:07,793 --> 00:08:08,977 that give us a clue 126 00:08:08,977 --> 00:08:10,556 as to what the castle and the town 127 00:08:10,556 --> 00:08:13,906 might have been like around the year 1000. 128 00:08:13,906 --> 00:08:18,482 Perhaps a castle, peace, wealth, 129 00:08:18,482 --> 00:08:20,775 all that was missing from the perfect picture 130 00:08:20,775 --> 00:08:22,721 was a wife. 131 00:08:29,930 --> 00:08:30,912 - William and Matilda 132 00:08:30,912 --> 00:08:32,885 formed a couple unlike most others 133 00:08:32,885 --> 00:08:34,997 in the Middle Ages. 134 00:08:34,997 --> 00:08:37,802 All their lives, they were faithful to one another, 135 00:08:37,802 --> 00:08:41,391 and William had no known mistress, nor bastard. 136 00:08:44,694 --> 00:08:47,509 He chose Matilda, daughter of the Count of Flanders, 137 00:08:47,509 --> 00:08:50,799 one of the most powerful figures of the time. 138 00:08:52,331 --> 00:08:53,356 Matilda was a descendant 139 00:08:53,356 --> 00:08:55,861 of the kings of France, the Carolingians, 140 00:08:55,861 --> 00:09:00,453 so the bastard was marrying into the highest royal line. 141 00:09:25,049 --> 00:09:27,171 - News of the marriage was heard in Rome, 142 00:09:27,171 --> 00:09:30,019 where Pope Leo IX did not accept it for reasons 143 00:09:30,019 --> 00:09:32,302 of fifth degree consanguinity 144 00:09:32,302 --> 00:09:34,546 between William and Matilda. 145 00:09:38,851 --> 00:09:40,877 He therefore banned the marriage. 146 00:09:40,877 --> 00:09:42,968 But that did not stop William 147 00:09:42,968 --> 00:09:44,387 from marrying Matilda, 148 00:09:44,387 --> 00:09:48,823 either in 1050 or in 1051, 149 00:09:48,823 --> 00:09:53,064 in Eure on the edge of the duchy of Normandy. 150 00:09:54,190 --> 00:09:56,674 - William was a builder. 151 00:09:56,674 --> 00:09:58,668 He and Matilda built the men's abbey 152 00:09:58,668 --> 00:10:01,080 and the woman's abbey in Caen. 153 00:10:01,080 --> 00:10:02,519 Acts of allegiance that must have 154 00:10:02,519 --> 00:10:05,678 gone down well in Rome with Pope Nicholas II, 155 00:10:05,678 --> 00:10:09,550 with whom William had made his peace. 156 00:10:10,540 --> 00:10:14,579 Could we imagine that William's story ends here? 157 00:10:15,418 --> 00:10:17,204 Good husband and father, 158 00:10:17,204 --> 00:10:19,594 pious Christian, occasional builder, 159 00:10:19,594 --> 00:10:22,802 could William have become a provincial nobleman? 160 00:10:22,802 --> 00:10:23,360 - No. 161 00:10:23,360 --> 00:10:26,103 - No, there was no room for routine. 162 00:10:26,103 --> 00:10:29,539 The surprise, when it came, came from England. 163 00:10:29,539 --> 00:10:31,746 Edward the Confessor took the throne 164 00:10:31,746 --> 00:10:34,608 after a 28 year exile in Normandy. 165 00:10:34,608 --> 00:10:36,698 He had no heir and so he chose William 166 00:10:36,698 --> 00:10:39,785 to succeed him. 167 00:10:39,950 --> 00:10:40,901 - Thus he overlooked 168 00:10:40,901 --> 00:10:43,346 his English brother-in-law Harold. 169 00:10:44,786 --> 00:10:46,876 - In 1064, Harold set sail 170 00:10:46,876 --> 00:10:49,537 to come and meet William. 171 00:10:49,537 --> 00:10:51,899 And when he landed on the Ponthieu coast 172 00:10:51,899 --> 00:10:53,520 to the north of Normandy, 173 00:10:53,520 --> 00:10:55,013 he was taken prisoner 174 00:10:55,013 --> 00:10:58,228 and William ordered his release. 175 00:11:02,321 --> 00:11:03,559 - It was at that time in fact, 176 00:11:03,559 --> 00:11:06,323 that the Bayeux Tapestry was begun. 177 00:11:10,781 --> 00:11:12,595 - A treasure of humanity, 178 00:11:12,595 --> 00:11:15,304 a treasure trove for any historian. 179 00:11:15,304 --> 00:11:16,797 A work of propaganda, 180 00:11:16,797 --> 00:11:18,302 as well as a powerful testimony 181 00:11:18,302 --> 00:11:20,328 of the manners of the time. 182 00:11:20,328 --> 00:11:22,269 The Bayeux Tapestry also told 183 00:11:22,269 --> 00:11:24,179 of what was to come, 184 00:11:24,179 --> 00:11:26,503 of the upheaval in William's life, 185 00:11:26,503 --> 00:11:28,285 and far more besides. 186 00:11:32,818 --> 00:11:34,279 - We know the Bayeux Tapestry 187 00:11:34,279 --> 00:11:36,071 was exhibited in early July 188 00:11:36,071 --> 00:11:38,117 every year for the Feast of Relics 189 00:11:38,117 --> 00:11:40,384 in Bayeux Cathedral. 190 00:11:42,044 --> 00:11:43,483 It was laid out in the nave, 191 00:11:43,483 --> 00:11:45,435 so as to be completely visible to the public 192 00:11:45,435 --> 00:11:48,447 who came to the cathedral. 193 00:11:50,587 --> 00:11:52,230 - The crowd jostles to relive 194 00:11:52,230 --> 00:11:55,398 the adventures of William and Harold. 195 00:11:55,398 --> 00:11:57,787 Here they are setting off to wage war 196 00:11:57,787 --> 00:11:59,433 together in Brittany. 197 00:12:01,716 --> 00:12:03,198 - It seems that a friendship grew 198 00:12:03,198 --> 00:12:04,638 between the two men, 199 00:12:04,638 --> 00:12:06,889 but William was wary of Harold's ambition 200 00:12:06,889 --> 00:12:08,745 and asked him to swear on the relics 201 00:12:08,745 --> 00:12:10,266 to promise to back his claim 202 00:12:10,266 --> 00:12:12,835 to the throne of England. 203 00:12:16,056 --> 00:12:17,408 This oath was probably sworn 204 00:12:17,408 --> 00:12:20,934 in the crypt of Bayeux Cathedral. 205 00:12:22,894 --> 00:12:24,503 - One thousand years on 206 00:12:24,503 --> 00:12:27,148 the crypt is still there, identical 207 00:12:27,148 --> 00:12:29,399 aside from paintings that an untrained eye 208 00:12:29,399 --> 00:12:31,927 might think were of that period. 209 00:12:31,927 --> 00:12:36,379 But which were actually added 400 years later. 210 00:12:41,144 --> 00:12:43,331 The text of the oath was authenticated, 211 00:12:43,331 --> 00:12:45,283 transcribed according to the testimonies 212 00:12:45,283 --> 00:12:48,871 of several who took part in the ceremony. 213 00:12:54,627 --> 00:12:57,197 - By this oath, I Harold 214 00:12:58,896 --> 00:13:01,787 will be the representative of Duke William 215 00:13:03,409 --> 00:13:07,414 - at the court of my lord, King Edward, 216 00:13:07,414 --> 00:13:10,488 as long as he shall live. 217 00:13:12,066 --> 00:13:14,699 I shall do all in my power 218 00:13:14,699 --> 00:13:16,736 so that after Edward's death 219 00:13:16,736 --> 00:13:20,100 the kingdom of England be handed to him. 220 00:13:40,841 --> 00:13:42,655 - Back in London, Harold soon witnessed 221 00:13:42,655 --> 00:13:45,618 the last moments of Edward the Confessor. 222 00:13:45,618 --> 00:13:48,274 Who, on his deathbed, entrusted 223 00:13:48,274 --> 00:13:52,225 the kingdom of England to Harold. 224 00:13:55,644 --> 00:13:56,476 - He was a weak king 225 00:13:56,476 --> 00:14:00,459 who had promised his throne to several figures. 226 00:14:00,910 --> 00:14:02,798 So much so, that several figures 227 00:14:02,798 --> 00:14:04,654 might feel legitimate. 228 00:14:14,399 --> 00:14:15,999 - We have reason to think that 229 00:14:15,999 --> 00:14:18,761 at the last moment, the moment of his death, 230 00:14:18,761 --> 00:14:21,992 he designated Harold as his successor, 231 00:14:21,992 --> 00:14:24,558 as the tapestry shows. 232 00:14:27,989 --> 00:14:30,517 - Edward died on January 5th, 233 00:14:30,517 --> 00:14:31,840 and the very next day Harold 234 00:14:31,840 --> 00:14:35,268 had himself crowned king. 235 00:14:46,226 --> 00:14:49,063 The news traveled very fast in England, 236 00:14:49,063 --> 00:14:51,175 and immediately went to Normandy, 237 00:14:51,175 --> 00:14:55,326 thanks to the great number of spies on English soil. 238 00:14:55,326 --> 00:14:57,726 So William was quickly informed. 239 00:15:41,212 --> 00:15:42,494 - One can ask whether Harold 240 00:15:42,494 --> 00:15:45,395 really did go back on his word. 241 00:15:45,395 --> 00:15:49,709 Some dispute it, but it does merit discussion. 242 00:15:50,175 --> 00:15:51,037 - There are in fact 243 00:15:51,037 --> 00:15:53,011 quite a few sources on the subject 244 00:15:53,011 --> 00:15:55,379 from the quills of medieval authors. 245 00:15:55,379 --> 00:15:58,099 Penned in a scriptoria of monasteries, 246 00:15:58,099 --> 00:16:01,569 among them William of Poitiers, William of Jumieges 247 00:16:01,569 --> 00:16:04,895 and the Anglo-Norman monk Orderic Vitalis. 248 00:16:08,616 --> 00:16:11,770 - And we have another version, 249 00:16:11,770 --> 00:16:14,323 that of Wace, a Norman author 250 00:16:14,323 --> 00:16:17,972 who wrote the "Roman de Rou." 251 00:16:20,975 --> 00:16:22,372 Wace's account was written 252 00:16:22,372 --> 00:16:25,967 a century after the events. 253 00:16:25,967 --> 00:16:29,736 But he relied on the testimony of his father, 254 00:16:29,736 --> 00:16:33,070 who was present at the Battle of Hastings, 255 00:16:33,070 --> 00:16:35,674 and gives us information that we don't get 256 00:16:35,674 --> 00:16:38,760 from other sources. 257 00:16:39,300 --> 00:16:40,687 - The duke was delighted. 258 00:16:40,687 --> 00:16:41,923 He was happy with the flag 259 00:16:41,923 --> 00:16:45,810 and the permission given him by the pope. 260 00:17:05,420 --> 00:17:08,342 He sent for blacksmiths and carpenters. 261 00:17:08,342 --> 00:17:10,434 Building materials were hauled in. 262 00:17:10,434 --> 00:17:12,364 Wood brought, dowels were shaped, 263 00:17:12,364 --> 00:17:13,707 planks were planed, 264 00:17:13,707 --> 00:17:15,563 boats and ships were fitted out. 265 00:17:15,563 --> 00:17:18,912 Sails were set, masts were mounted. 266 00:17:18,912 --> 00:17:20,257 A lot of bodies were busied, 267 00:17:20,257 --> 00:17:22,507 lots of money spent. 268 00:17:22,507 --> 00:17:24,086 It took the whole summer and harvest time 269 00:17:24,086 --> 00:17:26,410 to fit out the fleet and raise the troops. 270 00:17:41,949 --> 00:17:43,452 - In the second half of April, 271 00:17:43,452 --> 00:17:45,425 and exceptional event happened 272 00:17:45,425 --> 00:17:48,087 in the western sky. 273 00:18:16,827 --> 00:18:19,568 We now know it was Halley's Comet. 274 00:18:19,568 --> 00:18:22,629 It shone in the sky for a fortnight, 275 00:18:22,629 --> 00:18:24,389 to the people of the time 276 00:18:24,389 --> 00:18:26,501 it foretold of a calamity, 277 00:18:26,501 --> 00:18:30,122 a shift in the destiny of kingdoms. 278 00:18:36,090 --> 00:18:37,488 - The presence of Taillefer, 279 00:18:37,488 --> 00:18:38,694 a rather excitable character, 280 00:18:38,694 --> 00:18:40,830 endlessly shouting "The Song of Roland," 281 00:18:40,830 --> 00:18:44,633 was recorded by Wace the Norman historian. 282 00:18:47,446 --> 00:18:48,917 - Taillefer, who sang so well, 283 00:18:48,917 --> 00:18:50,122 preceded the duke 284 00:18:50,122 --> 00:18:52,299 singing of the exploits of Charlemagne, 285 00:18:52,299 --> 00:18:55,919 Roland and his vassals who died at Mount Savoy. 286 00:19:04,332 --> 00:19:05,377 - Still playing at war, 287 00:19:05,377 --> 00:19:07,169 but not yet with any conviction, 288 00:19:07,169 --> 00:19:09,121 William moved his pawns further north 289 00:19:09,121 --> 00:19:11,326 to Saint Valery in the Baie de la Somme 290 00:19:11,326 --> 00:19:14,232 still waiting for a favorable wind. 291 00:19:54,902 --> 00:19:56,042 - William stayed two weeks 292 00:19:56,042 --> 00:19:58,271 in the Baie de la Somme, 293 00:19:58,271 --> 00:19:59,936 and waited for a favorable blowing 294 00:19:59,936 --> 00:20:02,831 from the English side. 295 00:20:09,503 --> 00:20:11,316 On the morning of September 28th, 296 00:20:11,316 --> 00:20:15,300 the wind turned and allowed William to embark. 297 00:20:34,227 --> 00:20:34,909 - For a historian 298 00:20:34,909 --> 00:20:35,859 who has dedicated his life 299 00:20:35,859 --> 00:20:37,597 to the saga of William, 300 00:20:37,597 --> 00:20:38,663 the crossing of the channel 301 00:20:38,663 --> 00:20:39,965 by the Norman armada 302 00:20:39,965 --> 00:20:42,173 remains a moment to be endlessly pondered 303 00:20:42,173 --> 00:20:44,008 and reimagined. 304 00:21:29,545 --> 00:21:31,142 - Pull. 305 00:21:31,142 --> 00:21:32,293 Pull. 306 00:21:32,293 --> 00:21:33,947 Pull. 307 00:21:33,947 --> 00:21:36,426 Pull. 308 00:21:55,407 --> 00:21:58,383 - Nobody expected the Norman landing. 309 00:21:58,383 --> 00:22:02,804 That was part of William's plan. 310 00:22:03,279 --> 00:22:05,466 He knew that Harold had sent all his troops north 311 00:22:05,466 --> 00:22:07,503 to face the Norwegians. 312 00:22:07,503 --> 00:22:10,521 And at Stamford Bridge, on September 25th, 313 00:22:10,521 --> 00:22:12,591 there was a terrible battle 314 00:22:12,591 --> 00:22:16,198 where virtually all the Norwegians were slaughtered. 315 00:22:18,985 --> 00:22:20,312 William took advantage 316 00:22:20,312 --> 00:22:22,724 of this absence of troops in the south 317 00:22:22,724 --> 00:22:25,810 to land unhindered. 318 00:22:31,555 --> 00:22:35,390 He landed on Pevensey Beach. 319 00:22:37,059 --> 00:22:41,358 The next day, the infantry set off across the fields, 320 00:22:41,358 --> 00:22:43,608 while William's fleet made for a little harbor 321 00:22:43,608 --> 00:22:47,293 at the foot of Hastings cliffs. 322 00:22:51,161 --> 00:22:52,824 - From that point on, 323 00:22:52,824 --> 00:22:54,339 the little village of Hastings 324 00:22:54,339 --> 00:22:56,195 has owed its universal renown 325 00:22:56,195 --> 00:22:59,719 through the ages to William. 326 00:23:06,178 --> 00:23:08,429 On the English side, the men with long hair 327 00:23:08,429 --> 00:23:11,868 gathered by the famous gray apple tree. 328 00:23:14,999 --> 00:23:17,207 Tired, but galvanized by their victory 329 00:23:17,207 --> 00:23:18,668 against the Norwegians, 330 00:23:18,668 --> 00:23:22,779 they readied themselves to take up arms yet again. 331 00:23:25,274 --> 00:23:27,524 - The army of King Harold was akin 332 00:23:27,524 --> 00:23:29,380 to what we normally considered to be 333 00:23:29,380 --> 00:23:31,582 the feudal army. 334 00:23:31,705 --> 00:23:33,348 There were two main parts to it, 335 00:23:33,348 --> 00:23:36,089 one were his own household, 336 00:23:36,089 --> 00:23:38,617 which was essentially the aristocracy of England 337 00:23:38,617 --> 00:23:40,645 who held their land on the basis 338 00:23:40,645 --> 00:23:42,971 of military service and personal loyalty 339 00:23:42,971 --> 00:23:44,272 to King Harold, 340 00:23:44,272 --> 00:23:48,449 and they are usually called the Housecarls of the king. 341 00:23:48,552 --> 00:23:50,407 But crucially in battle they didn't fight 342 00:23:50,407 --> 00:23:53,565 on horseback like calvary normally would fight. 343 00:23:53,565 --> 00:23:55,656 They dismounted and they fought with a sword 344 00:23:55,656 --> 00:23:58,621 and the axe, like the Norman infantry. 345 00:23:58,621 --> 00:24:00,712 Alongside the Housecarls, there was the 346 00:24:00,712 --> 00:24:03,376 Anglo-Saxon word fyrd. 347 00:24:03,376 --> 00:24:05,167 In other words, the feudal levies 348 00:24:05,167 --> 00:24:07,568 when the words are linked, 349 00:24:07,568 --> 00:24:10,820 who were the normal country people of England, 350 00:24:10,820 --> 00:24:13,019 who owed their own tenure 351 00:24:13,019 --> 00:24:15,759 to their lords who owed their tenure to the king. 352 00:24:15,759 --> 00:24:17,552 They had the duty of turning out 353 00:24:17,552 --> 00:24:20,101 for so many months, or so many weeks every year 354 00:24:20,101 --> 00:24:21,910 to fight for the king. 355 00:24:21,910 --> 00:24:23,537 Now one of the problems with Harold's army 356 00:24:23,537 --> 00:24:26,065 as indeed with feudal armies later on, 357 00:24:26,065 --> 00:24:28,624 is that that right only lasted for six weeks 358 00:24:28,624 --> 00:24:29,947 or two months. 359 00:24:29,947 --> 00:24:32,322 So there's a point at which the fyrd was called, 360 00:24:32,322 --> 00:24:34,178 was assembled, was ready to fight 361 00:24:34,178 --> 00:24:36,781 and after so many months they went home again. 362 00:24:36,781 --> 00:24:39,537 So Harold had some limitations there. 363 00:24:40,034 --> 00:24:43,255 It's probable that if Harold had waited 364 00:24:43,255 --> 00:24:46,871 two, three, four days, and no more than that 365 00:24:46,871 --> 00:24:49,218 to assemble a force that was significantly bigger 366 00:24:49,218 --> 00:24:51,352 and significantly better rested, 367 00:24:51,352 --> 00:24:54,017 than the force he actually fielded at Hastings, 368 00:24:54,017 --> 00:24:57,878 then he might have triumphed 369 00:24:57,878 --> 00:25:00,290 and English history would look rather different. 370 00:25:05,559 --> 00:25:07,297 - The English were shrewdly encamped 371 00:25:07,297 --> 00:25:08,991 at the top of the hill, 372 00:25:08,991 --> 00:25:13,145 which overlooked the plain by some 40 meters. 373 00:25:15,028 --> 00:25:16,884 And William had naturally camped 374 00:25:16,884 --> 00:25:20,429 at the foot of this hill to be able to manuver. 375 00:26:35,205 --> 00:26:36,986 - The battle began at nine in the morning 376 00:26:36,986 --> 00:26:39,857 as William de Poitiers tells us. 377 00:26:42,764 --> 00:26:45,730 The Normans first deployed their archers. 378 00:26:47,290 --> 00:26:50,734 They sent them in as close as possible, 379 00:26:50,734 --> 00:26:53,454 but hardly were they within an arrow's range, 380 00:26:53,454 --> 00:26:56,882 around 40 to 50 meters, 381 00:26:58,669 --> 00:27:01,965 then spears rained down on them from the hill 382 00:27:01,965 --> 00:27:04,979 killing a good many men. 383 00:27:06,170 --> 00:27:08,025 William saw then he would obtain nothing 384 00:27:08,025 --> 00:27:09,146 with his archers, 385 00:27:09,146 --> 00:27:12,158 and sent in his infantrymen. 386 00:27:12,952 --> 00:27:14,158 - The battlefield sheds light 387 00:27:14,158 --> 00:27:16,070 on the customs of the time. 388 00:27:16,070 --> 00:27:17,926 We find that William's half brother Odo, 389 00:27:17,926 --> 00:27:20,859 swapped his cassock for a chain mail suit. 390 00:27:20,859 --> 00:27:23,546 As a bishop he didn't have the right to shed blood, 391 00:27:23,546 --> 00:27:25,081 so his sword was forbidden. 392 00:27:25,081 --> 00:27:27,786 But a club was tolerated. 393 00:28:23,024 --> 00:28:25,114 - For around one and half to two hours, 394 00:28:25,114 --> 00:28:28,112 William had both his infantry and calvary 395 00:28:28,112 --> 00:28:30,239 attack the hill. 396 00:28:31,781 --> 00:28:33,498 But they couldn't gain a foothold, 397 00:28:33,498 --> 00:28:35,195 as they were hindered by the hail of spears 398 00:28:35,195 --> 00:28:36,932 and chaffs of all kinds, 399 00:28:36,932 --> 00:28:39,550 hurled by the English. 400 00:28:43,919 --> 00:28:47,408 William de Poitiers, William the Conqueror's biographer, 401 00:28:47,408 --> 00:28:50,215 said the cloud of projectiles was so dense 402 00:28:50,215 --> 00:28:52,992 it blocked out the sun's rays. 403 00:28:53,531 --> 00:28:56,177 Perhaps an exaggeration for the sake of the epic, 404 00:28:56,177 --> 00:28:57,595 but it shows that the English were able 405 00:28:57,595 --> 00:28:59,963 to keep the Normans at bay. 406 00:28:59,963 --> 00:29:03,306 And that's what they did for the first couple of hours. 407 00:29:06,587 --> 00:29:08,765 What happened next was an incident stemming 408 00:29:08,765 --> 00:29:10,912 from a bold manuever that the Breton's 409 00:29:10,912 --> 00:29:14,208 were charged with performing. 410 00:29:18,445 --> 00:29:20,405 They advanced as close as possible 411 00:29:20,405 --> 00:29:23,002 to the English flank, 412 00:29:23,979 --> 00:29:25,931 and at a given moment 413 00:29:25,931 --> 00:29:29,711 they provoked what is known as a feigned flight. 414 00:29:31,082 --> 00:29:32,405 - It was a ruse. 415 00:29:32,405 --> 00:29:36,314 William's soldiers appeared to turn back, 416 00:29:36,314 --> 00:29:39,162 to retreat from the shield wall 417 00:29:39,162 --> 00:29:41,163 of the Anglo-Saxon Housecarls, 418 00:29:41,163 --> 00:29:43,767 which hitherto had been impregnable. 419 00:29:43,767 --> 00:29:46,689 So the pretense on the part of the Normans 420 00:29:46,689 --> 00:29:50,480 to give up, to retreat, to runaway 421 00:29:50,480 --> 00:29:53,762 tested the discipline of the Anglo-Saxon army 422 00:29:53,762 --> 00:29:55,266 to breaking point. 423 00:29:55,266 --> 00:29:57,748 And there was a moment when they broke their wall, 424 00:29:57,748 --> 00:29:59,839 they ran down the hill 425 00:29:59,839 --> 00:30:01,258 and of course by doing that 426 00:30:01,258 --> 00:30:04,234 they exposed themselves to attack 427 00:30:04,234 --> 00:30:07,017 by men on horses armed with lances, 428 00:30:07,017 --> 00:30:09,392 and were extremely vulnerable. 429 00:30:10,348 --> 00:30:13,111 - William, who had advanced on his horse 430 00:30:13,111 --> 00:30:16,568 to direct the highly delicate feigned flight manuever, 431 00:30:19,558 --> 00:30:22,127 was held up because his horse was killed 432 00:30:22,127 --> 00:30:24,745 by an English spear. 433 00:30:26,467 --> 00:30:28,206 The horse collapsed and rolled on top 434 00:30:28,206 --> 00:30:31,176 of William the Conqueror. 435 00:30:33,571 --> 00:30:34,959 - William's fall became one 436 00:30:34,959 --> 00:30:38,307 of the great dramatic moments of the Battle of Hastings. 437 00:30:38,307 --> 00:30:40,120 As a knight, it's something you'd be keen 438 00:30:40,120 --> 00:30:42,285 to tell your beloved when you were reunited 439 00:30:42,285 --> 00:30:44,143 after the fighting. 440 00:30:44,143 --> 00:30:47,550 Here William becomes his own historian. 441 00:31:13,002 --> 00:31:14,912 - It was as if nothing else existed 442 00:31:14,912 --> 00:31:16,629 but the epic of a hero, 443 00:31:16,629 --> 00:31:19,337 whom fate has pitched alone against the world. 444 00:31:56,044 --> 00:31:58,946 - And probably a new phase began then. 445 00:31:58,946 --> 00:32:01,452 Identical to the first, that is, 446 00:32:01,452 --> 00:32:04,172 that William relaunched his archers, 447 00:32:04,172 --> 00:32:07,675 his infantry and his cavalry. 448 00:32:08,705 --> 00:32:10,678 And we can say that from one or two o'clock 449 00:32:10,678 --> 00:32:12,833 until three in the afternoon, 450 00:32:12,833 --> 00:32:15,845 William met with the same failure. 451 00:32:25,524 --> 00:32:27,905 They needed to clear the battlefield, 452 00:32:27,905 --> 00:32:31,287 to take away the corpses, the dead horses, 453 00:32:31,287 --> 00:32:32,898 the wounded. 454 00:32:32,898 --> 00:32:36,790 To restock with weapons, spears, arrows 455 00:32:36,790 --> 00:32:38,839 and all kinds of lances. 456 00:32:38,839 --> 00:32:41,164 They also had to regroup a certain number 457 00:32:41,164 --> 00:32:45,126 of forces to enable them to mount another attack. 458 00:32:46,017 --> 00:32:48,427 - One of the problems with Harold's army 459 00:32:48,427 --> 00:32:50,817 was the lack of archers. 460 00:32:50,817 --> 00:32:52,534 And it's very difficult to explain that 461 00:32:52,534 --> 00:32:55,883 because archery was a perfectly common thing 462 00:32:55,883 --> 00:32:58,038 in England just as it was in Normandy. 463 00:32:58,038 --> 00:33:02,656 And one of the, not strategic but tactical advantages 464 00:33:02,656 --> 00:33:04,587 William had, as we all know, 465 00:33:04,587 --> 00:33:07,392 was the large company of archers 466 00:33:07,392 --> 00:33:08,277 he brought with him, 467 00:33:08,277 --> 00:33:10,001 and the effect they had on the battle. 468 00:33:11,419 --> 00:33:12,155 - If we look carefully 469 00:33:12,155 --> 00:33:14,459 at the Bayeux Tapestry, we see that there's 470 00:33:14,459 --> 00:33:18,482 a character called Harold who gets an arrow in the eye. 471 00:33:18,482 --> 00:33:21,031 And just next to him, is a knight amputating 472 00:33:21,031 --> 00:33:23,864 another character's leg. 473 00:33:24,189 --> 00:33:27,478 That's a second representation of Harold. 474 00:33:34,459 --> 00:33:36,411 - And once the king was dead, 475 00:33:36,411 --> 00:33:39,505 the idea of the state in Anglo-Saxon England 476 00:33:39,505 --> 00:33:43,195 was not strong enough to hold this mass of people together. 477 00:33:43,195 --> 00:33:44,657 So with the death of the king, 478 00:33:44,657 --> 00:33:48,720 all loyalty to a common cause breaks apart 479 00:33:48,720 --> 00:33:49,808 and disintegrates. 480 00:33:49,808 --> 00:33:52,315 And at that point, the dispersal of the English army 481 00:33:52,315 --> 00:33:53,712 is inevitable. 482 00:33:53,712 --> 00:33:55,472 There's no one there to hold them together. 483 00:33:55,472 --> 00:33:57,893 The king and his two brothers have both been killed, 484 00:33:57,893 --> 00:34:01,555 and the Normans rule the field. 485 00:34:03,315 --> 00:34:04,829 - It is hard to evaluate losses 486 00:34:04,829 --> 00:34:07,234 on either side. 487 00:34:07,698 --> 00:34:10,184 We know both sides suffered severe losses, 488 00:34:10,184 --> 00:34:13,715 probably around 3,000 dead on the English side, 489 00:34:13,715 --> 00:34:18,615 2,000 dead among the Normans, Bretons and French. 490 00:34:22,221 --> 00:34:24,663 So it was probably a very hard battle, 491 00:34:24,663 --> 00:34:26,082 which lasted from nine in the morning 492 00:34:26,082 --> 00:34:28,721 until six in the evening. 493 00:34:31,052 --> 00:34:32,162 It was one of the great battles 494 00:34:32,162 --> 00:34:34,295 of the Middle Ages, which obviously changed 495 00:34:34,295 --> 00:34:36,774 the fate of England. 496 00:34:39,875 --> 00:34:41,806 From that moment on, 497 00:34:41,806 --> 00:34:44,412 instead of hurrying towards London, 498 00:34:45,542 --> 00:34:48,656 William made an encircling manuever. 499 00:34:48,656 --> 00:34:50,683 Continuing his butchery and setting fires 500 00:34:50,683 --> 00:34:53,856 to terrorize the population. 501 00:34:54,395 --> 00:34:58,122 And what he expected to happen happened. 502 00:34:58,950 --> 00:35:01,317 The aristocrats and the inhabitants of London 503 00:35:01,317 --> 00:35:05,279 came out to surrender when William approached the city. 504 00:35:07,023 --> 00:35:10,512 - Here the sources differ quite significantly. 505 00:35:10,512 --> 00:35:14,384 And my own belief is that London didn't surrender 506 00:35:14,384 --> 00:35:17,103 as easily as it is usually assumed. 507 00:35:17,103 --> 00:35:19,653 And that there was actually a siege of London, 508 00:35:19,653 --> 00:35:22,608 in other words London was captured by assault 509 00:35:22,608 --> 00:35:25,038 and not simply by surrender. 510 00:35:25,038 --> 00:35:29,199 So the Roman walls of London and defended 511 00:35:29,199 --> 00:35:31,567 by the Anglo-Saxon nobility 512 00:35:31,567 --> 00:35:33,776 in support of Edgar the Etheling, 513 00:35:33,776 --> 00:35:36,615 the Anglo-Saxon claimant to the throne 514 00:35:36,615 --> 00:35:38,172 once Harold was dead 515 00:35:38,172 --> 00:35:40,612 put up a pretty fierce resistance. 516 00:35:40,612 --> 00:35:43,118 It's slightly surprising that we don't hear 517 00:35:43,118 --> 00:35:44,676 more about the siege of London 518 00:35:44,676 --> 00:35:45,721 in the chronicles. 519 00:35:45,721 --> 00:35:48,623 And the really sad thing is that the Bayeux Tapestry 520 00:35:48,623 --> 00:35:50,649 is cut off at the wrong moment. 521 00:35:50,649 --> 00:35:53,358 And I suspect it's true that the Bayeux Tapestry 522 00:35:53,358 --> 00:35:57,336 actually had another 20 foot showing 523 00:35:57,336 --> 00:36:01,202 the capture of London in the end of it. 524 00:36:02,168 --> 00:36:04,898 - A dizzying example of sagas propaganda, 525 00:36:04,898 --> 00:36:06,222 the tapestry made no mention 526 00:36:06,222 --> 00:36:09,922 of any looting, rape and murder by the Norman army. 527 00:36:09,922 --> 00:36:12,056 It omitted the bloody siege of London 528 00:36:12,056 --> 00:36:14,211 and consigned to oblivion the moving coronation 529 00:36:14,211 --> 00:36:16,142 of William on the throne of England, 530 00:36:16,142 --> 00:36:17,900 which was nonetheless carefully rehearsed 531 00:36:17,900 --> 00:36:21,223 and staged to avoid any mishap. 532 00:37:30,656 --> 00:37:32,442 - Why did William want to come 533 00:37:32,442 --> 00:37:33,716 so much? 534 00:37:33,716 --> 00:37:36,041 Why did he make this huge effort 535 00:37:36,041 --> 00:37:37,621 to capture England? 536 00:37:37,621 --> 00:37:40,894 Because England was very rich. 537 00:37:40,894 --> 00:37:44,937 The city of London was already very important 538 00:37:44,937 --> 00:37:46,975 international port. 539 00:37:46,975 --> 00:37:49,097 Because the kings of England 540 00:37:49,097 --> 00:37:52,905 had had to pay off the Dames all the time 541 00:37:52,905 --> 00:37:55,977 with Dane gold,, they were very good 542 00:37:55,977 --> 00:37:58,100 at raising taxes. 543 00:37:58,100 --> 00:38:00,297 They actually raised the money, 544 00:38:00,297 --> 00:38:02,461 revenues from their land. 545 00:38:02,461 --> 00:38:07,461 So it was a very attractive land for William. 546 00:38:08,564 --> 00:38:10,122 - The population of London was the biggest 547 00:38:10,122 --> 00:38:11,839 of any English city. 548 00:38:11,839 --> 00:38:13,652 So large areas within the Roman walls 549 00:38:13,652 --> 00:38:15,604 were open land, there were vegetable gardens, 550 00:38:15,604 --> 00:38:17,044 they were fields. 551 00:38:17,044 --> 00:38:17,972 There were churches, 552 00:38:17,972 --> 00:38:20,958 there was some vestige of the Roman street plan, 553 00:38:20,958 --> 00:38:22,004 but not very much. 554 00:38:22,004 --> 00:38:25,769 But actually, most of the commerce of London 555 00:38:25,769 --> 00:38:28,904 took place in an area which was outside the walls, 556 00:38:28,904 --> 00:38:30,366 to the west of London, 557 00:38:30,366 --> 00:38:33,620 which is called by the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" 558 00:38:33,620 --> 00:38:36,607 and by archaeologists today, London Wick. 559 00:38:36,607 --> 00:38:37,941 And that is where the main center 560 00:38:37,941 --> 00:38:40,053 of commerce and population existed. 561 00:38:40,053 --> 00:38:42,110 And then just further west of that 562 00:38:42,110 --> 00:38:44,371 there was Westminister Palace. 563 00:38:44,371 --> 00:38:46,153 And that's where the political power 564 00:38:46,153 --> 00:38:48,542 and the commercial power actually lay. 565 00:39:01,265 --> 00:39:02,311 - As the city of London 566 00:39:02,311 --> 00:39:04,284 was a key piece of the puzzle, 567 00:39:04,284 --> 00:39:07,324 heavily populated and William feared a revolt, 568 00:39:07,324 --> 00:39:10,556 he immediately built fortifications. 569 00:39:10,556 --> 00:39:14,241 The biggest was called the Tower of London. 570 00:39:15,633 --> 00:39:18,236 - It's an absolutely magnificent building. 571 00:39:18,236 --> 00:39:23,236 He builds it in the corner of the Roman wall at London. 572 00:39:25,510 --> 00:39:28,198 The corner, the eastern corner, 573 00:39:28,198 --> 00:39:32,955 so that it dominates both the city 574 00:39:32,955 --> 00:39:36,656 and it would be enormously dominate 575 00:39:36,656 --> 00:39:40,465 to anyone who approached London by ship 576 00:39:40,465 --> 00:39:42,298 up the river Thames. 577 00:39:42,298 --> 00:39:44,058 So they would come along the Thames, 578 00:39:44,058 --> 00:39:47,941 imagine merchants from the empire, 579 00:39:47,941 --> 00:39:51,119 from Scandinavia and from France, 580 00:39:51,119 --> 00:39:54,810 ambassadors coming from say the Emperor or Flanders. 581 00:39:54,810 --> 00:39:56,996 They would come up the Thames 582 00:39:56,996 --> 00:40:01,360 and they would see this magnificent building. 583 00:40:03,719 --> 00:40:07,281 It was built out of carved stone, 584 00:40:07,281 --> 00:40:09,584 and we know that it was lime washed. 585 00:40:09,584 --> 00:40:11,653 That's why it was called the White Tower. 586 00:40:11,653 --> 00:40:13,509 The one side that wasn't magnificent 587 00:40:13,509 --> 00:40:15,825 was the north side, 588 00:40:15,825 --> 00:40:17,947 which didn't really matter. 589 00:40:17,947 --> 00:40:22,947 And all the toilets were designed 590 00:40:23,493 --> 00:40:26,298 so that they gave out onto the northside. 591 00:40:26,298 --> 00:40:30,159 So the entire tower, this magnificent white tower, 592 00:40:30,159 --> 00:40:31,845 but I'm afraid on the northside 593 00:40:31,845 --> 00:40:33,338 would have been rather spoiled 594 00:40:33,338 --> 00:40:38,338 by the effects of guard robes. 595 00:40:39,930 --> 00:40:41,413 But they didn't worry about that. 596 00:40:41,413 --> 00:40:43,695 What matters is the three facades 597 00:40:43,695 --> 00:40:46,799 that people were really suppose to see. 598 00:40:46,799 --> 00:40:50,404 And it was tucked into a bit of the Roman wall. 599 00:40:50,404 --> 00:40:53,401 He used the Roman wall, which still existed 600 00:40:53,401 --> 00:40:57,759 almost as if William was Caesar. 601 00:40:59,897 --> 00:41:01,636 - And it's undoubtedly true 602 00:41:01,636 --> 00:41:03,545 that one of the reasons why the Norman conquest 603 00:41:03,545 --> 00:41:04,963 was a success, 604 00:41:04,963 --> 00:41:07,331 was the proliferation of castles 605 00:41:07,331 --> 00:41:08,814 during William's lifetime, 606 00:41:08,814 --> 00:41:11,086 during the first years after the conquest. 607 00:41:11,086 --> 00:41:13,251 On the initiative specially of the king 608 00:41:13,251 --> 00:41:16,443 and his great nobles, such William FitzOsborne, 609 00:41:16,443 --> 00:41:18,384 William du Orand and so, 610 00:41:18,384 --> 00:41:19,568 and who built castles 611 00:41:19,568 --> 00:41:22,619 to control England in a very, very 612 00:41:22,619 --> 00:41:24,634 solid kind of way. 613 00:41:24,634 --> 00:41:26,884 And their example was taken up 614 00:41:26,884 --> 00:41:30,159 by the lesser nobility, as decade followed decade 615 00:41:30,159 --> 00:41:32,527 after William's death more were built. 616 00:41:32,527 --> 00:41:35,546 And by 1100, it's believed that there about 617 00:41:35,546 --> 00:41:37,657 500 castles in England. 618 00:41:37,657 --> 00:41:41,032 Whereas before 1066, there had been about five. 619 00:41:42,024 --> 00:41:43,165 - William's problem was that 620 00:41:43,165 --> 00:41:44,647 he couldn't be in Normandy and England 621 00:41:44,647 --> 00:41:46,620 at the same time. 622 00:41:47,600 --> 00:41:48,665 When he was in England, 623 00:41:48,665 --> 00:41:51,289 the Normans never actually rebelled 624 00:41:51,289 --> 00:41:54,232 but often those from Le Mans, Auxerre 625 00:41:54,232 --> 00:41:56,473 and the Breton's did. 626 00:41:56,473 --> 00:41:58,649 Conversely when he was in Normandy, 627 00:41:58,649 --> 00:42:00,558 he managed to quell any revolt, 628 00:42:00,558 --> 00:42:02,233 but the Scots and the Welsh were busy 629 00:42:02,233 --> 00:42:04,972 attacking England. 630 00:42:06,646 --> 00:42:09,489 - There were insistent revolts. 631 00:42:10,789 --> 00:42:14,967 And the Norman yoke was mercilessly applied. 632 00:42:17,139 --> 00:42:20,573 There were massacres, particularly in the north. 633 00:42:20,573 --> 00:42:23,378 And for three years, William went from one region 634 00:42:23,378 --> 00:42:25,522 to the next with an army to massacre 635 00:42:25,522 --> 00:42:26,792 the population. 636 00:42:26,792 --> 00:42:30,113 Sometimes an innocent population. 637 00:42:30,513 --> 00:42:32,604 We can say that by 1072 638 00:42:32,604 --> 00:42:34,685 order had been restored. 639 00:42:34,685 --> 00:42:38,583 But it was an order imposed by terror. 640 00:42:39,142 --> 00:42:41,073 - William was becoming old. 641 00:42:41,073 --> 00:42:43,399 He'd grown fat and had lost the confidence 642 00:42:43,399 --> 00:42:45,954 of those around him. 643 00:42:51,175 --> 00:42:52,392 - His half brother, Odo, 644 00:42:52,392 --> 00:42:56,404 was William the Conqueror's right hand man for years. 645 00:42:56,404 --> 00:42:58,271 Each time William came to Normandy, 646 00:42:58,271 --> 00:43:00,244 he played the role of viceroy, 647 00:43:00,244 --> 00:43:02,537 who governed in the name of the king. 648 00:43:02,537 --> 00:43:04,819 So he was an important character. 649 00:43:04,819 --> 00:43:06,250 No doubt not well liked 650 00:43:06,250 --> 00:43:08,383 because he was very authoritarian. 651 00:43:08,383 --> 00:43:10,196 He prized wealth and riches, 652 00:43:10,196 --> 00:43:13,795 but he nevertheless governed England efficiently. 653 00:43:14,677 --> 00:43:15,892 But there came a time when he took 654 00:43:15,892 --> 00:43:17,931 to much liberty with the king. 655 00:43:17,931 --> 00:43:20,298 We're not absolutely sure of the circumstances, 656 00:43:20,298 --> 00:43:23,181 but it seems he wanted to set off on his own expedition 657 00:43:23,181 --> 00:43:26,616 to Rome, perhaps to overthrow the pope, 658 00:43:26,616 --> 00:43:28,941 perhaps to be elected pope. 659 00:43:28,941 --> 00:43:31,004 We don't really know. 660 00:43:54,217 --> 00:43:56,935 - When William found out, he was appalled. 661 00:43:56,935 --> 00:44:00,042 The scene happened on the Isle of Wight, 662 00:44:00,042 --> 00:44:01,696 he was about to set sail 663 00:44:01,696 --> 00:44:04,295 and William caught him on the Isle of Wight, 664 00:44:04,295 --> 00:44:08,386 and ordered that his brother be arrested as a rebel. 665 00:44:14,421 --> 00:44:15,520 - Nobody dared touch him 666 00:44:15,520 --> 00:44:18,117 because he was such an important figure. 667 00:44:21,176 --> 00:44:22,756 - So William himself seized 668 00:44:22,756 --> 00:44:25,704 his brother's shoulder and said, 669 00:44:37,827 --> 00:44:38,873 - And he was arrested, 670 00:44:38,873 --> 00:44:40,117 imprisoned in Rouen, 671 00:44:40,117 --> 00:44:42,795 and remained in prison until William's death. 672 00:44:42,795 --> 00:44:46,969 So for five years, from 1082 to 1087. 673 00:44:57,994 --> 00:45:00,851 - His whole reign stretched over 20 years, 674 00:45:00,851 --> 00:45:04,901 between 1066 and 1086. 675 00:45:05,141 --> 00:45:07,157 So has he came to the end of his reign, 676 00:45:07,157 --> 00:45:10,252 he felt the need to know his kingdom better. 677 00:45:10,252 --> 00:45:12,912 For all sorts of reasons. 678 00:45:13,732 --> 00:45:17,004 In particular for fiscal reasons, 679 00:45:17,004 --> 00:45:18,582 to know what sums were owed 680 00:45:18,582 --> 00:45:21,600 by such and such a lord, such and such an estate, 681 00:45:21,600 --> 00:45:24,225 or such and such a town. 682 00:45:25,255 --> 00:45:28,570 So he preceded with a great survey. 683 00:45:28,662 --> 00:45:32,097 He sent his investigators to every county in England, 684 00:45:32,097 --> 00:45:35,980 and the result of this survey was written down 685 00:45:35,980 --> 00:45:39,371 in a great book, called in English, 686 00:45:39,371 --> 00:45:42,128 "The Domesday Book." 687 00:45:42,827 --> 00:45:46,074 Which means the book of the last judgement. 688 00:45:47,126 --> 00:45:49,632 So King William was able to know his people 689 00:45:49,632 --> 00:45:52,943 down to the very last inhabitant. 690 00:45:53,260 --> 00:45:56,613 Like Christ at the final judgement. 691 00:45:57,429 --> 00:45:58,709 - "The Domesday Book" can also 692 00:45:58,709 --> 00:46:02,234 be summarized as a rather bizarre inventory. 693 00:46:03,169 --> 00:46:05,535 Mr. Smith owns a dozen rabbits. 694 00:46:05,535 --> 00:46:08,277 There are 2,500 pigs in Chester. 695 00:46:08,277 --> 00:46:10,463 Ms. Charleston's hens did not lay any eggs 696 00:46:10,463 --> 00:46:12,971 in the year of our Lord 1072. 697 00:46:12,971 --> 00:46:15,776 Three calfs drowned in Grimsby. 698 00:46:15,776 --> 00:46:19,818 Mr. Wessing's 80 cows produces 1,000 liters of milk. 699 00:46:19,818 --> 00:46:22,068 There goes a horse. 700 00:46:22,068 --> 00:46:25,493 The town Lewes has 412 inhabitants. 701 00:46:25,493 --> 00:46:27,871 South Hampton, 5,433. 702 00:46:27,871 --> 00:46:31,021 Liverpool 2,987. 703 00:46:32,705 --> 00:46:35,029 - On November 1st, 1083, 704 00:46:35,029 --> 00:46:37,527 Matilda died in Caen. 705 00:46:37,527 --> 00:46:39,115 She was buried at the lady's abbey 706 00:46:39,115 --> 00:46:41,230 that she founded. 707 00:46:41,230 --> 00:46:43,437 This was dreadful news to William. 708 00:46:43,437 --> 00:46:45,613 His faithful collaborator left him alone 709 00:46:45,613 --> 00:46:47,544 with conflicts to resolve. 710 00:46:47,544 --> 00:46:49,592 In particular, with one of his son's, 711 00:46:49,592 --> 00:46:52,806 the eldest Robert Curthose. 712 00:47:24,226 --> 00:47:25,751 - In the autumn of his life, 713 00:47:25,751 --> 00:47:28,727 William entered into conflict with the king of France, 714 00:47:28,727 --> 00:47:32,865 who was now Philip I, son of Henry I. 715 00:47:32,865 --> 00:47:36,204 who wanted to win back part of the Vexin 716 00:47:36,204 --> 00:47:38,822 that had been yielded to the Normans. 717 00:47:39,713 --> 00:47:41,132 This was a border region 718 00:47:41,132 --> 00:47:42,284 that had long been disputed 719 00:47:42,284 --> 00:47:45,239 between France and Normandy. 720 00:47:48,558 --> 00:47:51,929 And in 1087, William attempted an operation 721 00:47:51,929 --> 00:47:54,665 to seize the Vexin. 722 00:48:48,461 --> 00:48:49,282 - During an expedition 723 00:48:49,282 --> 00:48:50,763 to the French Vexin, 724 00:48:50,763 --> 00:48:53,388 William had an accident. 725 00:48:53,388 --> 00:48:56,524 His horse reared up and he was wounded 726 00:48:56,524 --> 00:48:59,372 in the stomach by the pommel of his saddle. 727 00:49:04,950 --> 00:49:08,150 Transported to Rouen, his capital, 728 00:49:08,150 --> 00:49:11,376 it took him about a week to die. 729 00:49:12,661 --> 00:49:15,617 He retained his lucidity until the end. 730 00:49:15,617 --> 00:49:18,466 Orderic Vitalis had him deliver a long speech 731 00:49:18,466 --> 00:49:20,727 in which he admitted all his faults, 732 00:49:20,727 --> 00:49:23,181 and distributed his inhertance. 733 00:49:23,181 --> 00:49:25,431 Choosing William Rufus, his younger son, 734 00:49:25,431 --> 00:49:30,118 as his heir not his eldest son, Robert Curthose. 735 00:49:33,655 --> 00:49:37,115 So William was a politician until the very end. 736 00:49:59,748 --> 00:50:01,839 - According to Orderic Vitalis, 737 00:50:01,839 --> 00:50:03,929 William owned up on his deathbed 738 00:50:03,929 --> 00:50:07,335 to conquering England unfairly. 739 00:50:11,652 --> 00:50:14,328 But this wasn't in William's nature. 740 00:50:14,328 --> 00:50:17,016 He had to high an opinion of his mission 741 00:50:17,016 --> 00:50:21,133 and his legitimacy to reassess his reign in this way. 742 00:50:21,133 --> 00:50:23,975 Particularly his conquest of England. 743 00:50:28,099 --> 00:50:30,445 Here one must concede that Orderic Vitalis 744 00:50:30,445 --> 00:50:33,927 perhaps added a little romance to the story. 745 00:52:05,813 --> 00:52:06,698 - At that moment, 746 00:52:06,698 --> 00:52:09,829 panic spread throughout the house. 747 00:52:10,335 --> 00:52:14,532 All the barons fled, as well as the clerks. 748 00:52:15,007 --> 00:52:18,339 The servants left, taking the crockery. 749 00:52:20,693 --> 00:52:25,310 William remained alone on his deathbed. 750 00:52:38,481 --> 00:52:41,982 His body had to be taken by sea to Caen, 751 00:52:41,982 --> 00:52:44,019 as he wished to be buried in the abbey 752 00:52:44,019 --> 00:52:47,753 he founded in Saint Etienne du Caen. 753 00:52:52,059 --> 00:52:53,264 - WIlliam's tomb contains 754 00:52:53,264 --> 00:52:55,700 yet another riddle. 755 00:52:57,008 --> 00:52:58,885 Why have the conqueror's say 756 00:52:58,885 --> 00:53:02,175 that he regretted claiming the throne of England? 757 00:53:03,461 --> 00:53:06,793 Was this an intuition of what was to come? 758 00:53:07,759 --> 00:53:10,607 It is said, who can say if it's true, 759 00:53:10,607 --> 00:53:12,698 that the ghost's of Matilda and William 760 00:53:12,698 --> 00:53:14,095 sometimes wander the throne room 761 00:53:14,095 --> 00:53:16,222 like lost souls. 762 00:53:17,071 --> 00:53:19,439 But somethings we do know for certain, 763 00:53:19,439 --> 00:53:21,412 that Normandy lost its sovereignty 764 00:53:21,412 --> 00:53:23,343 and was definitively incorporated 765 00:53:23,343 --> 00:53:26,043 into the throne of France in 1204. 766 00:53:26,043 --> 00:53:28,251 That the Normans who had settled in England 767 00:53:28,251 --> 00:53:32,027 took wives and their descendants became English. 768 00:53:32,027 --> 00:53:34,906 That 250 years after the death of William, 769 00:53:34,906 --> 00:53:36,741 England invaded Normandy 770 00:53:36,741 --> 00:53:40,271 launching a war that lasted 100 years. 771 00:53:40,271 --> 00:53:44,101 And that in 1944, 878 years after William 772 00:53:44,101 --> 00:53:46,330 the British and their allies 773 00:53:46,330 --> 00:53:48,356 finally landed In Normandy, 774 00:53:48,356 --> 00:53:50,608 recreating the Normans exploit 775 00:53:50,608 --> 00:53:52,581 in the opposite direction 776 00:53:52,581 --> 00:53:55,557 and on a far greater scale. 54385

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