William the Conqueror was one of the great medieval warrior-kings. In fact, he set the standard for the next 500 years of English kingship. In war, he was undefeated, but in many ways he was unconventional, and plagued by family troubles and constant rebellion. His talent for administration produced a survey of England that it would take centuries to replicate, and his audacity (and a combination of strategy and luck) put a family on the throne that lasted for a thousand years.
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Reading list:
Foundation: The History of England from Its Earliest Beginnings to the Tudors (The History of England, 1) – Peter Ackroyd
They came with the Conqueror: A study of the modern descendants of the Normans – L.G. Pine
The Norman Conquest: William the Conqueror’s Subjugation of England – Teresa Cole
William the Conqueror Makers of History – Jacob Abbott
William I (Penguin Monarchs): England’s Conqueror – Marc Morris
