Also known as William the Conqueror, William the Bastard. Duke William II of William I was the first Norman King of England. William was a very experienced and Normandy (William I of ruthless military commander, ruler and administrator who had unified Normandy and England) inspired fear and respect amongst his contemporaries. (c. 1028-1087) Reigned 1066-1087 In 1066 he defeated and killed the English king Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings and was crowned king on Christmas Day at Westminster Abbey. Even after he secured victory, William faced much opposition. His first task was to the land and control what William referred to as fickleness of the vast and ‘pacify’ ‘the furious population’. To make certain that his new subjects did not forget who controlled their country William began a programme of castle-building that would last for the rest of his life. William knew that the key to controlling England was to control London and so he commissioned Bishop Gundulf to supervise works on a great new fortress that would dominate the town and be large enough to serve several functions: as a royal palace, a military garrison for his troops and an administrative centre for the kingdom. The White Tower itself was probably not started until ten years after the Battle of Hastings. It took around 25 years to complete and William died long before it was finished. Gundulf was a Norman monk who came to England following the conquest. Bishop Gundulf Gundulf was a clerk with a reputation for architectural genius on the continent, having (d. 1108) already designed numerous churches and military fortifications. William I was aware of Gundulf’s architectural prowess and requested that he oversee the construction of his new fortress in London. At first Gundulf refused, saying that he wanted to see out his days building churches, not fortresses. Undeterred, William offered Gundulf an incentive if he agreed to build this new – castle, the king would give royal approval to the building of a new cathedral in Rochester, after which Gundulf would be made bishop of the same. In 1077 Gundulf was appointed Bishop of Rochester and commissioned by William I to supervise kings great works on the great tower of London’. ‘the
Duke William II of Normandy (William I of England) (c. 1028-1087) Reigned 1066-1087 Also known as William the Conqueror, William the Bastard. William I was the first Norman King of England. William was a very experienced and ruthless military commander, ruler and administrator who had unified Normandy and inspired fear and respect amongst his contemporaries. In 1066 he defeated and killed the English king Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings and was crowned king on Christmas Day at Westminster Abbey. Even after he secured victory, William faced much opposition. His first task was to ‘pacify’ the land and control what William referred to as ‘the fickleness of the vast and furious population’. To make certain that his new subjects did not forget who controlled their country William began a programme of castle-building that would last for the rest of his life. William knew that the key to controlling England was to control London and so he commissioned Bishop Gundulf to supervise works on a great new fortress that would dominate the town and be large enough to serve several functions: as a royal palace, a military garrison for his troops and an administrative centre for the kingdom. The White Tower itself was probably not started until ten years after the Battle of Hastings. It took around 25 years to complete and William died long before it was finished. Bishop Gundulf (d. 1108) Gundulf was a Norman monk who came to England following the conquest. Gundulf was a clerk with a reputation for architectural genius on the continent, having already designed numerous churches and military fortifications. William I was aware of Gundulf’s architectural prowess and requested that he oversee the construction of his new fortress in London. At first Gundulf refused, saying that he wanted to see out his days building churches, not fortresses. Undeterred, William offered Gundulf an incentive – if he agreed to build this new castle, the king would give royal approval to the building of a new cathedral in Rochester, after which Gundulf would be made bishop of the same. In 1077 Gundulf was appointed Bishop of Rochester and commissioned by William I to supervise ‘the kings great works on the great tower of London’.
teach048_normantoweroflondoncharacters_web.docx