Background
On September 15th, 1066. William de Normandy otherwise known as William the Bastard was poised to invade England. William was the son of unmarried Duke Robert I of Normandy and his mistress Herleva. His illegitimate status would give him a lot of trouble upon inheriting the Duchy of Normandy from his father. Nevertheless, he was able to consolidate his power and ally himself with the Duke of Flanders by marrying Mathilda of Flanders. Solidly in control of Normandy, he was able to take over the neighboring county of Maine by 1060.
William became a claimant for the throne of England in the 1050s which was held by his childless cousin, Edward the Confessor. Upon Edward’s death, Harold Godwinson, Earl of Hereford was elected as King of England.
Because William made no secret of his intention to claim the English throne, King Edward and his brother in-law Harold Godwinson had focused their efforts in preparation for the impending Norman invasion.
Meanwhile Harold’s brother Tostig Godwinson had convinced the King of Norway, Harald Hardrada to invade England. As the Earl of Northumbria, Tostig had been very unpopular. So when his vassals rebel against him, his brother Harold agreed to depose and outlaw Tostig. In revenge, Tostig raided the English coast, gathered allies from Scotland and Flanders , and convinced the King of Norway to invade England.
The Invasion
Realizing that he wasn’t the only one invading England, William dispatched part of his fleet and some of his levies to discover the size and disposition of Harald and Harold’s forces.
William then waited for the English and the Norwegians to battle it out.
He then came in and destroyed the weakened forces of both the English and Norwegians.
Conversion to Fraticelli
In December 29th 1069, William de Normandy was in complete control over the war in England when his Chaplain approached him to discuss the matter of converting to Fraticelli. At this point, William was a Catholic and believed his chaplain, Bishop Humphrey to be the same. Unbeknownst to William, Bishop Humphrey had converted to the Fraticelli heresy and was keen on convincing his liege to do likewise. William had always held a deep respect for the Friars of the Franciscan Order for their commitment to poverty. He himself thought the extreme opulence of the catholic clergy decadent.
So he agreed to the conversion.
With the exception of a few individuals, William was able to convince his vassals and the rest of his family to convert.
Immediate Consequences of conversion
In January 27th 1070, King Harold called his ally, Duke Boudewijn of Flanders (Williams father in-law and former ally) into the war. William lost the support of the Duke of Flanders largely because of Williams conversion to the Fraticelli faith.
However, Duke Boudewijn was too busy with his own independence war against the King of France to give Harold anything other than moral support.
At the same time, William had accepted the position of Marshall of France. As a consequence, he was arrested on March 16th 1070.
After ransoming himself from the clutches of King Philippe I, he would again be arrested after he accepted the position as Chancellor of France. Finally learning from his mistakes, he refused all council positions. In total he paid in excess of 300 gold in ransom money.
Reconversion
In March 2nd, 1074 the Chaplain of France, Bishop Angelbert managed to convince William to return to Catholicism. But after a long talk with his daughter Adele, William changed his mind and converted back to Fraticelli.
William the Conqueror
On April 8th, 1076 William de Normandy completed the conquest of England and took on the title of William the Conqueror.
Independent of the King of France, his first order of business was to hand out titles to his loyal subjects and to revoke the titles of filthy Catholics such as Count William de Vassy of Evreux.
On September 15th, 1066. William de Normandy otherwise known as William the Bastard was poised to invade England. William was the son of unmarried Duke Robert I of Normandy and his mistress Herleva. His illegitimate status would give him a lot of trouble upon inheriting the Duchy of Normandy from his father. Nevertheless, he was able to consolidate his power and ally himself with the Duke of Flanders by marrying Mathilda of Flanders. Solidly in control of Normandy, he was able to take over the neighboring county of Maine by 1060.
William became a claimant for the throne of England in the 1050s which was held by his childless cousin, Edward the Confessor. Upon Edward’s death, Harold Godwinson, Earl of Hereford was elected as King of England.
Because William made no secret of his intention to claim the English throne, King Edward and his brother in-law Harold Godwinson had focused their efforts in preparation for the impending Norman invasion.
Meanwhile Harold’s brother Tostig Godwinson had convinced the King of Norway, Harald Hardrada to invade England. As the Earl of Northumbria, Tostig had been very unpopular. So when his vassals rebel against him, his brother Harold agreed to depose and outlaw Tostig. In revenge, Tostig raided the English coast, gathered allies from Scotland and Flanders , and convinced the King of Norway to invade England.
The Invasion
Realizing that he wasn’t the only one invading England, William dispatched part of his fleet and some of his levies to discover the size and disposition of Harald and Harold’s forces.
William then waited for the English and the Norwegians to battle it out.
He then came in and destroyed the weakened forces of both the English and Norwegians.
Conversion to Fraticelli
In December 29th 1069, William de Normandy was in complete control over the war in England when his Chaplain approached him to discuss the matter of converting to Fraticelli. At this point, William was a Catholic and believed his chaplain, Bishop Humphrey to be the same. Unbeknownst to William, Bishop Humphrey had converted to the Fraticelli heresy and was keen on convincing his liege to do likewise. William had always held a deep respect for the Friars of the Franciscan Order for their commitment to poverty. He himself thought the extreme opulence of the catholic clergy decadent.
So he agreed to the conversion.
With the exception of a few individuals, William was able to convince his vassals and the rest of his family to convert.
Immediate Consequences of conversion
In January 27th 1070, King Harold called his ally, Duke Boudewijn of Flanders (Williams father in-law and former ally) into the war. William lost the support of the Duke of Flanders largely because of Williams conversion to the Fraticelli faith.
However, Duke Boudewijn was too busy with his own independence war against the King of France to give Harold anything other than moral support.
At the same time, William had accepted the position of Marshall of France. As a consequence, he was arrested on March 16th 1070.
After ransoming himself from the clutches of King Philippe I, he would again be arrested after he accepted the position as Chancellor of France. Finally learning from his mistakes, he refused all council positions. In total he paid in excess of 300 gold in ransom money.
Reconversion
In March 2nd, 1074 the Chaplain of France, Bishop Angelbert managed to convince William to return to Catholicism. But after a long talk with his daughter Adele, William changed his mind and converted back to Fraticelli.
William the Conqueror
On April 8th, 1076 William de Normandy completed the conquest of England and took on the title of William the Conqueror.
Independent of the King of France, his first order of business was to hand out titles to his loyal subjects and to revoke the titles of filthy Catholics such as Count William de Vassy of Evreux.
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