William the Conqueror

by Jacob Abbott

Overview

American master storyteller Jacob Abbott's classic work on William the Conqueror tells the dramatic story of the Norman nobleman who conducted one of the most audacious invasions in European history and thereby wrote his name into the annals of history. Starting with the origins of the Norman people, this work explores-in typical easy-to-read Abbott style-the background and development of William's home and of his reign in Normandy. Also included are the stories of Matilda, Emma, and his son Robert's rebellion. The story then moves on to political developments in England, and how William became, along with two others, a claimant to the English throne. Determined to seize the kingdom of England for himself, William raised an army of mercenaries on the Continent, equipped an invasion fleet, and sailed across the English Channel in 1066. His subsequent victory at the Battle of Hastings, his seizure and consolidation of power as William I of England, and the writing of the famous Domesday Book, all form part of this enthralling story of European history.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781470055479
Publisher:	CreateSpace Publishing
Publication date:	02/10/2012
Pages:	130
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.31(d)

About the Author

Jacob Abbott (1803-1879) was a native of the state of Maine who was a professor of mathematics and natural philosophy, a minister, and founder of two schools (the Mount Vernon School for Young Ladies in Boston and the Mount Vernon School for Boys, in New York City).
He wrote more than 180 books and became famous for his easy-to-read style of history storytelling, stripped of the dry dustiness which characterized other texts.

Read an Excerpt

William's claims to the English throne. The Lady Emma. Chapter VI. The Lady Emma. TT is not to be supposed that, even in the war- -- like times of which we are writing, such a potentate as a duke of Normandy would invade a country like England, so large and powerful in comparison to his own, without some pretext. William's pretext was, that he himself was the legitimate successor to the English crown, and that the English king who possessed it at the time of his invasion was a usurper. In order that the reader may understand the nature and origin of this his claim, it is necessary to relate somewhat in full the story of the Lady Emma. By referring to the genealogy of the Norman line of dukes contained in the second chapter of this volume, it will be seen that Emma was the daughter of the first Richard. She was celebrated in her early years for her great personal beauty. They called her the Pearl of Normandy. She married, at length, one of the kings of England, whose name was Ethelred. England was at that time distracted by civil wars, waged Claimants to the English throne. Ethelred. between the two antagonist races of Saxons and Danes. There were, in fact, two separate dynasties or lines of kings, who were contending, all the time, for the mastery. In these contests, sometimes the Danes would triumph for a time, and sometimes the Saxons; and sometimes both races would have a royal representative in the field, each claiming the throne, and reigning over separate portions of the island. Thus there were, at certain periods, two kingdoms in England, both covering the same territory, and claiming the government of the same populationwith two kings, two capitals, two administrationswhilethe wretched inhabitants were distracted and ruined by the terrible conflicts t...