William The Conqueror

William was born in Normandy in 1028 to Robert, Duke of Normandy, and Herleva, who was the daughter of a wealthy merchant from Elaise. William was born before his parents had gotten married so he was refered to as an illegitimate son; though he was the only son of Robert. (source)

"Duke Robert died in 1035 and William became Duke of Normandy at the age of just seven years old. William's mother later married the Viscount of Conteville and produced a half-sister to William called Muriel and two half-brothers - Robert and Odo (Odo later became the Bishop of Bayeux who commissioned the famous Bayeux tapestry). In 1052 William married Matilda of Flanders." (source)

"From 1047 onwards, William successfully dealt with rebellion inside Normandy involving his kinsmen and threats from neighbouring nobles, including attempted invasions by his former ally King Henry I of France in 1054 (the French forces were defeated at the Battle of Mortemer) and 1057. William's military successes and reputation helped him to negotiate his marriage to Mathilda, daughter of Count Baldwin V of Flanders. At the time of his invasion of England, William was a very experienced and ruthless military commander, ruler and administrator who had unified Normandy and inspired fear and respect outside his duchy." (source)

On September 28th, William and his fleet landed near Prevency, which was in Kent. On October 14th Harold and his men marched from York to Kent so that they could battle with William. This was known as the Battle of Hastings. In the battle, Harold had been killed and the Saxons had retreated. The English council elected a man named Edgar Athelton to be Harold's successor but he ended up giving the throne to William. With all this power, William decided to forbid pillaging and he made a promise to the people that he would keep ransoms low. He also pardoned all of the Saxon's that did not fight for Harold. (source 1, source 2)

"There were several revolts in the next five years, which William used as an excuse to confiscate English land and declare it his personal property. He then distributed the land to his Norman followers, who imposed their unique feudal system. Eventually, Normans replaced the entire Anglo-Saxon aristocracy. William, however, retained most of England’s institutions and was intensely interested in learning about his new property. He ordered a detailed consensus to be made of the population and property of England—which was compiled in The Domesday Book (now an invaluable source of historical information and still in the Public Record Office in London)." (source)

"The twenty-four months that elapsed between the autumn of 1085 and William's death in September 1087 saw the revival of a hostile confederation against the Anglo-Norman kingdom in a form reminiscent of earlier decades. They witnessed the continuation of William's previous defence of that kingdom, though this time by exceptional means. And they witnessed, also, the Conqueror's greatest administrative acheivement. these months were all spent by him either in active preparation for war, but they also included the taking of the Domesday survey which was the most noteworthy illistration of what his government involved. Nor can these events be dissociated from each other. Throughout his life, war and struggle for survival had formed the background, and the essential condition, of his constructive acts. They continued to do so until death". (source)

Book 1
Book 2