The British nation a history / by George MWrong . liam, Dukeof Normandy- claimed the right to name the king; no doubt the ap- phiuse of the populace approved the choice; but the extreme haste was in itself suspicious, and that Harold must hold by the sword the glittering prize which he had won was soon apparent. William, Duke of Xormandy, and Harold, King of England, who are now to engage in a deadly struggle forthe crown, though lacking in the subtlertraits of statesmanship, are still great men,rough-hewn. William, the illegitimate son of Eobert, Duke of Normandy, and a tanners daughter of Fa
The British nation a history / by George MWrong . liam, Dukeof Normandy- claimed the right to name the king; no doubt the ap- phiuse of the populace approved the choice; but the extreme haste was in itself suspicious, and that Harold must hold by the sword the glittering prize which he had won was soon apparent. William, Duke of Xormandy, and Harold, King of England, who are now to engage in a deadly struggle forthe crown, though lacking in the subtlertraits of statesmanship, are still great men,rough-hewn. William, the illegitimate son of Eobert, Duke of Normandy, and a tanners daughter of Fa- laise, had suc-ceeded, when only eight years old, to the uneasy sov-ereignty which his ancestor Rolf won from the King of France. He had a terrible childhood. His chief vassals thoughtthat such a stripling could be defied, and the boy grew up amid disputes directed chiefly against his own authority. He saw some of his truest coun-sellors basely murdered; powerful conspiracies were formed against him; liis own life was attempted; territory that. Castle at Falaise, Bikthplace of WilliamTHE Conqueror. FROM THE ENGLISH TO THE NORMAN CONQUEST 51 belonged of right to his dukedom was wrested from necessities made him above everything else a had besides great intellectual gifts, the insight of ageneral and statesman, and a giants physical^i^l^flf ^^^ power; no other man could bend his bow. of William, r In anger he was rash and passionate. When,the defenders at the Bridge of Alen9on sneered at his tan-ner ancestry, he swore by the splendour of God that hewould prune them as a tree is pruned. He took the bridge,and a shower of human hands and feet over the castle wallrevealed the terrible resolution that lay behind his ruthless and cruel, he had yet good impulses, andwas chaste in life. He gave wise rulers to the Church,was fond of the Scriptures, and tried, apparently in vain,to learn to read them for himself. His nobles he did notallow to imitate wha
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