William I of Normandy

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William I of Normandy

William I Longsword (French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken around the world by around 80 million people as first language, by 190 million as second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired tongue, with significant speakers in 54 countries....
: Guillaume Longue-Épée, Latin: Willermus Longa Spata, Scandinavian: Vilhjálmr Langaspjót; 893 – 17 December 942) was the second Duke of Normandy

Duke of Normandy

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William I Longsword (French

French language

Duke of Normandy

Duke of Normandy is a title held or claimed by various Normans, France, England and United Kingdom rulers from the 10th century until the present, in recognition of their history....
from his father's death until his own assassination. The title dux (duke) was not in use at the time and has been applied to early Norman rulers retroactively; William actually used the title comes (count).

Little is known about his early years. He was born in Bayeux

Bayeux

Bayeux is a Communes of France in the Calvados Departments of France in Normandy in northwestern France.Bayeux is the home of the Bayeux Tapestry, one of the oldest surviving complete tapestries in the world....
or Rouen

Rouen

Rouen is the historical capital city of Normandy, in northwestern France on the River Seine, and currently the capital of the Haute-Normandie r?gion in France....
to Rollo

Rollo

Rollo has multiple meanings. It may mean:a first name* Rollo Armstrong, member of British dance act Faithless* Rollo May, US-American psychologist...
and his wife Poppa. All that is known of Poppa is that she was a Christian, and the daughter to Berengar of Rennes, the previous lord of Brittania Nova, which eventually became western Normandy. According to the William's planctus
Planctus

A planctus is a lament, or song or poem which expresses grief or mourning. It became a popular form in the Middle ages, when they were written both in Latin and the vernacular....
, he was baptised a Christian.

William succeeded Rollo sometime around 927. It appears that he faced a rebellion early in his reign, from Normans

Normans

The Normans were the people who gave their names to Normandy, a region in northern France. They descended from Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of mostly Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock....
who felt he had become too Gallicised. Subsequent years are obscure. In 939 William became involved in a war with Arnulf I of Flanders, which soon became intertwined with the other conflicts troubling the reign of Louis IV

Louis IV of France

File:Louis IV denier Chinon 936 954.jpgLouis IV , called d'Outremer or Transmarinus , reigned as List of French monarchs from 936 to 954....
. He was killed by followers of Arnulf while at a meeting to settle their conflict. His son Richard the Fearless

Richard I of Normandy

Richard I of Normandy was the Duke of Normandy from 942 to 996; he is considered the first to actually have held that title. He was called Richard the Fearless ....
, child of his first wife, Sprota, succeeded him. William also left a widow, Liègard (Liutgard), who died in 985.

William I of Normandy

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