How Did William The Conqueror Affect Society

As a child William the Conqueror was named Duke of Normandy upon his father’s death. This was just the first life changing event that occured in his monumental life. He went on to conquer England at the Battle of Hastings. After this victory William the Conqueror became king of England and made changes to the government and society that shape modern society today. William the conqueror gained his power and wealth through all of his early life victories, which includes; the Battle of Val-es-Dunes, the captures of Alencon and Domfront, and the castle of Arques. Without these early victories William would not have been able to take over the country of England. His authority was so unmatched that even his strongest ally, Henry I, was forced to turn against him and join his enemy, William, Count

This was to help him figure out who had payed taxes, where individuals lived, and excess to the land. History On the Net stresses the importance of the book by stating, “The Domesday Book is one of Medieval England’s greatest treasures.” In times of invasions the Domesday Book helped him figure out who the enemy really was. This is important today because it led to the start of the census which is done in just about every country. Without censuses we would have no clue about non-citizens and non tax payers, which would lead to riots among true taxpayers. William enjoyed hunting and taking advantage of his authority, therefore, he sat land aside from all citizens for the royal family including himself. This became known as the Forest Law, or Royal Forest and was in place through the 12th and 13th centuries. It also took up around ⅓ of England. This is somewhat a form of what today is called a national forest. National forests are important because they are one of the top tourist attractions and save many endangered