The Daytona daily news. [volume] (Daytona, Fla.) 1903-1926, 1913-01-20
William the Conqueror, the Ruff
fan Who Stole-and
Made-England

1Ii-druleQ peasants UiLlihFT M@lUnQglkpk
to the full-armed "Hus-CarIes" OF the
royal bodyguard. The leader was HAIR
old, Saxon king of England. He had
rushed his troops by long marches to
this spot to check the advance OF a
Norman invader.
In the plain below. toward the hill
side, marched the invading host. Far
in advance of their line rode the Nor
man minstrel, Taillefer, gaudily
dressed, throwing his sword into the
air and catching it; singing loudly the
Death Chant of Roland" 1t was this
minstrel who struck the first blow in
the battle Of Hastings and who was
first to fall
The Normans flung themselves upon
back. Again and again they charged
vainly against that solid battle line.
The Saxons hurled them of, shouting:
Out! Quit"
At last the willy Norman leader,
Duke William, tried craft where force
had failed. He drew off his soldiers in
seeming retreat. The headstrong Sax
ons, disobeying Harolds orders, broke
their own line to dash in disorderly
pursuit of the fleeing foe. The Nor
mans suddenly turned and charged
through the broken line, gaining the
hilltop, scattering the Saxons, staying
Harold and-winning England!
1t was a big day with Destiny. 1t
was also a day wherein Might con-
queser Right; and where, out of crush
ing defeat, England made her first
step toward greatness.
Norway, Sweden and Denmark were
peopIed by wild, bloodthirsty sea-
rovers. Unable to prosper in their
own bleak lands, these Mortimer"
Cor "Norsemen'') had for centuries
made raids on the rich coasts of Eng
| land and France. So dreaded were
| these raids that the old English
/ prayer book contained the petition:
From the fury of the Mortimer, good
Lord, deliver u.s." A band OF Morse
! pirates had swooped down on France
/ and had settled in a rich district OF
! that country They called themselves
'Normans" and their province Nor
! mandy"
William the Conqueror was the son
! of Duke Robert Of Normandy ('Rob-
/ ert the DeviP') and a tanners daugh-
! ter. He was born in 1927 From early
/ boyhood he led a life of constant war
/ fare, peril and treachery In order to
save his dukedom and his life from the
| greed OF neighboring potentates he
/ was forced to acts of brutality and
/ crime. At length he was safely estab-
/ hshed in his own realm and looked
/ about him for further conQuests. His
1 eye fell on England
The English king, Edward the Con-
/ fessor," was childiess. William per-
/ suaded or bribed Edward to bequeath
to him the throne Of England.
Edward died early in 1865. The
English decided, righuully that no
/ king could legally be4ueath his crown
TO anyone So they elected Harold
1 their king, At once William demand
! ed the crown Harold refused 10 give
T it up. William stirred up an invasion
Of England by tie Norwegiaus and
landed 4 Norman host on the British
. shores all about The same time Har-
old thrashed the Norwegians, then
! hurried his tired army to hastings to
meet William. The Normans were
victorious; and In London, on Christ
mas day, 1866. William was crowned
king OF England. There he built a
I fortress that later became the famed
Tower OF London"
His conquest OF England was a piece
FF
shadow OF moral right to justify 1t.
Yet, IN the end, 1t was the best thing
that could have happened to the coun-
try. For it Infused new blood into the
rough Saxon strain, modernized the
isolated. old-fashioned British and
brought them into touch with the
world at large and with progress.
To create a royal hunting park for
himself (the New Forest) he DESTROYED
villages, churches, converts and farms
for q space Of thirty miles in Hamp-
shire and had a desolate track stocked
with game for his own pleasure. The
evicted inhabitants were turned AWAY
to starve. Williams fathers had been
sea rovers. He had chosen to become
land pirate; merctIess, grasping: a
lawless lawmaker.
The king Of France made fun of
Williams fairness. William, IN rage.
found excuse TO invade France. There,
in 1887, he captured and burned the
town OF Nantes. AS he was riding
through the city's hot embers his
horse reared and threw him, causing
mortal injury.
Thus the BLACKBOARD who for sixty
years had braved death In every form
persisted at last through a bit Of care
less horsemanshfp.