nPostednon September 28, 2014
n
n
nTherenare times when I feel so irritated by the election process in thenUnited States—the obvious importance of money in choosing ournleaders, the promises and half-truths and lies, the constant ads—thatnI wonder why on earth we have such a ridiculous form ofngovernment.
But it is so nice that, for centuries, there hasnbeen a peaceful and lawful exchange of power, even between people whondespise one another’s ideas or principles.
n
n
n
nAnyntime you feel discouraged by modern governments, just read some historynand learn (or remind yourself) how unfair, violent, and messy the exchange ofnpower used to be!
n
n
n
nTonset the stage for today’s historical anniversary, you should knownthat a fellow known as William the Bastard became the Duke ofnNormandy (a place now in northern France) when his dad died, when henwas just seven years old. Several rebellions occurred, during whichnmen tries to oust the child (and, let’s face it, probably kill thenchild) and take the title. Each of those rebellions ended with deathnon both sides and failure. n
n
n
n
nEventually,nWilliam, Duke of Normandy grew up, and he was quite a good ruler. Henvisited England, which lay just 20 miles away, across the Englishnchannel. While there, he visited the English king, Edward thenConfessor. Edward had no children and (William claimed) promised thatnhe would be the heir to the English throne – but when Edward died,nin January of 1066, a powerful noble named Harold Godwinson wasndeclared King Harold II.
n
n
n
n
n
n
nWilliamnimmediately protested – but remember, news and messages didn’tntravel as immediately back then as they can now – so when I saynthat William “immediately” protested, I imagine that days or evennweeks had passed. Still, William asserted that HE had the right tonclaim the throne.
n
n
n
nKingnHarold II readied his army, expecting William to cross the Channelnand attack. However, the new English king had other enemies as well.nHis own brother, Tostig, wanted the throne, and King Harald III ofnNorway also wanted to rule England. After fending off a bunch ofnraids planned by Tostig, King Harold led his men north to face thencombined armies of Tostig and Harald. The September 25 battle wasnbloody – Wikipedia calls it “horrific” – and Tostig, Harald,nand most of the Norwegians were killed.
n
n
n
nOfncourse, being distracted by this battle in the north, King Harold IInleft the English Channel unprotected. And on this date in 1066,nWilliam landed in England with his forces and launched his attack onnKing Harold’s reign.
n
n
n
nThe battles that ensued were also bloody! The result was thatnKing Harold II died in the Battle of Hastings, and William thenBastard – also known as William, Duke of Normandy – becamenWilliam the Conquerer, also known as William I of England!
n
n
n
n
nLike I said, compared to all thisnviolence and death and mayhem and atrocity, our mud-slinging andnswift-boating ads, our stump speeches full of empty promises andndebates full of meaningless platitudes all look pretty darned good!
n
n
n
n
nDid you know…?
n
n
n
n
n
nWhen thenFrench-speaking Normans conquered and ruled England, they forevernchanged Britain’s culture and language. Check it out!
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nAlsonon this date:
n
n
n
n
nConfucius’snbirthday
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nDaynof Czech Statehood
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nPlannahead:
n
n
n
nChecknout my Pinterest boards for:
n
- n
-
nSeptembern holidays
n
-
nSeptembern birthdays
n
- Historicaln anniversaries in September
nn
n
n
n
n
nAndnhere are my Pinterest boards for:
n
- n
-
n
-
n
-
n
n
n
n
n
n
n