AR Denier

Struck: 1070 – 1087
Mint: Rouen
Size: 19.1mm
Weight: 0.75g
Die Axis: 0°
Grade: VF
Ref: Legros 312, Dumas pl XX 20, Roberts 4838, RN 1906 pl. XIII 11.

Obv: Short cross pattée, pellet in each angle, within linear inner border, blundered imitation of a legend (L's and J's) around.
Rev: Crude abstract two temples side-by-side, cross above center between triangular peaks, pellet in pediments, and temples.
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William I the Conqueror was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 1087. A descendant of Rollo, he was Duke of Normandy from 1035 onward. By 1060, following a long struggle to establish his throne, his hold on Normandy was secure. In 1066, following the death of Edward the Confessor, William invaded England, leading an army of Normans to victory over the Anglo-Saxon forces of Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings.

William was the son of the Duke Robert I of Normandy and his mistress Herleva. His illegitimate status and his youth caused some difficulties for him after he succeeded his father, as did the anarchy which plagued the first years of his rule. In the 1050s William became a contender for the throne of England held by the childless Edward the Confessor, his first cousin once removed. There were other potential claimants, including the powerful English earl Harold Godwinson, whom Edward named as king on his deathbed in January 1066. Arguing that Edward had previously promised the throne to him and that Harold had sworn to support his claim, William built a large fleet and invaded England in September 1066. He decisively defeated and killed Harold at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066. After further military efforts, William was crowned king on Christmas Day, 1066, in London. Several unsuccessful rebellions followed, but William's hold was mostly secure on England by 1075, allowing him to spend the greater part of his reign in continental Europe.

William's final years were marked by difficulties in his continental domains and threatened invasions of England by the Danes. He died in September 1087 while leading a campaign in northern France, and was buried in Caen. His reign in England was marked by the construction of castles, settling new Norman nobility on the land, and change in the composition of the English clergy. His lands were divided after his death: Normandy went to Robert, and England went to his second surviving son, William Rufus.