How did William Prepare to Invade England? (AQA GCSE History)

Summary

Before he could invade England, William secured his position in Normandy, received the support of the Pope and assembled an army and navy. This meant he could leave Normandy for England without fear of losing his lands in Normandy. Support from the Pope meant gaining support from many other people as they believed God was now on William’s side. This helped William build an army but he also had to create a navy that was capable of transporting his troops and horses across the English Channel

Securing Normandy

• Before William could press his claim across the English Channel, he had to secure his lands in Normandy

  • By conquering the neighbouring county of Maine in 1063, he secured a large part of Normandy’s southern border

  • The civil war in Anjou left one of his major rivals divided and distracted

  • The King of France was an inexperienced teenager and posed little threat to William

• He also had to convince his fellow Normans that an invasion of England was a wise idea

  • William’s growing reputation as an excellent military leader who generously rewarded his supporters convinced many important Normans to back his invasion plans

The Pope’s support of William

• Gaining the support of the Pope was a key factor in the success of William’s invasion of England

• William was able to win the Pope’s support due to two main reasons:

  • William promised to reform the English Church, end its independence and increase the pope’s influence over it

    • William sent his friend and advisor, Archbishop Lanfranc, to convince the pope that the English Crown rightly belonged to him

  • Lanfranc was able to persuade the pope that Harold had broken the oath he had sworn over a holy relic in 1064

    • Breaking this oath was seen as a terrible sin by the Church and the pope granted William the papal banner

• Receiving the papal banner was vitally important to William as it convinced many people that God supported his claim

  • This encouraged soldiers from all over Europe to join his army which greatly strengthened his invasion force

Preparing William’s army

• The opportunity to fight a Holy War on God’s side was enough to encourage many men to join William’s army

  • Norman lords and knights were prepared to fight due to the prospect of receiving English lands as a reward

  • Some soldiers in William’s army were mercenaries who were paid to fight

• In total, around 8,000 men assembled to form William’s invasion force

Preparing William’s fleet

• William’s preparations for invasion took several months and included:

  • Approximately 600 transport ships

  • Over 7,000 soldiers

  • A papal banner to show the support of the Pope

• Much of William’s preparations involved arranging the transportation of his force across the English Channel and protecting them once they arrived

  • William had no navy so around a hundred flat-bottomed boats were constructed to transport the horses of his knights

  • He also ordered the construction of pre-fabricated wooded forts that could be transported across the water and quickly and easily assembled in England

Preparing to cross the channel

• Safely moving a force of that size across the English Channel in wind-powered boats was not simple or easy 

• After assembling and training his forces in Dives-sur-Mer during the summer, William sailed them north along the Normandy coast to Saint Valery-sur-Somme in late September

  • This halved the distance they would have to sail across the Channel to just 20 miles

• Wind and weather then delayed the Norman invasion fleet from setting sail for England for several weeks

  • William ensured that his men were well-fed and provisioned during the wait but also maintained discipline through harsh punishments when orders weren’t followed