William the Conqueror

Yeah I'm a bit lost by this, Harold was an Anglo-Dane claimant though.
Edward grew up in Normandy, he was a refugee their desu, Normies maintain that Edward wanted William to succeed him and that Harold swore on a holy reliquary to honor this arrangement. Edwards mummy was Emma of Normandy, William just sort of took shit though, he was bastard born, the son of a tanner if I recall.
Can't call a witenagemot if you murder the Anglo-Saxon nobility (too lazy to Photoshop the Roll safe meme with William the bastard)

William was not the son of a tanner, that's ridiculous. He'd have absolutely no claim if that were the case. He was the illegitimate son of the Duke of Normandy, and his only son thus allowing succession.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweyn_II_of_Denmark

>Vikings invade
>Frog Vikings invade (with the backing of pope)
>match North to take care of Vikings
>force march all the way down South to meet Frog Vikings
>army was dead tired and got their ass kicked
>Willy has people swear fealty, makes doomsday book and goes back to Normandy to continue his plans to conquer France (now with more knights and money)

>Duke of Normandy marries Aquitaine widow and gets Aquitaine
>eventually all of their land goes to the Duke of Anjou now 80% of France is there's
>France promptly kicks their ass and takes back all the land, England butthurt for the asskicking and new taxes makes Magna Carta (which pope annuals)

>Last Capetian king dies
>closest person in the line is the King of England
>but it was due to the maternal side which disqualifies him
>King of England calls bullshit and declares century long war
>war ends with France driving off the English while the English themselves have to deal with their own bullshit succession crisis

The previous king said Normandy would be English after him as they have him shelter
But also his marriage to someone of Flanders was the last descendant of the Cerdicings who United England under Alfred the Great

King Edward the Confessor apparently promised the throne of England to Duke William of Normandy upon his death. When Edward died, Harold Godwinson took the throne.

King Harold Hardralda of Norway also has a claim to the throne, just as William does, and invades the north of England. Anglo-Saxons rush forth, and meet him at Stamford Bridge. Norwegians are defeated.

Meanwhile, William and his army land on the south of England at Hastings, prepare for a battle as the Saxon host marches south to meet them.

Normans victorious at Hastings as the Norman Knights battle of the Anglo-Saxon shield wall, King Harold takes an arrow to the eye mortally.

William becomes King of England.

After feuds with his eldest son Robert, his younger son William is designated heir to the Kingdom, and becomes William II upon the death of his father.

William II dies in a mysterious incident in the woods, his younger brother Henry I becomes King.

Robert, Duke of Normandy rebels, is defeated, locked away in a castle for the rest of his days.

Henry's only surviving child was Matilda, who was married to the Holy Roman Emperor.

Matilda was was widowed, and was remarried to Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou. Upon the death of her father, she claimed the throne for her son, who's name was also Henry.

Stephen, Count of Blois, also claims the throne. His mother was Adela, daughter of King William I.

They fought over the Kingdom of England during a period known as the Anarchy.

A truce is made, Stephen is allowed to reign for the rest of his life, but then the crown passes to Henry. Stephen's sons die anyway.

Henry II is crowned King of England, the first of the Angevin Monarchs, and the first of House Plantagenet.

Eleanor of Aquitaine was the heir and Duchess of the Duchy of Aquitaine, and after being divorced from the King of France, marries Henry II.

This was known as the Angevin Empire. English holdings in France at this point included the Duchy of Normandy, the Counties of Anjou, Maine, and Torraine, the Duchy of Britanny, and the Duchy of Aquitaine. Hope this answers your questions.

It's fucking crazy to think that the majority of France was at one point under de jure English rule
I know that the land owners and even the English monarch were still French but still, that's a weird pill to swallow as a froglover

Not to be a nickpicker, but as a Medievalist I feel it's my duty to set everything straight. These territories were de jure part of the Kingdom of France.The rulers are these Duchies and Counties were supposed to be vassals to the French King, and this included the King of England himself. So it created the messy situation in which the King was both a vassal of France, and a sovereign in his own right. They were de facto under English control.

After the Romans left the island of Britannia, various Germanic and Scandinavian tribes began migrating there. The bulk of these were Anglos and Saxons, who displaced the native Britons. There were also Norwegian and Danish invasions, like the Sons of Lodbrock

After the fall of the Carolingian Empire, vikings began plundering the European coastlines as well as the British coastlines. A group of Norwegian Vikings, led by William's great ancestors, eventually captured the north of geographic France from the Capetian kings.

In exchange for homage, the Normans (Northmen) were allowed to live in Normandy, if they became the Capetians loyal dukes.

In 1013, the Norwegian/Danish king conquered the area of what is now England.

The English throne passed between local Anglo-Saxons and Scandinavian rulers.

William the Bastard was related to a few of these kings.

>Did William the Conqueror start Feudalism?
Its origins are with the Carolingians, but the Normans did contribute a lot to what we think of as the "Medieval Era".

>And how did England come to also be ruled by the Duke of Aquitaine three hundred years late

Remember when I mentioned how the Capetians allowed the Normans to live in Normandy, as long as the Normans paid homage?

For about 100+ years, the kings of England did continue to pay homage to the French kings. The relationship between the two kingdoms was close. The French dukes began marrying into the English royal families. Eventually, this meant that the kings of England would inherit land in France

Eventually, the kings of England tried to claim the entire French throne.

It's important to remember that borders weren't as "concrete" as they are now. It's different than if today's Normandy left France to join the UK.

In the Middle-Ages, Many of rulers of dutchies saw themselves as the true rulers of said dutchies, but we're still reliant on stronger dukes, like the Capetians

If a stronger King could protect them better, and offer them more rewards, he'd leave his liege