King William I The Conqueror - William of Normandy, or William the Bastard

William I

About 1028– 9 September 1087 

 

William conquered England in 1066.  He ruled from 1066 to 1087
 In the throng of barons and warriors that arrived with him were Hugo Le Corbeau and two of his sons(Roger and Robert).  They were among the earliest ancestors I can find in my family.  I have records of his parents.  This family became Marcher lords in the Shropshire area, and later descendants married into Welsh royal lines, including Tudor.  One son stayed behind in Normandy to become the lord of his father's estates named Caus, and another did the best he could in France.  The family name became present day Corbet and other variants.
William's coins are a bit elusive, being nearly 1000 years old, but not impossible to find.  You just have to open your wallet or purse to get one.  Halved or quartered coins are much less expensive and are just as valid a choice for collecting.
The Corbet family connection is the reason why I started this collection.  Though it is pretty much impossible to avoid Anglo-Saxon lineage when the family lived so long in England, we are traceable mostly to Normans, and I wanted a collection that reflected that English/Norman heritage beginning with William I.  The Normans were the villains in all the old literature...Oh, well...that explains a lot!
Now we all have to understand that basically these people were Germans, Danes, Norwegian and Swedish...  They were Vikings, related to the Germans, and when we say Anglo-Saxon  or Viking we are basically talking about the same people, Normandy was simply this group's last place of residence before arriving in England.   They may, of course have married locals to produce a somewhat Gallic heritage as well, But they were not really in Normandy that long before going to England.

 

Not the pleasantest of faces.

 



Norman William I paxs type penny. Aelred. London mint, $723.00, but even better coins will easily go over $5000.

I will probably not live to see this reach 1000 years old, but my heirs will!!!