William the Conqueror of England portrayed in the Genealogical Chronicle of the English Kings, 13th c., British Library
As previously mentioned, I’ve been doing occasional Man Candy Monday’s on all the English and British kings we haven’t previously covered. Well, I left out William I aka William the Conqueror (1066-87) because I wanted to find some actual pictures of the forthcoming biopic that’s in the works! We’ve finally gotten a glimpse, so now, William the Conqueror.
William the Conqueror was the first Norman king of England after his invasion in 1066. He was the son of the previous Duke of Normandy and his mistress, so was also called “William the Bastard” — and his illegitimate status made things complicated for him. By 1060 he had consolidated his power as the next Duke of Normandy and married Matilda of Flanders. The English king, Edward the Confessor, was a distant cousin, and Edward didn’t have children. William was one of the contenders to succeed Edward, including the English earl Harold Godwinson. William invaded England in 1066, and decisively won the Battle of Hastings, in which Harold was killed, and then crowned king.
William’s final years involved rebellions in his French territories (he remained duke of Normandy) and invasions by the Danish Vikings.
As always, there are several productions for which I can’t find pictures:
- John Carson in Hereward the Wake (1965)
- Alan Dobie in Theatre 625: “Conquest: the Leopard and the Dragon” (1966)
Otherwise, here’s William the Conqueror on screen!
Thayer Roberts in Lady Godiva of Coventry (1955)
A filmed version of the legend of the Anglo-Saxon woman who allegedly rode naked through the streets in order try to get her husband to lessen taxes on the townspeople.
Julian Glover in ITV Play of the Week: “A Choice of Kings” (1967)
A filmed stage play set two years before the Battle of Hastings and offering a backstory to the William vs. Harold conflict.
Hervé Bellon in William the Conqueror (1982)
A French/Romanian biopic.
Michael Gambon in Blood Royal: William the Conqueror (1990)
A TV biopic.
Vincent Deniard in William the Conqueror (2014)
Per IMDB, “Blending drama with the explanations of passionate historians and specialists, this enriched historical reconstruction traces 60 years in the life a man who transformed the Middle Ages and laid the foundation of modern Europe, William The Conqueror.”
Kevin Eldon in Horrible Histories: “Wicked William the Conqueror” (2015)
A musical number from the children’s historical comedy show, in which “young William, Duke of Normandy, as he quarrels with Harold Godwinson about who should be king of England, before bashing the English & taking the crown at the famous Battle of Hastings in 1066” (Horrible Histories Wiki).
Tiésay Deshayes, Jean-Damien Détouillon, & Dan Bronchinson in Guillaume, la jeunesse du conquérant (2015)
A French biopic focusing on William’s early life.
Ed Stoppard in Europe’s Last Warrior Kings (2017)
A docu-drama about the various players in the Battle of Hastings hosted by podcaster Dan Snow.
?? in 1066 (2023)
An apparently terrible, possibly never released, something (fictional film? docu-drama? no idea!).
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau in King and Conqueror (forthcoming)
An upcoming BBC series about the whole William vs. Harold thing, with James Norton as Harold Godwinson.
Which is your favorite depiction of William the Conqueror on screen?
Not included in the list but probably Jay Dee in Secrets of Great British Castles because I’ll watch anything with Dan Jones (and it looks like he was involved in another series also called 1066, or alternatively Europe’s Last Warrior Kings, which came out in 2017 and featured Ed Stoppard as William).
Dan Jones is fabulous! I love his books and this documentary series.
I literally just finished Dan Jones’ Henry V audiobook yesterday and came away with a deep and abiding need for another Henry V biopic that isn’t some wank loosely based on Shakespeare or just another mangled version of the Shakespeare play. Like, a PROPER Henry V biopic. Preferably starring someone like Jacob Elordi. Y’know, tall, dark, handsome and completely badass. I volunteer as tribute to design the costumes.
Julian Glover for having the moxie and courage to rock that haircut.
Right?! I had to repeatedly talk my boyfriend out of cutting his hair in the “Norman bowl cut” last year when we were doing a post-Invasion impression (for nerdy reenactment reasons). I respect his commitment to Sparkle Motion but I also have to live with those choices on the weekdays.
Yeah, there’s dedication and then there’s DEDICATION. “Honey, I have to have sex with you…”
Yep! I notice that none of the others are wearing the iconic haircut! Go Julian!
Considering his importance to England’s history, it’s surprising how seldom William appears in films. Compared with someone like King John, who shows up in almost every Robin Hood film, William barely appears at all.
I blame Shakespeare. He spent all his time on the Henrys and Richards, and none on the Williams.
Yeah, I’m surprised too. 1066 is the big date in medieval history, but it’s not covered a lot on film/TV.
Shakespeare wasn’t writing history, in the way we know it. He was writing moral tales, stories of kings and emperors, and their dynasties.
Why on earth would anybody in even a Horrible Histories show about William I be wearing the coat of arms of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (established 1099) on his chest?
Cause it’s cool. I also like Matilda’s (?) little braids—no lush phony braids for a true queen!—and the hands/chicken feet daubed on her face. Speaking of which, any chance of a post about the inaccurate use of woad in certain frock flicks?
Oooh, seconding the woad post request! I don’t know much about woad in general but it seems like half the time when I watch a vaguely medieval-set movie and woad shows up I still think, “That can’t be how it was historically used…right?”
I had to look up road, and found this interesting and relevant article.
https://www.tastesofhistory.co.uk/post/dispelling-some-myths-woad
Thanks! My Yorkshire-born husband is interested in the Picts and in the whole woad thing, as am I.
Interesting suggestion! We’d need to find someone who knows about it! Anyone know anyone? (We have made “woooooaaaad” jokes on podcasts, but that’s it)
BUDGET.
(Also, on a less cynical note, as a way to allude to the Papal banner gifted Duke William for the Hastings campaign).
Dang it, the above was meant as a reply to Aleko multiple posts above!).
Anywho, credit to Mr Julian Glover for not only making the Norman hairdo look like a high-and-tight rather than a pageboy cut, but also for being one of the few actors in this sequence to genuinely look like a bad man to cross.
Most of the lads here look a bit weedy for my mental image of the Conqueror, who was referred to as a hefty man even before he went to seed (Also, recalling that he was described with “… a Danish face” helps explain why Mr Nikolej Coster-Wald was cast in the role, despite having Harold Godwinson written all over him).
Also, given the Normans were famously non-hairy I find the preponderance of non-shaven Conquerors deeply peculiar.
wow… Julian Glover! He was also Richard IV. in Shakespeare’s An Age of Kings and Richard Lionheart in Ivanhoe (the one with Anthony Andrews). Seems he had it all covered when it came to iconic English kings!
Small quibble: the first Horrible Histories William is actually Simon Farnaby!