The year was 1066 AD. The Middle Ages had already been going on for 600 years. During the 600 years, many battles had been fought, land had frequently changed hands, and rulers had often been replaced by new rulers all over Europe. Parts of Europe had begun to settle into large kingdoms, much like the countries of Europe today. Other parts were still disorganized with no central government.

  England was one of those places. Each section was ruled by its own duke, and a central government was just beginning to develop, which meant that if England was attacked, it had no organized way to fight back.

  And that is exactly what happened in 1066. It is a complicated story full of actions, promises, and lies.

  It started back in 1035, in the Viking settlement of Normandy in France. There, William, a seven-year-old boy ,was crowned king. For the first few years, William‘s great uncle ruled in his place, but William, like other boys of his time, grew up fast. At the age of 15, he was knighted. By the age of 20, he was not only ruling on his own, but also waging wars against his enemies.

  He often had to defend himself against uprisings within his kingdom. He fought off invaders from other lands. Soon, William was an experienced and ruthless military leader.

公元1066年，那时中世纪已经过去600年。在这600年里，欧洲各处发生过很多战争，领土也几经易主，国家法规经常被新法规代替。在欧洲一些地方已经形成了初具规模的王国，格局跟今天也差不多。而另一些地方仍在混战，还没形成国家的中央政府。

英格兰就是这样的一个地方。它的每一个地区都有一个公爵统治，而且统治国家的中央政府这是只是初见雏形，这就意味着如果英格兰受到其他国家的攻击，它没有能力组织各路诸侯反击回去。

准确的说，是在1066年发生了一件事情。这件事错综发杂，充斥着战争，誓言与谎言。

首先回到1035年，北欧海盗在法国诺曼底安家落户。这时，有一个叫威列姆的七岁小男孩成为王位继承人。在这之前的几年，他的王国一直都是由他的叔叔管理，但是威列姆和其他同龄的小男孩一样，成长的很快。在他15岁时，被授予爵位。在他20岁的时候，他不仅统治自己的王土，还经常发动战争打击其他的国家。

他还经常镇压自己王国内的起义，并且常打败其他地方的侵略者。很快，威列姆就成了一个富有经验而又铁血的军队领导者。