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 During the 600 years, many battles had been fought, land had frequently changed hands, and rulers had often been replaced by new rulers all over Europe.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.

       那是公元1066年，中世纪已经经历了600年。整个欧洲在这600年里，战争频发，土地常易，统治者也经常被新星统治者代替。欧洲的一部分地区已经建立起强大的王国，像如今欧洲的很多国家；另一部分则还处于无组织和无政府的状态。

       英格兰就是属于后者。每个片区都被他们各自的公爵管理着，中央政府正在建立过程中。这就意味着，一旦英格兰被攻击，她连反抗的能力都没有。

       然而，正是在1066这年，一个充满报复、承诺和谎言的复杂故事暗自发展。

       一切的一切都开始于公元1035年，在维京管制下的法兰西诺曼底，一个年仅7岁的小男孩，威廉登上王位。在开始的几年里，威廉的叔叔帮他管理着国家，但是威廉长大得很快，就像其他男孩一样。在他15岁那年，他被封为骑士。20岁的时候，他就不仅自己掌管国家，还带领军队抵抗侵略者。

       他经常不得不结合自己的国家来保卫自己镇压暴动，来抵抗来自其他地区的侵略者们。所以很快威廉就成为了一位经验丰富冷酷无情的军事指挥家。