William I
Church
William was a devout Christian but this did not stop him from meddling at times in church affairs. His half-brother, Odo (who commissioned the famous Bayeux tapestry), was expected to be both a churchman and counsellor to the king. Odo was Bishop of Bayeux also Earl of Kent and was left in charge when William returned to Normandy in February of 1067. On 14 October 1066 Odo had led a contingent of his own men and since the Church said priests should not spill blood he wielded a mace during the hard-fought battle.
In 1070 William replaced five English bishops with his own men and Lanfranc of Pavia was raised up to be Archbishop of Canterbury. Lanfranc did not challenge William’s right to choose bishops and abbots, provided that they were of the required piety. As was required of great men, at the time and later, William founded a number of churches and abbeys.
Before the Battle of Hastings, William vowed to build an abbey on the site of the battlefield. It was to act both as a penance for the many lives lost and a memorial to his great victory.
Marriage and children
William married Matilda, daughter of the Count of Flanders, who was a descendant of Alfred the Great. The Pope had forbidden the marriage in 1049, for reasons not altogether clear. However, the Flemish alliance was more important to William than papal disapproval. The marriage was not solemnised until 1053 and eventually confirmed by the Pope in 1059, on condition that William and Matilda each founded an abbey at Caen. The two abbeys still stand at each end of Caen, despite the fact that the area between them was destroyed by bombs during the Second World War. William was faithful to his wife (unusual for the time) but they were an odd-looking couple, for he was close to six foot tall whereas Matilda was a great deal smaller. They had four sons: Robert, Richard (died young), William and Henry.