William I of England

King William I of England, aka William the Conqueror or William the Bastard, (1027-1087) was a French nobleman, the Duke of Normandy. In 1066 he led a Norman army across the English Channel into England, landed near Hastings, and defeated the Anglo-Saxon forces of Harold Godwinson there to claim the crown of King of England. He introduced Norman culture to England is considered England's first modern king.

As of 2008, William's Normans are the last force to land an invasion of England successfully.

William I in Atlantis
On landing at Hastings, William I erected a wooden castle immediately. After winning the battle there, he replaced it with a masonry castle at his leisure. In the fifteenth century, that castle was the keep of the Baron of Hastings, Sir Thomas Hoo. In 1453, Hoo met Edward Radcliffe in William's castle.

By the eighteenth century, schoolboys were forced to learn of William's exploits on pain of corporeal punishment. Upon Victor Radcliff's selection as Consul of Atlantis, Meg Radcliff was excited to think that some day that would be true of her husband's exploits as well. When she suggested this to Victor he felt vaguely horrified.

Despite being forced to learn of William's greatness, not all schoolboys maintained affection for the Conqueror into their adulthood. Thomas Paine wrote a blistering attack against the eleventh-century king.