Norman Conquest

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Norman Conquest (1066) Invasion of England by William I (the Conqueror), Duke of Normandy. William claimed that Edward the Confessor (d.1066) recognized him as heir to the throne of England, and he disputed the right of Harold II to be Edward's successor. William's army defeated and killed Harold at the Battle of Hastings (1066), then advanced on London, where William was accepted as king. The Normans gradually replaced the existing ruling class, lay and ecclesiastical, and Norman institutions appeared.

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