Posted
on September 28, 2014
There
are times when I feel so irritated by the election process in the
United States—the obvious importance of money in choosing our
leaders, the promises and half-truths and lies, the constant ads—that
I wonder why on earth we have such a ridiculous form of
government.
But it is so nice that, for centuries, there has been a peaceful and lawful exchange of power, even between people who despise one another's ideas or principles.
But it is so nice that, for centuries, there has been a peaceful and lawful exchange of power, even between people who despise one another's ideas or principles.
Any
time you feel discouraged by modern governments, just read some history
and learn (or remind yourself) how unfair, violent, and messy the exchange of
power used to be!
To
set the stage for today's historical anniversary, you should know
that a fellow known as William the Bastard became the Duke of
Normandy (a place now in northern France) when his dad died, when he
was just seven years old. Several rebellions occurred, during which
men tries to oust the child (and, let's face it, probably kill the
child) and take the title. Each of those rebellions ended with death
on both sides and failure.
Eventually,
William, Duke of Normandy grew up, and he was quite a good ruler. He
visited England, which lay just 20 miles away, across the English
channel. While there, he visited the English king, Edward the
Confessor. Edward had no children and (William claimed) promised that
he would be the heir to the English throne – but when Edward died,
in January of 1066, a powerful noble named Harold Godwinson was
declared King Harold II.
William
immediately protested – but remember, news and messages didn't
travel as immediately back then as they can now – so when I say
that William “immediately” protested, I imagine that days or even
weeks had passed. Still, William asserted that HE had the right to
claim the throne.
King
Harold II readied his army, expecting William to cross the Channel
and attack. However, the new English king had other enemies as well.
His own brother, Tostig, wanted the throne, and King Harald III of
Norway also wanted to rule England. After fending off a bunch of
raids planned by Tostig, King Harold led his men north to face the
combined armies of Tostig and Harald. The September 25 battle was
bloody – Wikipedia calls it “horrific” – and Tostig, Harald,
and most of the Norwegians were killed.
Of
course, being distracted by this battle in the north, King Harold II
left the English Channel unprotected. And on this date in 1066,
William landed in England with his forces and launched his attack on
King Harold's reign.
The battles that ensued were also bloody! The result was that
King Harold II died in the Battle of Hastings, and William the
Bastard – also known as William, Duke of Normandy – became
William the Conquerer, also known as William I of England!
Like I said, compared to all this
violence and death and mayhem and atrocity, our mud-slinging and
swift-boating ads, our stump speeches full of empty promises and
debates full of meaningless platitudes all look pretty darned good!
Did you know...?
When the
French-speaking Normans conquered and ruled England, they forever
changed Britain's culture and language. Check it out!
Also
on this date:
Plan
ahead:
Check
out my Pinterest boards for:
And
here are my Pinterest boards for:
