The first Norman king of England, William the Conqueror changed the course of England's history when he invaded in 1066. Here, historian Marc Morris shares 10 lesser-known facts about William the Conqueror and the Norman conquest October 11, 2016 at 8:00 am 1 No one at the time called William ‘the Conqueror’ The earliest recorded use of that nickname occurs in the 1120s, and it didn’t really take off until the 13th century. At the time of his death in 1087, William was called ‘the Great’ by his admirers, and ‘the Bastard’ by his detractors; the latter a mocking reference to his illegitimate birth (he was the son of Robert I, Duke of Normandy, and his mistress Herleva). 2 Every major church in England was rebuilt as a result of the Norman conquest The Anglo-Saxons were not famed for building in stone, and during the first half of the 11th century had not embraced the new architectural style, now known as ‘Romanesque’, that had become fashio...