Q 01/05

In which Norman town was William born in 1027 or 1028?

A) Rouen

B) Caen

C) Falaise

D) Bayeux

Answer · why

C) Falaise

His mother's father, Fulbert of Falaise, may have been a tanner or an embalmer.

Q 02/05

What was the name of William's mother, the mistress of Duke Robert I?

A) Gunnor

B) Herleva

C) Emma

D) Adelaide

Answer · why

B) Herleva

She later married Herluin de Conteville and bore William's half-brothers Odo of Bayeux and Robert of Mortain.

Q 03/05

By what unflattering nickname was the duke sometimes known because of his birth?

A) William Longsword

B) William the Fat

C) William the Bastard

D) William the Tanner

Answer · why

C) William the Bastard

Earlier dukes had also been illegitimate, and his father had the magnates swear fealty to him as heir.

Q 04/05

William was a descendant of which Viking leader who was granted the lands around Rouen in 911?

A) Sweyn Forkbeard

B) Hrolf Kraki

C) Ragnar

D) Rollo

Answer · why

D) Rollo

King Charles the Simple ceded the county of Rouen, the core of the later duchy.

Q 05/05

How did William's father Duke Robert I die in 1035?

A) In battle against Brittany

B) Poisoned by his brother

C) Drowned crossing the Channel

D) On the way home from a pilgrimage to Jerusalem

Answer · why

D) On the way home from a pilgrimage to Jerusalem

He died at Nicaea; his supporters had tried to talk him out of the journey.