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William Bastard, the Duke of Normandy

Normandy had been created in 911 when French King - Charlse the Simple - had given lands to a Viking called Rollo, or rolf, in the hope that he would act as a guard dog against other Viking raiders.

In 1027 or 1028, William was born, the illegitimate son of the ill-tempered Robert I, Duke of Normandy who was called the Robert the Devil, and Herleve, the daughter of a tanner, so this William was called William the Bastard. There is a very famous English surname Bastard, that was exactly originated from this 11th century Viking-French descendant, William the Conqueror, the former Duke of Normandy. 

William was very brave and also very cruel. During a siege of the town of Alencon, the inhabitants made the mistake of banging on sheets of leather and shouting, "Hides! Hides for the tanner!" in a goading reference to William's mother who was a tanner's daughter. Whether William was sensitive about his illegitimacy or his mother's low birth, the Alencons certainly lived to regret it He had the hands and feet of 31 of its townsfolk chopped off for their impudence.
William the bastard
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