He was indeed the illegitimate son of Duke Robert of Normandy and the daughter of a tanner called Ellave. And in the cut-throat world of feudal Normandy, it was important that he learn, and learn quickly, how to survive. He was only a child when his father died on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, leaving William, just eight years old, as his heir, a lamb thrown to the wolves. Certainly Edward would have known the young William. There were even suggestions that he was one of the hand-picked companions entrusted by William's father, Duke Robert, with keeping an eye on the vulnerable young boy. So Edward would have seen how William survived the traumas of his childhood, narrowly escaping assassination attempts, how William was forced at just ten, to witness the brutal murder of his beloved steward in his bedchamber, before his very eyes. And Edward must have marvelled at the way the stripling boy grew into a steely and ruthless young man, eventually triumphing in battle over a formidable league of rebel nobles.


他是诺曼底公爵罗贝尔一世，和一个名叫艾尔莱芙的鞋匠女儿的私生子，在封建的诺曼底这个弱肉强食的世界里，对他来说迅速学会如何生存比什么都重要，当他父亲死在朝圣的路上时他还只是个孩子，年仅八岁的的威廉成为了爵位的继承人，这无异羊入狼群。毫无疑问，爱德华定对小威廉有所耳闻，甚至有迹象表明，他是威廉之父罗贝尔公爵亲自定下的托孤人选，负责照看这个羸弱的小男孩，因此，爱德华已经目睹了威廉如何在童年经历的劫难中幸存，惊险地躲过暗杀。以及年仅十岁的威廉在卧房中亲眼目睹，自己亲爱的管家被残忍地杀害。爱德华肯定惊讶于这个小男孩如何长成了一个冰冷残酷的年轻人，并最终战胜强大的叛乱贵族联盟的。