But the umpire was finally feeling the strain of it all. Not surprising when, aged 60, William still couldn't resist playing the warlord. In 1087, he subdued a border dispute in France by of course totally destroying the town of Mantes. But perhaps this last devastation was one too many, for a flaming timber from one of the houses burned by William's soldiers fell right in front of the King. William's horse suddenly bucked, throwing the now overweight King violently against his saddle, his gut taking the force of the blow. Mortally wounded, William was taken to a priory at Rouen. At the very end, Orderic Vitalis puts into William's mouth an extraordinary deathbed confession, so penitential, so utterly out of character that it seems on the face of it completely incredible. But whether William actually spoke those words or not, they clearly reflected what some, perhaps many people, felt about William the Conqueror - that when all the battles were won, when the laws were all been laid down, he was what he had always been, a brutal adventurer. And the conquest of England not a righteous crusade, but just a grand throw of history's dice.


这位裁决者最终感受到了全面的压力，所以六十岁的威廉。仍无法克制征战的欲望，便不足为奇了。1087年他征服了一处和法国有争议的边境，彻底摧毁了芒特镇，但也许这最后一次破坏太过分，由威廉的士兵所点燃一间房屋的木梁砸到了国王面前。威廉的马突然弓背跃起，把这位肥胖的国王重重地摔下了马鞍。他的身体承受了这次意外落马，由于精神受到惊吓，威廉被送至鲁昂的一个小修道院。最后，奥尔德里克·维塔利斯强迫威廉，进行了鹦鹉学舌般非凡的临终忏悔。言辞极其忏悔，完全和他的性格不符。乍一看来，真是让人难以置信。但是无论威廉是否真的说出了这些话，。它们都反映出了一些人，或许是许多人眼中的征服者威廉，这便是，即便取胜疆场纵然安邦定律。他却依然故我，一个野蛮的冒险者征服英格兰的，并非正义之师，只不过是历史的偶然。