Although the Normans were foreigners, their leader William was distantly related to the Anglo- Saxon king. His claim to the crown was thus regarded as semi-legitimate and was not strongly contested by the English after the Battle of Hastings. Nevertheless, many Anglo-Saxon nobles had their property taken away by William and given to the Norman knights who had fought for him. Scott points this fact out in the opening pages of Ivanhoe: "The whole race of Saxon princes and nobles had been extirpated or disinherited, with few or no exceptions; nor were the numbers great who possessed land in the country of their fathers..." (Ivanhoe, pp. 8-9). As a result, much of the power in England was transferred to the Norman conquerors. They helped to support the descendants of Duke William, who became the subsequent kings of England.
Richard the Lion-Hearted. The third king to descend from the line of William of Normandy was Richard the Lion-Hearted. He earned a reputation as a strong warrior and brilliant general, yet those same qualities hindered him from becoming a good ruler. During Richard's ten-year reign (1189-1199 A.D.), he visited England only twice for just a few months. In fact, although he was born in England, he never learned the English language.
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