"I, William, the Norman Duke by the Lord's grace, hereby make arrangements for the health of my soul, and for the inheritance of God and my ancestors, under the advice of Abbot LongFrank and in the presence of all the Norman nobles:

I was born in Fales, Normandy, in A.D. 1028, and because my father and mother were not married, they called me an illegitimate child. My father, Duke Robert, of the Normans, made me his heir when I was eight years old, and died after I went to the Holy Land, and his body remains in Nicaea to this day.

I succeeded to the throne as Chongling, and the regents were killed one after another, surrounded by wolves, and isolated and helpless. At the age of fifteen, King Henry made me a knight, and since then I have cut my hair and mounted my horse, swept away all the enemies, subdued Upper and Lower Normandy, and annexed Mann and Brittany. Therefore, it was only after my martial arts that I was able to marry my beloved Mathil, who gave me four sons and six daughters.

King Edward of England and I met when we were young, and because my father had sent troops to the sea for his brother to fight with King Canute, Edward was grateful for the old kindness of the principality and made me his heir. When the king of England was born, Harold Godwinson was bewitched by Stigander and others, broke his oath, and usurped the throne. In order to uphold justice and punish the unrighteousness, I held a military council in Lillebonne, and sent troops to England under the banner of the Holy See, and used force against Hastings, defeated Harold, and killed Godwin's three sons.

I elected for the Council of the Magi, and three hundred of them were present, and I was unanimously crowned King of England.

During my reign I built sixteen castles for the kingdom, restored the Holy Church order, pardoned all old enemies, believed in their oath, and conferred upon Prince Edgar of England the title of Earl of Oxford, knightly swordsmanship on him, and sheltered his family. I ruled the kingdom as justly as I could, but unfortunately I was betrayed again. In the matter of Saint-Lô, our army fought in a battle, so that the military reputation of the principality did not fall. However, God's will is subtle and unpredictable, and I consider that the kingdom cannot be obtained or granted privately, so I swear an oath with Prince Edgar to go to the king's name and give up the kingdom.

After my wife's soul was returned to God, I alienated people inside and outside, but I became addicted to gluttony, and King Philip of the Franks called me "a pregnant woman", and I punished him on the battlefield.

My rebellious eldest son, Robert and brother Odo, I hereby forgive them and restore them to their deprived positions and fiefdoms, for which I hope that God will give peace to my souls.

In matters relating to the Duchy, I will entrust Abbot Longfrank to my eldest son and heir, Robert, that he may rule wisely over Normans and foreign subjects.

To my other sons, I will give William the property of my wife Matilda, and Henry will receive my personal property, a total of four thousand five hundred pounds.

I order that all ecclesiastical lands confiscated by me and my vassals, including the land of Fecon, be returned.

……

The above gifts, including those of the Church and my secular vassals, are all witnessed by the monks and secular lords.

I have descended to the north like an angry lion in a mad rage, causing many deaths and injuries, and I ask God to forgive my soul.

I wish to be buried in the convent of Caen, which I built for my deceased wife, so that I can rest next to her tomb, because of her love and piety, I can feel the glory of God. ”

Abbot Longfrank finally read the Duke of Normandy's will in front of everyone, and was escorted away by two royal guards with braided blonde hair.

"What an elder who doesn't admit defeat." Edgar commented to King Philip, "But if it weren't for us 'enemies,' his sons might not have waited for the body to decompose, and would not have remembered his father's funeral." ”

"In times of evil, perhaps we are not exempt from it." Philip stubbornly reminded the King that there is no eternal high hill in this world, and flowers bloom next to the tomb of the heroes above.

"If it weren't for LongFrank's 'caution,' maybe I would have been lying there right now." Edgar's words clearly hint at a deeper warning.

"I'm sure your First Commander won't let that happen, and I never thought I'd be able to snatch the body of the King of England from Lord Rodrigo."

"Second Commander - England has only one First Commander." Edgar knew that reminding Philip of his warrior status was always the most effective, and that a war king meant bad news for someone like Philip.

"We're not fit to argue with each other like this." Philip replied, "You know, it makes us seem small in the eyes of our vassals. ”

"Perhaps, perhaps, in the Danish poem, there lived an eagle and a snake at the top and bottom of the World Tree, and they exchanged insults with each other all day, but by a squirrel that shuttled up and down."

"Interesting, who do you think is suitable for this squirrel?"

"How about Luforth and Henry?"

"It's wonderful." Philip couldn't help but smile.

Court etiquette was almost a torture for the nobles present, and the English and French lords, including the Counts of Pembroke and Anjou, and the Duke of Brittany, stood stiffly behind the two kings, for whom the funeral of the Duke of Normandy was just the beginning.

The opulent procession then entered another great hall, where a fire burned in the center, and the swords and staff of the monarchs sat side by side in front of the table, and their seats belonged to William, Duke of Normandy himself.

Philip dipped a little ink from the horn of the ox, and stopped the tip of the pen on the slightly yellowed page, hundreds of pairs of eyes were staring at the king's missing fingered hand, and this stroke of the pen meant the loss of the northern principality, the shame, the word that was welling up in everyone's hearts.

The arm holding the pen bent forward slightly, and the slender handwriting fell neatly on the paper—a signature in the shape of a cross, which looked like those giant windmills on the manors of England, a tomb where the glory of knights was buried!

Edgar was looking at the tapestry on the walls of the hall, and I don't know if it was due to the negligence or deliberateness of the court personnel, but the tapestry depicting the battle of Hastings still hung on the wall: the long-tailed comet burning in the sky, the Norman knights in bright armor and the royal guards of England, the posture was so lifelike that Edgar could feel the nose of the painted war horse, and seemed to smell the scent of the sword from the wall.

The familiar feeling is like Waterloo Hall in Windsor Castle, showing off its martial prowess.

Edgar finally turned his gaze to Robert, who was somewhat gloomy, and their friendship was about the end of it, and the king and the vassal would not be true friends.

But will he feel humiliated? In the hall where his father celebrated his victory, he had to bow his knees to himself.

The vanquished are still crying, and the conquest does not stop.

Edgar knew this well, because it was in this hall that he himself had made a vow of revenge twenty years earlier.