It seems fitting that as this part of the story comes to an end we should repay a visit to Duke Guillaume of Normandy. He appeared early on in the book when the bad weather penned him and his army up, frustrating his plans of invasion. Things have not changed much since then, except that his barons have grown restless and are beginning to question his leadership. The strain that Guillaume must have been under during this time is rarely considered in most historical accounts. It is often assumed that he had total power over everyone, but there are some suggestions that this was not so. As part of his preparations, Guillaume demanded the delivery of hostages, usually children, from some of his retainers. This suggests that he was not totally confident of their support, especially from those who would remain in Normandy once the Duke had sailed for England. Both politically and militarily, his position was vulnerable. Indeed, the need to strengthen that position was the real motive for him to pursue this very expensive and dangerous course of action.

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