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The Norman Conquest was the conquest of [[England]] by William, Duke of [[Normandy]], subsequently [[William I of England|King William I]].  The conquest was effectively completed by William's victory at the [[Battle of Hastings]] in [[1066]], and this is regarded as an important landmark, the start of English history as we know it.

It may be noted that the conquest of [[Wales]] by the [[Norman]]s was completed piecemeal and not finalised until [[1282]], during the reign of King [[Edward I of England|Edward I]].  The same king, though he subdued [[Scotland]], cannot be said to have truly conquered it, as it remained an independent kingdom until [[1603]].

The Norman conquerors at first spoke a different language and remained ethnically distinct from the native population of England.  However, over the centuries, the two racial groups merged and are no longer distinguishable.

There is a series of plays by [[Alan Ayckbourn]] entitled ''[[The Norman Conquests]]''.  The subject matter has nothing to do with the Norman conquest of England.

====References====
* Adapted from the [[Wikipedia]] article, "Norman Conquest" http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Conquest August 28, 2003