William the Conqueror

About William the Conqueror

William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy, ranks #934 in historical importance according to the MIT Pantheon project, primarily due to his pivotal role in the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. His victory at the Battle of Hastings fundamentally reshaped the English aristocracy, language, and political landscape, tying England more closely to continental European affairs for centuries to come.

Despite this foundational historical impact, William's modern internet attention is disproportionately high, showing a +10x overattention relative to his importance score. In 2025, his Wikipedia pages garnered 3.0 million views. To contextualize this, a figure like Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, ranked far higher at #83 in historical influence, received only 863K views in the same period, suggesting a significant modern curiosity skew towards Norman history over later literary giants.

Encouragingly for the legacy of the early Norman kings, William’s 2025 attention is on an upward trend. His Year-over-Year change saw an impressive +38.6% growth, and his 2025 Momentum (Q1 vs Q3) surged by +67%, indicating a recent spike in online interest in the events surrounding his life and conquest.