Lion of Judah

Close-up of the effigy’s face showing intact nose and lip outline. Despite surface wear, the underlying modelling clearly preserves the features of a swarthy medieval noble.

Inside All Saints Church, Ilkley, a medieval effigy possibly of Sir Peter Middleton (d.1336) preserves a clear nose and lip outline, revealing a swarthy noble likeness. Nearby figures show extreme facial destruction, pointing to selective iconoclasm rather than age.

Sir Gilbert Talbot d.1274 Nobility Alliance and a Defaced Memory

The Legacy of Sir Lambert de Trikyngham: A 13th-Century BLACK English Knight

16c Black English Nobleman Thomas Grenville Tomb

The Legacy of Sir Lambert de Trikyngham: A 13th-Century BLACK English Knight

The Legacy of Sir Lambert de Trikyngham: A 13th-Century BLACK English Knight

The Legacy of Sir Lambert de Trikyngham: A 13th-Century BLACK English Knight

The Legacy of Sir Lambert de Trikyngham: A 13th-Century BLACK English Knight

The Legacy of Sir Lambert de Trikyngham: A 13th-Century BLACK English Knight

The Legacy of Sir Lambert de Trikyngham: A 13th-Century BLACK English Knight

Windsor Castle Aerial built by William Conqueror

William I, also known as William the Conqueror, William, the Bastard or William of Normandy, French terms Guillaume le Conquérant or Guillaume le Bâtard or Guillaume de Normandie, (born c. 1028, Falaise, Normandy now France, died September 9, 1087, Normandy), duke of Normandy (as William II) from 1035 and King of England as William I from 1066, will go on record as the most outstanding King and ruler of the Middle Ages and beyond. He made himself the mightiest nobleman in France and then changed the course of England’s history by conquering the country.