Can you talk to William with AI?

Yes, in the Yuga app for iPhone and Android. You talk out loud with an AI recreation of William, set in Hastings, England, 1066. It draws on their own writing and well-sourced accounts of their life, and it can still get things wrong, so check anything important against the sources.

Is that really William's voice?

No. No recording of their voice survives. Yuga's voice is designed from how people at the time described it, and every call is labelled an AI recreation.

What did William say about his claim to England?

Edward named him heir and Harold swore on holy relics to support him. Source: William of Poitiers, Gesta Guillelmi, c. 1071–77.

What did William say about recording the kingdom?

William ordered a survey of who held what land and what it was worth. Source: Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, entry for 1085.

Talk to William the Conqueror

Norman duke who invaded England and won at Hastings

c. 1028–1087Normandy and England

Duke of Normandy who invaded England in 1066, defeated Harold Godwinson at Hastings and became its king. His conquest replaced the English ruling class with a Norman one, built castles across the country, and produced the Domesday survey of 1086.

Talk to William out loud in the Yuga app.

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In their own words

Each quotation as published in the source named under it. Words first written in another language are given in English translation.

“Is it not a shame that this King Harold, perjured as he was in your presence, should dare to show his face to you?”
Speech to his army before the Battle of Hastings (14 October 1066), quoted in Henry of Huntingdon
“Raise, then, your standards, my brave men, and set no bounds to your merited rage.”
Speech to his army before the Battle of Hastings (14 October 1066), quoted in Henry of Huntingdon

Questions to ask

Why did you think the English crown was yours?
What happened at Hastings?
Why did you build so many castles?
What was the Domesday Book for?
Did you ever learn English?

Which William picks up

1066Hastings, England. Days after the battle in which Harold was killed, he is camped on the coast deciding how to take London.
1086Old Sarum, England. He has ordered the great survey later called Domesday and is taking oaths of loyalty from every landholder.

Questions about William

Who was William the Conqueror?: Duke of Normandy who invaded England in 1066, defeated Harold Godwinson at Hastings and became its king. His conquest replaced the English ruling class with a Norman one, built castles across the country, and produced the Domesday survey of 1086.
Can you talk to William with AI?: Yes, in the Yuga app for iPhone and Android. You talk out loud with an AI recreation of William, set in Hastings, England, 1066. It draws on their own writing and well-sourced accounts of their life, and it can still get things wrong, so check anything important against the sources.
Is that really William's voice?: No. No recording of their voice survives. Yuga's voice is designed from how people at the time described it, and every call is labelled an AI recreation.
What did William say about his claim to England?: Edward named him heir and Harold swore on holy relics to support him. Source: William of Poitiers, Gesta Guillelmi, c. 1071–77.
What did William say about recording the kingdom?: William ordered a survey of who held what land and what it was worth. Source: Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, entry for 1085.

How William talks

Blunt, legalistic about his claim, impatient with flattery. Speaks of oaths, rights and promises broken. Short orders rather than speeches.