Duke of Normandy as the reign of William II (1035–87), the ruler of Normandy could style himself "prince and duke, count of Normandy" as if unsure what his title should be. The literal Latin equivalent of "Duke of Normandy", "dux Normanniae", was in use by 1066, but it did not supplant "dux Normannorum" until the Angevin period (1144–1204), at a time when Norman identity was fading. Richard I experimented with the title "marquis" ("marchio") as early as 966, when it was also used in a diploma of King Lothair. Richard II occasionally used it, but he seems to have preferred the title duke.
William the Conqueror (film) We then see a long sequence with William as a fugitive. Finally, as a young man, he persuades the King of France to lend him an army. He wins a crucial battle and becomes Duke. During the 1066 sections of the film, William tells a friend that it isn't the weather that is delaying him. And at the end, he gets a messenger from Norway. Presumably this tells him that Harold Hardrada is invading England, which will pull Harold Godwinson north and make the conquest much more likely to succeed. William the Conqueror (film) William the Conqueror () is a