William survived a rebellion in 1046, when he was about nineteen, and proved his abilities as a leader; therefore King Henry I of France asked for his help in a 1051 campaign. According to the feudal system, William's people owed him their loyalty in exchange for his protection, and likewise William owed the king his loyalty in exchange for Henry's protection. William won the king's favor by serving him well, but their relations would sour later, when William's power threatened to overshadow that of the king.
William assisted Henry in subduing Geoffrey Martel, count of Anjou (ahn-ZHOO), and conducted a successful siege, or attack, on a city controlled by Geoffrey. The people of the city taunted William by hanging out hides from the town walls bearing the insult "Hides for the tanner!" Angered, William destroyed the city and executed many of its citizens. Geoffrey fled for his life.
Recognizing that his illegitimacy would be a continuing source of challenges to his authority, William made up his mind to marry well. After years of careful negotiations, in 1052 or 1053 he married Matilda of Flanders. Despite the fact that the marriage had complex but highly significant political reasons behind it, it appears that it was a happy one. They must have made a strange-looking couple, since William was a large man and Matilda stood only four feet tall, but together they had four sons and five or six daughters.
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