If William came back from England looking forward to a future
crown, the thought might even then flash across his mind that he
was not likely to win that crown without fighting for it. As yet
his business was still to fight for the duchy of Normandy. But he
had now to fight, not to win his duchy, but only to keep it. For
five years he had to strive both against rebellious subjects and
against invading enemies, among whom King Henry of Paris is again
the foremost. Whatever motives had led the French king to help
William at Val-es-dunes had now passed away. He had fallen back on
his former state of abiding enmity towards Normandy and her duke.
But this short period definitely fixed the position of Normandy and
her duke in Gaul and in Europe. At its beginning William is still
the Bastard of Falaise, who may or may not be able to keep himself
in the ducal chair, his right to which is still disputed. At the
end of it, if he is not yet the Conqueror and the Great, he has
shown all the gifts that were needed to win him either name. He is
the greatest vassal of the French crown, a vassal more powerful
than the overlord whose invasions of his duchy he has had to drive
back.

These invasions of Normandy by the King of the French and his
allies fall into two periods. At first Henry appears in Normandy
as the supporter of Normans in open revolt against their duke. But
revolts are personal and local; there is no rebellion like that
which was crushed at Val-es-dunes, spreading over a large part of
the duchy. In the second period, the invaders have no such
starting-point. There are still traitors; there are still rebels;