[stylist] William the Conqueror; some thoughts to ponder

Tue Nov 13 16:42:47 UTC 2012

Bill,
I think you hit on a really good point in you short piece. The "name" itself 
is a power name. You know, there are some names that evoke a feeling of 
power, just to say the word. William is  one of those names.  It is a 
warrior name, a ruler, a prince, a conqueror, and Type A man!

My father's name is William!

Your piece led me to begin to think about the meanings that come to my mind 
when I say that name. I began to think of it yesterday when I was sifting 
through photos of my father because I wanted to post some of him in honor of 
Veteran's Day. He was a veteran of WWII, served with Pattons forces in 
Europe, and was in the third wave at the Battle of the Bulge.

Then, I thought about other William's who immediately came to my mind - and 
all of them were power people, too.

 I first thought about etymological elements of the name:
It is Willahelm - in German:  To break down this name you look at the two 
parts of it.

 Will (means to desire)  and Helm (means a Helmet)

Will desires a helmet. Now that is power - you think of why a man would 
desire a helmet. You have the image of a warrior located within that name.

Very quickly other Williams come to mind:

William Gellome:  8th Century Norman, cousin of Charlemagne - he became a 
monk. I think of this man because I used to lecture on Charlemagne and the 
rise of monasticism in Europe.  I have traveled to Aachen and stood beside 
Charlemagne's throne, overlooking the floor of his amazing chapel and 
palace. POWER.

 There are other Williams throughout history and in contemporary 
literature - so many of them. Some of my own favorite poets and philosophers 
are named William.

William Burroughs;

William Blake;

William Wordsworth

William Shakespeare

William Jennings Bryant

Billy the Kid

William Shatner

Williams Carlos Williams (my MAN!)

Yes, you can think of yourself surrounded and in the company of strong and 
powerful men, William.

Why not!

Since I have begun seriously thinking about writing a series of vignettes on 
my memories I am going to tuck away these ideas for use when I begin to work 
on my father's life.

Lynda

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bill Outman" <woutman at earthlink.net>
To: "'Writer's Division Mailing List'" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, November 13, 2012 9:18 AM
Subject: Re: [stylist] William the Conqueror; some thoughts to ponder

> Well, I am not admiring anything about his reign
> Per cie, merely the abstract symbol of decisiveness.  It was a different
> time in history which for a wholehost of reasons we would not with to
> emulate fully.
>
> I have observed in my own life at times that I can fall into the trap of
> tentativeness.
>
> You raise a fair point that the full history may require further inquiry 
> on
> my part.
>
> Bill Outman
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: stylist [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Eve Sanchez
> Sent: Monday, November 12, 2012 8:49 PM
> To: Writer's Division Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [stylist] William the Conqueror; some thoughts to ponder
>
> Bill, I hate to say this as I am not an editor or critic, but William the
> Conqueror, otherwise known as William the Bastard, was from the early 
> Norman
> period. The Plantagenets came about 400 years later In the late 14th 
> century
> with the reign of Henry IV. I do like your use of analogy though I would
> never want to be associated with such a person, that is neither here nor
> there. You admire him for his invasions and slaughters of innocent people
> and that is your right. I would suggest doing a little more reading on the
> history though to get your timeline correct. Diolch, Cymru Rhydd. Eve
>
> On Mon, Nov 12, 2012 at 3:25 PM, Aine Kelly-Costello
> <ainekc at orcon.net.nz>wrote:
>
>> I like the thematic matter, good work.  To be an editor, and point out
>> the things that  jumped out at me:
>> "odacious" is actually spelled "audacious".
>> I wouldn't use the "I've" contraction in "I've desired after a
>> fashion", there is a bit of a jump in formality levels there.  And at
>> the start of that paragraph where you talk about yourself, maybe
>> introduce it with some sort of connecting phrase, like "on a personal
> level".  I'd change "though"
>> to "although" there and put a comma after "Bill".  Also, the double
>> use of "desired" in that paragraph, there and in the following
>> sentence, doesn't read that well for me, I'd change one to something
>> else.  I'm not really sure what "desired after a fashion" actually
>> means to be honest.  Also - at the very top, I have no idea what
>> Plantaginate means (and I'm guessing I'm not the only one), so perhaps
>> you could clarify that? Just some thoughts ...  obviously you're the
>> writer
>>
>> Cool though :) our headmistress (who is also a history teacher) at
>> school is great at doing that, taking a historic example of someone
>> important and showing us how it can apply to our every-day lives
>>
>>
>> Aine
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Bill Outman" <woutman at earthlink.net
>> To: "'Writer's Division Mailing List'" <stylist at nfbnet.org Date sent:
>> Mon, 12 Nov 2012 17:33:58 -0500
>> Subject: [stylist] William the Conqueror; some thoughts to ponder
>>
>> Good afternoon, folks.
>>
>>
>>
>> This may sound like it runs a bit counter to what we have been
>> discussing the last couple days concerning gratitude, but it's worth
> thinking about.
>>
>>
>>
>> It came up earlier today when I was discussing division business with
>> Robert off list.  I had it partially written several months ago, but I
>> have enough now to present for your consideration.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Here it is below.
>>
>>
>>
>> William the Conqueror
>>
>>
>>
>> William I of England, the first of the Plantaginate kings,
>> accomplished in
>> 1066 at the Battle of Hastings the rare feat of a successful military
>> campaign across the English Channel.  He thus acquired the English
>> throne, having set out from the Normandy region of France.  This
>> earned him the nickname William the Conqueror.
>>
>>
>>
>> The name William originates from the German Wilhelm, meaning resolute
>> protector.  Resolute in intent he certainly was.  It can rightly be
>> said that his act of conquest was odacious.
>>
>>
>>
>> Though I am known by Bill my given name is actually William, and I've
>> desired after a fashion to be another William the Conqueror.  I have
>> desired not to be just William the Acceptor.
>>
>>
>>
>> If William the Acceptor had existed, he would have been utterly
>> content to accept his lot in life as pre-ordained and immutable.  He
>> would have accepted a status quo existence, thus remaining a complete
>> unknown.  This is why we have never heard of him.
>>
>>
>>
>> We may accept our need to cope with lack of vision, but if we do not
>> have some of the spirit of a conqueror, we will not reach our full
>> potential and experience the full amount of joy that might be possible.
>>
>>
>>
>> Bill Outman
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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