Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 20.djvu/616

* WILLEMS. 524 WILLIAM I. His ode Aen de Belgen, which appeared in 1818, in which he exhorted his countrymen to resume the use of their native Flemish, and his treatise Over de nederduitsche taul en letterkunde (1819- 24). in whieli he traced the history of the Flem- ish and Dutch tongues from their common origin through their gradual but slight divergencies, mark an epoch in the literary history of Bel- gium. The Dutch Government gave him the post of keeper of the archives at Antwerp, but the Catholic Party in Belgium, resenting the attempt made by Willems to attribute the decline of Belgian national renown to the aban- donment of the Flemish vernacular, looked upon his writings with mistrust; and in 1830. when Belgium was definitely separated from Holland, the dominant Belgian party deprived Willems of his office. In 1835 he was, however, promoted to the place of keeper of the archives at Ghent, where he continued to reside until his death. Among the numerous Flemish works published bj' Willems, spe- cial notice is due to his version of the medieval poem of Ueinaert de Vos, while among the more important of his strictly national works were his editions of the rhymed chronicles of Jan de Klerk (1836) and Jan Van Heelu (1840), De hrahantsche Yeesten (1839-43), and his Uengelingen van raderlandsclien Inhoud, and his posthumous Oude vhrnisce licdereii (1848); Bricven (1S74) ; and Keus van dicht- en proza- ■■■"■■hen I 1S7.3). He founded and edited the quar- terly Belgisch Museum voor dc Xrderlaudsehe taal- en letterkunde (10 vols., 1837-4(3). Biog- raphies of Willems have been written by Snel- laert (Ghent, 1847) and Rooses (Antwerp, 1874). Consult also Booses, Buylsteke, and Bergmann, J(in Frans Willems (Ghent, 1893). WILLEMSTAD, vll'lem-stiid. The capital of the island of Curacao (q.v. ). WIL'LENHALL. A manufacturing town in Staffordshire, England, 3 miles east of Wol- verhampton. It has iron foundries, and metal works of all kinds. The town's industrial im- portance dates from the reign of Elizabetli. Population, in 1901, 18,513. WILLESDEN, wilz'dm or wil'es-den. A town in iliS'j/m- phemia semijidlmntu), with long wings, and long strong legs, making tlic bird tall and a fast flyer; it measures about 15 inches in length. It is dark ash-color above, spotted with brown, and white on the rump and under surface. It re- sides in the Southern States, breeding as far north as New .Jersey or occasionally farther; and in the fall is seen in flocks along the seacoast, where it is a favorite object of sport. Compare Yem.owlegs. WIL'LETT, llARTNr.s (1740-1830). An American soldier, born at .Jamaica, N. Y. During the French and Indian War he served as a lieu- tenant in the Ticonderoga and Fort Frontenac ex- peditions, and subsequently became prominent as a leader of the Sons of Liberty (q.v.) in New York City. He entered the Continental Army in 1775, accompanied Jlontgomerj" to Canada, served in the vicinity of New Y'ork in 1776, and, as second in command (under Gansevoort) at Fort Stanwix (then Fort Schuyler), distinguished himself and earned the thanks of Congress by making a brilliant sortie (August 7, 1777) against the besieging enemy. He then penetrated tUe British lines and procured reenforcements, rmder Arnold, from General Schuyler, then fac- ing Burgoyne near Stillwater. By successive pro- motions he att-ained the rank of colonel in De- cember, 1779. In li i9 he accompanied Sullivan's expedition against the Iroquois, and in 1780-83 commanded the New Y'ork militia in the- JMohawk Valley, making the last attack of the war on the British, at Oswego, in Fel)ruary, 1783. After the war he was a member of the New Y'ork Assembly in 1783-84, was sheriff of New Y'ork from 1784 to 1792, and was Mayor of New Y'ork City in 1807-08. Consult A yarra- tire of the Military Actions of Col. Marinus Wil- lett (1831), by hisson William M. Willett. "WIL'LETTS POINT. Sec Fort Totten. ■WILLIAM I., The Coxqueror (e.1027-87). King of England from 1066 to 1087. He was an illegitimate son of Robert II., Duke of Nor- mandy, by Herleva, or Arlette, a tanner's daugh- ter, and in early life was known as William the Bastard. When Duke P.oliert set out on his pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1033 he caused William to be chosen by the nobles as his suc- cessor, and on Robert's death in 1035 William became Duke of Normandy. Rebellions broke out almost inmiediately, and attempts were made to seize the person of the young Duke. These re- bellions continued during the whole time of his minority, the most serious taking place in 1047. In that year, in alliance with the Frencli King, Henry I. (q.v.), William won a brilliant victory over the rebels at Val-&s-dunes. In 1051 Wil- liam visited Edward the Confessor (q.v.) in England, and probably was promised the Eng- lish crown after Edward's death. During the succeeding years until 1000, William was en- gaged in very frequent warfare with the King of France, the Count of Anjou. and some of his own subjects, but he succeeded in establishing his authority firmly, and in 1063 gained posses- sion of Maine. In 1061 he had established the curfew (q.v.) in Normandy, whence later it was carried over into England. About 1064 Harold. Earl of Wcssex, ap- pears to have spent some time in Normandy,, perhaps after a sliipwrcck which placed him as a prisoner in the hands of the Normans. Accord- ing to the Norman chroniclers, whose story is discredited by Freeman, Harold took an o.ath to aid William in securing the English crown on the death f>f Edward the Confessor. On Edward's death Harold was chnsou King of England and was crowned by (lie .rchbi-liop of Y(]rk (1066). William had 'determined that the crown of England should be his. and at once pro- ceeded to claim it, although he had no valid claim whatever. He i)retended to be the right- ful heir by Edward's bequest and through the failure of Harold to abide by his sworn engage- ments. Through the agency of Hildebrand, later