In 1066, the Normans under Guillaume le Conquerant (William the Conqueror) defeated the Anglo-Saxon army of Harold Godwinson. Thus commenced the French speaking Normans rule over England for centuries. Powerful and rich, they'd forever place their mark on English history, culture and language.
The link attached is a chronicled history about the events leading up to and following the Norman conquest by various history professors for the BBC. (a much better source of historical information than Wikipedia)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/normans/
