William Malet (Norman conquest)

William Malet (died 1071) held senior positions within the Norman forces that occupied England from 1066. Malet was one of only a few companions of William the Conqueror proven to have been present at the Battle of Hastings. The contemporary chronicler William of Poitiers recorded Malet's presence at Hastings.

According to apocryphal accounts, Malet was related to both William of Normandy and King Harold of England. Some accounts claim that Malet took charge of Harold's body following the Norman victory at Hastings. However, there is no evidence confirming such claims.

Malet held substantial property in Normandy – chiefly in the Pays de Caux, with a castle at Graville-Sainte-Honorine () (now a suburb of Le Havre). After 1066, he held many properties in England as well, most of them in Yorkshire and East Anglia.

According to apocryphal accounts, Malet's mother was English, and he was the brother of Aelgifu, who married Ælfgar, Earl of Mercia (the son of Lady Godiva).

If the above account is correct, Malet was the uncle of Ealdgyth (also known as Edith, a daughter of Aelgifu and Ælfgar), who became the second wife of King Harold II of England.

Divided loyalties or not, there is strong evidence that Malet fought on the Norman side at Hastings.

William of Poitiers wrote:

Therefore Malet was present in the duke's camp, immediately after the battle. This should however suffice to deem him one of the very few proven participants in the battle.

Malet's activities during the first few years of the Norman conquest of England are not known. But after the Danish stronghold York was captured in 1068, he was appointed the first High Sheriff of Yorkshire and was one of the commanders of the garrisons in the new castles built in the city of York. His efforts at defending the shire from Danish raids were, in the end, a terrible failure, for the next year the city was burned and the garrison slaughtered. Malet, his wife, and two of their children were held as hostages, and finally released when the Danes were driven off.

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