William II, Rufus the Red William II, Rufus the Red 1087-1100 AD William II earned the nickname Rufus either because of his red hair or his propensity for anger. William Rufus never married and had no offspring. The manner in which William the Conqueror divided his possessions caused turmoil among his sons: his eldest son Robert received the duchy of Normandy, William Rufus acquired England, and his youngest son Henry inherited 5000 pounds of silver. The contention between the brothers may have exerted an influence on the poor light in which William Rufus was historically portrayed. Many Norman barons owned property on both sides of the English Channel and found themselves in the midst of a tremendous power play. Hesitant to declare sides, most of the barons eventually aligned with Robert due to William Rufus' cruelty and avarice. Robert, however, failed to make an appearance in England and William Rufus quelled the rebellion. He turned his sights to Normandy in 1089, bribing Norman barons for support and subsequently eroding his brother's power base.

In 1096, Robert, tired of governing and quarreling with his brothers, pawned Normandy to William Rufus for 10,000 marks to finance his departure to the Holy Land on the first Crusade. Robert regained possession of the duchy after William Rufus' death in 1100. William Rufus employed all the powers of the crown to secure wealth. He manipulated feudal law to the benefit of the royal treasury: shire courts levied heavy fines, confiscation and forfeitures were harshly enforced, and exorbitant inheritance taxes were imposed. His fiscal policies included (and antagonized) the church - William Rufus had no respect for the clergy and they none for him. He bolstered the royal revenue by leaving sees open and diverting the money into his coffers. He treated the Church as nothing more than a rich corporation deserving of heavy taxing at a time when the Church was gaining in influence through the Gregorian reforms of the eleventh century. Aided by his sharp-witted minister, Ranulf Flambard, William Rufus greatly profited from clerical vacancies.

The failed appointment and persecution of Anselm, Abbot of Bec, as the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1093 added fuel to the historical denigration of William II; most contemporary writings were done by monks, who cared little for the crass, blasphemous king. On August 2, 1100, William Rufus was struck in the eye by an arrow and killed while hunting. Whether the arrow was a stray shot or premeditated murder is still under debate.

1066 and All That, a satire on medieval government, remembers William II in a unique manner: "William Rufus was always very angry and red in the face and was therefore unpopular, so that his death was a Good Thing." King William II Rufus | Britroyals Name: King William II Rufus Born: c.1056 at Normandy Parents: William I and Matilda of Flanders Relation to Elizabeth II: 24th great-granduncle House of: Normandy Ascended to the throne: September 9, 1087 Crowned: September 26, 1087 at Westminster Abbey Married: Unmarried Died: August 2, 1100 at New Forest, Hampshire Buried at: Winchester Reigned for: 12 years, 10 months, and 22 days Succeeded by: his brother Henry King of England from 1087, the third son of William (I) the Conqueror. He spent most of his reign attempting to capture Normandy from his brother Robert (II) Curthose , Duke of Normandy. His extortion of money led his barons to revolt.

Malcolm III of Scotland twice invades England in 1091 and 1093 before Malcolm is defeated and killed at the Battle of Alnwick. William also had to deal with rebellions in Northumbria and along the Welsh border. He was killed in 1100 while hunting in the New Forest, Hampshire, and was succeeded by his brother Henry I. Timeline for King William II Rufus Year King William II (William Rufus) King William II (William Rufus) King William II (William Rufus) Sections References William Rufus (the Red), the second surviving son of William the Conqueror and Matilda of Flanders , was born in about 1056. His mother gave birth to nine children. Seven of these survived: William, Robert Curthose , Richard (killed in a hunting accident in about 1074), Cecily, Agatha, Henry Beauclerk and Adela. (1) As a child he was educated by Lanfranc of Pavia , who was the abbot of Caen. According to Frank Barlow : "If, however, his parents had intended him for the church, the death of their second son, Richard...

brought him back to the Conqueror's side to serve as a knight bachelor. An intimate acquaintance with the monastic life at an impressionable age could, however, have inspired in him the ribaldry and contempt for the church he was to display when king." (2) When he was a young man he obtained the name Rufus because of his ruddy complexion. "William Rufus had a red face, yellow hair, different coloured eyes... astonishing strength, though not very tall and his belly rather projecting... he had a stutter, especially when angry." (3) William Rufus in Normandy William the Conqueror had successfully invaded England in 1066. He also controlled Normandy and in 1073, along with his eldest son, Robert Curthose, conquered Maine . Robert, who was now in his early twenties, suggested that William should return to England and he should be allowed to rule Normandy. William, now in his fifties, refused with the words: "Normandy is mine by hereditary descent and I will never while I live relinquish the government". Robert was unwilling to accept this decision and joined forces with discontented elements in Brittany, Maine and Anjou.

(4) Robert gained support from Roger of Clare, the son of Richard FitzGilbert and he made his base at Gerberoy . Although he was only 17 years-old, William Rufus joined his father in battle against his brother. (5) William the Conqueror's army attacked Robert in December 1078. During the battle William was wounded in the arm and was forced to flee the battlefield. William of Malmesbury claims that it was the greatest humiliation suffered by William in his whole military career. (6) William returned to Rouen and was forced to enter into negotiations with his opponents: "An influential group of senior members of the Norman aristocracy including Roger of Montgomery, Hugh of Granmesnil, and the veteran Roger of Beaumont at once strove to effect a pacification in the interests of Robert and his young associates, many of whom were the sons or younger brothers of the negotiating magnates." (7) William agreed to withdraw but in 1080 he made another attempt to regain his kingdom.

According to one source, another battle was prevented by the Church: "While the two armies were in face of each other, drawn out for battle, and many hearts quailed at the fearful death, and still more fearful fate after death which awaits the reprobate, a cardinal priest of the Roman Church and some pious monks, intervened by divine inspiration, and remonstrated with the chiefs of both armies." (8) It is claimed that William's wife, Matilda of Flanders , intervened in the dispute and the two men were reconciled. Matilda had always been close to Robert and without her husband's knowledge, used to "send her son vast amounts of silver and gold". When the king discovered his wife's generosity, he threatened to blind the Breton messenger Samson used for these missions. (9) Death of William the Conqueror In later life William became very fat. King Philip I of France described him as looking like a pregnant woman. While fighting in Normandy he fell from his horse and suffered internal injuries. Ordericus Vitalis said that as he was "very corpulent" he "fell sick from the excessive heat and his great fatigues". (10) William was taken to the priory of St.

Gervase. Close to death, he directed that Robert Curthose should succeed him in Normandy and William Rufus should become king of England. The decision was an acknowledgement that unlike Robert, Rufus had always remained loyal to his father. (11) William the Conqueror said on his deathbed that "I tremble when I reflect on the grievous sins which burden my conscience, and now, about to be summoned before the awful tribunal of God, I know not what I ought to do. I was too fond of war... I was bred to arms from my childhood, and I am stained with the rivers of blood that I have shed." (12) William the Conqueror died on 9th September, 1087. William Rufus was crowned by Lanfranc , the Archbishop of Canterbury, on 26th September. He was not a popular ruler. "Monastic writers, although acknowledging some of William's virtues, looked askance at his morals. By associating him with what they considered effeminate fashions in dress and comportment they hinted at his homosexuality. And since he never married and is not known to have had any bastards this has been generally accepted....

Rufus has also been judged not only irreligious but also atheistical, even heretical. Certainly he shared the soldier's disrespect for Christian morality and the clerical life." (13) King of England William Rufus was very unpopular with the Church. Unlike his father, Rufus was not a committed Christian. His father's policy of spending considerable sums of money on the Church was reversed. When Rufus needed to raise money, he raided monasteries. Austin Lane Poole has argued that "from a moral standpoint... probably the worst king that has occupied the throne of England." (14) It was recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle : "He (William Rufus) was very harsh and severe over his land and his men, and with all his neighbours; and very formidable; and through the counsels of evil men, that to him were always agreeable, and through his own avarice, he was ever tiring this nation with an army, and with unjust contributions. For in his days all right fell to the ground, and every wrong rose up before God and before the world.

God's church he humbled; and all the bishoprics and abbacies, whose elders fell in his days, he either sold in fee, or held in his own hands, and let for a certain sum; because he would be the heir of every man, both of the clergy and laity." (15) The division of the Conqueror's lands created political difficulties as most Norman lords held estates on both sides of the Channel. Odo of Bayeux commented: "How can we give proper service to two mutually hostile and distant lords? If we serve Duke Robert well we shall offend his brother William, and he will deprive us of our revenues and honours in England. On the other hand if we obey King William, Duke Robert will deprive us of our patrimonies in Normandy." (16) In 1088 some Normans , including Odo of Bayeux , Robert of Mortain , Richard Fitz Gilbert , William Fitz Osbern and Geoffrey of Coutances , led a rebellion against the rule of William Rufus in order to place his brother, Robert Curthose on the throne.

However most Normans in England remained loyal and Rufus and his army successfully attacked the rebel strongholds at Tonbridge, Pevensey and Rochester. The leaders of the revolt were exiled to Normandy . (17) In February 1091, Rufus personally led an army into north-eastern Normandy against Robert Curthose. Robert accepted defeat and negotiated a peace on terms highly favourable to Rufus. In essence, their treaty provided for the division of Normandy between them, to the total exclusion and disinheritance of their younger brother, Henry Beauclerk . Rufus and Curthose then marched westward against their brother, forcing Henry to withdraw to the mountain-top abbey of Mont-St Michel. Curthose and Rufus besieged their younger brother until April 1091, with water running short, Henry agreed to relinquish the abbey and departed Normandy. (18) Robert accompanied Rufus to England in autumn 1091 and soon afterwards marched against King Malcolm III , whose Scots army had invaded the country in his absence. The campaign was a success and Malcolm was forced to submit at the Firth of Forth. He returned to Normandy in December but had difficulty controlling his territory.

He renounced the treaty with his brother William, who in February 1094 returned to Normandy and throughout 1094 and 1095 the conflict between the brothers was evenly matched. To pay for the campaign he imposed heavy taxes on the people of England. Some of this money was used to bribe King Philip I of France not to support Robert. Ordericus Vitalis indicates that Rufus controlled more than twenty castles in Normandy. (19) In 1095 William Rufus decided to bring Robert of Mowbray, the Earl of Northumberland, to justice. He took Newcastle and Tynemouth before besieging Mowbray at Bamborough. William was forced to end this campaign when he heard the Welsh had captured Montgomery. By the time he reached the area the Welsh had abandoned Montgomery and had withdrawn to the mountains. (20) In 1096 William Rufus imposed a new tax on his barons. When they complained they did not have this money, William Rufus suggested that they should rob the shrines of the saints. Later that year William Rufus seized the property of Anselm , the Archbishop of Canterbury, while he was in Rome.

(21) Rufus now formed a new alliance with his brother Henry and by 1096 Normandy was under his control. Robert joined the First Crusade and was one of those involved in capturing Jerusalem in July 1099. Robert married Sybilla of Conversano, daughter of Geoffrey of Brindisi , Count of Conversano on the way back from Crusade. (22) Over the next few months William Rufus was involved in military campaigns in Wales, Scotland and Normandy. In January 1098 his forces captured Maine and besieged Le Mans. He also fought a war against King Philip I of France but after facing stubborn resistance he agreed a truce in April 1099. (23) Death of William Rufus On 2nd August 1100, King William Rufus went hunting at Brockenhurst in the New Forest. Gilbert de Clare and his younger brother, Roger of Clare, were with the king. Another man in the hunting party was Walter Tirel , who was married to Richard de Clare's daughter, Adelize. Also present was William Rufus' younger brother Henry Beauclerk .

(24) William of Malmesbury later described what happened during the hunt: "The sun was now declining, when the king, drawing his bow and letting fly an arrow, slightly wounded a stag which passed before him... The stag was still running... The king, followed it a long time with his eyes, holding up his hand to keep off the power of the sun's rays. At this instant Walter decided to kill another stag. Oh, gracious God! the arrow pierced the king's breast. On receiving the wound the king uttered not a word; but breaking off the shaft of the arrow where it projected from his body... This accelerated his death. Walter immediately ran up, but as he found him senseless, he leapt upon his horse, and escaped with the utmost speed. Indeed there were none to pursue him: some helped his flight; others felt sorry for him." (25) William Rufus stone in the New Forest Tirel escaped to France and never returned again to England. Most people expected Robert Curthose to become king. However, Henry decided to take quick action to gain the throne. As soon as he realised William Rufus was dead, Henry rushed to Winchester where the government's money was kept.

After gaining control of the treasury, Henry declared he was the new king. (26) Supported by Gilbert de Clare and Roger of Clare , Henry was crowned king on 5th August. Although Robert threatened to invade England, he eventually agreed to do a deal with Henry. In return for an annual payment of £2,000, Robert accepted Henry as king of England. (27) King Henry I generously rewarded the Clare family for their loyalty. Although Walter Tirel never returned to England, his son was allowed to keep his father's estates. Some people suspected that Henry and the Clare family had planned the murder of William Rufus. Others accepted that William Rufus' death was an accident. Whatever the truth of the matter, the Clare family obtained considerable benefit from the death of William Rufus. (28) King William II Rufus (1087 - 1100) - ArtiFact :: Free Encyclopedia of Everything Art, Antiques & Collectibles Picture Credit: National Portrait Gallery King William II (‘Rufus’) after Unknown artist line engraving 3 1/8 in. x 2 3/4 in.

(78 mm x 71 mm) plate size; 3 3/4 in. x 3 1/8 in. (94 mm x 78 mm) paper size acquired Unknown source, 1957 Name: King William II Rufus Born: c.1056 at Normandy Parents: William I and Matilda of Flanders Relation to Elizabeth II: 24th great-granduncle House of: Normandy Ascended to the throne: September 9, 1087 Crowned: September 26, 1087 at Westminster Abbey Married: Unmarried Died: August 2, 1100 at New Forest, Hampshire Buried at: Winchester Reigned for: 12 years, 10 months, and 22 days Succeeded by: his brother Henry King of England from 1087, the third son of William (I) the Conqueror. He spent most of his reign attempting to capture Normandy from his brother Robert (II) Curthose , Duke of Normandy. His extortion of money led his barons to revolt.

Malcolm II of Scotland twice invades England in 1091 and 1093 before Malcolm is defeated and killed at the Battle of Alnwick. William also had to deal with rebellions in Northumbria and along the Welsh border. He was killed in 1100 while hunting in the New Forest, Hampshire, and was succeeded by his brother Henry I. The future William II, third son of William the Conqueror and Matilda of Flanders, was born in Normandy in around 1056 and was educated by the saintly Lanfranc. Little is known of William’s childhood, although Orderic Vitalis relates an incident when the young William and his brother Henry, bored with playing dice, decided to create mischief instead, and poured stinking water on their elder brother, Robert Curthose , from an upper gallery to the great delight of them both. A scuffle ensued with the fiery tempered Robert, which their father was forced to break up. Robert Curthose rebelled against their father William the Conqueror and attempted to take Rouen.

William remained loyal to his father and fought by his side, he was was by his father’s side, as was his brother Henry, at his death in Rouen in 1087, Robert was conspicuously absent. In his will, William the Conqueror left England to what was believed to be his favourite son, William Rufus, Normandy he bequeathed to his eldest son, Robert. To the youngest, Henry, he left a sum of money. An elder brother, Richard, had been killed whilst hunting in the New Forest. William was a thick set and muscular man, had a florid and choleric complexion, from which derived his nickname ‘Rufus’, red hair and eyes of different colours. He spoke with a stutter. On his accession to the throne, William II was originally content to be advised by the saintly Anselm. Initially enjoying the favour of the English people, his first act as king was to distribute part of the royal treasure to the monasteries, churches and the poor for the benefit of his father’s soul.

Rebellion broke out in favour of his elder brother, Robert, now Duke of Normandy, supported by his powerful uncles, Odo, Bishop of Bayeux and Robert of Mortain. The King received strong support from his English subjects and retook the rebel strongholds of Pevensey, Rochester and Tonbridge. Anselm of Bee Rufus invaded Normandy in 1091, taking large areas of the Dukedom from Robert. Peace was eventually made between the warring sons of the Conqueror and together they embarked on a campaign to win back Maine and Cotentin from their youngest brother, Henry, After a siege which lasted fifteen days, Henry was forced to capitulate and surrender the Cotentin. Rufus began to display uncontrolled tyranny along with his chief justiciar, the despised Ranulf Flambard. Further rebellion against his rule broke out in 1095, lead by Robert de Mowbray, Earl of Northuberland, which was put down with severity. William forced Malcolm Canmore, King of Scots to accept his overlordship. Malcolm lead an uprising against him in 1093, but was treacherously killed at Alnwick.

Rufus and Religion Unusual for his time, William II was not a devout son of the church but a sceptic in the matter of religion who held the church in no reverence. He drew the strong disapproval of the church through his flaunted homo-sexuality and blatant cynicism of religion and through his practice of plundering bishoprics as soon as they fell vacant. Male fashions under Rufus became extravagant and effeminate, much to the disgust of disapproving churchmen. Having kept the see of Canterbury vacant for four years, while he appropriated its revenues, Rufus appointed the devout and learned Anselm of Bec, (portrayed right), to be Archbishop. The pair soon fell into dispute on several issues. A council was called at Rockingham in 1095 to deal with the matters of contention. Anselm appealed to the Pope, arguing that as Archbishop he could not lawfully be dealt with in a secular court. The King proceeded to harass the Archbishop to the point where he could tolerate no more and in 1097 took ship for the continent, leaving Rufus to plunder his Archbishopric and profit further.

The king’s feckless brother, Robert Curthose, pawned the Duchy of Normandy to him for ten thousand marks to fund an intended crusade to the Holy Land. The taxes further imposed on his groaning subjects to raise this amount caused much discontent and did not aid William’s waning reputation with the English people. He was further disliked for his rigid enforcement of the cruel and highly unpopular forest laws, introduced by his father, which inflicted the death penalty for killing the King’s deer. Like his father, the Conqueror, he was said to love the chase beyond all measure. Contemporary Views on William Rufus The Anglo-Saxon ChronicleThe Anglo-Saxon Chronicle puts forward contemporary views of William II:- ‘He was very harsh and fierce in his rule over his realm and towards his followers and to all his neighbours and very terrifying. Influenced by the advice of evil councillors, which was always gratifying to him, and by his own covetousness, he was continually exasperating this nation with depredations and unjust taxes. In his days therefore, righteousness declined and every evil of every kind towards God and man put up its head.

Everything that was hateful to God and to righteous men was the daily practice in this land during his reign. Therefore he was hated by almost all his people and abhorrent to God. This his end testified, for he died in the midst of his sins without repentence or atonement for his evil deeds.’ Peter of Blois…thunders terrifying the earth, lightnings and thunderbolts most frequent, deluging showers without number, winds of the most astonishing violence, and whirlwinds that shook the towers of churches and levelled them with the ground. The Death of William Rufus William went hunting in the New Forest, probably near Brockenhurst on 2 August 1100. In what was described as a ‘hunting accident, he was killed when an arrow penetrated his lung, the circumstances of the incident are unclear. The arrow was fired by a nobleman named Walter Tirel, the earliest mention of the event is in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, which blandly records that William was “shot by an arrow by one of his own men”. Later chroniclers contain the name of Tirel, along with further details.

The Rufus Stone in the New Forest which marks the site of his death The fullest contemporary account of the incident was written by the monk William of Malmesbury, who states that the King had an ominous dream the night before which led him to feel uneasy, but nevertheless set out into the forest for a days hunting with a few companions. The party spread out as they chased their prey, Walter Tirel was the only one who stayed with the king when the party scattered in the chase. The King fired an arrow at a stag, which wounded it and shielded his eyes with his hand against the rays of the low sun to spot where it ran. Just at this point another stag appeared on the scene and Tirel fired at it. He missed and his arrow pierced William’s chest. The King is said to have broken off the shaft which was protruding from his chest, but collapsed and fell on the remainder of the arrow, which drove it in further. Tirel is reported to have rushed to his aid, but found him unconscious and beyond help.

The first record of any location more exact than the New Forest comes from John Leland, who, writing in 1530, stated that the king died at Thorougham, a placename which has since fallen into disuse but was probably located at what is now Park Farm on the Beaulieu estates. William’s body was left where he fell. His younger brother, Henry, who was present at the hunt, departed in haste to seize the treasury at Winchester, aided by the de Clare brothers, Gilbert and Richard, Richard’s daughter Adelize was the wife of Walter Tirel. He then travelled to London, where he was hastily crowned within day. The body of the former king was found by a local charcoal burner named Purkis and a few peasants who carried the blood stained corpse to Winchester in a horse drawn cart and he was buried under the cathedral tower there. When its badly built tower crashed to the ground the following year, there were many in that superstitious age who perceived it to be the judgement of God upon William Rufus. Whether the shot was accidental or not, Tirel panicked and fled to France.

Over the proceeeding centuries, the accusation that one of William’s enemies may have had a hand in the event has repeatedly been made, chroniclers of the time point out that Walter Tirel was renowned as a keen bowman, and thus was unlikely to have loosed such an shot. William’s brother Henry, who was among the hunting party that day, benefited directly from William’s death, shortly thereafter being crowned king. Modern scholars have reopened the question and some have found the assassination theory credible or compelling, but the theory is not universally accepted. Opinion remains divided on whether his death was premeditated murder or merely an unfortunate accident. The “Rufus Stone” in the New Forest marks the spot where he is said to have been killed. The claim that this is the location of William’s death appears to date from no earlier than the seventeenth century, when Charles II visited the forest. At that time the most popular account of William’s death involved the fatal arrow deflecting off a tree; and during Charles II’s visit he appears to have been shown the tree. The tree in question was cut down and burned during the eighteenth century and later in that century the Rufus stone was erected.

The inscription on the Rufus Stone reads:- ‘Here stood the oak tree, on which an arrow shot by Sir Walter Tyrrell at a stag, glanced and struck King William the Second, surnamed Rufus, on the breast, of which he instantly died, on the second day of August, anno 1100. King William the Second, surnamed Rufus, being slain, as before related, was laid in a cart, belonging to one Purkis[e] to take the king’s body to Winchester Cathedral on his cart., and drawn from hence, to Winchester, and buried in the Cathedral Church, of that city.’ Timeline for King William II Rufus Buy William Rufus - Yale English Monarch Series (The Yale English Monarchs Series) Book Online at Low Prices in India | William Rufus - Yale English Monarch Series (The Yale English Monarchs Series) Reviews & Ratings - Amazon.in 4.0 out of 5 stars History was great... 6 June 2014 By Kilar - Published on Amazon.com Format: Paperback Verified Purchase ... but the book itself was a little dry. It does go through William Rufus's slightly boring reign very well and his quarrels with Anselm.

The tax records are kind of dry. It did take me a bit to get through. 1 of 1 people found the following review helpful 5.0 out of 5 stars Very entertaining and informative. Puts medieval history into prospective ... 3 September 2014 By Robert S. Field - Published on Amazon.com Format: Paperback Verified Purchase Very entertaining and informative. Puts medieval history into prospective. 5.0 out of 5 stars But its fun to read and share these stories with my children 18 August 2014 By Lifelong reader - Published on Amazon.com Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase Maybe the amount of food is exaggerrated - I hope so! But its fun to read and share these stories with my children! 2 of 3 people found the following review helpful 5.0 out of 5 stars Rufus Rules 21 July 2013 By Sir Roderick - Published on Amazon.com Format: Paperback Verified Purchase If you're into British history, then you'll enjoy this one. Frank Barlow is definitely an expert on the 11th century. Considering how little information there is about William II, this is a pretty comprehensive look at his life.

There's a lot more I'd like to know, but that isn't the author's fault. There's only so much information about certain medieval characters. I'm now reading The Godwins, also by Frank Barlow and also very enlightening. 0 of 1 people found the following review helpful BBC - History - William II (Rufus) z William II © Known as William Rufus because of his ruddy complexion, he was the third son of William the Conqueror (William I) and inherited the English throne from him. William was born in around 1056 and almost nothing is known about his childhood. At his death in 1087, William I bequeathed his original inheritance, the Duchy of Normandy, to his eldest son, Robert Curthose. He gave England to William, his third and favourite son, who was crowned in September 1087. In 1088, William faced a baronial rebellion inspired by his uncle, Odo of Bayeux, in favour of Robert. But Robert failed to appear and the revolt soon collapsed.

In 1089, he laid claim to Normandy and waged war against Robert, who he defeated and reduced to a subordinate role. In 1096, Robert went on Crusade, mortgaging Normandy to William (for 10,000 marks), who raised the money by levying a heavy and much-resented tax in England. William faced opposition from Scotland and in 1091 he compelled Malcolm III, King of the Scots to acknowledge his overlordship. Malcolm revolted in November 1093, but William's forces crushed his army near Alnwick and Malcolm was killed. Thereafter, William maintained the Scottish kings as vassals. William also had difficult relations with the church. He kept bishoprics vacant to make use of their revenues, and had numerous arguments with Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury from 1093. When Anselm left for Rome in 1097 to seek the advice of the pope, William seized his estates. On 2 August 1100, William died when he was shot by an arrow while out hunting. It was accepted as an accident, but could have been an assassination.

It has been suggested that his alleged slayer, Walter Tirel, was acting under orders from William's younger brother, Henry, who promptly seized the throne as Henry I. English Historical Fiction Authors: The Mysterious Death of King William the Second The Mysterious Death of King William the Second by Judith Arnopp The New Forest is a timeless place, many areas remaining unchanged since medieval times. If you venture away from the tourist spots you will find ancient woodlands, rusty coloured streams and vast areas of heath that seem to belong to another era. As a child, I spent so much time in The New Forest that it became like a second home. Even now, forty odd years later, the aroma of heather, the tang of the pine, the vague hint of the salty Solent evokes those wonderful days. The tales of William Rufus and the ‘Rufus Stone’ were familiar, repeated over and over until they became part of my psyche. I could easily imagine him riding out to hunt with the hounds baying and the pennants casting an unnatural splash of colour on the woodland.

A few years ago when I was looking around for ideas for my next novel, the name William Rufus seemed to jump from nowhere into my head and I quickly determined that The New Forest would provide an ideal setting for my story; a story that was already embedded in the British consciousness. The mystery surrounding the death of William Rufus. The early Norman period is very much neglected in fiction. Perhaps the events were too long ago for to us to properly engage with, or maybe publishers are just not prepared to take the risk of straying too far from their beloved Tu dors. As a lover of early British history I think there is a place for fiction set earlier in the calendar and so I went ahead regardless. The Forest Dwellers is not just the story of Rufus but the early Norman regime and the mysterious deaths of the Conqueror’s sons form the backdrop to the fiction of Ælf and Alys. The Domesday Book tells us that in 1065, before the invasion, the villages cleared for the main part of the forest consisted of an estimated five hundred families, possibly two thousand men, women and children.

This estimate does not allow for slaves, personal retainers or men working under villains, it only represents the landowners or occupiers. Not a huge number when compared with devastation caused elsewhere by the conquering Normans but enough, I think, to generate a considerable amount of resentment. The defeated Saxon population of England did not welcome the Normans; all over Britain there are accounts of uprisings and dissent. There were Saxons who fought and lost, those who retired into obscurity to die in poverty and want, and there were those that collaborated, pretended to accept Norman authority. In the forest new rules meant that making a living was impossible – punishment was harsh and frequent but life went on, people lived and died in oppression while memories of the old way of life slowly faded. The thing that remained unchanged was hatred and resentment for the Norman interloper. Like the Saxon kings before them, the Normans were lovers of the hunt but whereas Harold and his predecessors were content to share the forest with the commoners, the Normans were less tolerant.

King William the first had four sons, Robert (known as Curthose, later to become Duke of Normandy); Richard, who died young; William (known as Rufus, his father’s successor as King William the second); and Henry (known as Beauclerc, later to become Henry 1). The king’s second son, Richard, should have inherited the English throne but he predeceased his father. Records of Prince Richard’s death are scarce, most simply relate that he was killed during a chase in The New Forest. Fatal hunting accidents were not uncommon but losing his heir to the English throne was King William’s first major blow. The people of the forest would undoubtedly have seen it as divine retribution and there would certainly have been no mourning or pity among the commoners. It occurred to me that, perhaps, twenty years later, the memory of the first royal death in the forest gave life to the more mysterious demise of his brother, King William Rufus.

According to William of Malmesbury, William Rufus was ‘well set; his complexion florid, his hair yellow; of open countenance; different coloured eyes, varying with certain glittering specks; of astonishing strength, though not very tall, and his belly rather projecting.’ Not a very flattering picture and, all in all, William seems to have been a complex fellow. He was popular among his companions but his relationship with his brothers was volatile and the church regarded the king almost a s an anti-Christ. Rufus was a very luke-warm Christian and not above selling church positions to the highest bidder rather than filling them by appointment. He left many positions empty, depriving the church of revenue and pocketing the income himself. The most recorded characteristics of the king seem to have been his love of hunting, rich cuisine (particularly eels), a predilection for young male companions and excessive monetary greed. He was a man of eclectic tastes, his companions at court were reported as effeminate, adopting ridiculous fashions and wearing their hair long. Some say he was homosexual, some that he was not but there are no recorded offspring, either legitimate or otherwise but this does not mean that he did not father any children.

A man like Rufus would be more than capable of ignoring his responsibilities. In The Forest Dwellers, which is a fictional tale, he is an amiable but selfish man whose sexual impartiality eventually leads to his downfall. On the day of his last hunt Rufus had been taken ill and the outing was postponed but quite late in the evening the king, deciding he was well enough after all, called up the horses and the party rode off into the forest. The company consisted of many powerful magnates that were close to the king, among then his brother, Henry Beauclerc, and Rufus’ friend, Sir Walter Tyrell. The Peterborough manuscript of the Anglo Saxon Chronicle states that ‘on the morning after Lammas Day, the king William was shot with an arrow in hunting by a man of his’. (Anglo Saxon Chronicle (E) 1099).

Another chronicler, Geoffrey Gaimer stated, ‘We do not know who shot the king,’ and Gerald of Wales wrote, ‘The King was shot by Ranulf of Aquis.’ Research into Ranulf of Aquis draws a blank, there is no clear indication of who he was but what is clear is that Rufus’ death was as much a mystery then as it is now. The Anglo Saxon Chronicle goes on to say what a wicked fellow Rufus had been but it must be remembered that the church had many grievances with Rufus. In fact all contemporary accounts written of William Rufus are the work of those with an agenda against him, so the picture we have of him is distorted. At the time there seems to have been little fuss made about who shot the fatal arrow but Rufus was dead, his body abandoned in the forest while his erstwhile companions fled to secure their holdings and their place in the court of the new king. Tradition has it that Rufus’ body remained where it fell until it was picked up by a charcoal burner named Purkiss, and taken to Winchester for burial.

Rufus’ brother, Henry, being in the right place at the right time, became the next monarch and perhaps had a reason for not pursuing the truth – perhaps he was complicit in his brother’s death, perhaps not. Later historians and fictional representations of the tale point the finger at Sir Walter Tyrell, Lord of Piox de Picardie in France and friend of the king. The night before the hunt Rufus is said to have presented Tyrell with two rather splendid arrows with the words ‘to the good archer, the good arrows.’ It was one of these arrows that was later found embedded in the king’s heart. Allegedly Tyrell shot at a stag but the arrow deflected and lodged in the king’s chest. Tyrell, on seeing what he’d done, fled to France. Tyrell was never pursued for his crime, perhaps it suited the new king that he was never found and questioned, perhaps he housed dangerous truths. Some say he was Henry’s man, paid well for his services but, although Henry undoubtedly had the best motive, Tyrell spent his remaining years exiled in France, receiving no reward and never speaking out against the English king.

Therefore, his involvement seems unlikely and one chronicler, Abbot Suger, maintained until he died that, ‘It was laid to the charge of a certain noble, Walter Thurold, that he had shot the king with an arrow; but I have often heard him, when he had nothing to fear nor to hope, solemnly swear that on the day in question he was not in the part of the forest where the king was hunting, nor ever saw him in the forest at all.’ The fact remains that almost a thousand years have passed since that day and during those centuries, historians have been over and over the story, seeking a culprit, patching together fact and fiction, mismatching truth with legend until the real story is totally lost in speculation. I suppose the main message I want to make in The Forest Dwellers is this – ‘The forest was teeming with people that day, it could have been anyone!’ The Forest Dwellers is an action packed adventure, peopled with plausible characters. You will find no ‘goodies’ and no ‘badies’ just complex humans, struggling to survive in an unkind world. The Forest Dwellers - Judith Arnopp.

ISBN: 978-1-908603-0 Peaceweaver - Judith Arnopp.

ISBN: 978-1849234771 The Song of Heledd – Judith Arnopp – available in 2012 Further Reading Baring, Francis Henry, Domesday Tables for the counties of Surrey, Berkshire, Middlesex, Hertford, Buckingham and Bedford and for the The New Forest: With an Appendix on the Battle of Hastings (London: St Catherine Street Press, 1909) Barlow, Frank, William Rufus, (London: Yale University press, 2000) Bartlett, Robert, England under the Norman and Angevin Kings 1075-1225, (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2000) Doherty, Paul, The Death of the Red King (London: Greenwich Exchange, 2006) Ginnell-Milne, Duncan, The Killing of William Rufus: An investigation into the New Forest, (Newton Abbot: David and Charles, 1968) Mason, Emma William II: Rufus the Red King (Stroud: Tempus, 2005) Poole, A.

L., Domesday Book to Magna Carta 1087- 1216 (Oxford: the Clarendon Press, 1987) Round, J. H., Feudal England: Historical Studies on the eleventh and twelfth centuries (London: Allen and Unwin, 1964) Domesday Book, ed. by John Morris, (Chichester: Phillimore, 1982) Illustrations: with thanks to

Question: William Rufus was the nickname of which English monarch?
Answer: William the Second