King William II Rufus de Normandie

1057 - 1100  (43 years)    Has more than 100 ancestors but no descendants in this family tree.

• Name	William II Rufus de Normandie
  Prefix	King
  Birth	1057
  Gender	Male
  Death	2 Aug 1100
  Siblings	11 Siblings
  + 1. Gundrade de Normandie,   b. 1053-1054   d. Yes, date unknown ▻ Earl William de Warren, I + 2. Robert III Curthose de Normandie,   b. Abt 1054, Normandy, France d. 10 Feb 1134, Cardiff, Glamorganshire, Wales  (Age 80 years) ▻ Marguerite du Maine;   Sybil di Conversano;   NN   3. Richard de Normandie,   b. 1055   d. 1075  (Age 20 years)   4. Adelaide de Normandie,   b. 1055   d. Yes, date unknown   5. Cecily de Normandie,   b. 1056   d. 1127  (Age 71 years)   6. King William II Rufus de Normandie,   b. 1057   d. 2 Aug 1100  (Age 43 years)   7. Matilda de Normandie   d. Yes, date unknown + 8. Adela de Normandie,   b. Abt 1062   d. 8 Mar 1138, Marcigny-sur-Loire  (Age 76 years) ▻ Comte Stephen Henry de Blois, "le Sage",  m. Abt 1081   9. Agatha de Normandie,   b. 1064   d. Yes, date unknown   10. Constance de Normandie,   b. 1066   d. Yes, date unknown ▻ Alain IV. Fergent de Cornouaille,  m. 1086 + 11. King Henry I "Beauclerc" of England,   b. Sep 1068, Selby, Yorkshire, England d. 11 Dec 1135, Gisors, St. denis, Seine-St. denis, France  (Age 67 years) ▻ Queen Edith (Mathilda) of Scotland,  m. 11 Nov 1100 ;   Adelaide de Louvain,  m. 29 Jan 1122 ;   Sybilla Corbet,  m. Abt 1092 ;   Edith FitzForne;   Ansfride,  m. Abt 1090 ;   Edith,  m. Abt 1086 ;   Isabelle de Beaumont,  m. Abt 1120 ;   Princess Nest ferch Rhys,  m. 1103-1105 ;   + 12. Princess Anna of England,   b. Abt 1066, Normandy, France d. Yes, date unknown ▻ Earl Harold de Ewyas
  Person ID	I6066	Geneagraphie
  Last Modified	29 Aug 2000

  
  

  Father	King William de Normandie, "the Conqueror",   b. 1027, Falaise, Calvados, France d. 9 Sep 1087, Rouen, Normandie, France (Age 60 years)
  Mother	Matilda van Vlaanderen,   b. Abt 1031   d. 2 Nov 1083, Caen (Age 52 years)
  Marriage	1053	Cath. Notre Dame d'Eu
  Family ID	F2703	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Photos

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• Notes

  Koning van Engeland 1087 - 1100. Komt om het leven bij een jachtongeval. Broer Henry die "toevallig" (?) in de buurt is roept zichzelf uit tot Koning. William II was the third son of William the Conqueror and Mathilda, born c. 1057, and earned the nickname Rufus either because of his red hair or his propensity for anger. William Rufus never married and had no offspring. His eldest brother Robert was bequeathed the family duchy of Normandy, while William Rufus was given England. The contention between the two brothers may have had quite an influence on the poor light in which William Rufus was historically portrayed. Many of the barons in service to the Normans owned property on both sides of the English Channel, and found themselves in the midst of a rebellion. They risked offending either of the brothers by declaring for the other, but William Rufus' cruelty and avarice led most of them to side with Robert. Robert, however, failed to make an appearance in England, and William Rufus quelled the rebellion, and turned his sights to Normandy in 1089. He bribed the Norman barons for support, eroding his brother's power base. In 1096, Robert sold Normandy to William Rufus for 10,000 marks and went off on the first Crusade. 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. The ingenious aid of a sharp-witted clerk, Ranulf Flambard, greatly assisted William Rufus in profiting from clerical vacancies. The failed appointment and persecution of Anselm, Abbot of Bec, as the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1093 (Lanfranc died in 1089) 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, at the height of his success, William Rufus was killed while hunting in the New Forest, struck in the eye by an arrow. It is still debatable whether the arrow was a stray shot or premeditated murder. 1066 and All That remembered William II in an 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." It is a shame that more is not known of William II - the monastic chroniclers of his thirteen year reign quickly point out the way he plundered the Church, but fail to recognize his success as a diplomat and soldier. *********************************************************** by Bits of Britain and a wee bit more William II (of England), called Rufus (1056?-1100), King of England (1087-1100), who extended his power into Normandy and Scotland. He was the third son of William the Conqueror, king of England, who on his deathbed named him as his successor in England, leaving the duchy of Normandy to his eldest son, Robert. William Rufus, as he was known because of his ruddy complexion, was crowned in Westminster Abbey in 1087. The following year William's uncle Odo, bishop of Bayeux, led a rebellion of Norman barons who sought to unseat him in favor of Robert. William's English subjects, believing his promises of less oppressive taxation and more liberal laws, helped him quell the revolt. The king, despite his promises, continued to pursue a domestic policy that was harsh and venal. William invaded Normandy in 1089, 1091, and 1094, winning some concessions from his brother Robert II, duke of Normandy, each time. He forced the Scottish king Malcolm III MacDuncan to pay him homage and in 1092 seized the city of Carlisle and other areas claimed by Malcolm in Cumberland and Westmorland. In 1096 Robert mortgaged Normandy to William for funds to finance a Crusade. William then fought to recapture lands his brother had lost as duke of Normandy and returned the county of Maine to the rule of the duchy. After the death in 1089 of Lanfranc, the archbishop of Canterbury, William delayed naming a successor. He held open vacant bishoprics and enriched himself with church monies, incurring the displeasure of many ecclesiastics. In 1093 he selected Anselm, abbot of Bec, as the new archbishop, but they quarreled over William's authority to control church appointments. William was killed on while on a hunting trip in the New Forest in Hampshire. It is not known whether the slaying, which is traditionally ascribed to a Norman named Walter Tirel (died after 1100), was accidental or intentional. William was buried at Winchester; he never married and had no children. His younger brother succeeded to the throne as King Henry