Marriage(s) and Relationships: Child:Berstrand of EnglandNotes: Source: Brian Tompsett, Leo van de Pas.
Source: *Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europaeischen Staaten* 4 vol.,
Marburg, 1953, 1975, by W.K. Prinz von Isenburg.
*Burke's Guide to the Royal Familiy*, London, 1973.
*Nachkommen Gorms des Alten*, 1978, by S. Otto Brenner.
*Europaeische Stammtafeln*, J.A. Stargardt Verlag, Marburg.
William was the third son born to William I and Matilda. Unlike
Robert, the first-born, but treasonous son of the Conqueror, William was
ever-loyal to his father. When the King's second son, Richard, died in an
accident, it seemed William would be the one to inherit the lands and
titles of his father. But, Robert, although disloyal, was the first born
and
the recognized property rights of the first son were undeniable. Robert
became Duke of Normandy; but on his death bed, William I named his
third son King of England and on September 26, 1087, William II was
crowned at Westminster.
William II had his father's stout build, light eyes and a ruddy
complexion (hence the nickname--William Rufus) and most embarrassing
for a monarch, a stutter. However, a stutter was the least of his worries.
During the reign of William I most of the lands and estates were taken
from English aristocrats and bestowed on Norman barons--men who still
owned Norman estates. With the ascension of William this new nobility
found themselves in the difficult position of serving two masters: William
in England, and William's brother, Robert Duke of Normandy. By the
following year a Norman campaign to relieve William of England was
under way, but Robert never landed in England and the revolt was easily
crushed. William, however was not as easily dissuaded. He wanted
Normandy and with English silver he could have it. Cold, hard currency
was a rare commodity in medieval Europe, but the British Isles, rich in
natural silver ore, was the exception. Robert's position became more
tenuous until finally, in 1096, he joined a crusade to the Holy Land and
pawned Normandy to William for 10,000 marks.
Overall, William was an effective rule. He won back ancestral land
lost by Robert; he moved further into Wales and Scotland; and he put
down the occasional rebellion. William's failings were with the Church of
Rome. The Archbishop Lefranc, appointed by William I, kept a
semblance of piety and discretion over the court of William II, but with
Lefranc's death, William saw only an opportunity to help himself to
Church revenues. He distrusted the church and distrusted its
representatives. Once approached by a monk who foresaw William's
death in a dream, William retorted, "He is a monk and so, of course, he
dreams for money."
But William's cynicism did not last for long, for in 1093 William
thought he was dying and in a fit a religious idealism appointed a saint,
Anselm, to the position of Archbishop of Canterbury. What proved to be
problematic for William was that he did not die, and now he was stuck
with Anselm, a religious radical. As a Norman abbot, Anselm recognized
Urban II as the Pope, but in England, Urban II was not acknowledged.
This, and other disagreements between William and Anselm, came to a
head when William called a court in order to settle matters. Anselm
appealed to Rome claiming that as a cleric he could not be tried in a
secular court. With this William saw his way out. He told Urban II that he
would indeed recognize Urban's authority as Pope, if he in turn would
depose Anselm. Urban agreed and sent a papal legate to England; and
Urban II was declared the canonical Pope. Urban, however, never
deposed Anselm, and William was further frustrated. Thus started
William's campaign of harassment against Anselm and his roadblocks
against church reform. Anselm eventually gave up and abandoned the
Canterbury estates, and the revenues again went into William's pocket.
However, the power of the church was growing. Gone were the days
when the monarchs of England paid no notice to the bishop of Rome.
For the meantime though, William made out quite well. He was at
the height of his influence and was planning a few conquests here and
there, when on August 2, 1100, he was killed by an arrow while hunting
in the New Forest. It may have been an accident, or it may have been
murder, for William's brother, Henry, was also in the New Forest that
August day and within three days he would be King.
Biographical information from The Lives of the Kings and Queens of
England, ed.
Antonia Frasier and The Oxford Illustrated History of the British
Monarchy, ed.
John Cannon and Ralph Griffiths.
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