Home > William II of England
William II (called "Rufus", perhaps because of his red-faced appearance, or maybe his bloody reign) (c. 1056 - August 2, 1100) was the second son of William the Conqueror and was King of England from 1087 until 1100, with powers also over Scotland, Wales and Normandy. Although an effective soldier, he was a ruthless ruler and was little liked by those he governed; according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, he was "hated by almost all his people." However, it is not surprising that the chroniclers of his time took a dim view of Rufus, because all literate men of the day were men of the Church, against which Rufus fought hard and long. William himself seems to have been a flamboyant character. His short and violent reign was marked by his mercurial and bellicose temperament, which led to a period of turmoil, even by the standards of the time. He never married or had illegitimate children; it has been suggested that he was homosexual.
1 Early years
William's exact date of birth is unknown, but it was some time between the years 1056 and 1060. He was born in his father's duchy of Normandy, which would be inherited in due course by his elder brother, Robert Curthose. His father's favourite son, William succeeded to the throne of England on his father's death, but there was always hostility between him and his eldest brother, though they became reconciled after an attempted coup in 1091 by their youngest brother, HenryHenry I (c. 1068 December 1, 1135), called Henry Beauclerk or Henry Beauclerc because of his scholarly interests, was the youngest son of William the Conqueror. He reigned as King of England from 1100 to 1135, succeeding his brother, William II Rufus.. Of the three, William appears to have been the peacemaker.
2 England and France
The division of William the Conqueror's lands into two parts presented a dilemma for those nobles who held land on both sides of the Channel. Since the younger William and Robert were natural rivals, these nobles worried that they could not hope to please both of their lords, and thus ran the risk of losing the favor of one ruler or the other (or both of them). The only solution, as they saw it, was to unite England and Normandy once more under one ruler. The pursuit of this aim led them to revolt against William in favor of Robert in the Rebellion of 1088The Rebellion of 1088 occurred after the death of William the Conqueror and concerned the division of lands in England and Normandy between his two sons William Rufus and Robert Curthose. Hostilities lasted from 3 to 6 months starting around Easter of 108, under the leadership of the powerful Bishop Odo of BayeuxOdo of Bayeux (c. 1036 1097), Norman bishop and English earl, was the half-brother of William the Conqueror, and was for a time second only to the king in wealth and power in England. He was the son of William the Conqueror's mother Herleva, and Herluin,, who was a half-brother of William the Conqueror. William, however, managed to rally the English and defeat the rebellion, thus securing his authority in this precarious early period after becoming king. In 1090Events Granada captured by Yusuf Ibn Tashfin, King of the Almoravides Beginnings of troubadours in Provence Bejaia becomes the capital of the Hammadid dynasty in Algeria Births William of Malmsbury Saint Bernard of Clairvaux Saint Famianus Eliezer ben Nat he invaded Normandy, crushing Robert's forces and forcing him to cede a portion of his lands. The two made up their differences and William agreed to help Robert recover lands lost to FranceThe French Republic or France ( French: Republique francaise or France is a country whose metropolitan territory is located in western Europe, and which is further made up of a collection of overseas islands and territories located in other continents., notably MaineMaine is one of the traditional provinces of France. It corresponds to the old county of Maine, centered around the city of Le Mans. The county bordered on the county of Anjou and the duchy of Normandy, and Maine became a great matter of contention betwee.
