logo
livingroom

decorative bar

biographies


corner Last update of this page: November 20th 2002 corner
William II Rufus
(1057 - August 2, 1100) U.K.

william01/william II

King

separator

William II was the third son of William I "the Conqueror" and was King of England from 1087 until his death. He was called Rufus, meaning "the red", either because of his red hair or his propensity for anger. Lustful for power and completely illiterate, he ruled with violence rather than strength. The clergy denounced his brutality and his infringements on church rights.

He was born in his father's dukedom of Normandy, which would be inherited in due course by his elder brother, Robert Curthose. William never married and had no offspring - he was rumored being an homosexual. He was known for his love of "feminine" men and, according to historian A. E. Freeman, he practiced "vices before unknown, the vices of the East, the special sin. . ." Moreover, at one point, Pope Urban threatened to excommunicate William for "the crime not spoken of between Christians", an expression clearly referring to sodomy.

william01/william IIHis father's favourite son, he 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 1191 by their youngest brother, Henry. Of the three, William appears to have been the peacemaker.

His reign was short and not particularly noteworthy. Much of it was spent in arguing with the church; after the death of Archbishop Lanfranc in 1189, he appropriated ecclesiastical revenues to which he was not entitled, and for this he was much criticised. He also quarrelled with the Scottish king, Malcolm III; he invaded Scotland and brought it under his control in 1097.

The most memorable thing about William Rufus was the manner of his death, which occurred while hunting in the New Forest. The clergy refused to give him a church funeral. It is possible that the arrow which killed him was fired by an assassin rather than being an accident, and that this was done on the orders of his brother, who succeeded him as King Henry I.

King William II is buried in Winchester Cathedral.

separator

Click on the letter W to go back to the list of names

corner © Matt & Andrej Koymasky, 1997 - 2008 corner