William II, Rufus c.1056-1100
King of England

He was the second surviving son of William the Conqueror, whom he succeeded in 1087. The Norman nobles in England rebelled against him in favour of his eldest brother Robert, Duke of Normandy, but Rufus suppressed the rebellion with the support of the English people after making false promises of a relaxation of the forest laws and of fiscal burdens. He misused ecclesiastical benefices to raise money, until 1093, when he appointed Anselm as Archbishop of Canterbury, though he later quarrelled with Anselm over the liberties of the Church. Rufus warred with Robert in Normandy, but peace was made (1091), and in 1096 the duchy was mortgaged to him. In 1098 he conquered Maine, but failed to hold the whole of it. Malcolm III, Canmore, King of Scotland, invaded Northumberland (1093), and was killed at Alnwick. Rufus invaded Wales three times. He was killed by an arrow while hunting in the New Forest, but whether this was deliberate has never been established. He was largely responsible for the Norman Conquest of the north of England.

Bibliography: Edward A Freeman, The Reign of William Rufus and the Accession of Henry the First (2 vols, 1882)