(d. 1100). The second son of William I the Conqueror, William II acquired England in 1087 when his father left the duchy of Normandy and the county of Maine to his eldest surviving son, Robert Curthose, and England to William (called “Rufus” for his ruddy complexion). William II faced some opposition in the kingdom but devoted much of his English resources to trying to win the continental lands from his brother. Most often these attempts were in the form of bribes to Robert’s vassals. William II finally did gain possession of the continental dominions, though not the title of duke or count, in return for financing Robert’s participation in the First Crusade in 1096. Robert had been a weak duke, so William II took possession of territories near to the point of anarchy. Through quick military action and judicious bribery, William II was able to quell the baronial wars that had become commonplace in Normandy and to restore Norman power in Maine. Determined to hold all that his father had held, he launched unsuccessful campaigns to retake the French Vexin from Philip I in 1097-98 and 1098-99. William II died in a hunting accident in England, but during his brief reign he had managed to maintain royal
Power in England, restore ducal authority in Normandy, and reunite his father’s empire, which fell to his younger brother, Henry I.
Robert S. Babcock
[See also: ROBERT (DUKES OF NORMANDY); WILLIAM I THE CONQUERER]
Barlow, Frank. William Rufus. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1983.
Freeman, Edward A. The Reign of William Rufus and the Accession of Henry. Oxford: Clarendon, 1882.
World History
