THE REIGN OF WILLIAM RUFUS

The Conqueror Dies

• The Conqueror died whilst laying waste to Mantes and the surrounding area, in retaliation for Philip of France’s raids against Normandy •

“A cruel deed he had done, but a crueller fate befell him. How crueller? He fell sick and suffered terribly”

says the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle

The Conqueror Dies

• He was seriously injured when his horse stumbled, throwing William against the saddle; he may also have suffered from heat exhaustion (Malmesbury, who follows Orderic about heat exhaustion) • Retired to Rouen ( his capital) • Knew he was dying • Orderic provides detailed account (which he says he researched carefully)

The Conqueror’s Death

•

“I was brought up in arms from childhood, and am deeply stained with all the blood I have shed”

– the words Orderic puts into William’s mouth as he lay dying • The king certainly spent many hours confessing his sins • Distributed treasure to the poor and released his political prisoners

•

The Conqueror’s Death

Rufus and Henry were by their father’s side as he lay dying; Robert remained at the king of France’s court • Nonetheless, William confirmed Robert as Duke of Normandy after his death • England, as an acquisition obtained by conquest, was not part of the inheritance

England

•

“I name no man as my heir to the kingdom of England, but entrust it to God alone”

( Orderic’s words, quoting William) • William did express a personal hope that Rufus would succeed him as king of England • He sent Rufus to England, with a letter to Lanfranc confirming him as his choice as successor

William Rufus

• • Controversial figure due to his apparent irreligiosity and alleged homosexuality; court was condemned as immoral by chroniclers (who were, of course, monks) He certainly kept church sees vacant so he could take the revenue (not an unusual practice, but William was probably worse than other monarchs)

William Rufus

• William was a

“splendid knight by the standard of the day”

(Christopher Brooke) • Lavish to his own knights • Happiest on campaign or in the hunting field • Loyal to his subordinates (as he had been loyal to his father) • Cared little for religion or the church (except when on his seeming death bed in 1093)

William Rufus

• Remembered in knightly circles as the greatest leader of his day • Remembered by churchmen as a depraved tyrant • His worst fault in the eyes of the church was material – he was rapacious • However, his need for money was because of his generosity to his followers and the expense of his campaigns

William Rufus

• There is a sense from the chroniclers that much as they judged him, they also enjoyed the stories about him •

“An engaging ruffian”

says Brooke, who also notes that he was

“strict and severe”

in governance • Blasphemous – “God’s face” was a favourite curse • Disputatious – tried to re-convert a Jew’s son (Eadmer)

William Rufus He was

“..a fine soldier and a generous lord. He pursued his vision of an extended and reunited Anglo-Norman realm with ruthless determination and sometimes brutal ferocity. And despite his tendency to appear boorish, he possessed the strategic vision and tactical subtelty of an expert politician”

(Huscroft)

Securing England, 1087 - 88

• Rufus acted quickly to secure his throne, seizing the treasury at Winchester and being crowned by Lanfranc on 26 Sept 1087 • He was worried about Robert challenging him • Plenty of barons with land on both sides of channel who supported Robert

Securing England 1087-88

“What are we to do? Now that our lord is dead, two young men have succeeded and precipitately divided the lordship of England and Normandy. How can we properly serve two lords who are so different and so distant from each other? If we serve Robert…worthily, we will offend his brother, William, and we will be stripped by him of our great revenues and large estates in England. On the other hand, if we obey William fittingly, duke Robert will deprive us of all our inherited lands in Normandy”

(Orderic, concocting a speech which accurately reflects the concerns of the Anglo-Norman baronage)

Rebellion of 1088

• Rufus faced a serious rebellion in 1088 from the majority of Anglo-Norman lords who supported Robert • The notable exception was Lanfranc, who was firmly behind William • The rebels were led by Odo of Bayeaux and allied with Duke Robert • They held castles in the south east (Tonbridge, Rochester and Pevensey) and had support in the north (Bishop of Durham)

Rebellion of 1088

• Rufus acted quickly and energetically to put down the rebellion before it took hold • He was helped by the fact that the English supported him (they had little sympathy for the Norman conspirators); Bishop Wulfstan (the last Saxon bishop) held the midlands for him; Lanfranc supported him; and Robert failed to arrive in England to support his allies

Rebellion of 1088

“The 1088 rebellion had been very serious. It had a wide geographical base and of the ten greatest baronial landholders in Domesday Book, six had been on the rebels’ side”

(Huscroft)

Normandy Campaign 1089-91

• Having defeated the rebels, Rufus turned his attention to Normandy, partly out of revenge against Robert • Bought support of Anglo-Norman lords • Henry put down a rebellion in 1090, though concentrated on building up his own position • Rufus acquired allies in north-east Normandy

Normandy Campaign 1089-91

• Feb 1091, Rufus crossed to Normandy; headquarters at Eu • Further defections compelled Robert to negotiate • Rufus’ control of Upper Normandy recognised • Robert and Rufus agreed to become each other’s heirs (aimed against Henry’s ambitions)

Normandy Campaign 1089-91

• The new reality in Normandy was that Rufus, not Robert, controlled events

Ranulf Flambard

• Had risen to become Rufus’ most effective servant •

“skinned the rich, ground down the poor, swept other men’s inheritances into his net”

(Malmesbury) • His unpopularity with chroniclers is probably good evidence of his effectiveness as a minister

Scotland

• With Rufus absent in Normandy, Malcolm III of Scotland had ravaged northern England • Rufus launched an operation against him on return in Aug 1091 with R obert’s help • Oct 1091 Edgar Atheling brokers a deal • Robert returned to Normandy Dec – aggrieved at lack of recognition for his support • 1092 – Cumbrian revolt; Rufus also started to send southerners to farm land in the north

Scotland

• Nov 1093 – Malcolm killed in ambush near Alnwick by Earl of Northumbria • Rufus tried to install Malcolm’s son Duncan as king; Duncan was murdered after a year by his uncle Donald Ban • 1097, succeeded in installing another of Malcom’s sons, Edgar (nephew of Edgar Atheling who assisted) as king, calming the northern border

Wales

• Rufus tried an aggressive approach to Wales, using Norman lords based in the Marches (border lands) against principal Welsh leader, Gruffudd ap Cynan • Most of this activity was inconclusive (there was a significant Norman gain of the lordship of Glamorgan by a close associate of Rufus) • In 1098 Rufus struck deals with Welsh princes, but maintained policy of building up Norman marcher lords too

1095 Conspiracy

• Plot led by Earl of Northumbria (Robert de Mowbray) with other Norman lords who had northern lands • Rufus besieged Mowbray at Bamburgh • Captured in 1096, Mowbray was imprisoned for rest of his life • Ruthless pursuit of other rebels; punishment included blinding and castration

1095 Conspiracy

• However, Rufus was lenient towards his kinsman, Count Stephen of Aumale, who had been touted as prospective king by rebels • Rufus had shown brutality in suppressing the 1095 conspiracy, but was secure in England thereafter

Church

• Anselm appointed archbishop in 1093, while Rufus was on his deathbed • After Rufus’ recovery, frequent quarrels with Anselm with whom he was fundamentally out of sympathy • Papal schism in 1084 saw two popes competing (Clement III ousting Gregory VII) • Rufus didn’t come down on either side, and used European unrest to reduce papal influence in England

•

End of the Reign

From 1094 Rufus was challenging Robert in Normandy, supported by Henry • Expensive campaign in 1094 achieved nothing • Robert subsequently mortgaged Normandy to Rufus in order to raise funds to go on Crusade in 1096 • Little opposition to Rufus in Normandy for remainder of reign

Death

• Killed in hunting accident in New Forest 1100 • Plenty of conspiracy theories, but none proven • His death did come at a good moment for younger brother Henry, who seized treasury and throne and went on to unite England and Normandy under his rule