WILLIAM II. (c. 1056-1100), king of England, surnamed Rufus, was the third son of William I. by his queen Matilda of Flanders. He seems to have been his father's favourite son, and constantly appears in the Conqueror's company, although like his brothers he was carefully excluded from any share in the govern ment. A squabble with Rufus was the immediate cause of Robert's first rupture with the Conqueror; in the ensuing civil war we find Rufus bearing arms on the royal side (1077-80). On his death-bed the Conqueror was inclined to disinherit his eldest son in favour of Rufus, who by the early death of Prince Richard. was now left second in the order of succession. But Normandy was bequeathed to Robert, while Rufus was designated as king of England. Rufus was crowned at Westminster on Sept. 26, 1087, fifteen days after the death of his father.
Domestic Administration.—In his domestic administration we can trace a certain continuity of purpose, and in his dealings with the Welsh and Scots he proceeded, though intermittently, along the broad lines of policy which his father had marked out. Beyond the Channel he busied himself with schemes, first for the reunion of England and Normandy, then for the aggrandisement of Normandy at the expense of France. But the violence, the irregularity, the shamelessness of his private life are faithfully reflected in his public career. Even in cases where his general purpose could be justified, his methods of execution were crudely conceived, brutal and short-sighted. Rufus was not without valour or glimmerings of chivalry, but perfidious to his equals, oppressive to his subjects, contemptuous of religion; with no sense of his responsibilities, and determined to exact the last farthing of his rights. The baronage took up arms for Robert in the name of the hereditary principle, but with the secret design of substituting a weak and indolent for a ruthless and energetic sovereign. Local risings in Norfolk, Somerset and the Welsh marches were easily repressed. The castles of Kent and Sussex
offered a more formidable resistance, since their lords were in direct communication with Robert of Normandy, and were led by the able Odo of Bayeux (q.v.), the king's uncle, who had been released from prison at the opening of the reign. Rufus secured the help of the native English, by promises (never fulfilled), of good laws, the abolition of unjust taxes and redress for those who had suffered by the afforestments of the late king. Aided by large contingents of the national militia he subdued the rebels. Odo of Bayeux left England under a safe-conduct to sow fresh seeds of discord in Normandy. But Rufus resolved to take vengeance on his brother, and in 1089 he invaded eastern Normandy. In 1091 a treaty was hastily patched up. Rufus retained the eastern marches of the duchy, and also received certain seaports. In return he undertook to aid Robert in reducing the rebellious county of Maine, and in recovering the Cotentin from their younger brother, Henry Beauclerk, to whom it had been pledged by the impecunious duke. The last part of the agreement was duly executed. Rufus then recrossed the Channel to chastise the Scots, who in his absence had raided the north country. Malcolm III.
of Scotland prudently purchased his withdrawal, by doing homage (Aug. 1091) on the same terms which William I. had imposed in 1072. Next year Rufus broke the treaty by seizing the strong hold of Carlisle and the other lands held or claimed by Malcolm in Cumberland and Westmorland. Malcolm in vain demanded satisfaction ; Nrhile attempting reprisals on Northumberland he was slain in an obscure skirmish (1093). Rufus immediately put for ward a candidate for the vacant throne ; and this policy, though at first unsuccessful, finally resulted in the accession of Edgar (1o97), a son of Malcolm, who had acknowledged the English overlordship. Carlisle remained an English possession; in the next reign Cumberland and Westmorland appear as shires in the accounts of the Exchequer.