Transcript William II `Rufus` King of England 1087

William II
‘Rufus’
King of England
1087-1100
De facto Duke of
Normandy
1091-1100
Charachter
• William II was similar to his father in his bravery
and astute generalship, however he lacked his
piety and was thus more stringent towards the
Church.
• He never married and was probably a practising
homosexual surrounded by ‘effeminates’.
• He was by nature aggressive, greedy and
mercurial – he rexacted heavy taxes and his
travelling court pillaged wherever they went. He
also frequently borke his promises.
• He was disinterested in his English subjects, never
learned their language and could be rapacious.
Relations with nobility
• The division of his father’s kingdoms threatened
William’s position at the beginning of his reign.
Counting on the support of Duke Robert of Normandy,
Odo, Bishop of Bayeux and Earl of Kent led a sizeable
rising to achieve domination of William’s government
in 1088. Their defeat was ensured by the continued
loyalty of the Church and ironically of the English fyrd,
plus Robert’s failure to reinforce his allies.
• He faced a second revolt by Robert de Mowbray in
1095 against the growing despotism of his
government. This was speedily and brutally
suppressed.
• Thereafter the Norman nobility of English were largely
loyal, and those of Normandy were later bribed into
obedience using English taxes.
Relations with his brothers
• Robert proved an inept ruler, being
obliged to sell off part of the Duchy of
Normandy to his younger brother Henry.
The rest fell to the chaotic rule of the
barons.
• In 1091 William invaded Normandy. Many
of the barons were bribed into deserting
Robert who surrendered without a fight
and did fealty to William – the Treaty of
Eu.
• The two brothers now waged war on their
younger sibling Henry driving him into
exile. Just a year later Henry returned and
seized the Cotentin, and by 1095 was
being actively supported by William
against Robert and Phillip I.
• In 1096 Robert of Normandy departed on
the First Crusade having mortgaged his
Duchy to William who now assumed
complete control.
Central Government
• Whilst still extremely limited, William’s
government sought to expand its remit through
royal nominations to shire councils and itinerant
justices.
• Central government was placed under the
direction by men ‘from the dust’ of humble
origins whose position and hence loyalty was
entirely owed to William. His chief minister was
the talented Ranulf Flambard who was infamous
for his means of raising revenue – most
significantly keeping ecclesiastical sees vacant
and redirected the revenue to the crown. This
increased revenue was handled by Robert of
Hereford and Walcher, Prior of Malvern whose
abacus-based accountancy greatly increased
efficiency.
• “He skinned the rich, ground the down the poor,
and swept other men's inheritances into his net”
William of Malmesbury on Ranulf Flambard.
Relations with Church
• William was irreligious, the money he donated to the
Church at the start of his reign for his father’s soul
was as much about his glory as faith.
• Lanfranc survived for a couple of years into William
II’s reign and was a restraining influence. After his
death in 1090, the see was left vacant for three years
so William could enjoy the revenue.
• He only created a new one when faced with life
threatening illness – he literally forced Anselm of Bec
into accepting the job.
• Anselm sought to raise the profile of the Church,
after he recovered from his illness William sought
the exact opposite. Towards the end of William’s
reign, Anselm was in virtual exile.
• Papal and royal authority seemed on an inevitable
collision course stopped only by William’s death.
‘I will act
not after
your
pleasure
but mine
own’
William II
to Anselm
Death
• With Robert of Normandy
returning from the Crusades,
William was preparing for yet
another confrontation for
possession of the Duchy, however
in August 1100 he was shot whilst
hunting by his companion Walter
Tirel.
• Tirel subsequently fled from the
scene creating innumerable
conspiracy theories but there is no
evidence to suggest it was
anything other than a genuine
accident.
• Either way William was buried in
Winchester Cathedral, unloved
and unlamented.
Legacy
• William was an able administrator
and a good general who
succeeded in reuniting a Norman
Empire divided on his accession.
• Most of his military campaigns
were either inconclusive or
temporary, but he did establish a
lasting frontier with Scotland by
conquering Cumberland and
Westmoreland and garrisoning
Carlisle. He thereby completed the
consolidation of Norman rule over
England.
• His constant interference in the
Church and with his Tenants in
Chief was largely successful in life
but resulted in a baleful memory
in death, particularly given his
sexual preferences.
Henry I
‘Beauclerc’
King of England
1100-1135
Duke of
Normandy
1106-1135
Coronation and conciliation
• Henry inherited a peaceful but resentful kingdom. His
coronation charter set the tone for a conciliatory
reign, he premised to ‘abolish all the evil practises
with which the realm of England hath lately been
unjustly oppressed’. He followed this up with a series
of goodwill gestures:
To the nobles: He arrested Rufus’ taxman Ranulf
Flambard and placed him in the Tower.
To the Church: He tactfully invited Archbishop Anselm
back from exile.
To the people: He married Matilda, niece of the King
of Scotland and a member of the House of Wessex,
reintroducing the ancient royal blood of England to
the throne.
• As he had originally been intended for the Church,
Henry was educated; hence his cognomen; and was
the first Norman to speak and write English, this
balanced out his infidelity – he fathered over twenty
illegitimate children.
Removing adversaries
•
•
•
•
Henry needed to consolidate his rule by eliminating his opponents, chiefly his brother Robert. In 1101
Robert invaded England and only agreed to depart after the Treaty of Alton gave him Normandy in his
own right.
Henry faced defiance the next year from baron Robert de Belleme. Belleme was driven out of his
English estates and flied to Normandy where he defeated Duke Robert and allowed the Duchy to slide
into chaos.
This gave Henry the pretext he needed to invade. In a neat reversal of 1066, an English army invaded
Normandy in 1105. Duke Robert and Belleme united to try and defeat it but were themselves
defeated at the Battle of Tinchebrai. Duke Robert was captured and deprived of his duchy by Henry,
spending the remainder of his life imprisoned.
With his reunification of the English crown and the Norman dukedom, Henry had largely secured
himself against internal enemies, although Duke Robert’s son William Clito remained at large and a
threat throughout Henry’s life.
Relations with France 1108-1120
•
•
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The early 12th century French monarchy was
weak, overlord of the French dukedoms in name
only. The new king Louis VI was determined to
reassert Capetian power, but to do this he would
have to defeat the Anglo-Norman monarchy.
Henry and his cousins Theobald and Stephen of
Blois thus waged war from 1111 against a
coalition of France, Flanders and Anjou who
sought to grant the dukedom of Normandy to
William Clito. However by 1118 Flanders and
Anjou had dropped out of the war leaving France
isolated. Defeat at the Battle of Bremule in 1119
forced Louis to the negotiating table, appealing
to Pope Calixtus II.
Once again Louis was outmanoeuvred by Henry
who persuaded the Pope to support his
possession of the Duchy of Normandy in return
for Henry’s son and heir William doing him
homage for his future dukedom.
Succession crisis 1128-35
• The second half of Henry’s monarchy was dominated
by the crisis caused by the death of his only
legitimate son William when the White Ship was lost
at sea in 1128.
• Two rival power blocks emerged in north west
Europe as a result based on the English succession –
Henry married his daughter Matlida to HRE Henry V
whilst Louis VI married his sister in law to William
Clito.
• With the deaths of both Clito and Henry V by 1128
Matilda emerged as the clear candidate to inherit
the throne. The nobility swore feality to her in 1127.
• The Norman nobility were reluctant, opposed to a
female monarch and worried that future marriages
might entangle them in external wars – as indeed
her marriage to Geoffrey Martel heir of Anjou did.
• However the birth of three sons to the couple –
Henry, Geoffrey and William Plantagenet, appeared
to settle the succession question permanently.
The death and legacy of Henry I
• Henry died in December 1135, allegedly
from ‘the surfeit of lampreys’.
• His legacy was a mixed one – he had
formally reunited Normandy and
England, had vanquished France and
defeated all his enemies both rebel and
family.
• However his aggressive foreign policy
had strained relations with his nobility
as had his tendency to over-centralise
power.
• He also failed to reconcile the same
nobility to the novelty of female
succession hence the instability that
followed his death.