King Rufus: The Life and Murder of William II of England

William Rufus was killed by an arrow while hunting in the New Forest. But that’s probably all that a lot of people know about this enigmatic King of England. He was born in probably 1056 and died in 1100. Second surviving son of William the Conqueror, William Rufus took the crown of England on his father’s death, and prevented his older brother Robert from taking England from him. So he was an expansionist king who took the opportunities that he saw God giving him, and didn’t hesitate to act even against his own family. William Rufus had a bad reputation among those of the Church, who blasted the ways of the King and Court – their effeminate hairstyles and clothing, their irreverent attitudes, and their political as opposed to religious outlook. A difficult thing in William Rufus’ life to balance state and religion to the satisfaction of everybody. William Rufus was inclined to be quick-tempered, not unlike his father, but he did not live as everybody believed he should. He never married, and his death remains even now surrounded in some controversy. Quite what he would have done when Robert returned in 1100 is open to conjecture, but it seems unlikely that William would have handed his brother’s lands back to him after ruling as Regent in Robert’s absence. William Rufus was succeeded by his younger brother Henry, who again sidestepped Robert’s efforts to gain the Kingdom.William Rufus was an able soldier, and an able administrator – his temper often put him on the wrong side of people, particularly those in the Church. But he was what England needed at the time after William the Conqueror’s death – a strong, ruthless king who brooked no opposition. His unconventional personal life and lack of heirs of his body means that his lifestyle at the time, and his reputation after his death remain intriguing and at times unclear as to what type of man he actually was. But his life, and reign remain of great interest.This book could be dismissed as ‘popular history’ but I think it’s more than that. It is a balanced approach to reconstructing the life and rule of a man for whom many primary sources no longer exist, and those that do can often be biased against William Rufus because of who and what he was. But the author has approached the subject well, and offers a highly enjoyable and readable view of William Rufus and his troubling death. The only quibble I have about my edition of this book is the print is horrendously small.

very pleased thankyou 😀

It may not be the author's fault, perhaps there just isn't enough source material, but I found this too lacking in references to William II. In the first 100 pages for example, there seemed to be more written about Robert Curthose, William The Conqueror, Odo and various bishops than there was on Rufus.With many historical biographies, the first few chapters "set the scene", i.e. provide an overview of the country, family, society, culture, big events that are going on at and around the time of the subject's birth. This book felt like it never really got out of that stage and that I was reading a summary of events going on, some strongly and some weakly relevant to William II. There was little sense of William the man - although I again admit, this could be due to lack of source material. However, the book was informative, I learnt new things and at 240 pages, it certainly wasn't a slog.

Reading history can be hard work sometimes. There are very academic historians with a vast store of knowledge that should never be allowed near the open book market. They write for other academics and make history almost inaccessible to the average Joe like me who just loves to see what happened.This book does border on that from time to time. However, redemption follows and overall I was able to read through and enjoy without getting too bogged down with big words that very few people ever understand.I left it with a pretty good understanding of William Rufus. I realise the vast majority of any story this old is pure conjecture. No one really knows what happened most of the time. We don't even know for sure what he looked like. But from what is available the author has put together a lot of information so well done.

This is a thoroughly enjoyable read about a little known subject. I have become interested in the history of our past monarchs and and after having read up about all of them from Alfred the Great through to William Rufus I have to applaud Emma Mason for her assessment and presentation of this son of William the Conqueror. The book is detailed and comprehensive without being too complicated or boring; an ideal choice for a layman like me to learn from.

This is a verbose work lacking both helpful maps and genealogies, which is why I have not given it five stars. Nevertheless, it's a strikingly learned piece of writing in which the author shows great enthusiasm for her subject. She devotes a whole chapter to Carlisle and the northern frontier and she has the knack of relevancy, whereby she presents the details without becoming side-tracked into unevidenced speculations such as supposing that William Rufus was homosexual when there's no reliable evidence that he was. She presents her facts succinctly and, where there's doubt, she mentions it. Although the work lacks helpful headings, the chapters are well set out with relevant titles and there's a reliable index. Despite its shortcomings, one cannot help warming to this work if only because the author's erudition is so infectious.

Enjoyable, readable and informative. I thought that this was a nicely balanced account bringing a considered perspective. Enjoyed reading it and thought more of the man than I had previously done. I’m still finding my way around Medieval kingship so this was my first biography of Rufus and thought that it was a good solid introduction.

Very well researched but a dry read. Paragraphs over 2 pages long of a closely typed text. Still interesting but not written with the elan of other modern history authors.

It's difficult to write a biography of someone who lived almost a thousand years ago especially when there are few contemporary documents and historical accounts were mostly written half a century later and show definite political leanings. William II, the son of the Conqueror is not an easy subject but this biography tries to give a portrait of the man and the ruler. However, reading it can be a challenge because of the endless burrowing down in details, to say nothing of the tiny print used in the book. I got a "flavour" of who William II was, but there are so many secondary meanderings that I often found myself rereading previous pages to be able to better follow the next ones.The research was remarkable and exhaustive and as for the last chapter on the"mystery" of his death while hunting, well there's really nothing new, just a rehashing of theories. It could have been an accident, it could have been a planned assassination - we'll never know.

William (II), also known as William Rufus, has always suffered in comparison with other kings of England. Ms. Mason does a fantastic job using sources other than those that came out of monasteries to reveal an entirely different kind of man and king than history has revealed to us. As the author astutely points out, religious chroniclers had good reason to see Rufus in a negative light; he was in direct confrontation with Archbishop Anselm, and therefore the Church of Rome, over the rights of the church vs the rights of a monarch's sovereignty. Ms. Mason uses other contemporary sources to show us a generous man with a wicked sense of humor, who showed a certain amount of patience and intelligence in his royal decision making and was one of the greatest military commanders of his time. That in no way means he didn't make mistakes or overreach and sometimes act unjustly; but even still, the author makes a case that history has judged William Rufus unfairly.This is not a book for a beginner in this subject matter. The author assumes the reader has a certain amount of knowledge and so uses terms of the time with little explanation in most cases. If you have a background in the monarchy of William Rufus and a working knowledge of how the medieval world worked, you'll enjoy this in depth look at King William II.I took away one star for 2 reasons. In some places the narrative was very dry. I expect formality and structure to reach a certain standard when writing a thesis paper or for academic journals and the like. Once the author decides to write a book it is my own personal belief the author should make the book read less like a textbook by writing with less formality so the book flows a bit smoother. I should stress though, this is only my opinion. Those of you who don't mind rigidly structured books will find this book right up your alley. I also took off one star because despite the title of the book being 'The Life and Murder of William II of England,' I was looking forward to evidence from the chronicles that made a very strong case that the king was murdered, instead of dying in a tragic hunting accident, and the author does not do this here convincingly, at least not for me. Though on Amazon the book is called 'The life and Mysterious Death of William II of England' I'm basing my review on what the cover of the version I purchased states, as well as the title page. I'd be interested to know the actual title of this book.Overall this was an enjoyable read and, as someone who considers myself knowledgeable about William Rufus' reign, this was an eye-opener. I learned details I had not known before, which is the point of reading new books on old subjects. I highly recommend this book.

Superbly researched biography of Rufus. Well worth reading for anyone deeply interested in Norman history. The material is excellent although it is dry in places.This reassessment of William’s life discusses the bias of Chroniclers against him. I would not necessarily describe it as a popular history, but it is generally accessible. You may need to look up a few medieval terms and British-isms. The beginning is strong the last chapters are somewhat dry. However, the assessment of Rufus’s death is superb.

The writer was careful to separate fact from fiction in this story of William Rufus. I wish the book had been a little bit longer and more in depth though.

Very enlightening on a relatively little known early English king. I learnt a lot.