Editing William II of England (section)

== Death ==
William went hunting on 2 August 1100 in the [[New Forest]], probably near [[Brockenhurst]], and was killed by an arrow through the lung, although the circumstances remain unclear. The earliest statement of the event was in the ''[[Anglo-Saxon Chronicle]]'', which noted that the king was "shot by an arrow by one of his own men."<ref name="QRufus420">Quoted in {{Harvnb|Barlow|2000|p=421}}</ref> Later chroniclers added the name of the killer, a nobleman named [[Walter Tirel]], although the description of events was later embroidered with other details that may or may not be true.{{Sfn|Barlow|2000|pp=420–423}} The first mention of any location more exact than the New Forest comes from [[John Leland (antiquary)|John Leland]], who wrote in 1530 that William died at Thorougham, a placename that is no longer used, but that probably referred to a location on what is now Park Farm on the [[Beaulieu, Hampshire|Beaulieu]] estates.<ref name="Lloyd19">{{Cite book |last=Lloyd |first=Arthur |title=The Death of Rufus |publisher=The New Forest Ninth Centenary trust |date=2000 |isbn=0-9526120-5-4 |pages=19–20}}</ref><ref name="Lloyd1">{{Cite book |last=Lloyd |first=Arthur |title=The Death of Rufus |publisher=The New Forest Ninth Centenary trust |date=2000 |isbn=0-9526120-5-4 |page=1}}</ref> A memorial stone in the grounds of [[Beaulieu Abbey]], Hampshire, states "Remember King William Rufus who died in these parts then known as Truham whilst hunting on 2nd August 1100".

<gallery class="center">
File:WilliamRufus.png |William's death in an illustration from the ''[[Grandes Chroniques de France]]'' <small>(13th cent.)</small>
File:A Chronicle of England - Page 123 - Death of William the Red.jpg |William's death from [[James William Edmund Doyle|Doyle]]'s English history <small>(1864)</small>{{sfnp|Doyle|1864|p=123}}
File:Death of William Rufus.jpg |William's death from [[John Clark Ridpath|Ridpath]]'s [[Cyclopedia of Universal History|world history]] <small>(1895)</small><ref>{{citation |last=Ridpath |first=John Clark |author-link=John Clark Ridpath |date=1895 |title=Cyclopedia of Universal History |url=https://archive.org/details/cyclopediauniver197274ridp |publisher= Balch Brothers & Co. |location=Boston |page=644}}.</ref>
File:AnselmP164.gif |[[Morris Meredith Williams]]'s illustration of the discovery of William's body <small>(1915)</small><ref>{{citation |last=Wilmot-Buxton |first=Ethel M. |title=Anselm |url=https://www.heritage-history.com/site/hclass/british_middle_ages/ebooks/pdf/wilmotbuxton_anselm.pdf |location=London |publisher=George G. Harrap & Co. |date=1915 |page=164}}</ref>
File:King William Rufus memorial at Beaulieu Abbey.jpg |Memorial stone in the grounds of [[Beaulieu Abbey]], [[Hampshire]]
File:Tomb of William Rufus, Winchester Cathedral (Robert Chambers, p.161, 1832) - Copy.jpg |Tomb of William Rufus in [[Winchester Cathedral]] <small>(1832)</small><ref name="Chambers">{{Cite book |last=Chambers |first=Robert |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K0UJAAAAIAAJ&q=Robert+Chambers+1832 |title=The Book of Days: A Miscellany of Popular Antiquities in Connection with the Calendar, Including Anecdote, Biography, & History, Curiosities of Literature and Oddities of Human Life and Character, Vol. 2 |date=1832 |publisher=W. & R. Chambers Limited |location=London |page=161}}</ref>
</gallery>

[[File:A Chronicle of England - Page 125 - William de Breteuil Defends the Treasury.jpg|250px|right|thumb|[[St William of Breteuil]] defending the [[Winchester]] [[treasury]] against [[Henry I of England|Prince Henry]] at William's death]]

The king's body was abandoned by the nobles at the place where he fell. An arrow maker, Eli Parratt, later found the body. William's younger brother, [[Henry I of England|Henry]], hastened to Winchester to secure the royal treasury (initially defended by the Norman [[St William of Breteuil|St William]] of [[Breteuil, Eure|Breteuil]] in deference to the claims of Duke Robert),<ref>{{citation |last=Doyle |first=James E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YcM_AAAAYAAJ |title=A Chronicle of England B.C. 55{{ndash}}A.D. 1485 |location=London |publisher=Longman, Green, Longman, Roberts, & Green |date=1864 |page=125}}.</ref> then to London, where he was crowned within days before either archbishop could arrive. [[William of Malmesbury]], in his account of William's death, stated that the body was taken to [[Winchester Cathedral]] by a few countrymen, including Eli who discovered the body.<ref name="Lloyd11">{{Cite book |last=Lloyd |first=Arthur |title=The Death of Rufus |publisher=The New Forest Ninth Centenary trust |date=2000 |isbn=0-9526120-5-4 |pages=11–12}}</ref>

To the chroniclers, men of the Church, such an "[[act of God]]" was a just end for a wicked king, and was regarded as a fitting demise for a ruler who came into conflict with the religious orders to which they belonged.<ref>Plumtree, James. "Stories of the Death of Kings: Retelling the Demise and Burial of William I, William II and Henry I", ''Southern African Journal of Medieval and Renaissance Studies'' 21 (2012 for 2011), pp. 10–17 [https://www.academia.edu/3123675/Stories_of_the_Death_of_Kings_Retelling_the_Demise_and_Burial_of_William_I_William_II_and_Henry_I]</ref> Over the following centuries, the obvious suggestion that one of William's enemies had a hand in this event has repeatedly been made: chroniclers of the time point out themselves that Tirel was renowned as a keen bowman, and thus was unlikely to have loosed such an impetuous shot. Moreover, Bartlett says that rivalry between brothers was the pattern of political conflict in this period.<ref>Robert Bartlett, ''England under the Norman and Angevin Kings 1075–1225'' (2000) p. 6</ref> William's brother Henry was among the hunting party that day and succeeded him as king.

Modern scholars have reopened the question, and some have found the assassination theory credible or compelling,<ref>Grinnell-Milne ''Killing of William Rufus''</ref> but the theory is not universally accepted. Barlow says that accidents were common and there is not enough hard evidence to prove murder.{{Sfn|Barlow|2000|pp=408–432}} Bartlett notes that hunting was dangerous.<ref>Robert Bartlett, ''England under the Norman and Angevin Kings 1075–1225'' (2000) p. 240</ref> Poole says the facts "look ugly" and "seem to suggest a plot." John Gillingham points out that if Henry had planned to murder William it would have been in his interest to wait until a later time. It looked as though there would soon be a war between William and his brother Robert, which would result in one of them being eliminated, thus opening the way for Henry to acquire both England and Normandy through a single assassination.<ref>John Gillingham, "The Early Middle Ages" in ''The Oxford Illustrated History of Britain'' ed. Kenneth O. Morgan, Oxford University Press 1984, p. 115</ref> Tirel fled immediately. Henry had the most to gain by his brother's death. Indeed, Henry's actions "seem to be premeditated: wholly disregarding his dead brother, he rode straight for Winchester, seized the treasury (always the first act of a usurping king), and the next day had himself elected."<ref>Austin Lane Poole, ''From Domesday Book to Magna Carta 1087–1216'' (1955) pp. 113–114</ref><ref>C. Warren Hollister, "The Strange Death of William Rufus," ''Speculum'' (1973) 48#4 pp. 637–653 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/2856221 in JSTOR]</ref>

William's remains are in [[Winchester Cathedral]]. The tomb long thought to be his is now thought to belong to William's nephew, [[Henry of Blois]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mason |first1=Emma |title=King Rufus: The Life and Murder of William II of England |date=2008 |publisher=History Press |location=Stroud, Gloucestershire |isbn=978-0-7524-4635-6 |page=231}}</ref> Presently, his remains are scattered among royal mortuary chests positioned on the presbytery screen, flanking the choir.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2011 |title=Royal connections |url=http://winchester-cathedral.org.uk/history-treasures/royal-connections/ |access-date=22 March 2011 |website=Winchester Cathedral website |publisher=Dean and Chapter of Winchester Cathedral}}</ref> His skull appears to be missing, but some [[long bone]]s may remain.<ref name="Lloyd41">{{Cite book |last=Lloyd |first=Arthur |title=The Death of Rufus |publisher=The New Forest Ninth Centenary trust |date=2000 |isbn=0-9526120-5-4 |page=41}}</ref>