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William II ‘Rufus’ King of England 1087-1100 De facto Duke of Normandy 1091-1100
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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.
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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 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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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‘I will act not after your pleasure but mine own’ William II to Anselm
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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.
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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.
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Henry I ‘Beauclerc’ King of England 1100-1135 Duke of Normandy 1106-1135
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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.
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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 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.
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Relations with France 1108-1120
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.
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Succession crisis 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.
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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.
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