William II Rufus, King of England (GUGLIELMO II IL ROSSO (RUFUS), RE D'INGHILTERRA)

Machine translation of the 1948–1954 Italian original. The original text is authoritative.

GUGLIELMO II il Rosso (Rufus), king of ENGLAND. — Third son and successor of Guglielmo il Conquistatore, b. between 1056 and 1060, d. 2 Aug. 1100. In foreign policy he followed his father’s course, but achieved success only with regard to Scotland. Domestically, he proved despotic, including in his dealings with the Church. Especially after the death of Lanfranco (v.) of Pavia, he neglected appointments to bishoprics and abbeys, while also appropriating revenues or imposing heavy taxes on the Churches.

Seriously ill in 1093, he promised s. Anselmo di Bec a change of conduct. But after recovering he continued as before, frequently coming into conflict with Anselmo, who in 1097, against the King’s wishes, went to Rome and only after the death of G. II was recalled to his homeland by his successor Enrico I. G. was treacherously killed while hunting in the New Forest. He was a vicious, false, and cruel despot, who failed to win the esteem and affection of his subjects.

BIBL.: Eadmero, Vita Anselmi e Historiae novorum, in Anglia, ed. M. Rule, there 1884; Guglielmo di Malmesbury, De gestis regum, ed. G. Stubbs, there 1887–89; Peterborough Chronicle, ed. C. Plummer, 2 vols., there 1892–99; E. A. Freeman, Reign of William Rufus, 2 vols., Oxford 1882; I. Belloc, Breve storia d'Inghilterra, Italian translation, I, Rome 1934, pp. 117–21. Lucchesio Spätling