William II

William II (1056 AD– 2 August 1100 AD), was the third son of William I of England. he was the King of England from 1087 until 1100, with powers over Normandy, and influence in Scotland. He was less successful in extending control into Wales. William is commonly known as William Rufus or William the Red, perhaps because of his red-faced appearance.

He was a figure of complex temperament: capable of both bellicosity and flamboyance. He did not marry, nor did he produce any offspring, legitimate or otherwise. He died after being struck by an arrow while hunting, under circumstances that remain murky. Circumstantial evidence in the behaviour of those around him raise strong but unproven suspicions of murder. His younger brother Henry I of England hurriedly succeeded him as king.

Historial Frank Barlow says he was "A rumbustious, devil-may-care soldier, without natural dignity or social graces, with no cultivated tastes and little show of conventional religious piety or morality—indeed, according to his critics, addicted to every kind of vice, particularly lust and especially sodomy." On the other hand he was a wise ruler and victorious general. Barlow finds that, "His chivalrous virtues and achievements were all too obvious. He had maintained good order and satisfactory justice in England and restored good peace to Normandy. He had extended Anglo-Norman rule in Wales, brought Scotland firmly under his lordship, recovered Maine, and kept up the pressure on the Vexin."

Early years

William's exact date of birth is unknown, but it was some time between the years 1056 and 1060. He was the third of four sons born to William the Conqueror, the eldest being Robert Curthose, the second Richard, and the youngest Henry I of England. William succeeded to the throne of England on his father's death, but Robert inherited Normandy. Richard died around 1075 while hunting in a Forest.

Relations with the Church

Less than two years after becoming king, William II lost his father William I of England's advisor and confidant, the Italian-Norman, the Archbishop of Canterbury. After Lanfranc's death in 1089, the king delayed appointing a new archbishop for many years, appropriating ecclesiastical revenues in the interim. In panic, owing to serious illness in 1093, William nominated as archbishop another Norman-Italian. This led to a long period of animosity between Church and State, Anselm being a stronger supporter of the Gregorian reforms in the Church.

William II in Jat History

दलीप सिंह अहलावत ने लिखा है:

विलियम द्वितीय (1087-1100 ई०) -

विलियम विजयी ने अपने सबसे बड़े पुत्र राबर्ट को वसीयत द्वारा नॉरमण्डी का राज्य दिया और अपने अधिक पुरुषार्थी पुत्र विलियम को इंगलैंड का राज्य दिया। अपने तीसरे पुत्र हेनरी को केवल धन ही दिया। विलियम द्वितीय का अभिषेक 26 सितम्बर, 1087 ई० को वेस्टमिनिस्टर के बड़े गिरजा में हुआ।

वह एक अविश्वासी, अधार्मिक, सिद्धान्तहीन और क्रूर राजा था। उसमें अपने पिता के कोई गुण नहीं थे। उसने अपनी अनुचित आज्ञाओं को लोगों पर लागू करने के लिए वेतनभोगियों को अपने इर्दगिर्द इकट्ठा कर लिया। वह सरदारों से धन निचोड़ने के लिए अत्याचारपूर्ण तरीके प्रयोग में लाता था। इस कारण सामन्तगण इसको पसन्द नहीं करते थे तथा युद्ध आदि में कभी भी इसकी सहायता करने को तैयार नहीं होते थे।

प्रथम धर्मयुद्ध (First Crusade) 1095-1099 ई०

तुर्की ने जेरुसलेम को विजय कर लिया और वे जेरुसलेम की यात्रा करनेवाले ईसाई यात्रियों को बहुत कष्ट देते थे। सन् 1095 ई० में पोप ने ईसाई योद्धाओं को तुर्कों के विरुद्ध पवित्र युद्ध में शामिल होने के लिए आह्वान किया। प्रथम धर्म-युद्ध (1095-99) अपने उद्देश्य में सफल रहा और जेरुसलेम पर ईसाइयों का अधिकार हो गया।

विलियम द्वितीय की मृत्यु सन् 1100 ई० में घातक चोट लगने से हो गई।

External links

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