Although the chronicler does not mention the date of the incident, historians have speculated that it took place around 1077. According to Orderic Vitalis, the incident occurred at the village of L’Aigle, where their father, William the Conqueror, was preparing for a campaign against the Corbonnais. A story about William’s youth is related by Orderic Vitalis, an English chronicler who was a contemporary of William and his brothers. Unfortunately, little is known about young William’s life prior to his ascension to the throne of England. He was born around 1056, and was his father’s favorite son. William II is commonly known as William Rufus (meaning “red” in Latin), apparently due to his ruddy complexion. The Duchy of Normandy, however, went to the new king’s elder brother, Robert, nicknamed Curthose, meaning “short stockings”.Ī scene from the Bayeux Tapestry which shows the Norman conquest of England by William the Conqueror up until the Battle of Hastings in 1066 ( Public domain ) He was succeeded by his third son, William II. Known as William the Conqueror, William I reigned until his death in 1087. This marked the beginning of the House of Normandy, which ruled England for almost 70 years. In 1066, the last Anglo-Saxon king of England, Harold II, was defeated by William I, Duke of Normandy, at the Battle of Hastings. Sibling Rivalry: The Diabolical Quarrel That Arose Between the King’s Sons
Nevertheless, such doubts have not affected the Rufus Stone, and the monument still stands in the same spot where it was erected centuries ago. In reality, however, the exact location of William’s death is not really known. The stone is alleged to mark the location where William II, the second Norman king of England, met his death. The Rufus Stone is a memorial in the New Forest, England.