William Rufus

This is the first life of William Rufus, the third son of William the Conqueror and his successor as king of England (1087-1000), since E.A. Freeman's two-volume life in 1882. Since then, historians' views of the period have changed considerably, and these days Rufus's private life - he was generally considered to be homosexual and was continually railed against by his archbishop, Anselm, for his irreligion, licentiousness and the corrupt morals of his court - can be examined and discussed with greater freedom. William Rufus was renowned for his generosity and his courage was famous. He confirmed royal power in England and restored the ducal rights in Normandy, and here Professor Barlow puts the soldier-king - whom he has described as "a buffoon with a purpose, a jester who accepted his father's mantle but spread it in extravagant caprice" - into this social setting. In an important contribution to our understanding of medieval English history, Barlow weaves into his narrative and anecodotal history of the king's reign a great deal on the development of Anglo-Norman government and studies of the king's servants and court, the nobility and royal finance.
But above all he brings this rumbustious yet shrewd character to life. The author is a fellow of the British Academy and the author of "Edward the Confessor", "The Feudal Kingdom of England" and "William I and the Norman Conquest".