William the Rufus.
WILLIAM II. surnamed Rufus, b in 1056, was second son of William of Normandy, by his consort Matilda, dau. of Baldwin V. Count of Flanders, and derived maternally from Charlemagne, Emperor of the West, and Alfred the Great, King of England. Rufus was the Conqueror’s favorite son, had accompanied him in all his journeys, and fought by his side in all his battles. At his father’s death be ascended the throne of England to the prejudice of his elder brother Robert, and was crowned 26th Sept. 1087. He never married, and at his decease, A. D. 1100, the crown devolved on his younger brother Henry. By whose hand the king fell, and whether by accident or design are questions still unsolved. Popular tradition ascribes the deed to Sir Walter Tyrrel, a hunting companion of the monarch, but an investigation of contemporary evidence leads to no proof of the circumstance, Certain it is that after sunset of the 2nd Aug. 1100, the body of the king was discovered by some countrymen lying on the ground and weltering in blood. An arrow, the shaft of which was broken, had entered his breast,