William II of England William II ( xno, Williame; – 2 August 1100) was King of England from 26 September 1087 until his death in 1100, with powers over Normandy and influence in Scotland. He was less successful in extending control into Wales. The third so ...

has been depicted in various cultural media. William II appears in ''

Knight's Fee In feudal Anglo-Norman England and Ireland, a knight's fee was a unit measure of land deemed sufficient to support a knight. Of necessity, it would not only provide sustenance for himself, his family, and servants, but also the means to furnish h ...

'' (1960), a children's historical novel by

Rosemary Sutcliff Rosemary Sutcliff (14 December 1920 – 23 July 1992) was an English novelist best known for children's books, especially historical fiction and retellings of myths and legends. Although she was primarily a children's author, some of her novel ...

. Sutcliff's novel depicts William as secretly being a pagan. ''Knight's Fee'' was influenced by Sutcliff's reading of the essay "The Arrow and the Sword" (1947) by

Hugh Ross Williamson Hugh Ross Williamson (1901–1978) was a prolific British popular historian, and a dramatist. Starting from a career in the literary world, and having a Nonconformist background, he became an Anglican priest in 1943.Joseph Pearce, ''Literary Co ...

and the book ''The Divine King in England'' (1954) by

Margaret Murray Margaret Alice Murray (13 July 1863 – 13 November 1963) was an Anglo-Indian Egyptologist, archaeologist, anthropologist, historian, and folklorist. The first woman to be appointed as a lecturer in archaeology in the United Kingdom, she work ...

, which both argued that William was covertly an adherent of a pre-Christian religion. William II is indirectly the subject of two historical novels by

George Shipway George Shipway (25 May 1908–1982) was a British author best known for his historical novels, but he also tried his hand at political satire in his book ''The Chilian Club''. Military career George Frederick Morgan Shipway was born on 25 May 1 ...

, ''The Paladin'' and ''The Wolf Time''. The main character of the novels is Walter Tirel (or Tyrell), his supposed assassin, and the main thrust of the plot of the novels is that the assassination was engineered by Henry I. The death of William Rufus is portrayed in Edward Rutherfurd's 2000 fictionalised history of the

New Forest The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. It was proclaimed a royal forest by William the Conqueror, fea ...

, '' The Forest''. In Rutherfurd's version of events, the king's death takes place nowhere near the

Rufus Stone William II ( xno, Williame; – 2 August 1100) was King of England from 26 September 1087 until his death in 1100, with powers over Normandy and influence in Scotland. He was less successful in extending control into Wales. The third s ...

, and

Walter Tyrrell Captain Walter Alexander Tyrrell (23 August 1898 – 9 June 1918) was a British First World War flying ace credited with seventeen aerial victories. Early life and background Tyrrell was born in Belfast, one of three sons of John Tyrrell, a ...

is framed for it by the powerful Clare family. Also, Purkiss is a clever story teller who manages (much later) to convince Charles II of England that one of his ancestors had been involved. William Rufus is a major character in

Valerie Anand Valerie Anand (born 1937) is a British author of historical fiction. Fiction Under the pen name Fiona Buckley she writes the series of historical mysteries, set in the reign of Elizabeth I of England, featuring "Ursula Blanchard" (whose full na ...

's 1989 historical novel, ''King of the Wood'' (1989). He is also a major character in

Parke Godwin Parke Godwin (January 28, 1929 – June 19, 2013) was an American writer. He won the World Fantasy Award for Best Novella in 1982 for his story "The Fire When It Comes". He was a native of New York City, where he was born in 1929. He was the g ...

's ''Robin and the King'' (1993), the second volume in Godwin's reinterpretation of the

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is dep ...

legend. William Rufus and his relationship with Tyrell is mentioned and the manner of his death is included in ''

Lammas Night ''Lammas Night'' is a fantasy novel by the American-born author Katherine Kurtz, first published in paperback by Ballantine Books in December 1983. The first hardcover edition was issued by Severn House in 1986. Plot ''Lammas Night'' tells the st ...

'' by

Katherine Kurtz Katherine Irene Kurtz (born October 18. 1944) is an American fantasy writer, author of sixteen historical fantasy novels in the '' Deryni'' series, as well as occult and urban fantasy. Resident in Ireland for over twenty years, she moved to Virg ...

. He is a character in Stephen R. Lawhead's ''King Raven Trilogy'' about Robin Hood. William Rufus' life is the focus of

Judith Tarr Judith Tarr (born January 30, 1955) is an American fantasy and science fiction author. Life Tarr was born in Augusta, Maine on January 30, 1955. She is the daughter of Earle A. Tarr, Jr. (a waterworks manager and salesman of real estate), and ...

's historical fantasy novel, ''King's Blood'' (2005). William is one of several British monarchs featured in ''Heir to a Prophecy'' (2014) by Mercedes Rochelle. William also appears briefly in ''The Rufus Spy'' (2018), one of the Aelf Fen

historical mystery The historical mystery or historical whodunit is a subgenre of two literary genres, historical fiction and mystery fiction. These works are set in a time period considered historical from the author's perspective, and the central plot involves th ...

novels by Alys Clare."Review: The Rufus Spy"
Review by Kristen Hannum.

Historical Novel Society The Historical Novel Society (HNS) is a nonprofit international literary society devoted to promotion of and advocacy for the genre of historical fiction. Definition of historical fiction There are varying definitions as to what types of literature ...

. Retrieved 21 November 2021. On television, William was portrayed by

Peter Firth Peter Macintosh Firth (born 27 October 1953) is an English actor. He is best known for his role as Sir Harry Pearce in the BBC One programme '' Spooks''; he is the only actor to have appeared in every episode of the programme's ten-series lif ...

in the 1990 play ''Blood Royal: William the Conqueror''. Singer

Frank Turner Francis Edward Turner (born 28 December 1981), is an English punk and folk singer-songwriter from Meonstoke, Hampshire. He began his career as the vocalist of post-hardcore band Million Dead, then embarked upon a primarily acoustic-based sol ...

told the story of the death of William II in the song "English Curse" from his 2011 album ''

England Keep My Bones ''England Keep My Bones'' is the fourth studio album by London-based singer-songwriter Frank Turner, released on 6 June 2011, on Xtra Mile in the United Kingdom, and on 7 June 2011, on Epitaph Records worldwide. Preceded by the single, " Pegg ...

''.

Citations

{{Cultural depictions of English and British monarchs William II William II of England