WILLIAM. 



Rouen, on September 9, 1087, in the 63d year of his age, 

 and the 21ft. of his reign over England, leaving five daugh- 

 ters, as well as fens. " William the Conqueror at his 

 death," fays one of his biographers, " was themoft power- 

 ful and greateft fovereign of his time. He poffeffed fupe- 

 rior talents, pohtical and martial, and employed them with 

 Angular vigour and induftry. But his paffions were ftrong, 

 his difpofition was fevere and mercilefs, and his ambition and 

 love of rule caufed him to difregard all reftraints of juitice 

 and humanity. There never was a more fortunate ufurper 

 of a throne, which he tranfmitteJ to a long and ftill fubfift- 

 ing line of defcendants ; and the eftablifhment of his dynafty 

 is the moft confpicuous era of Enghfh hiftory." Rapin. 

 Hume. Henry. Lyttleton. Gen. Biog. 



William H., furnamed Rufus, fecond fon of the Con- 

 queror, and king of England by his father's nomination, was 

 crowned at Wettminfler in September 1087, and recog- 

 nized as king when he was about 27 years of age. His 

 brother Robert fucceeded to the dukedom of Normandy by 

 the difpofition of his father, which proved the occafion of 

 much difcontent and conteft ; partly becaufe the great 

 barons poffeffed eftates both in England and Normandy, and 

 under feparate governments ; and partly becaufe Robert 

 was the eldeft fon, and the molt popular. A confpiracy 

 was foon formed by the maternal brothers of the late king, 

 in which many nobles concurred for depofing William. 

 But William, pofleffing a certain portion of his father's 

 vigour, took meafures for defeating them. With this view 

 he conciliated the native Englilh, took pofTefiion of the 

 caftles and perfons of the unfortunate barons, banifhed them 

 to Normandy, and bellowed their eftates on his faithful ad- 

 herents. When he was firmly feated on the throne, he for- 

 got his promifes of relieving the Enghlh from opprefBon, 

 and even enhanced the feverity of the foreft laws. The death 

 of Lanfranc, whom he refpefted, left him at liberty to feize 

 vacant biftioprics and abbeys, and to bcitow church lands 

 on his captains and favourites. In 1090 he vifited Nor- 

 mandy with hoftile intentions refpefting his brother ; but a 

 negociation took place, and they were reconciled. Robert 

 accompanied William to England, and commanded an army 

 which was fent againft Malcolm, king of Scotland. But a 

 variance foon took place between the brothers, occafioned 

 by the encroaching and treacherous difpofition of William, 

 which led him to excite the Norman barons to rebel againft 

 Robert. Whilft William was profecuting hoftile meafures 

 againft his brother, he was recalled to England in 1095, to 

 fupprefs a confpiracy among the barons in the north, whom 

 he fpeedily defeated and feverely punifhed. The fpirit of 

 crufading having at this time pervaded Europe, Robert was 

 feized with the mania, and mortgaged his dukedom to Wil- 

 liam for 10,000 marks, in order to enable him to unite with 

 the crufaders in 1096. William, having gone over to the 

 continent to take pofteffion of Normandy and Maine, was 

 taken extremely ill, and apprehending danger, refolved to 

 repair the injury which he had done to the church, and to 

 fupply the vacancy of the archbifhopric of Canterbury, 

 which had continued from the death of'Lanfranc. The 

 ecclefiaftic nominated on this occaCon was Anfelm, who, 

 notwithftanding the difinclination he had manifefted againft 

 accepting the appointment, was afterwards a zealous 

 defender of the rights of the church, and of ecclefiaftical 

 authority in general. The king and the primate foon dif- 

 agreed ; and though a fynod was aflembled for the depofi- 

 tion of the archbiftiop, the king failed in the attempt. But 

 when Anfelm defired permiflion to leave the kingdom, he 

 obtained leave ; but his temporahties were feized, and the 

 pope received him as a confeflbr in the caufe of religion. 



William's French acquifitions were the occafion of trouble 

 to him ; for whilit he was hunting in the New Foreft, he 

 received information that the citadel of Maine was befieged, 

 and he therefore haftened to Dartmouth, and determined to 

 embark without delay. As the weather was tempeftuous, 

 the mariners cxprefled fome apprehenfion of danger ; the 

 king, however, was refolute and perfevering, and afl'Ced them 

 if they had ever heard of a king who was drowned. Having 

 accompliftied his objeft, he was applied to by the duke of 

 Guienne, who was under the influence of the paflion for cru- 

 fading, for the loan of a fum of money, as a mortgage on 

 his rich provinces of Guienne and Poitou. William ac- 

 cepted the propofal ; but whilft he was preparing to carry 

 over the money, and to take pofTefiion of the provinces, he 

 was accidentally killed in the New Foreft. Having alighted 

 from his horfe after a chafe, a ftag fprung up near him ; 

 and a French gentleman, Walter Tyrrel, perceiving the 

 animal, ftiot off^ an arrow, which glancing from a tree, en- 

 tered the king's breaft, and penetrated to the heart. Tyrrel 

 immediately fled, and embarking for France, joined the 

 crufaders. The king's body was found by the countrj' 

 people, and interred without ceremony at Winchefter. 

 This happened on Auguft 2, iioo, when the king was in 

 the 40th year of his age, and the 1 3th of his reign. The 

 character of William Rufus has been unfavourably repre- 

 fented, both on account of the depredations which he com- 

 mitted in the church, and of his indifference to religion. 

 " The incidents of his reign," fays a biographer, " prove 

 him to have poftefied vigour and decifion, courage and po- 

 licy ; but to have been violent, perfidious, and rapacious, 

 and void of all fenfe of juftice and honour. One of his beft . 

 pubhc afts was the fending Edgar Atheling into Scotland, 

 to reftore prince Edgar, fon of Malcolm, to the throne of 

 that kingdom, of which he was the lawful heir. He de- 

 ferves to be regarded as a promoter of the ufeful arts by his 

 ftill-remaining ereftions of the Tower, London-bridge, and 

 Weftminfter-hall." Gen. Biog. 



William HI., king of England, prince of Orange, and 

 ftadtholder of Holland, was the pofthumous fon of Wil- 

 liam n., prince of Orange, and of Mary, daughter of 

 Charles I., king of England, and born on November 14, 

 1650, at a very intereiling period. His guardianftiip was 

 divided between the princefs-royal his mother, the princefs- 

 dovvager his grandmother, and the eleftor of Brandenburg. 

 During the negociations that fucceeded the naval war be- 

 tween the Enghfh and Dutch repubhcs, Cromwell, the pro- 

 teftor, ftipulated, that the prince of Orange, who was a 

 branch of the houfe of Stuart, Ihould be for ever excluded 

 from the ftadtholderate ; but on the event of the Reftora- 

 tion, the princefs-royal petitioned, in 1662, that her fon 

 might be inverted with the offices and dignities which be- 

 longed to his anceftors ; and foon after the att of exclufion 

 againft him was annulled. Although the ftates of Holland 

 would not admit, as a condition of peace in the fucceeding 

 war between England and the United States, the prelimi- 

 nary propofed by Charles II. of elevating the prince to the 

 ftadtholderate, they formally adopted him as " a child of the 

 ftate," and placed him under the care of perfous who 

 fliould infpire him with principles fuited to his fituation 

 under a free government. After fome fubfequent debates 

 concerning the rank which fliould be afiigned him, he was 

 raifed in 1670 to the dignity of firft noble of Zealand, and 

 then admitted into the council of ftate. On occafion of the 

 war, which was declared by Lewis, and his penlioner 

 Charles, againft the United States in 1672, the pubhc voice 

 obliged the magiftracy of Holland to revoke the perpetual 

 edift procured by De Witt for aboliflung the ftadtholder- 

 ate, 



