King William II Killed While Hunting

On this day, King William II of England, commonly referred to as William Rufus, perhaps because of his ruddy complexion or possibly due to having red hair, was killed by an arrow through the lung while he was out hunting in the New Forest. The arrow was fired by a certain Walter Tirel. It remains unclear whether the King’s death was an accident or murder as Tirel was renowned to be a keen bowman and unlikely to have missed a chosen target. William never married and had no children, so his younger brother, Henry, was next in line for the throne. Henry was in the forest with William at the time of the incident and immediately afterwards he rode to Winchester where he secured the treasury and then to London where he was crowned within days. The speed with which he moved has led to speculation of his direct involvement in William’s death.

Read Bob Lynn’s short story “Conscience”
about Walter Tirel HERE

Puoi trovare altre brevi notizie storiche QUI

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