The Other Publications

Findings To Date in Categories

The intial findings did not really do the Articles justice. So an additional sweep was conducted.

As a result the Findings To Date have been collated into 7 Categories including the 4 original headings in the Template:

1. The Chronicles
2. The Build up to the Hunt
3. Where the Hunting Lodge was (Brockenhurst or Malwood Castle/Keep)
4. Who was in the Royal Hunting Party
5. Where the Hunting Accident took place
6. Who fired the arrow that killed William Rufus
7. The Aftermath of the Killing

A cross reference is given to the Articles in the List of Other Publications as best I can.

1. The Chronicles

1.1. Historians need to treat sources with caution and look at them critically. With that in mind the first text under review was written by William of Malmesbury who was a monk at the abbey in the town (Winchester?). He wrote his account at some time between 1118 and 1125. It was translated from the Latin and later published in a book in 1882 (which book?). Therefore, the account is potentially written twenty-five years after the event, by a monk who may not have given an unbiased account of what took place. There is also a risk of mistranslation or selective use of the account by later historians. (Article 26)

Some of the Chronicles/Articles contain actual conversations, imagined years after the event, which must be put down as artistic licence or fabrication! (Authoir)

1.2. A number of the accounts are based on the early chronicles by:

Vitalis
William of Malmesbury and
Florence of Worcester (Article 6)

1.3. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle has the earliest account of the death and merely says that William Rufus was shot by an arrow by one of his own men.
Later chroniclers named Walter Tirel as the man who fired the fatal shot.(Article 1)

1.4. Article 7 lists the chronicles in which the hunting accident would have been reported:

- the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle at the end of 1100

By Monks
- Eadmer circa 1115
- William of Malmesbury 1118-25
- John (or Florence) of Worcester circa 1130
- Orderic Vitalis circa 1135

The Article states that their works between them supply virtually the whole of our reliable knowledge of what happened on 2 August 1100.

1.5. In Article 10 Anglo-Norman Monk Orderic Vitalis states that :

the King dined (possibly on the day of the hunt) before the hunt with:

- his brother Henry
- Walter Tirel
- Gilbert de Clare and
- his younger brother
Roger de Clare

1.6. Article 12 states that it was the later chroniclers who added the name of Walter Tirel as the killer.

1.7. Article 22 lists the early sources of the death of William Rufus:

The Anglo Saxon Chronicle
Eadmer
Peter of Blois
William of Malmesbury
Orderic Vitalis
Matthew Paris

1.8 Wikipedia describes the Estoire des Engleis as a chronicle of English history composed by the poet (and historian) Geffrei Gaimar, believed to have been written between the late 1130s and mid 1140s written in Old French. (It is the oldest known history chronicle written in the French language).
Gaimar's chronicle ends with the death of William Rufus in 1100. (Article 25)

1.9 Much of the chronicle is a translation of extracts from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle to circa 959. The source that Gaimar used to write the section on William Rufus is unknown. (Article 25)

1.10 William of Malmesbury and Henry of Huntingdon were contemporaries of Gaimar. (Article 25)

2. The Build up to the Hunt

2.1 Article 4 states that William Rufus left for the hunt from Winchester Castle.

2.2 The King lived in Winchester - Article 6.

2.3. A few articles refer to the start of the 6 week stag-hunting season on 1 August with William Rufus joining the hunt on 2 August (the morning after Lammas - Article 7).

2.4. Two of the articles (Articles 6 & 9) mention William having a meal/breakfast before leaving for the hunt (Article 9 - breakfast with his friend FitzHamon) 

2.5 The Royal hunting party started out on 2 August (a Thursday) and the huntsmen and companions fell in around the King. (Article 24)

2.6. Article 25 has an interesting quote:

William Rufus was staying at Winchester and...........declared he would go hunting the next day."

2.7...perhaps the site's (Malwood Castle in Minstead) most significant place in British history is that it was the location of a royal hunting lodge, often referred to as Malwood Keep in old documents, in which King William II (William Rufus) was known to reside on his visits to the New Forest. Whilst speculation has surrounded the precise spot in the Forest where William was mortally wounded by an arrow. It is widely reputed that he spent his last night at Malwood entertaining his court before setting out the following morning in August 1100 for a day's hunting. (Article 27)

2.8 William Rufus - William II of England - was like all his Norman ancestors, fond of the chase. When there were no men to bne killed, these fierce old dukes and kings solaced themselves with the slaughter of beasts. In early summer of the year 1100 the Red King was at Winchester Castle, on the skirts of the New Forest. Thence he rode to Malwood-Keep, a favorite hunting-lodge in the forest. Boon companions were with him, numbers of them, one of them a French knight named Sir Walter Tyrrell, the king's favourite. Here the days were spent in the delights of the chase, the nights in feasting and carousing and all went merrily. (Article 28)

2.9 Such was the stage set for the tragedy which we have to relate. The story goes that rough jests passed at Malwood-Keep between Tyrrell and the king, ending in anger, as jests are apt to. William boasted that he would carry an army through France to the Alps. Tyrell, heated with wine, answered that he might find France a net easier to enter than to escape from. The hearers remembered these bitter words afterwards. (Article 28)

2.10 Midday came. Dinner was served. William ate and drank with unusual freedom. Wine warmed his blood and drove off his clinging doubts (following dreams and premonitions).He rose from the table and ordered his horse to be brought. The day was young enough still to strike a deer, he said. (Article 28)

2.14 Upon a day in August, the Red King, now reconciled with his brother Henry...came with a great train to hunt in the New Forest. (Henry) was of the party. They were a merry party, and had lain all night at Malwood-Keep, a hunting-lodge in the forest, where they had made good cheer, both at supper and breakfast, and had drunk a deal of wine. The party dispersed in various directions, as the custom of hunters then was. The King took with him only Sir Walter Tyrrel, who was a famous sportsman, and to whom he had given, before they mounted horse that morning, two fine arrows.

The last time the King was ever seen alive, he was riding with Sir Walter Tyrrel, and their dogs were hunting together. (Article 29)

3. Where the Hunting Lodge was (Brockenhurst or Malwood Castle/Keep)

Brockenhurst

3.1 Other articles mention the hunting party heading for Brockenhurst, e.g Articles 11 and 12. 

3.2 Brockenhurst is relatively near to Beaulieu (Author)

3.3 There was a hunting lodge in Brockenhurst deep in the New Forest. (Article 25)

3.4 It appears that William Rufus was in Brockenhurst:

- dining in the New Forest before leaving for Le Mans via Southampton circa 1098
(thought that he may have been on a hunting expedition) (Article 25)

3.5 Brockenhurst, the site of Rufus' hunting lodge in the forest in which he will meet his end, is the site....of his final dinner with Tirel on the night before his death. (Article 25)

3.6 - the fateful hunting expedition in 1100 left from Brockenhurst (Article 25)

Malwood Castle/Keep

3.7 Article 6 states that there was "a kind of hunting lodge" at Malwood Keep, where William Rufus spent the night before the hunt 

3.8 The King was staying at Castle Malwood in a royal hunting lodge. (Article 26)

3.9...perhaps the site's (Malwood Castle in Minstead) most significant place in British history is that it was the location of a royal hunting lodge, often referred to as Malwood Keep in old documents, in which King William II (William Rufus) was known to reside on his visits to the New Forest. Whilst speculation has surrounded the precise spot in the Forest where William was mortally wounded by an arrow. It is widely reputed that he spent his last night at Malwood entertaining his court before setting out the following morning in August 1100 for a day's hunting. (Article 27)

3.10 William Rufus - William II of England - was like all his Norman ancestors, fond of the chase. When there were no men to bne killed, these fierce old dukes and kings solaced themselves with the slaughter of beasts. In early summer of the year 1100 the Red King was at Winchester Castle, on the skirts of the New Forest. Thence he rode to Malwood-Keep, a favorite hunting-lodge in the forest. Boon companions were with him, numbers of them, one of them a French knight named Sir Walter Tyrrell, the king's favourite. Here the days were spent in the delights of the chase, the nights in feasting and carousing and all went merrily. (Article 28)

3.11 Such was the stage set for the tragedy which we have to relate. The story goes that rough jests passed at Malwood-Keep between Tyrrell and the king, ending in anger, as jests are apt to. William boasted that he would carry an army through France to the Alps. Tyrell, heated with wine, answered that he might find France a net easier to enter than to escape from. The hearers remembered these bitter words afterwards. (Article 28)

3.12 Upon a day in August, the Red King, now reconciled with his brother Henry...came with a great train to hunt in the New Forest. (Henry) was of the party. They were a merry party, and had lain all night at Malwood-Keep, a hunting-lodge in the forest, where they had made good cheer, both at supper and breakfast, and had drunk a deal of wine. The party dispersed in various diretions, as the custom of hunters then was. The King took with him only Sir Walter Tyrrel, who was a famous sportsman, and to whom he had given, before they mounted horse that morning, two fine arrows.

4.Who was in the Royal Hunting Party

4.1 Apart from two articles, the names of most participants in the hunting party suggested were:

William Rufus
His brother Henry
Sir Walter Tirel/Tyrel/Tyrrell
and
an unspecified number of noblemen. (Article 4 Several nobles)

4.2 In Article 9, 2 additional names are given:

William of Breteuil
FitzHamon

4.3 Uniquely, in Article 5 the author for the Wessex Society provided a long list without naming his source:

William II
His brother Henry
Walter Tirel
Earl Gilbert de Clare
His brother Roger
William de Breteuil
Robert FitzHamon
Gilbert de l'Aigle
William de Montfichet
Gerald of Wales (Bishop of St David's)
Ranulph de Aquis
Court Officials
Huntsmen

4.4 Article 6 says that it was a great party that met for a day's hunting.

4.5 The hunting part spread out as they chased their prey. (Article 4)

4.6 William of Malmesbury in his "Chronicle of the Kings of the English" 1128, described the hunt:

"The next day he went into the forest. He was attended by a few persons. Walter Tirel remained with him, while the others were on the chase" (Article 10)

4.7 The chapter (in the White Ship) about William Rufus' death begins with an atmospheric scene-setting by chronicler Robert Wace:

"They went into the New Forest, intending to hunt stags and hinds; they set up their watch throughout the forest, but departed in great sadness, for the king, the knights and those who were his archers took up their positions and stretched their bows just as they saw the hinds coming.
Robert Wace, Jersey-born poet and historian (c1110-c 1174). (Article 24)

4.8 The Royal hunting party started out on 2 August (a Thursday) and the huntsmen and companions fell in around the King. (Article 24)

4.9 Gaimar may have gleaned his detailed knowledge of the hunting party and its activities from a first or second-hand source. (Article 25)

4.10. In the afternoon, the King went hunting with a small number of attendants. (Article 26)

4.11 There were several companions with the King and Tirel when the fatal shot was fired. (Article 26)

4.12 The hunting party had taken up posts around the forest to wait in ambush for the deer, bows at the ready. (Article 26)

4.13 Upon a day in August, the Red King, now reconciled with his brother Henry...came with a great train to hunt in thje New Forest. (Henry) was of the party. They were a merry party, and had lain all night at Malwood-Keep, a hunting-lodge in the forest, where they had made good cheer, both at supper and breakfast, and had drunk a deal of wine. The party dispersed in various directions, as the custom of hunters then was. The King took with him only Sir Walter Tyrrel, who was a famous sportsman, and to whom he had given, before they mounted horse that morning, two fine arrows.

5. Where the Hunting Accident took place

5.1 It was thought that the Rufus Stone marked the spot
but
in more recent times it is thought that the accident happened nearer to Beaulieu perhaps at Truham/Trougham/Thoroughham
(Articles 5, 13, 15 and 17) 

5.2 There is a Rufus Memorial Cairn in the Grounds of Beaulieu Abbey & Palace Gardens
The Memorial reads:"Remember King William Rufus who died in these parts then known as Truham whilst hunting on 2nd August 1100" (Photo)

5.3. Article 18 provided the site of the Rufus Memorial Cairn unveiled in 2001 following research (by Arthur Lloyd) that William Rufus was shot and killed at Thorougham on the Beaulieu Estate.

5.4 "In 1530, John Leland, the antiquary to King Henry VIII, claimed that the King (William Rufus) died at a place recorded in Domesday called Thorougham (Truham). This village was lost during the formation of the New Forest by William the Conqueror around 1079. The site is likely to be at Park Farm, Beaulieu." (Article 23)

5.5 It also says that a John Leland wrote in 1530 that William died at Thorougham on what is now Park Farm on the Beaulieu estates. (Article 25)

5.6 John Leland was the topographer to King Henry VIII (Article 26)

5.7 William Rufus was killed on the spot where a church had previously stood. (Articles 7 & 26)

5.8 Evidence from the Domesday Book suggested that Thorougham or Truham was located somewhere on the Beaulieu estate. (Article 26)

5.9 This was reinforced by a monk (name?) who wrote soon after Beaulieu Abbey was founded, that it was located near to the site of the death of William Rufus. (Article 26)

5.10 The memorial cairn to King William II was unveiled on the Beaulieu Estate beside the millstream ,as reported in the A & T in April 2001.
(Nick Saunders says that Arthur Lloyd managed to convince Lord Montagu that the incident happened at Truham or Througham on the Beaulieu estate) (Article 26).

5.11 Around them spread far and wide the umbrageous lanes and alleys of the New Forest, trees of every variety, oaks in greatest number, crowding the soil. As yet there were no trees of mighty girth. The forest was young. Few of its trees had more than a quarter-century of growth, except where more ancient woodland had been included. (Article 28)

5.12 Indeed, the scene was not specifically identified by historians until John Leland asserted in 1530 that Rufus' body was discovered at Thorougham, now "Park Farm" on the Beaulieu states. (Article 29)

6. Who fired the arrow that killed William Rufus

6.1 The main and in many ways the only suspect is Sir Walter Tyril/Tyrel/Tyrell, who is named in the chronicles and on the Rufus Stone. (Author)

6.2 There is speculation as to whether it was murder or an accident. (throughout the books and other publications)

6.3 Some articles give a motive for Sir Walter to do the deed.(again in many of the books and other publications)

6.4 Some articles have Sir Walter's denial that he killed the King
(In a number of books and other publications including Articles 1, 4, 5, 8, 10, 19, 23)

6.5 The details of what happened that afternoon are not clear. Perhaps Walter Tirel fired the arrow, though he swore even on his death bed that he did not.

But his name was quickly attached to the disaster, even after he insisted he was in another part of the forest when it occurred. (Article 24)

6.6 Gerald of Wales named Ranulph de Aquis as the killer (Articles 5 and 10).

6.7 William of Malmesbury in his "Chronicle of the Kings of the English" 1128, described the hunt:

"The next day he went into the forest. He was attended by a few persons. Walter Tirel remained with him, while the others were on the chase" (Article 10)

6.8 A number of Articles including 5, 10 and 22 say that the Clare family might have been involved in a conspiracy. (The Clares were related to Walter Tirel - Article ?).

6.9 Article 10 gives King William's armourer, Ralph of Aix, as a potential killer. 

6.10. Many of the articles point out that William Rufus' brother Henry benefitted greatly from William's death, when Henry claimed the throne for himself.

6.11 Walter Tirel was married to Richard de Clare's daughter.(Article 10)

6.12 Article 19 disagrees and says that he married the daughter of Richard FitzGilbert.

6.13 By marriage, he (Walter Tirel) became linked to the English royal family having wed Adeliza, the daughter of royal kinsman Richard Fitz Gilbert. (Article 19)

6.14. A number of articles (Articles 4, 6, 9, 10, 11, 16, 19, 20) suggest that William Rufus and Tirel became separated from the others.

6.11 The Author of Article 10 believes it was the de Clares who were involved in killing the King .

6.13. Article 11 offers quite a different slant:
when a King hunted it was etiquette for a good shot to stand behind the King should the King miss his shot

6.14.contemporary writer Geffrei Gaimar says that:
- the King and Walter Tirel had dismounted ready to shoot (Article 9)

6.15 The evening sun made the King take poor aim at a deer that ventured out into the open glade and it was at that moment that Tyrell let off an arrow that glanced off an oak tree and hit William in the chest killing him. (Article 9)

6.16 - when the King dismounted the rest of the party fanned out into a circle. (Article 11)

6.17 Article 21 is an article from the Guardian in which Italian descendants of Walter Tirel want to donate a work of art, partly depicting William Rufus' death, to a British Museum.

The triptych tells the story of Walter Tirel (or Gaultier Tirrell) in Latin.

The Tirelli family representative said that their ancester killed the King.

6.18 The Article also raises the possibility of the Clare family being involved in a conspiracy to kill the King (Article 21)

6.19 Henry had left the hunt to get his bow re-strung (also in Articles 11 and 22) and in Article 23 the accident to his brother had happened by the time he got back.

6.20 Matthew Paris has the arrow that killed William ricocheting off a tree whereas earlier accounts have Walter Tirel taking a shot at a second deer but having the sun in his eyes. (Article 22)

6.21 Gaimar is quoted as:

"The king was in the densest part of the forest in proximity to a marsh. he had set his mind on shooting one particular stag which he had been passing in a herd. He dismounted next to a tree, and tensed his bow himself. When the barons dismount, they are scattered all around, and the others fan out in a circle about. Walter Tirel had dismounted near an elder tree very close to the king, and he took his position with his back against an aspen. (Article 25)

6.22 We do not actually know who it was who was holding the bow from which the arrow was fired, although the other archers maintained that the arrow came fom Walter's bow. And so indeed it looked, because he immediately fled. (Article 25)

6.23. As in some other accounts, the thesis claims that Walter Tirel murdered the King to prevent a further land grab in France as far as Poitiers. (Article 25)

6.24 In the afternoon, the King went hunting with a small number of attendants. (Article 26)

6.25 Eventially the party split up leaving just Rufus and Tirel together. William wrote that the king and Tirel were in a clearing when a stag ran close to them. The king fired an arrow which wounded the animal. Another stag was spotted and Tirel took a quick shot but missed, hitting instead King William in the breast. (Article 26)

6.26 William of Malmesbury does not mention the arrow ricocheting off a tree or animal or name who brought the king's body to Winchester.(Article 26)

6.27. The arrow fired by Tirel was deflected by a tree into the King's breast. This is the first account to suggest this. (Article 26)

6.28. Tirel swore affirmation to an abbot that he did not fire the fatal shot. (Article 26)

6.29. Not one recent historian of the period (which?) believes the death was murder (would need to check) (Article 26)

6.30 Tyrell's story is as follows: he and the king had taken their stations, opposite one another, waiting the work of the woodsmen who were beating up the game. Each had an arrow in his cross-bow, his finger on the trigger, eagerly listening for the distant sounds which would indicate the coming of game. As they stood thus intent, a large stag suddenly broke from the bushes and sprang into the space between them.

William drew but the bow-string broke in his hand. The stag startled at the sound, stood confused, looking suspiciously around. The king signed to Tryrell to shoot, but the latter, for some reason, did not obey. William grew impatient and called out, - "Shoot, Walter, shoot, in the devil's name!"

Shoot he did. An instant afterwards the king fell without word or moan. Tyrell's arrow had struck a tree, and glancing, pierced the king's breast; or it may be an arrow from a more distant bow had struck him. When Tyrrell reached his side he was dead. (Article 28)

7. The Aftermath of the Killing

7.1 The next day, William Rufus' body was found by a group of farmers. The farmers loaded the King's body on a cart and brought it to Winchester Cathedral where he was buried under a plain flat marble stone below the Tower with little ceremony. (Article 4)

7.2 His body was left with rustics. (Article 5)

7.3 You can understand how alarmed Sir Walter was, when he saw what he had done. No one else had seen what happened; so very likely he thought people would say he had really meant to kill the King. (Article 6)

7.3 The dead King was lying where he fell....In the event, a poor charcoal burner was passing through the forest and saw the dead body of the King. He placed it in his cart and carried it to the great church at Winchester, where it was buried. (Article 6)

7.4 It is said that the body of William Rufus was found by a charcoal burner named Purkis, who gathered him up and laid him onto a two wheeled wood cart and proceeded to wheel the dead sovereign to the capital, Winchester, some twenty five miles distant. (Article 9)

7.5 News of the King's death had travelled fast and people gathered at the city to see William Rufus carried to the Minster in a crude cart. (Article 9)

7.6 Malmesbury however says that he received a funeral with the full rites of the church. (Article 9)

7.7 - some loyal servants are said to have carried the body to Winchester Cathedral. (also see Article 25) (Article ?)

7.8 per William of Malmesbury:

"Walter immediately ran up, but as he found him (William Rufus) senseless, he leapt upon his horse, and escaped with the utmost speed (Article 10)
William of Malmesbury's sources were not given.

7.9 The Article quotes William of Malmesbury that the body of William Rufus was taken to Winchester by a few countrymen. (Article 10)

7.10 As well as Articles 13 & 19, Article 10 says that the body was bleeding as it was taken to Winchester.

7.11 The King's body was abandoned by the nobles at the place where he fell. An arrow maker, Eli Parratt, later found the body. (Article 12)

7.12 The King's body was left where it was, until a local charcoal burner called Purkis put it on his cart and took it to Winchester where he received a very low key burial in the cathedral. (Article 13)

7.13 What we do know is that William Rufus was killed whilst out hunting in the New Forest and that Sir Walter Tyrrel was responsible. Where and whether it was murder or an accident, as Tyrrel claimed, we will never know. (Article 15)

7.14 Some servants threw a cloak over William Rufus and escorted his body from the hunting field and placed it in a cart. (Article 15)

7.15 William de Breteuil had ridden with Henry to Winchester and objected to Henry seizing the treasury. (Article 15)

7.16 The King had been so unpopular that no one seems to have been particularly bothered about his death. It seems that the royal servants did not even care to deal with the corpse. (Article 16)

7.17 He was buried quietly, with little ceremony and no grieving just 3 days later. (Article 16)

7.18 Nobody at the time seems to have had any such suspicions (that Henry was involved in the killing): contemporaries took it for granted that the death was an accident such accidents being commonplace. (Article 19)

7.19 William Rufus' servants threw a cloak over him and escorted his body from the hunting field, slung over a horse, "like a wild boar stuck with spears" before placing it in a cart (Orderic Vitalis). The humble funeral wagon trundled through the forest towards Winchester, where Rufus was buried "on the day after his perdition." Henry of Huntingdon. (Article 24)

Henry and his attendants rode the same path to Winchester, but they were charging ahead, determined to reach the city before news of the royal tragedy got out. (Article 25)

7.20 He is borne to Winchester on a makeshift bier constructed by his lamenting vassals, and interred there. (Article 24)

7.21 The nature of the ritual carried out by Rufus' companions and unattested elsewhere, is a revealing detail. Numerous examples of this secular communion - administered in extremis to dying men on the battlefield who will expire before a priest can reach them - are found in epic literatuire. (Article 25)

7.22. Far from being left alone, after William Rufus died he received a lay communion of grass and flowers (also in Article 9). (Article 26)

7.23 Tirel is supposed to have run to the King's assistance but finding him lifeless mounted his horse and rode for the coast. (Articles 20 & 26)

7.24 The King's body was recovered by some locals who took it by cart to Winchester Cathedral , the blood dripping from it all the way. (Article 26)

7.25 On hearing of the death of his brother, without checking the body, he rode to Winchester. (Article 26 )

7.26 Nick Saunders points out that it would have taken a horse and cart over a day to reach Winchester Cathedral
and required an overnight stay at, for example, Romsey.

7.27 The shades of night were fast gathering when a poor charcoal-burner passing with his cart through the forest, came upon a dead body stretched bleeding upon the grass. An arrow had pierced its breast. Lifting it into his cart, wrapped in old linen, he jogged slowly onward, the blood still dripping and staining the ground as he passed. Not till he reached the hunting-lodge did he discover that it was the corpse of a king he had found in the forest depths. The dead body was that of William II of England. (Article 28)

7.28 Others declared that the King and Sir Walter Tyrrel were hunting in company, a little before sunset, standing in bushes opposite one another, when a stag came between them. That the King drew his bow and took aim, but the string broke. That the King then cried, "Shoot, Walter, in the Devil's name!" That Sir Walter shot. That the arrow glanced against a tree, was turned aside from the stag, and struck the king from his horse, dead. (Article 29)

Colin Bower
18 August 2024

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