CHAPTER II
WILLIAM II
AFTER leaving his father's death-bed Rufus had lost no time in riding to the " Port of Wissant "[1] (Ord. Vit.) where the intelligence of his father's death followed him. He, however, appears to have embarked for England from the port of Touque, and to have landed at Porchester. In his company were Robert de Bloet (William's chaplain), and Eudo de Rye (Rye in Normandy), William's dapifer or steward. The proceedings on landing, as described in the history of the foundation of Colchester monastery, are of special interest in connection with the Castle of Hastings.
- " Eudo seized the occasion, and with the father's leave went to William the younger, and exhorted him to persevere in the business. Then they crossed over to England and went to Porchester, and having gained the favour of William of Ponte-arce, received the keys of the treasury of Winchester, of which the said William was the custodian. Thence, Eudo without delay went to the Castle of Dover, and bound the custodians of it by an oath not to give up the keys of the fortress to any one except by his permission. He did the same at Pevensey and at Hastings, and at the other maritime castles, alleging that the King was going to stay in Normandy, and that he wished to secure all the fortifications in England by his seneschal. The business having been hurried on, he returned to Winchester, and there, at last, he divulged the King's death. Thus, while the other nobles in Normandy were treating with regard to the succession to the throne, meanwhile, by the zeal and aid of Eudo, William the younger was elected, consecrated, and confirmed asking in England " (Cott. MS. Nero D. VIII., p. 345).
But although this master-stroke placed Rufus in possession of the throne of England without active opposition, a large number of the Barons were extremely dissatisfied ; and within a few months they broke out into open rebellion, hoping to defeat Rufus, and to place his elder brother, Robert, Duke of Normandy, on the throne. The chief leaders in this rebellion (1088) were Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, who had just been released from prison, with the consent, though against the real wishes of the dying Conqueror. He was joined by Earl Robert of Mortain and Cornwall, Lord of Pevensey and Montacute, Earl Roger of Montgomery, and Bishop William of Durham (William of St. Carilef or Calais). The following were also among the rebels: Robert, Earl of Northumberland, Roger, Earl of Shrewsbury, Bishop Geoffrey of Coutances, his nephew, Robert of Mobray, and William of Eu.
This William of Eu here mentioned is separately referred to in Domesday[2]
- ↑ A celebrated port of the Middle Ages, between Boulogne and Calais, 4½ miles from Boulogne.
- ↑ This William of Eu must not be confounded with William, son of Robert, Count of Eu. The William of Eu has usually been confounded with William, Count of Eu The mistake - a somewhat pardonable one under the circumstances - has been made by all our historians, from Dugdale down to Stubbs and Freeman. In the chronicles, he never seems to be referred to as Count of Eu ; but that he was nearly related to that house appears likely from his being described in Florence of Worcester's Chronical as the King's kinsman. In many ofthe instances where the name occurs itis most difficult to determine which of the two Williams of Eu is intended. The confusion has been further complicated by the fact that William, Count of Eu, died somewhere before 1100, and therefore about the time of William of Eu's cruel punishment and mutilation. But it is clear that whereas William, Count of Eu's lands in England were not forfeited, and descended to his heir, the manors of William of Eu (collectively known afterwards as the Honour of Strigul) seem to have been forfeited, for they were granted by the King (Rufus) to Walter, a younger son of Richard de Clare, who was son of Count Gilbert of Eu, of the elder line. It seems therefore possible that the kinship with the King referred to by Florence of Worcester, might be traced through the elder branch of the House of Eu. William of Eu's wife, Helisende d'Avranches, was sister of Hugh, Earl of Chester ; but William, Count of Eu, married Beatrix, daughter of Roger de Busli-- Domesday, Baron of Tichill (ob. 1099). It was, in fact, judicially proved in 1220 (Robt. Vipont and the Countess Alice of Eu, concerning the honour of Tichill), that Count William of Eu's son Henry (his successor), was by Beatrix, daughter of Roger de Busli, Baron of Tichill.
