Walter
Tirel was married to Adelize, the daughter of Richard
Fitz Gilbert. On
2nd August 1100, William
Rufus went
hunting at Brockenhurst in the New Forest. His brother-in-laws, Gilbert
de Clare and Roger
of Clare,
were also with the king. During the hunt, Tirel
fired an
arrow at a stag. The arrow missed the animal and hit William Rufus
in the chest. Within a few minutes the king was dead. Tirel jumped
on his horse and made off at great speed. He escaped to France and
never returned again to England.
The
Normans: Classroom Activities
(1)
J. H. Round, Feudal England (1895)
Gilbert and Roger, sons of Richard de Clare, who were present
at Brockenhurst when the King was killed... were brothers-in-law of
Walter Tirel... Richard, another brother-in-law, was promptly selected
to be Abbot of Ely by King Henry I, who further gave the see of Winchester
to William Giffard, another member of the same powerful family circle.
(2)
Frank Barlow, William Rufus (1983)
Historians... have hinted that barons... perhaps led by the
Clares... had arranged William's death. But there is not a shred of
good evidence and the theory merely avoids the obvious. Hunting accidents
were, after all, not uncommon.
(S4)
William
of Malmesbury, Chronicle of the
Kings of the English (c1128)
The day before the king
died he dreamt that he went to heaven. He suddenly awoke. He commanded
a light to be brought, and forbade his attendants to leave him.
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.
The sun was now declining,
when the king, drawing his bow and letting fly an arrow, slightly
wounded a stag which passed before him... The stag was still running...
The king, followed it a long time with his eyes, holding up his hand
to keep off the power of the sun's rays. At this instant Walter decided
to kill another stag. Oh, gracious God! the arrow pierced the king's
breast.
On receiving the wound
the king uttered not a word; but breaking off the shaft of the arrow
where it projected from his body... This accelerated his death. Walter
immediately ran up, but as he found him senseless, he leapt upon his
horse, and escaped with the utmost speed. Indeed there were none to
pursue him: some helped his flight; others felt sorry for him.
The king's body was placed
on a cart and conveyed to the cathedral at Winchester... blood dripped
from the body all the way. Here he was buried within the tower. The
next year, the tower fell down.
William Rufus died in 1100...
aged forty years. He was a man much pitied by the clergy... he had
a soul which they could not save... He was loved by his soldiers but
hated by the people because he caused them to be plundered.
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