William and Matilda had 4 sons and possibly up to 6 daughters. Their sons included Robert, who succeeded as Duke of Normandy but was defeated by Henry I and imprisoned; Richard, who died in a hunting accident; William II of England, who was killed in the New Forest by an arrow; and Henry I of England, who succeeded to the English throne and instituted major administrative reforms. Henry I's only legitimate son died in the White Ship disaster, leading to a succession dispute after Henry's death between his daughter Matilda and his nephew Stephen.

1. All
the
King’s
Children
William and Matilda had 4 sons and, depending on the source, up to 6 daughters.
Robert (Robert Curthose), Robert II, Duke of Normandy (b. c. 1051-4, d. 1134)
Considered extremely personable but of poor judgment. During the absence of his parents
in 1068, he was made administrator of Normandy. In 1078, he demanded independent
control of Normandy and the Norman acquisitions in Maine. Alliances and
encouragement from Flanders and France led to open military rebellion. Eventual
reconciliation led to a promise of succession in Normandy. During William’s last years
he was again in rebellion in collaboration with France. In spite of this he succeeded to the
Duchy of Normandy.
His spirit of adventure led him to seek money to finance his activities, selling parts
of Normandy to Henry and during the First Crusade in 1095 pawning Normandy to
Rufus.
On his return he sought not just Normandy but England as well. His failed invasion leads
to a renunciation of England in 1101. Henry, alleging misrule in Normandy, invaded in
1105 and 1106. Capture at Tinchebrai in Normandy, Robert spent the rest of his life in
luxurious confinement. His son, William Clito, was a possible candidate for succession.
Richard (b.c. 1055, d.1075) Killed in a hunting accident in New Forest.
William (William Rufus), (b. c. 1056-60, d. 1100) King William II of England (1187-
1200)
Considered very brave and loyal to those he favored. His contemporaries and later writers
suspected homosexuality and he never married (or had identified illegitimate children).
Considered an enemy of the Church, nevertheless a number of major Cathedrals were
initiated during his reign – Durham, Ely and Norwich. His main exploit was to use his
power over Church appointments to leave the offices vacant and take the revenues from
church lands, particularly monasteries for himself. An ally in this was his later
appointment as Bishop of Durham, Ranulf Flambard.
In a moment of illness, he appointed Anselm as Archbishop of Canterbury.
Anselm was to initiate the movement against royal control of the English church.
Killed by an accidental (?) arrow in New Forest.
Obituary in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.
He was very harsh and severe over his land and his men, and with all his neighbors;
… and through the counsels of evil men, that to him were always agreeable, and
through his own avarice, he was ever tiring this nation with an army, and with unjust
contributions. For in his days all right fell to the ground, and every wrong rose up
before God and before the world. God's church he humbled; and all the bishoprics
and abbacies, whose elders fell in his days, he either sold in fee, or held in his own
hands, and let for a certain sum; because he would be the heir of every man, both of
the clergy and laity; so that on the day that he fell he had in his own hand the
archbishopric of Canterbury, with the bishopric of Winchester, and that of Salisbury,
and eleven abbacies, all let for a sum; and (though I may be tedious) all that was
loathsome to God and righteous men, all that was customary in this land in his time.

2. And for this he was loathed by nearly all his people, and odious to God, as his end
testified: -- for he departed in the midst of his unrighteousness, without any power of
repentance or recompense for his deeds.
Daughters and alliances with neighbors.
Adela, m. Stephen I, Count of Blois
Significant for her sons: Stephen who became Stephen I of England and Henry of
Blois who became abbot of Glastonbury and Bishop of Winchester as well as the
richest cleric in England, she also was a confidante of her brother, Henry.
Constance, m. Alan of Brittany
Henry (Henry Beauclerk), (b. >1066, d. 1135) King Henry I of England (1100-1135)
The only son who is credited with any education. He was excluded from the inheritance
except for cash and some land. He used both to good stead in acquiring allies. He
completed the loop back to the pre-Conquest aristocracy by marrying Matilda (née Edith)
of Scotland, a descendant of Æthelred. In spite of a continuation of the quarrels between
Anselm and King, Church writers looked him upon favorably and during his reign many
monastic establishments were initiated.
Henry is credited with major changes in the Anglo-Norman bureaucracy leading to
institutions that became embedded in English government: the exchequer, circuit courts,
monetary reform, and the chancellery. They were not necessarily new but their activities
became more systematic during his administration.
Promises, promises. From the Coronation Oath of Henry I
Church vacancies. And since the kingdom has been oppressed by unjust exactions, I
…make the Holy Church of God free, so that I will neither sell nor put at farm nor, on
the death of an archbishop, bishop, or abbot, take anything from the demesne of a
church, or from its men, until a successor enters upon it.
Inheritance. If any one of my barons, earls, or other men who hold of me dies, his
heir shall not redeem his land as he did in the time of my brother, but he shall relieve
it by a just and legitimate relief [essentially an inheritance tax]
Marriage. …if any one of my barons or other men wishes to give in marriage his
daughter, sister, niece, or [other] female relative, let him talk with me about the
matter; but I will neither take anything from his property for this permission nor
prohibit him from giving her [in marriage], unless he wishes to wed her to an enemy
of mine. … If, [a] wife survives with children, she shall yet have her dowry and
marriage portion so long as she keeps her body legitimately, and I will not give her
[in marriage] except in accord with her wish.
Tax The common monetagium,[a sales tax] … which did not exist in the time of King
Edward, I utterly abolish for the future.
Debts. I pardon all pleas and debts that were owed to my brother
Crime I also pardon all murders [committed] before that day on which I was
crowned king, and those that have been committed afterwards are to be paid for by
just compensation according to the law of King Edward.
King’s Property. By the common counsel of my barons, I have kept in my hands the
forests as they were held by my father.
2

3. If any one, since the death of my brother William, has taken anything from my
property or from the property of any one else, let him at once restore it without
penalty; but if any one keeps anything [of that sort], he on whom it may be found
shall pay me heavy compensation.
Law and Order I establish my firm peace throughout the whole kingdom and
command that it be henceforth maintained. I restore to you the law of King Edward,
together with those amendments by which my father, with the counsel of his barons,
amended it
Diplomacy and sex.
Henry I, as William of Malmesbury informs us on the highest authority, was
‘completely free from fleshly lusts’, and he succumbed to female blandishments not
for sexual gratification but for the sake of issue. In his endeavours in this area, as in
so much of the rest of his life, Henry was eminently successful.
Kathleen Thompson “Affairs of State: the illegitimate children
of Henry I” J. mediev. hist.. 29, 129 – 151 ( 2003)
,
Henry’s only legitimate son was killed in the White Ship disaster. His surviving
legitimate daughter was to contend with his nephew, Stephen for England and Normandy.
The illegitimate results of his ‘endeavors’ served to make many useful alliances.
Obituary in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.
A good man he was; and there was great dread of him. No man durst do wrong with
another in his time. Peace he made for man and beast. Whoso bare his burthen of
gold and silver [that is, in spite of his taxation], durst no man say ought to him but
good.
Succession
In England there was only a single established right to a claim on the throne, kin-right, by
which the successor should be related to the predecessor. Two other justifications were
advanced:
Primogeniture- the successor would be the eldest surviving son. This was common
inheritance practice on the Continent after 1000 CE but was not necessarily followed in
England.
Porphyrogeniture- the successor would be the a son of a reigning king and queen. This
was a Byzantine practice and used by Henry I since he was the only son born after 1066.
Another arrangement was that what one inherited from one’s father should be passed on
to the oldest son, but whatever was obtained afterwards was at the discretion of the
person making the will.
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4. Chronology
1087 William the Conqueror dies; William Rufus succeeds to England
1088 Revolt by Odo, the Conqueror’s half-brother, and other Anglo-Norman barons.
Rufus prevails.
1091 Archbishopric of Canterbury vacant on death of Lanfranc. Malcolm of Scotland
invades.
1093 Anselm appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
1095 Rufus sends Henry against Robert in Normandy. Campaigns in the North because
of lack of fealty of the Earl of Northumberland.
1095-1100 Robert goes on crusade and pawns Normandy to Rufus.
1097 Anselm goes to Rome without leave of Rufus.
1097-8 Wars in Vexin (against France) and Maine. William Rufus captures Maine. Truce
in Vexin.
1100 Rufus dies. Henry crowned. Robert returns and opposes him in England as well as
Normandy. Henry invites Anselm back. Marriage to the Anglo-Saxon descendant
Edith/Matilda of Scotland.
Charter of Liberties (Coronation Oath). A grant of limited rights to the baronsand the
Church.
1101 Robert’s attempts to invade defeated in spite of help from Ranulf Flambard. Robert
loses Maine.
1105 Henry wins parts of Normandy from Robert
1106 Final defeat and imprisonment of Robert. Normandy and England both under
Henry.
1107 Concordat of London. Henry I gives up the right to appoint (invest) bishops and
abbots but retained their homage as a result of their control of property.
1109 Henry’s then 7-year-old daughter, Matilda, betrothed to Henry V, Holy Roman
Emperor.
1114 Marriage of Matilda and Henry V accompanied by a dowry financed by special
taxation.
1116-1120 War between England and France under Louis VI.
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