Page:The reign of William Rufus and the accession of Henry the First.djvu/57

 CHAPTER II.

THE EARLY DAYS OF WILLIAM RUFUS. 1087-1090.

The way by which the second William became fully established on the throne of his father has some peculiarities of its own, which distinguish it from the accessions of most English kings, earlier and later. The only claim of William Rufus to the crown was a nomination by his father which we are told that his father hardly ventured to make. Of election by any assembly, great or small, we see no trace. Yet the new king is crowned, and he receives the national submission at his crowning, with the fullest outward national consent, with no visible opposition from any quarter, and, as events proved, with the hearty good will of the native English part of his subjects. Yet the King is hardly established in his kingdom before