473 – Stage Management

So, when we left off, Anselm finally had his Pallium, and Rufus got… well… Rufus got all the independence and freedom from Church interference that he could have hoped for.  Even better, his Bishops were on the same page as him and were supporting the King’s independence from Rome.

471 – How To Lose Friends and Irritate People

It was January of 1095 and Rufus was still at war with his eldest brother, Duke Robert. A  war that could have been avoided if the Red King had simply kept his word… or even just apologized.

But he wasn’t interested in doing either of those things, so people were dying in Normandy.

470 – Tough Treaty

As I’ve mentioned a few times… we are discussing one of those periods of history where everything was kind of happening all at once.  This presents a challenge when trying to create a clear narrative that you can follow, while also staying true to the order of events.

And that’s assuming there is a clear order of events. This period of history is also poorly recorded and recreating the correct timeline is really difficult in some cases.

466 – The Bachelor

All of those promises Rufus made to be a better man had finally convinced God.  After about two months of being bedridden, the King finally recovered from his mysterious illness. 

And now that the Divine had delivered its side of the bargain… well, there was really no point to any of those promises anymore. So Rufus immediately set about invalidating all his penitential acts.