how the Norman conquest evolved during Rufus’s reign, laying a foundation for the later transformations in English governance and society. The opening of the work sets the stage for a thorough exploration of William Rufus’s character and the political landscape of his time. It highlights the duality of his reign—as both a culmination of the Norman conquest and a time of increasing English influence under Norman rule. The introduction suggests that Rufus's governance was marked by conflict not only with his Norman peers but also within the ecclesiastical realm, notably against figures like Anselm. Freeman outlines the complexities of medieval power dynamics, illustrating how Rufus's ascendancy brought about significant shifts in the relationships between monarchy, nobility, and the church, as well as expanding England's territorial ambitions. (This is an automatically generated summary.)