"He [William II] was engaged in hunting, the sole amusement, and indeed
the chief occupation of princes in those rude times, when society was
little cultivated and the arts afforded few objects worthy of
attention.
"Walter Tyrrel, a French gentleman, remarkable for his address in
archery, attended him in this recreation, of which the new forest was
the scene: and as William had dismounted after a chase, Tyrrel,
impatient to show his dexterity, let fly an arrow at a stag which
suddenly started before him. The arrow, glancing from a tree, struck
the king in the breast, and instantly slew him; while Tyrrel, without
informing any one of the accident, put spurs to his horse, hastened to
the sea-shore, embarked for France, and joined the crusade in an
expedition to Jerusalem; a penance which he imposed on himself for
this involuntary crime.
"The body of William was found in the forest by the country people, and
was buried without any pomp or ceremony at Winchester."