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You are here: UK History > Royal History > House of Normandy > King Stephen | Stephen vs the Empress Matilda
Following the death of Henry I, England fell into a period of civil war, known as The Anarchy. The Anarchy saw the troops of Henry's named heir, his daughter, the Empress Matilda and Henry's nephew, Stephen of Blois, who took the throne and title of King on Henry's death.
Born: in the 1090s, exact date unknown, Blois, France
Died: 25th October 1154, Dover, Kent, England
Reign: 22nd December 1135- 25th October 1154
Parents: Stephen, Count of Blois and Adela of Normandy (daughter of William I)
Predecessor: Henry I (uncle)
Successor: Henry II (cousin)
Spouse: Matilda I Countess of Boulogne
Children: Eustace IV, Count of Boulogne, Marie I, Countess of...Read More
Following the death of Henry I, England fell into a period of civil war, known as The Anarchy. The Anarchy saw the troops of Henry's named heir, his daughter, the Empress Matilda and Henry's nephew, Stephen of Blois, who took the throne and title of King on Henry's death.
Born: in the 1090s, exact date unknown, Blois, France
Died: 25th October 1154, Dover, Kent, England
Reign: 22nd December 1135- 25th October 1154
Parents: Stephen, Count of Blois and Adela of Normandy (daughter of William I)
Predecessor: Henry I (uncle)
Successor: Henry II (cousin)
Spouse: Matilda I Countess of Boulogne
Children: Eustace IV, Count of Boulogne, Marie I, Countess of Boulogne, William I, Count of Boulogne, Gervase, Abbot of Westminster. Plus, Ralph and Amalric (illigimate)
Royal House: Normandy, via the Blois line.
Born: 7th February 1102, possibly Westminster England.
Died: 10th September 1167, Rouen, France
Reign: 8th April 1141-1148 (as Lady of the English, though never as queen)
Parents: Henry I and Matilda of Scotland
Predecessor: Stephen of Blois (cousin)
Successor: Stephen of Blois (cousin)
Spouse: Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1114-1125) and then Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou (1128-1151)
Children: Henry II, Geoffrey Count of Nantes, William Fitzempress
Royal House: Normandy
Towards the end of his reign, Henry I became very concerned about securing his line, particularly after the death of his only surviving legitimate son. Records show that although Stephen, who was the son of one of his sisters, was one of the male heirs that Henry believed to be suitable, he had wanted one of his own children to succeed him. The Normans had secured a male line and the idea of having a woman rule the country, despite Henry's inclination towards his daughter Matilda, was one that was hard to convince the nobility of. Henry's other choice, his oldest son, Robert of Gloucester, was illegitimate, which also caused problems. Eventually, Henry declared that Matilda was to be his heir, but she was in France when her father died, leaving Stephen the opportunity to sneak in and take the throne. This kicked off a civil war that plighted both of them for years.
Stephen was born in Blois, France. His mother was the daughter of William the Conqueror and the pair had a very close relationship with her exerting a strong influence on him in his earlier years. He had at least four brothers and three sisters, some of which were half siblings. It is reported that the eldest brother, William, had a disability, causing their mother to pass the inheritance to Stephen. Stephen was encouraged to become a knight while his youngest brother, Henry was steered towards the church, eventually becoming the Bishop of Winchester and one of Henry I's leading bishops.
As a knight, Stephen became part of his uncle King Henry’s court, spending a lot of time with his cousins William Adelin and Matilda. King Henry organised a beneficial marriage for Stephen and historians believe that the pair got along well. On the death of William Adelin, Stephen became a consideration for the next king as the Empress Matilda, being a woman, was likely to be rejected by her English subjects.
On the other hand, Matilda, the only legitimate daughter of Henry I and his first wife, Matilda of Scotland, was born in England and was not only descended from William the Conqueror but also Alfred the Great, one of the Saxon kings. Matilda grew up in various courts, surrounded by nobles, including her cousin Stephen of Blois and her half brother, Robert of Gloucester. At a young age, she was betrothed to Henry V of Germany who went on to become the Holy Roman Emperor, giving her the title of Empress Matilda. This marriage is a great example of a marriage for alliance rather than any other reason, Henry V was 24 years old on their betrothal. Matilda was 8.
Whether you think of it as lucky or not, she was widowed by the age of 23. Partly because of his commitment to his faith and possibly also because of their ages, the Emperor and Empress had no children, something that was a great concern to her father. Despite King Henry I wanting to name Matilda as his heir, realistically she only had two choices: remarry or become a nun.
In the hope of keeping her as his heir, Henry I arranged for her to marry Geoffrey Plantagenet of Anjou. It wasn’t an easy marriage, Matilda and Geoffrey didn’t have a great deal of affection for each other and Henry became convinced that Geoffrey was after his lands in Normandy, through his attachment to Matilda, which caused a lot of friction between them in his later years.
Henry I died in December 1135. Matilda, Geoffrey and their two sons, were in France, as was Stephen. However, Stephen dropped everything to rush back to England claiming that both the Kingdom and Henry I’s lands in Normandy needed a strong preservation of order and this was more important than honouring the promises made to Matilda. He was aided by his brother, Bishop Henry, who at that time was the second richest man in England, having both the title of Bishop of Winchester and Abbot of Glastonbury, two of the wealthiest parishes in the Kingdom. It was Bishop Henry’s support that endeared Stephen to the people who proclaimed him the new monarch and Bishop Henry wasted no time working on agreements with the church to broker more support. However, it wasn't long before Matilda and her half-brother Robert of Gloucester were ready to launch their own campaign for the throne. They weren’t the only ones causing problems for Stephen either, shortly after he took the throne, England was invaded by the Scottish, who, as kin, supported Matilda, and not long after that, there were several battles with the Welsh. Normandy was also causing him problems, as Matilda and Geoffrey had taken charge, and Geoffrey becoming Duke. Together, Matilda and Geoffrey had control of Normandy, Anjou and Maine, making them very powerful and influential, which led to a tenuous relationship with both England and France.
Stephen’s early reign started with a good relationship with the church and he established a good grip on his borders, however, he quickly ran out of money and his alliance with his brother became strained, especially following the death of the Arch Bishop of Canterbury. Bishop Henry had his eye on the position, but Stephen passed him over for someone else, leaving Bishop Henry to rescind much of his support.
The civil war began in 1138 when Robert of Gloucester rebelled against Stephen, declaring his support for his sister and triggering a major rebellion, first in Kent and then across the south of England. From then on, Robert’s forces, on behalf of Matilda, caused a variety of skirmishes, mostly concentrated in the south west. In 1141, Stephen was captured by Robert in battle and was taken to Bristol Castle, which was used for high ranking prisoners. On his incarceration, Empress Matilda began to take the necessary steps to have herself crowned queen in his place. It was looking pretty good for her, with even Bishop Henry, still sore over not being given the bishop position in Canterbury, giving his support. The church agreed that rather than be queen, she could be Lady of England and Normandy, as a precursor to her coronation and Matilda began her journey to London for the event. However, she was besieged by supporters of Stephen and had to flee. Bishop Henry and Stephen made up, causing the bishop to turn against Matilda and reaffirming Stephen as the legitimate king, holding a second coronation for him in 1141.
Empress Matilda remained in Oxford, attempting to garner support for her own campaign for the throne. Stephen attempted to launch an attack on the city but was unsuccessful and while Matilda remained a thorn in his side, he actually showed mercy to her son, Henry Plantagenet. At just 14, the young Henry and his half brother launched an attack on Stephen alongside a group of mercenaries. The pair failed and Henry ended up having to visit King Stephen and ask for a loan to pay his soldiers. Stephen agreed, much to the disgust of his oldest son, Eustace, and the surprise of the people. Though Henry continued to cause problems for the English monarchy by launching a number of rebellions in both France and England. Surprisingly, he and Stephen actually had a relatively good relationship and eventually forged a truce.
By 1147, England had suffered extensively thanks to the civil war. The period became known as The Anarchy and there was serious devastation across places like Wiltshire and Berkshire as a result. Many of the popular policies that had been put in place by Henry I had been revoked or changed beyond recognition by Stephen, with the Royal Forest Law completely collapsing and local lords beginning to mint their own coins, leading to a fragmentation of the royal coinage system.
Much like Henry I, Stephen began to focus on the issue of his family and the succession, particularly in the later years of the war. He wanted his oldest son Eustace to take the title, though this was an unpopular choice among the people. Eustace ended up pre-deceasing him, causing him to look to his younger son or perhaps, Matilda's son, Henry Plantagenet. William married well, which put him in good stead, but he wasn't as popular or seen as acomplished as Henry. Stephen ended up recognising Henry as his adoptive son and named him heir. Following Eustace's death, Stephen and William renounced their claim to the throne in exchange for promises of security for their lands and that they would have access to Henry’s castles. Some historians claim that Henry was recognised as heir as a solution to end the civil war, while others disagree, stating that Stephen’s remaining son plotted to assassinate him once he took the throne. Whatever the case may be, Stephen died on 25th October 1154 after falling ill, he was buried at Faversham Abbey alongside his wife and son, Eustace leaving a clear path for Henry to succeed him. Henry II ascended without problem and vigorously set to re-establish royal authority in the aftermath of the war, demolishing castles and restoring the economy. Stephen’s son William was given an Earlship and historical records show that he prospered.
Overall, despite his reign being dogged with civil war and family feuds, Stephen is believed to be the most written about king of the medieval age. His lack of strong policy is thought to be the root of many of his problems and his inability to win the war against his cousin. Historians have said that he often relied on his brother or his wife rather than to stand his ground but was believed to be a pious and genial leader. By naming Henry II as his successor, Stephen ushered in the age of the Plantagenets and years of growth for England.
Castle Park, Bristol
The remains of the castle that held Stephen can be found in Bristol near the Broadmead Shopping Centre.
Devizes Castle, Wiltshire
The castle was at the heart of the Anarchy and was captured and lost several times between Stephen and Matilda, when he threatened to kill her son, she relinquished the castle to him.
Leeds Castle, Kent
The castle saw conflict between Stephen and the Empress Matilda. Stephen capturedthe castle from Matilda's forces.
Ludgershall Castle, Wiltshire
Stephen and Matlida both used ther castle at different points in their civil war.
St Katherine's Docks, London
The docks were named for a nearby hospital of the same name, which was founded by Stephen's wife. The original hospital is long gone, but a new incarnation can be found at Limehouse.
Winchester Cathedral, Hampshire
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