THE "ANARCHY" - the English Civil War of the 12th Century
The Anarchy is the preferred name in English history that pertains to the period of civil war and unsettled government, often known as The Nineteen Year Winter, that occurred during the reign (1135–1154) of King Stephen of England. Stephen was a favourite nephew of King Henry I of England (reigned 1100–1135), whose only legitimate son died in 1120 in the "White Ship" disaster. Henry then named his daughter Matilda as heir to his throne. He forced his barons, including Stephen, to swear allegiance to her several times, but it went against the grain—no woman had ever ruled over all England in her own right. To make matters worse, Matilda had married Geoffrey of Anjou, who did not enjoy a good reputation in England. This was mainly because he hailed from Anjou, whose rulers were resented by the Normans for their unashamed attempts to conquer the duchy of Normandy.
The dispute between Matilda and her cousin Stephen for the Throne led to Civil War....
Matilda, Empress Maud (1102 - 67)
Matilda was an indomitable woman!
Empress Maud Matilda, the daughter and dispossessed heir of King Henry I
She was the daughter of King Henry I of England, and was his sole legitimate child after the death of his son Prince William in the 'White Ship' disaster. ****
She was married first to Henry V of the Holy Roman Empire, and then when he died in 1125, her father Henry married her off again, this time to Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou.
Empress Maud Matilda on an English coin
Matilda was nominated by her father as the heir to the throne of England, but in 1135, Stephen of Blois claimed that his uncle had changed his mind on his deathbed, recognising Stephen instead as his successor to the throne. The powerful English barons backed this claim.
Matilda was incensed at this news and refused to accept this decision quietly.
Stephen did not have the ruthless temperament required to control the ensuing turmoil as civil war broke out when his dispute with Matilda became common knowledge.
King Stephen
But Stephen was more popular than Matilda, as she was viewed by most of the people as a foreigner, and a woman who was married to one of the hated Angevin enemy.
Matilda was also found to have an unfortunate personality, She was proud and overbearing, arranging everything as she thought fit, according to her own whim.
Trouble started in 1141 when the Battle of Lincoln took place between Stephen and Matilda's half-brother Robert, Earl of Gloucester. After fighting bravely, Stephen was overcome and captured and taken before Matilda who immediately had him imprisoned in Bristol Castle. He was later released.
The Battle of Lincoln (1141), part of "The Anarchy", between King Stephen (Blesevin) and Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester (Angevin). It was an Angevin victory
But Matilda did not get the crown as she had hoped …not because she was lacking in courage …but more because she had an arrogant and haughty manner and was heartily disliked.
Eventually she herself was captured, but true to form she escaped from Devizes where she was being held, disguised as a corpse.
She was dressed in grave clothes and tied with ropes onto a bier, and carried thus as a corpse to the safety of Gloucester.
In 1142 she was held in Oxford Castle, but again she managed to escape, being lowered from the castle walls on a rope during some extremely bad weather. It was thick snow and bitterly cold, but she managed to reach the town of Wallingford during the night (see pic below).
Henry, Matilda's son by the Count of Anjou, the lawful heir and claimant to the English throne, then came to England with it is said, 'many knights'. This was in fact not the case, he had very few.
Unfortunately for Matilda, Stephen's men defeated Henry's small force, and most of Henry's followers deserted him.
In 1153 Stephen agreed to the Treaty of Westminster with Matilda's son Henry of Anjou. This stated that Stephen should remain king for life (in the event this was less than one more year) and then Henry should succeed him.
Henry therefore became King Henry II, and so it could be said that Matilda had triumphed in the end.
Matilda escapes from Oxford Castle © Alison Merry BA
© EPC
**************************************************
**** THE WHITE SHIP DISASTER
The White Ship, a twelfth century vessel, sank in the English Channel near the Normandy coast off Barfleur, on November 25, 1120. Those drowned included William Adelin (Maud Mathilda's brother), the only unquestionably legitimate son of King Henry I of England. Only one sailor survived.
The White Ship was a new ship owned by Thomas FitzStephen, whose father Stephen had been sea captain for William the Conqueror when he invaded England in 1066. He offered to let Henry I use it to return to England from Barfleur - Henry had already made traveling arrangements, but suggested that his son William travel on it instead.
But when the White Ship set off in the dark, its port side struck a submerged rock (this rock can still be seen from the cliffs of Barfleur), and the ship quickly capsized. The only survivor was a butcher from Rouen - he was wearing thick ramskins that saved him from exposure, and was picked up by fishermen the next morning. In his account of the disaster, chronicler Orderic Vitalis claimed that when Thomas FitzStephen came to the surface after the sinking and learned that William Adelin had not survived, he let himself drown rather than face the king. (The accuracy of this account is debatable - it describes a full moon, but sky tables show that the moon was actually new that night, although this issue is further complicated by the need to convert modern sky tables based upon the Gregorian Calendar to the Julian Calendar in use during the twelfth Century.)
William of Malmesbury wrote: "Here also perished with William, Richard, another of the King's [Henry I] sons, whom a women of no rank had borne him, before his accession, a brave youth, and dear to his father from his obedience; Richard d'Avranches, second Earl of Chester, and his brother Otheur; Geoffrey Ridel; Walter of Everci; Geoffrey, archdeacon of Hereford; [Matilda] the Countess of Perche, the king's daughter; the Countess of Chester; the king's niece Lucia-Mahaut of Blois; and many others..."
The cause of the shipwreck remains unclear. Various stories surrounding its loss feature a drinking binge by the crew and passengers (it is also suggested that the captain was dared to try and overtake the king's ship ahead of them), and mention that priests were not allowed on board to bless the ship in the customary manner. However, the Channel has often proven a notoriously treacherous stretch of water.
Stephen of Blois, King Henry's brother in law, had allegedly disembarked just before the ship sailed.
Orderic Vitalis attributes this to a sudden bout of diarrhoea. If true, it is a cruel twist of fate, since, as a direct result of William's death, Stephen later usurped the English throne, resulting in the period known as the Anarchy.
The death of William Adelin in this shipwreck led to the chaos following the death of Henry I. The English barons were reluctant to accept Matilda as Queen Regnant, leading Stephen to usurp the throne. Even in the sixteenth century, the example of that time contributed to Henry VIII's many marriages in the search for a male heir.
wikipedia.org
The Anarchy is the preferred name in English history that pertains to the period of civil war and unsettled government, often known as The Nineteen Year Winter, that occurred during the reign (1135–1154) of King Stephen of England. Stephen was a favourite nephew of King Henry I of England (reigned 1100–1135), whose only legitimate son died in 1120 in the "White Ship" disaster. Henry then named his daughter Matilda as heir to his throne. He forced his barons, including Stephen, to swear allegiance to her several times, but it went against the grain—no woman had ever ruled over all England in her own right. To make matters worse, Matilda had married Geoffrey of Anjou, who did not enjoy a good reputation in England. This was mainly because he hailed from Anjou, whose rulers were resented by the Normans for their unashamed attempts to conquer the duchy of Normandy.
The dispute between Matilda and her cousin Stephen for the Throne led to Civil War....
Matilda, Empress Maud (1102 - 67)
Matilda was an indomitable woman!
Empress Maud Matilda, the daughter and dispossessed heir of King Henry I
She was the daughter of King Henry I of England, and was his sole legitimate child after the death of his son Prince William in the 'White Ship' disaster. ****
She was married first to Henry V of the Holy Roman Empire, and then when he died in 1125, her father Henry married her off again, this time to Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou.
Empress Maud Matilda on an English coin
Matilda was nominated by her father as the heir to the throne of England, but in 1135, Stephen of Blois claimed that his uncle had changed his mind on his deathbed, recognising Stephen instead as his successor to the throne. The powerful English barons backed this claim.
Matilda was incensed at this news and refused to accept this decision quietly.
Stephen did not have the ruthless temperament required to control the ensuing turmoil as civil war broke out when his dispute with Matilda became common knowledge.
King Stephen
But Stephen was more popular than Matilda, as she was viewed by most of the people as a foreigner, and a woman who was married to one of the hated Angevin enemy.
Matilda was also found to have an unfortunate personality, She was proud and overbearing, arranging everything as she thought fit, according to her own whim.
Trouble started in 1141 when the Battle of Lincoln took place between Stephen and Matilda's half-brother Robert, Earl of Gloucester. After fighting bravely, Stephen was overcome and captured and taken before Matilda who immediately had him imprisoned in Bristol Castle. He was later released.
The Battle of Lincoln (1141), part of "The Anarchy", between King Stephen (Blesevin) and Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester (Angevin). It was an Angevin victory
But Matilda did not get the crown as she had hoped …not because she was lacking in courage …but more because she had an arrogant and haughty manner and was heartily disliked.
Eventually she herself was captured, but true to form she escaped from Devizes where she was being held, disguised as a corpse.
She was dressed in grave clothes and tied with ropes onto a bier, and carried thus as a corpse to the safety of Gloucester.
In 1142 she was held in Oxford Castle, but again she managed to escape, being lowered from the castle walls on a rope during some extremely bad weather. It was thick snow and bitterly cold, but she managed to reach the town of Wallingford during the night (see pic below).
Henry, Matilda's son by the Count of Anjou, the lawful heir and claimant to the English throne, then came to England with it is said, 'many knights'. This was in fact not the case, he had very few.
Unfortunately for Matilda, Stephen's men defeated Henry's small force, and most of Henry's followers deserted him.
In 1153 Stephen agreed to the Treaty of Westminster with Matilda's son Henry of Anjou. This stated that Stephen should remain king for life (in the event this was less than one more year) and then Henry should succeed him.
Henry therefore became King Henry II, and so it could be said that Matilda had triumphed in the end.
Matilda escapes from Oxford Castle © Alison Merry BA
© EPC
**************************************************
**** THE WHITE SHIP DISASTER
The White Ship, a twelfth century vessel, sank in the English Channel near the Normandy coast off Barfleur, on November 25, 1120. Those drowned included William Adelin (Maud Mathilda's brother), the only unquestionably legitimate son of King Henry I of England. Only one sailor survived.
The White Ship was a new ship owned by Thomas FitzStephen, whose father Stephen had been sea captain for William the Conqueror when he invaded England in 1066. He offered to let Henry I use it to return to England from Barfleur - Henry had already made traveling arrangements, but suggested that his son William travel on it instead.
But when the White Ship set off in the dark, its port side struck a submerged rock (this rock can still be seen from the cliffs of Barfleur), and the ship quickly capsized. The only survivor was a butcher from Rouen - he was wearing thick ramskins that saved him from exposure, and was picked up by fishermen the next morning. In his account of the disaster, chronicler Orderic Vitalis claimed that when Thomas FitzStephen came to the surface after the sinking and learned that William Adelin had not survived, he let himself drown rather than face the king. (The accuracy of this account is debatable - it describes a full moon, but sky tables show that the moon was actually new that night, although this issue is further complicated by the need to convert modern sky tables based upon the Gregorian Calendar to the Julian Calendar in use during the twelfth Century.)
William of Malmesbury wrote: "Here also perished with William, Richard, another of the King's [Henry I] sons, whom a women of no rank had borne him, before his accession, a brave youth, and dear to his father from his obedience; Richard d'Avranches, second Earl of Chester, and his brother Otheur; Geoffrey Ridel; Walter of Everci; Geoffrey, archdeacon of Hereford; [Matilda] the Countess of Perche, the king's daughter; the Countess of Chester; the king's niece Lucia-Mahaut of Blois; and many others..."
The cause of the shipwreck remains unclear. Various stories surrounding its loss feature a drinking binge by the crew and passengers (it is also suggested that the captain was dared to try and overtake the king's ship ahead of them), and mention that priests were not allowed on board to bless the ship in the customary manner. However, the Channel has often proven a notoriously treacherous stretch of water.
Stephen of Blois, King Henry's brother in law, had allegedly disembarked just before the ship sailed.
Orderic Vitalis attributes this to a sudden bout of diarrhoea. If true, it is a cruel twist of fate, since, as a direct result of William's death, Stephen later usurped the English throne, resulting in the period known as the Anarchy.
The death of William Adelin in this shipwreck led to the chaos following the death of Henry I. The English barons were reluctant to accept Matilda as Queen Regnant, leading Stephen to usurp the throne. Even in the sixteenth century, the example of that time contributed to Henry VIII's many marriages in the search for a male heir.
wikipedia.org
Last edited: