Stephen and matilda the civil war of 1139 53. Stephen and Matilda (r. 1135 2022-10-23
Stephen and matilda the civil war of 1139 53
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Stephen and Matilda were two key figures in the civil war that took place in England from 1139 to 1153, known as the Anarchy. This conflict was characterized by a struggle for the English throne between Stephen, who had seized the crown in 1135 upon the death of his uncle, King Henry I, and Matilda, the daughter of Henry I and the rightful heir to the throne according to the rules of primogeniture.
The conflict between Stephen and Matilda began almost immediately after Henry I's death. Matilda, who was living in Anjou, France at the time, was supported by her half-brother, Robert of Gloucester, and her uncle, King David I of Scotland, while Stephen was supported by a number of influential English barons.
Stephen's hold on the throne was tenuous at best, as many of the English nobles were unhappy with his rule and believed that Matilda had a stronger claim to the throne. As a result, the country was plunged into a state of civil war, with each side fighting for control of key castles and cities.
The war was marked by a series of military campaigns and battles, with both Stephen and Matilda gaining and losing ground at various points. One of the key turning points in the conflict came in 1141, when Matilda's forces were defeated at the Battle of Lincoln, leading to her capture and imprisonment.
Despite this setback, Matilda's supporters continued to fight on, and in 1153, Stephen was finally forced to agree to the Treaty of Winchester, which recognized Matilda's son, Henry, as the rightful heir to the throne. Stephen retained the crown for the remainder of his life, but upon his death in 1154, Henry was crowned King Henry II, bringing an end to the Anarchy and the civil war between Stephen and Matilda.
Overall, the civil war between Stephen and Matilda had a significant impact on the course of English history, as it led to a period of political instability and weakened the power of the monarchy. It also paved the way for the rise of the Plantagenet dynasty, which would go on to rule England for over 300 years.
Stephen & Matilda : the Civil War of 1139
We shall, however, find Orderic useful when we turn back to more detail of Norman affairs. Some built new shacks near the churches so they could flee into them for protection when necessary. But at first his rebellion looked as if it would be short-lived. Bishop Henry was also responsible for sending to Theobald, Archbishop of Canterbury, who arrived at Winchester a few days later. This was to prove the reason for the long endurance of this civil war, neither side seemed to have the power quite to finish off the other.
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Stephen and Matilda : the civil war of 1139
This castle has not been found, and is not obvious in any present remains. That they proved inaccurate in their forecasts, we only know with hindsight. Two recently discovered charters show Henry granting favours to William and also to his son, Robert, in 1153 and 1154. It has been argued that the terms were made early in 1153, before the meeting at Winchester, and that Eustace reacted against them after Wallingford. John of Worcester, ed. Although battles were rare, they did occur, and the Battle of Lincoln in particular is a key moment in our story. Henry of Huntingdon, ed.
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War
Now they proceeded to blockade the town. Miles had little difficulty in recapturing the latter from the small garrison left there, but he failed to take Sudeley. One cannot easily dismiss the case against Bishop Henry, though there are some inconsistencies and some jealousies involved in the accusations. Meyer, 3 vols, RHF, Paris, 1891—4, i, pp. Stephen, Matilda and their supporters feature in White Ship's sinking to set the historical scene for the subsequent events, in many other ways Follett uses the war as a location for a story about essentially modern personalities and issues, a feature reproduced in the epic costume TV adaptation. They described famine, burning, death, torture, atrocities. On her return, she had been married off by her father, with little effort to gain her assent.
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Matilda’s Opportunity
In the end it was enough to bring him the throne; it was a gamble which paid off. The Empress Matilda was never to be truly Queen of England. To be fair, Arundel is not the most obvious of landing points for an invasion, and the force that arrived was more of an escort than anything else. . She held virtually no land either in England or in Normandy, since Henry I had neglected to give her this vital base for taking over power, assuming that she would take over the royal lands.
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Stephen and Matilda: Civil War of 1139
They were intent on keeping order within their own territories. Most good commanders avoided battle so far as possible. Worcester, in Stevenson, p. There is also coinage evidence, which has received much attention in recent times, and which suggests, from the placing of royal mints, that there were areas in which royal government was operating: around London, in the south-east, Canterbury, Bedford, Colchester, Ipswich, Norwich, — and that despite the trouble from Hugh Bigod. His immediate problem was that the return of Robert had reinvigorated the efforts of his friends, and many of the gains which Stephen had made before September 1139 were soon to be lost again.
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The Peace
These were the terms on which the civil war came to an end. He deliberately remained at the rear of the force, keeping his men in good order, determined to keep the royal forces from pursuing Matilda. But we should include such men, by considering whether or not their allegiance affected the inheritance of their heirs. The Normans: The History of a Dynasty. Robert of Torigny, RS, pp. There were very few losers. Indeed, to support the candidature of the unenthusiastic William of Blois, would obviously have antagonized Eleanor and Henry.
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matilda page
It is no longer commonly believed by historians that medieval battle tactics were primitive or non-existent. Naturally, when the Normans invaded and conquered England, they developed such castles there too. Henry was a patron of poets, historians, and political thinkers, men of the calibre of John of Salisbury. But what is the case? Robert fought bravely, but was captured by the mercenaries of William of Warenne, Earl of Surrey, and sent back to be imprisoned in Rochester Castle under the guard of William of Ypres. Henry II: New Interpretations. He was lucky to escape with his life, but was blinded.
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Stephen and Matilda (r. 1135
One would, therefore, expect a reduction in the number of charters issued during his reign, against what had gone before. But for all the pressures, Stephen had clearly wanted his son Eustace to succeed him, and briefly, in fury, imprisoned all the bishops concerned in the refusal to associate him in the kingship in 1152, confiscating their possessions. Castles were certainly affected by fashions and by changes in ideas about defence. Since the war had in essence been one of succession, the agreement cannot be viewed as anything but an eventual defeat for Stephen. The fact that she arrived at Arundel made it look even more normal, in that she received an invitation to the place from her step-mother Adeliza, widow of Henry I and now married to the lord of Arundel, William of Albini.
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