Stephen "Stephen of Blois" de Blois (± 1097-1154) » Stamboom Den Hollander en Van Dueren den Hollander

Persoonlijke gegevens Stephen "Stephen of Blois" de Blois

Roepnaam is Stephen of Blois.
Hij is geboren rond 1097 in Bloise, Loire-Et-Cher, France.
Hij werd gedoopt in acceded 26 Dec 1135 Westminster Abbey, London.
Alternatief: Hij werd gedoopt in acceded 26 Dec 1135 Westminster Abbey, London.
Alternatief: Hij werd gedoopt in acceded 26 Dec 1135 Westminster Abbey, London.
Gedoopt (op 8-jarige leeftijd of later) door het priesterschapsgezag van de LDS-kerk.
Alternatief: Gedoopt (op 8-jarige leeftijd of later) door het priesterschapsgezag van de LDS-kerk.
Alternatief: Gedoopt (op 8-jarige leeftijd of later) door het priesterschapsgezag van de LDS-kerk op 21 april 1928.
Alternatief: Gedoopt (op 8-jarige leeftijd of later) door het priesterschapsgezag van de LDS-kerk op 21 april 1928.
Alternatief: Gedoopt (op 8-jarige leeftijd of later) door het priesterschapsgezag van de LDS-kerk op 21 april 1928.
Alternatief: Gedoopt (op 8-jarige leeftijd of later) door het priesterschapsgezag van de LDS-kerk op 21 april 1928.
Alternatief: Gedoopt (op 8-jarige leeftijd of later) door het priesterschapsgezag van de LDS-kerk op 21 april 1928.
Alternatief: Gedoopt (op 8-jarige leeftijd of later) door het priesterschapsgezag van de LDS-kerk op 21 april 1928.
Alternatief: Gedoopt (op 8-jarige leeftijd of later) door het priesterschapsgezag van de LDS-kerk op 21 april 1928.
Beroepen:

in het jaar 1112 Comte, de Mortain, de Boulogne, Sieur, de Sées, d'Alençon, Duc, de Normandie, Roi, d'Angleterre.
in het jaar 1135 unknown in King of England.
in het jaar 1135 King of England (1st Reign).
op 22 december 1135 Conde da Bolonha, Duque da Normandia e Rei da InglaterraEngland.
november 1141 King of England (2nd Reign).
King of England 1135 - 1154, Comte, de Mortain, de Boulogne, Sieur, de Sées, d'Alençon, Duc, de Normandie, Roi, d'Angleterre, Greve i Dover, i Martain 1112, Kung i England 1135, King of England, November 1141 – 25 October 1154.

(Misc Event) van 22 december 1135 tot 25 december 1153.
Hij is overleden op 25 oktober 1154 in Dover Castle, Kent, England.
Hij is begraven in het jaar 1154 in Faversham AbbeyFaversham
Kent England.
Een kind van Étienne Henri de Blois, de Champagne, de Chartres, de Meaux en Adela de Normandie
Deze gegevens zijn voor het laatst bijgewerkt op 12 september 2020.

Gezin van Stephen "Stephen of Blois" de Blois

Hij is getrouwd met Mathilde de Boulogne.

Zij zijn getrouwd in het jaar 1125 te Westminster AbbeyLondon
UK.

Kind(eren):

Marie 1136-1182

Notities over Stephen "Stephen of Blois" de Blois

GIVN Stephen (Etienne) Koenig
SURN von England
NSFX King of England
REPO @REPO80@
TITL World Family Tree Vol. 11, Ed. 1
AUTH Brøderbund Software, Inc.
PUBL Release date: July 1, 1997
ABBR World Family Tree Vol. 11, Ed. 1
Customer pedigree.
Source Media Type: Family Archive CD
PAGE Tree #3804
DATA
TEXT Date of Import: 18 Dez 1998
REPO @REPO80@
TITL World Family Tree Vol. 11, Ed. 1
AUTH Brøderbund Software, Inc.
PUBL Release date: July 1, 1997
ABBR World Family Tree Vol. 11, Ed. 1
Customer pedigree.
Source Media Type: Family Archive CD
PAGE Tree #0163
DATA
TEXT Date of Import: 18 Dez 1998
_PRIMARY Y
REPO @REPO80@
TITL World Family Tree Vol. 11, Ed. 1
AUTH Brøderbund Software, Inc.
PUBL Release date: July 1, 1997
ABBR World Family Tree Vol. 11, Ed. 1
Customer pedigree.
Source Media Type: Family Archive CD
PAGE Tree #0163
DATA
TEXT Date of Import: 18 Dez 1998
DATE 9 SEP 2000
TIME 13:17:45

Source #1: Frederick Lewis Weis, "Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America Before 1700" - Seventh Edition, with additions and corrections by Walter Lee Sheppard, Jr., assisted by Davis Faris (Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co, 1995), p. 145

King of England (off and on) 26 December 1135 - 25 October 1154

Name Prefix: King Name Suffix: I, England And Count Of Boulogne King of England, the son of Stephen, Count of Blois, by Adela, fourth daughter of William the Conqueror , was born in circa 1096. On the death of Henry I. he immediately came over from Normandy to England; and laid claim to the crown, although he had been one of the most zealous in taking the oath for securing the succession to Henry's daughter, the Empress Matilda . By the aid of his brother who was bishop of Winchester, he possessed himself of the royal treasure, and was enabled to bribe some of the most restive of his opponents while he sought the support of the people at large by promising to restore the laws of Edward the Confessor . After a warwith the Scots, who were finally defeated at the famous battle of the Standard,the Empress Matilda landed in England with her brother, the Earl of Gloucester; and being joined by several powerful barons, a civil war ensued, which for cruelty and devastation proved one of the most calamitous in the annals of the country. After various turns of fortune, Matilda retired to Normandy, and the contest was carried on by her son, Henry Plantagenet , who in 1153 landed an army in England. Being joined by the barons of his mother's party, the competitors met at the head of their respective forces at Wallingford ; but an armistice took place instead of a battle ; by which it was agreed that Stephen should reign during his lifetime, and that Henry should succeed him. In the following year Stephen died, aged 49.

King Stephen was styled as, "Dei Gratia Rex Anglorum." Crowned by William de Corbeil, Archbishop of Canterbury. Died from a blockage of the bowels. Stephen was the founder of Faversham Abbey, where he was buried.

Coronation 22 Dec 1135 Westminster Abbey, London, England Deposition 1144 Normandy

Name Suffix: Of England

[v37t1235.ftw]

Facts about this person:

Fact 1December 26, 1135
Acceded: Westminster Abbey, London, England

Fact 2
Interred: Faversham Abbey, Kent

Fact 3
King of England

The favorite nephew of Henry I, broke his oath and assumed the kingship of England with the assent of the barons of England and Normandy. His character soon showed severe flaws for a king and as the English put it, he was found "to be soft". From 1136 onwards crisis followed crisis and England and Normandy slipped into Civil War.

By 1147 the civil war in England had effectively ended with most of the important, industrious and populated parts of the kingdom remaining under Stephen's ineffectual rule. In 1153, Duke Henry of Normandy, the son of the Empress Matilda and Geoffrey of Anjou, invaded the kingdom and was recognized as Stephen's heir in place of his two sons, Eustace and William.

Stephen was the grandson of William the Conqueror and about half-dozen years older than his cousin and rival for the throne, Matilda (daughter of Henry I). After his father's death in 1102, Stephen was raised by his uncle, Henry I. Henry was genuinely fond of Stephen, and granted his nephew estates on both sides of the English Channel. By 1130, Stephen was the richest man in England and Normandy.
Stephen's reign was one of the darkest chapters in English history. He was basically a good man - well respected by the barons and closely tied to the church - but possessed a conciliatory character and limited scope of kingship. Stephen had promised to recognize his cousin Matilda as lawful heir, but like many of the English/Norman nobles, was unwilling to yield the crown to a woman. He received recognition as king by the papacy through the machinations of his brother Henry of Blois, Bishop of Winchester, and gathered support from the barons. Matilda was in Anjou at the time of Henry's death and Stephen, in a rare exhibition of resolve, crossed the Channel and was crowned king by the citizens of London on December 22, 1135.

Stephen's first few years as king were relatively calm but his character flaws were quickly revealed. Soon after his coronation, two barons each seized a royal castle in different parts of the country; unlike his hot-tempered and vengeful Norman predecessors, Stephen failed to act against the errant barons. Thus began the slow erosion of Stephen's authority as increasing numbers of barons did little more than honor their basic feudal obligations to the king. Stephen failed to keep law and order as headstrong barons increasingly seized property illegally. He granted huge tracts of land to the Scottish king to end Scottish and Welsh attacks on the frontiers. He succumbed to an unfavorable treaty with Geoffrey of Anjou to end hostilities in Normandy. Stephen's relationship with the Church also deteriorated: he allowed the Church much judicial latitude (at the cost of royal authority) but alienated the Church by his persecution of Roger, Bishop of Salisbury in 1139. Stephen's jealous tirade against Roger and his fellow officials seriously disrupted the administration of the realm.

Matilda, biding her time on the continent, decided the time was right to assert her hereditary rights. Accompanied by her second husband Geoffrey of Anjou and her half-brother Robert, Earl of Gloucester, Matilda invaded England in the fall of 1139. The trio dominated western England and joined a rebellion against Stephen in 1141. Robert captured Stephen in battle at Lincoln; Stephen's government collapsed and Matilda was recognized as Queen. The contentious and arrogant Matilda quickly angered the citizens of London and was expelled from the city. Stephen's forces rallied, captured Robert, and exchanged the Earl for the King. Matilda had been defeated but the succession remained in dispute: Stephen wanted his son Eustace to be named heir, and Matilda wanted her son Henry fitzEmpress to succeed to the crown. Civil war continued until Matilda departed for France in 1148. The succession dispute remained an issue, as the virtually independent barons were reluctant to choose sides from fear of losing personal power. The problem of succession was resolved in 1153 when Eustace died and Henry came to England to battle for both his own rights and those of his mother. The two sides finally reached a compromise with the Treaty of Wallingford - Stephen would rule unopposed until his death but the throne would pass to Henry of Anjou.

Stephen died less than a year later in 1154. 1066 and All That offers a humorous but accurate account of the civil war: ". . .Stephen and Matilda (or Maud) spent the reign escaping from each other over the snow in nightgowns. . ." The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle addressed both the virtues of the man, and the nature of the era: "In the days of this King there was nothing but strife, evil, and robbery, for quickly the great men who were traitors rose against him. When the traitors saw that Stephen was a good-humored, kindly, and easy-going man who inflicted no punishment, then they committed all manner of horrible crimes . . . And so it lasted for nineteen years while Stephen was King, till the land was all undone and darkened with such deeds, and men said openly that Christ and his angels slept."

[s2.FTW]

Ruled 1135-1154. After his uncle Henry I's death in 1135, the crown should have gone to Henry's daughter Matilda. But the council decided in favor of Stephen, as a man, thus setting the scene for a generation of civil war. Matilda invaded England in 1139, establishing an alternative court in the West Country. After many years of attrition a compromise was finally agreed, whereby Matilda's son Henry would inherit the throne after Stephen's death.

From Nicholas Best, "The Kings and Queens of England" (Boston: Bullfinch, 1995).Ruled 1135-1154. After his uncle Henry I's death in 1135, the crown should have gone to Henry's daughter Matilda. But the council decided in favor of Stephen, as a man, thus setting the scene for a generation of civil war. Matilda invaded England in 1139, establishing an alternative court in the West Country. After many years of attrition a compromise was finally agreed, whereby Matilda's son Henry would inherit the throne after Stephen's death.

From Nicholas Best, "The Kings and Queens of England" (Boston: Bullfinch, 1995).

The grandson of King William the Conqueror, and nephew of Henry I, he claimed
the crown. 4-6 months in 1141, he was Matilda's Prisoner, and she ruled as
Queen. But in 1148, she left England and gave up in favor of her son, Henry
of Anjou, later Henry II.Then, Henry II waged war against Stephen and forced
him to name him, Henry II, his heir to the throne. This Matilda was daughter
of Henry I, mother to Henry II.

Stephen of England
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Stephen (1096 – October 25, 1154), the last Norman King of England, reigned from 1135 to 1154, when he was succeeded by his cousin Henry II, the first of the Angevin or Plantagenet Kings.

Stephen was born at Blois in France, the son of Stephen, Count of Blois, and Adela (daughter of William the Conqueror). His brothers were Count Theobald II of Champagne and Henry of Blois, bishop of Winchester.

Stephen was sent to be reared at the English court of his uncle, King Henry I, in 1106. He became Count of Mortain in about 1115, and married Matilda, daughter of the Count of Boulogne, in about 1125, who shortly after became Countess of Boulogne. Stephen became joint ruler in 1128. In 1150 he ceased to co-rule, and in 1151, the County was given to his son, Eustace IV. When Eustace died childless, Stephen's next living son, William inherited the territory.

Before the death of King Henry I of England in 1135, the majority of the barons of England swore to support Henry's daughter (also named Matilda and granddaughter of William the Conqueror), and her claim to the throne. However, Stephen (also a grandchild of The Conqueror through his mother and who had been raised at Henry's court) laid claim to the throne. He also claimed his uncle, King Henry, had changed his mind on his deathbed, and named Stephen as his heir. Once Stephen was crowned, he gained the support of the majority of the barons as well as Pope Innocent II. The first few years of his reign were peaceful, but by 1139 he was seen as weak and indecisive, setting the country up for a civil war, commonly called The Anarchy.

Stephen had many traits that made him seem superficially fit for kingship: his high birth, his descent from the Conqueror, his handsomeness, his bravery and good nature. But he possessed none of the ruthlessness necessary for the ruthless times he lived in; indeed, Walter Map says of Stephen: "He was adept at the martial arts but in other respects little more than a simpleton."

Bad omens haunted him before the Battle of Lincoln (2 February 1141). Stephen was facing his rebellious barons Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester (the Empress' illegitimate half-brother) and the Earl of Chester. He fought so bravely in the battle that his battle-axe shattered. He drew a sword and continued fighting until it broke as well, as he was captured by a knight named William de Cahagnes. Stephen was defeated and he was brought before his cousin, the Empress Matilda.

Stephen was imprisoned at Bristol, but his wife, the Countess Matilda, kept faith, and the Empress was soon forced out of London. With the capture of her most able lieutenant, the Earl of Gloucester, Matilda was eventually obliged to release Stephen from captivity, and he was restored to the throne in November of the same year. In December 1142, the Empress was besieged at Oxford, but she managed to escape.

English Royalty
House of Normandy

William I
Children
Robert Curthose
William Rufus
Adela of Blois
Henry Beauclerc
William II
Henry I
Children
Empress Matilda
William Adelin
Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester
Stephen
Children
Eustace IV of Boulogne
William of Blois
Marie of Boulogne

In 1147, Empress Matilda's adolescent son, Henry (the eventual King Henry II), decided to assist in the war effort by raising a small army of mercenaries and invading England. Rumors of this army's size terrified Stephen's retainers, although in truth the force was very small. Having been defeated twice in battle, and with no money to pay his mercenaries, the young Henry appealed to his uncle Robert for aid but was turned away. Desperately, and in secret, the boy then asked Stephen for help. According to the Gesta Stephani, "On receiving the message, the king, who was ever full of pity and compassion, hearkened to the young man..." and bestowed upon him money and other support. Despite this generosity, there is no evidence for the rumors that Stephen was Henry's biological father.

Stephen maintained his precarious hold on the throne for the remainder of his lifetime. However, following the death of his son and heir, Eustace, in 1153, he was persuaded to reach a compromise with Empress Matilda whereby her son would succeed Stephen on the English throne as King Henry II.

Stephen died in Dover, and was buried in Faversham Abbey, which he had founded with Countess Matilda in 1147.

Besides Eustace, Stephen and Matilda had two other sons, Baldwin (d. before 1135), and William of Blois (Count of Mortain and Boulogne, and Earl of Surrey or Warenne). They also had two daughters, Matilda and Marie of Boulogne. In addition to these children, Stephen fathered at least three illegitimate children, one of whom, Gervase, became Abbot of Westminster.

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (the Peterborough Chronicle, second continuation) provides a moving and succinct appraisal of Stephen's reign:

"In the days of this King there was nothing but strife, evil, and robbery, for quickly the great men who were traitors rose against him. When the traitors saw that Stephen was a good-humoured, kindly, and easy-going man who inflicted no punishment, then they committed all manner of horrible crimes . . . And so it lasted for nineteen years while Stephen was King, till the land was all undone and darkened with such deeds, and men said openly that Christ and his angels slept".
The monastic author said, of The Anarchy, "this and more we suffered nineteen winters for our sins."

[edit]
Sources
Gesta Stephani
Walter Map
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
Crouch, David. The Reign of King Stephen, 2000

Preceded by:
Henry I King of England
1135–1154 Succeeded by:
Henry II
Duke of Normandy
1135–1154
Preceded by:
Matilda I Count of Boulogne
1128-1150
with Matilda I Succeeded by:
Matilda I

The grandson of King William the Conqueror, and nephew of Henry I, he claimed
the crown. 4-6 months in 1141, he was Matilda's Prisoner, and she ruled as
Queen. But in 1148, she left England and gave up in favor of her son, Henry
of Anjou, later Henry II.Then, Henry II waged war against Stephen and forced
him to name him, Henry II, his heir to the throne. This Matilda was daughter
of Henry I, mother to Henry II.

Born circa 1096, he was about half-dozen years older than his cousin and rival for the throne, Matilda, daughter of Henry I.
Stephen married Matilda of Boulogne, who bore him five children, only three of whom survived infancy.
Stephen's father died in the Holy land in 1102, and he was raised by his uncle Henry I. Henry was genuinely found of Stephen, and granted his nephew estates on both sides of the English Channel. Stephen, by 1130, was the richest man in England and Normandy.
Stephen's reign was beset by problems from the beginning. Stephen had promised to recognize his cousin as lawful heir, but Matilda was in Anjou at the time of Henry's death. Stephen, in a rare exhibition of resolve, crossed the Channel and took control in England, being crowned on December 22, 1135.
The first few years were calm, but the Welsh and Scots attacked in1138, followed by invasions of Matilda, her second husband Geoffrey Plantagenet of Anjou, and her half-brother Robert of Gloucester. Civil war ensued until close to the end of the reign, as the rivalry divided loyalties. Stephen captured and released Matilda; Matilda later captured Stephen and traded him for Robert of Gloucester, had also had been captured. The succession problem went beyond the hostilities of the two cousins: Stephen wanted his son Eustace to be named heir, and Matilda wanted her son Henry fitz Empress to succeed to the crown. It became academic in 1153, when Eustace died and the two sides reached a compromise - Stephen would rule unopposed until his death, as the throne would pass to Henry of Anjou, crowned Henry II in 1154. Henry's death came soon, just a year later in 1154.
"1066 and All That" offered a humorous but accurate account of the civil war: "...Stephen and Matilda (or Maud) spent the reign escaping from each other over the snow in nightgowns..."
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle addressed both the virtues of the man, and the nature of the era: "In the days of this King there was nothing but strife, evil, and robbery, for quickly the great men who were traitors rose against him. When the traitors saw that Stephen was a good-humoured, kindly, and easy-going man who inflicted no punishment, then they committed all manner of horrible crimes... And so it lasted for nineteen years while Stephen was King, till the land was all undone and darkened with such deeds, and men said openly that Christ and his angels slept."

["The British Monarchy", www.royal.gov.uk]

Though charming, attractive and (when required) a brave warrior, Stephen (reigned 1135-54) lacked ruthlessness and failed to inspire loyalty. He could neither control his friends nor subdue his enemies, despite the support of his brother Henry of Blois (Bishop of Winchester) and his able wife Matilda of Boulogne. Henry I's daughter Matilda invaded England in 1139 to claim the throne, and the country was plunged into civil war. Although anarchy never spread over the whole country, local feuds were pursued under the cover of the civil war; the bond between the King and the nobles broke down, and senior figures (including Stephen's brother Henry) freely changed allegiances as it suited them.

In 1141, Stephen was captured at Lincoln and his defeat seemed certain. However, Matilda's arrogant behaviour antagonised even her own supporters (Angevins), and Stephen was released in exchange for her captured ally and illegitimate half-brother earl Robert of Gloucester. After the latter's death in 1147, Matilda retired to Normandy (which her husband, the Count of Anjou had conquered) in 1148. Stephen's throne was still disputed. Matilda's eldest son Henry, who had been given Normandy by his father in 1150 and who had married the heiress Eleanor Duchess of Aquitaine, invaded England in 1149 and again in 1153. Stephen fought stubbornly against Henry; Stephen even attempted to ensure his son Eustace's succession by having him crowned in Stephen's lifetime. The Church refused (having quarrelled with the king some years previously); Eustace's death later in 1153 helped lead to a negotiated peace (the treaty of Wallingford) under which Henry would inherit the throne after Stephen's death.

1 AUTH Sl

Origins
Stephen 211 was the son of Adela, a daughter or William the Conqueror. St ephen's father was Stephen, Count of Blois. The Count was killed on Crusa de and Stephen was was looked after by his uncle, Henry 159 , the king o f England. Stephen was bestowed a great deal of land by Henry and he soo n became extremely wealthy and powerful. In 1125 Stephen married Matilda , who was next in line to inherit the lands around Boulogne. This gave St ephen control of a major port on the Channel and control over trade betwe en the two countries.
Claiming the throne
When King Henry I died, the claimant to the throne was Matilda 162 his da ughter. Although it has been agreed that Matilda would rule with her husb and, the Barons neither wanted a female ruler or a ruler from Anjou. Th e decision was taken that Stephen's elder brother Theobald should becom e ruler, but Stephen, helped by Hugh Bigod, a powerful English baron cros sed to England was crowned at Westminster 520 on 22nd December, 1135. I t seems that Theobald was content with his own lands and did not interfer e with Stephen's claim.
Civil War
Matilda had married the Count of Anjou and was away from England at the t ime of her father's death, but she was not prepared to accept Stephen a s king. Not all of the Barons were happy with their new king and a few we re willing to support Matilda's claim. Robert Earl of Gloucester, an ille gitimate son of Henry I and step-brother to Matilda, was in a good positi on to claim the throne himself. Being illegitimate had not stopped Willia m the Conqueror. But Robert was happy to assist Matilda in her cause. H e held lands around Bristol and the south west and in May of 1138, Rober t declared his allegiance to Matilda.
Battle of Lincoln
At Lincoln in February of 1141, Stephen laid siege to Lincoln Castle owne d by the Earl of Chester. A relief force lead by the Earl and aided by Ro bert of Gloucester, captured Stephen and moved him to Bristol where he wa s held. In April Matilda was elected Queen and moved to London for her co ronation, but her treatment of the citizens of London was poor and they d rove Matilda and her followers out before she could be crowned. Stephen' s wife sent an army to assist her husband who was still a captive and dur ing a siege it was Robert, Earl of Gloucester who was captured. The capti ves, Stephen and Robert were exchanged and Stephen was resumed his positi on as King. Matilda and Robert escaped capture and moved to the west wher e Robert's forces were in control. Stephen was unable to force Matilda ou t and the country was effectively split down the middle. In 1147 Robert E arl of Gloucester died. Losing one of her most powerful allies was a majo r blow to Matilda and in the following year she returned to Normandy neve r to see England again.
Henry
Matilda had a son was called Henry. Henry, like his mother was not happ y with Stephen as king and in 1147 and 1149 he attempted to invade Englan d to drive Stephen out. Both attempts failed and Henry returned to Norman dy where he concentrated on building a future for himself. In 1151 Henr y became both the Count of Anjou and the Duke of Normandy giving him hug e resources and power. In 1153 Henry invaded England again to attempt t o get Stephen's agreement that he should become king after Stephen's deat h. Stephen wanted his own son Eustace to become king, but in the same yea r Eustace died and Stephen agreed to Henry's wishes. Stephen lived out th e rest of his life as King of England, and after his death in October o f 1154 Henry was crowned king.

[alfred_descendants10gen_fromrootsweb_bartont.FTW]

cr. King of England, 26 Dec. 1135; m. ca. 1123, MATILDA OF BOULOGNE (158-24), dau. of EUSTACE III (158-23), Count of Boulogne, and Mary, dau. of MALCOLM III CANMORE (170-21), King of Scots, and St. MARGARET (1-22, dau. of Edward the Aethling. (CP VII 641-642; SP I 2; Weever 278; Dunbar 32; Thacker 324).

[Source: Who's Who in the Middle Ages, John Fines, Barnes & Noble Books, New York, 1995]
Stephen, future king of England, was born about the year 1096. His mother was Adela, daughter of William the Conqueror, and heir to all his strength of will and temper. His father was Stephen Count of Blois and Chartres, a boastful character who had made himself the laughing stock of Europe by running away from the siege of Antioch after having been made commander-in-chief there.
Adela's two favored sons, Stephen and Henry, were both to find their fortunes in England. Henry, a Cluniac monk, quickly accumulated Glastonbury, the richest abbey, and Winchester, the second richest diocese in England, and set out on his career of financial wizardry and ecclesiastical statesmanship. A man of rare power, vision and tact, he was infinitely more attuned to great responsibilities than his brother.
Stephen had a ready charm, and his gay and seemingly open nature made him a great success at court. His uncle Henry I loaded favours on him: he was given estates in England of some half a million acres, and made a favourable marriage to the rich heiress of the Count of Boulogne. Matilda was to be both a loyal and an able wife.
In 1136 Henry died, and though he had made all his barons swear fealty to his daughter Matilda before his death, Stephen now moved speedily to get himself accepted as King in England. His brother swayed the Church to his side, the Londoners were bought with a substantial grant of privileges, and the Norman barons were persuaded that a woman ruler of well-known arrogance and intractability, married to the leader of the Normans' traditional enemies, the Angevins, would be no good prospect for England.
Stephen's dash and promises carried him through for a while, but quickly enough people discovered his faults: he was tricky, changeable, often stupidly weak; he simply could not be relied upon, nor could he trust others. In 1139 Matilda landed, and her bastard brother Robert of Gloucester opened the West to her. During the next eight years she was to win defectors from Stephen's bad government.
In 1141, at Lincoln, Stephen's barons deserted him in battle, and he fell prisoner to Matilda. But she proved as unhappy a mistress as Stephen had been master, and many people were glad when Robert of Gloucester was captured by Stephen's Queen at the rout of Winchester, and Matilda was forced to release Stephen to get him back.
Many barons favoured this dual situation in which they could bargain for their services, and live as war-lords. Castles sprung up all over the land, and in many parts a dreadful anarchy reigned, so that many people openly declared that Christ and his Saints were asleep, and the Devil ruled.
Matilda's son Henry had twice invaded and been repulsed in 1147 and 1149, but when he came again in 1153 he was backed by a tremendous accumulation of continental power. The death of Stephen's son Eustace prompted him to negotiate with the young Duke, and he was encouraged in this by the urgings of the Church and of the Norman barons who wished to regain their continental estates now under Henry's control. So Matilda's son was made heir, and for a further year Stephen ruled, in peace at last, until his death in October 1154. He was buried in his abbey of Faversham.

King of England

Stephen is styled as one of the most handsome men in England, noted fo r his chivalrous and generous nature, described as charming, but also his inability to control his barons, who began to commit many horribl e crimes. (ref: ‘Anglo Saxon Chronicle’, tr. G.N. Garmonsway, 1953). He is said to have been tall, striking and debonair, but was often ind ecisive and irresolute. Walter Map has noted that Stephen was adept a t martial arts, but in many respects was no more than a simpleton. He , as King, is described as an 'ineffectual ruler'. But, despite his d efects, he was a more popular choice for assumption of the title of Ki ng, than was Matilda, who was a woman and viewed as a foreigner. Step hen was the son of Adela, a daughter or William the Conqueror. Stephe n's father was Stephen, Count of Blois, who was killed on Crusade and the young Stephen was looked after by his uncle, Henry, the king of En gland. One of his favorite pastimes from his youth on was falconry. S tephen was bestowed a great deal of land by his uncle Henry and he soo n became extremely wealthy and powerful. When his uncle Henry sought to make his daughter Matilda his heir, Stephen was the first to take t he oath to Matilda. In 1125 Stephen married Matilda, who was next in line to inherit the lands around Boulogne. This gave Stephen control o f a major port on the Channel and control over trade between the two c ountries. Prior to becoming King, Stephen was known for his generousi ty and owned numerous estates in both England as well as Normandie.

When King Henry I died, Stephen was one of the attendants at his bedsi de, and he heard Henry's instructions to Robert of Gloucester that ll his dominions should pass to his daughter Matilda who was the claiman t to the throne. Stephen also had previously been the first to take t he oath to Matilda several years earlier. Although it has been agree d that Matilda would rule with her husband, the Barons neither wanted a female ruler or a ruler from Anjou. The decision was taken that Step hen's elder brother Theobald should become ruler, but Stephen, helped by Hugh Bigod, a powerful English baron crossed from Wissant to Dover soon after Henry's death and was crowned at Westminster on 22nd Decemb er 1135 and Matilda was present. It seems that Theobald was content w ith his own lands and did not interfere with Stephen's claim. In Apri l of 1136, Stephen granted a charter of liberties for the English Chur ch. Later, in 1136, the Earl of Norfolk led the first rebellion aga inst Stephens claim to the throne of England. In May and June of 1136 , Stephen and his forces laid siege to Exeter Castle. Soon after his accession to the throne, Stephen is credited with founding a Royal Abb ey at Faversham in Kent.

Matilda had married the Count of Anjou and was away from England at th e time of her father's death, but she was not prepared to accept Steph en as king. Not all of the Barons were happy with their new king and a few were willing to support Matilda's claim. Robert Earl of Gloucest er, an illegitimate son of Henry I and step-brother to Matilda, was i n a good position to claim the throne himself. Being illegitimate hadn ot stopped William the Conqueror. But Robert was happy to assist Matil da in her cause. He held lands around Bristol and the south west and i n May of 1138, Robert of Gloucester declared his allegiance to Matilda .

Stephen, as King, quickly proved to be a poor administrator. His ill advised leniency threw the kingdom into serious disorder. Soon he wa s faced with an attack from the south by Robert of Gloucester. He wa s also faced with an invasion from the north by David of Scotland. Af ter Matilda and Robert of Gloucester arrived at William de Aubigny cas tle in 1139, Stephen showed up before the Castle and demanded that Emp ress Matlda be delivered into his hands. Stephen eventually relented and sent a safe-conduct for the Empress to make her way to join Rober t of Gloucester at Bristol. Stephen appointed his brother Henry, the Bishop of Winchester and the Earl of Mellent to escort her. The Baron s soon began to desert Stephen. He tried to prepare for what was to c ome by importing mercenaries from Flanders led by William of Ypres. T he people of England began to also desert Stephen and grant their supp ort to the Empress Matilda. Most of eastern England and London stood in support of Stephen, while much of the west gave their support to Em press Matilda.

At Lincoln in February of 1141, Stephen's fortunes reached a low point . He laid siege to Lincoln Castle owned by the Earl of Chester. A rel ief force lead by Robert of Gloucester engaged Stephen's forces in fie rce street fighting and captured Stephen and moved him to Bristol wher e he was held. In April 1141, Matilda was elected Queen and moved to London for her coronation, but her treatment of the citizens of Londo n was poor and they drove Matilda and her followers out before she cou ld be crowned. Stephen's wife sent an army to assist her husband who was still a captive and during a siege of Winchester it was Robert, Ea rl of Gloucester who was captured. The captives, Stephen and Robert w ere exchanged and Stephen resumed his position asKing and had himself recrowned on the anniversary of his first coronation. Matilda and Ro bert escaped capture and moved to the west whereRobert's forces were i n control. Stephen was unable to force Matildaout and the country wa s effectively split down the middle. Between September and December o f 1142, Stephen laid siege to Oxford castle. InSeptember 1143, while campaigning in the southwest of England, Stephens forces arrested Geof frey de Mandeville for rebellion against the King. Stephens campaign s continued throughtout England until 1147. In 1147 Robert Earl of Gl oucester died. Losing one of her most powerful allies was a major blo w to Matilda and in the following year she returned to Anjou and Norma ndie never to see England again. Stephen soon moved to have his own s on Eustace accedpted as his successor.

Matilda had a son was named Henry (later to become Henry II of England ). Henry, like his mother was not happy with Stephen as king and in 11 47 and 1149 he attempted to invade England to drive Stephen out. Botha ttempts failed and Henry returned to Normandie where he concentratedo n building a future for himself. In 1151 Henry became both the Count o f Anjou and the Duke of Normandie giving him huge resources and power . In January 1153 Henry invaded England again to attempt to get Stephe n's agreement that he should become king after Stephen's death. Henr y marched on Wallingford, but found Stephen on the opposite bank of th eThames. Both sides of the river were piled deep with snow. Stephen was convinced to negotiate with Henry by William de Aubigny and Stephe n and Henry met to prevent additional strife within the country. Step hen wanted his own son Eustace to become king, but in the same year Eu stace died and Stephen agreed to Henry's wishes with the 1153 Treaty o f Westminister (Treaty of Wallingford). The treaty was ratified by Ar chbishop of Canterbury Theobald in December 1153 at Winchester. The r atification was witnessed by 14 bishops and 11 earls. In 1153, Stephe n built a new wing to Westminster Hall. Stephen lived out the rest o f his life as King of England, and after his death in October of 1154 Henry was crowned king.

Additional information re. Stehen includes:

1.) Alan & Veronica Palmer, Pimlico Chronology of Britsh History.
2.) Various, The Cistercian Abbeys of Britain, 1998.
3.) H.R.Burrows M.A., Pictorial History of Hereford Cathedral.
4.) Richard Barber, The Devil's Crown.
5.) Preston Williams, Illustrations of Masonry.
6.) John Timbs & Alexander Gunn,Abbeys, Castles and Ancient Halls of E ngland & Wales (North),1872.
7.) Derek Renn, Norman Castles, 1968.
8.) Derek Wilson, The Tower (1078 - 1978).
9.) M.T. Clancy, England and its Rulers: 1066-1272.
10.) Edward Burman, The Templars, Knights of God.

GIVN Stephen (Etienne) Koenig
SURN von England
NSFX King of England
REPO @REPO80@
TITL World Family Tree Vol. 11, Ed. 1
AUTH Brøderbund Software, Inc.
PUBL Release date: July 1, 1997
ABBR World Family Tree Vol. 11, Ed. 1
Customer pedigree.
Source Media Type: Family Archive CD
PAGE Tree #3804
DATA
TEXT Date of Import: 18 Dez 1998
REPO @REPO80@
TITL World Family Tree Vol. 11, Ed. 1
AUTH Brøderbund Software, Inc.
PUBL Release date: July 1, 1997
ABBR World Family Tree Vol. 11, Ed. 1
Customer pedigree.
Source Media Type: Family Archive CD
PAGE Tree #0163
DATA
TEXT Date of Import: 18 Dez 1998
_PRIMARY Y
REPO @REPO80@
TITL World Family Tree Vol. 11, Ed. 1
AUTH Brøderbund Software, Inc.
PUBL Release date: July 1, 1997
ABBR World Family Tree Vol. 11, Ed. 1
Customer pedigree.
Source Media Type: Family Archive CD
PAGE Tree #0163
DATA
TEXT Date of Import: 18 Dez 1998
DATE 9 SEP 2000
TIME 13:17:45

[Kopi av ROYALS.FTW]

Grandson of William the Conqueror and nephew of Henry I. During the course of
frequent civil wars, much of the land was ravaged and England was plunged into
almost complete chaos. Henry waged war against Stephen until 1153 when Stephen
was forced to name Henry II, his heir. Reign: 1135-54.

Reigned 1135-1154. He siezed the throne from Matilda who invaded England in
1139. The civil war that followed proved him a brave soldier but revealed his
lack of political sense. In 1152, after much of the country had been ravaged
in factional fighting and the royal administration had broken down, Stephen
recognized Matilda's son Henry as heir to the throne.
Duke of Normandy 1135-1144, deposed. Duke of Blois, Count of Mortain, Count of
Boulogne

#Générale##Générale#3ʻ fils
s:Auréjac

note couple : #Générale#s:ds02.46 ; ds03.621 ; Auréjac

#Générale#Naissance : vers 1096 ou 1097
Décès : 25 Octobre 1154 à Canterbury ENGLAND
Ou bien décédé à Dover Castle ENGLAND
Profession : Roi d'Angleterre du 22 Décembre 1135 au 25Octobre 1154 Comte deBoulogne & de Mortain.

inhumation : Abbaye de Faversham Ken ang

Roi d'angleterre (25 décembre 1135 - 25 octobre 1154), duc de Normandie (1135 -1144).

{geni:about_me}
=Stephen de Blois, King of England=

Stephen often known as Stephen of Blois (c. 1096 – 25 October 1154) was a grandson of William the Conqueror. He was the last Norman King of England, from 1135 to his death, and also the Count of Boulogne jure uxoris. His reign was marked by civil war with his rival the Empress Matilda and general chaos, known as The Anarchy. He was succeeded by Matilda's son, Henry II, the first of the Angevin or Plantagenet kings.

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'''WIkipedia links in different languages:'''

Stephen of England http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_of_England

Stefan av England http://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stefan_av_England

Esteban de Blois http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esteban_de_Blois

Estêvão I de Inglaterra http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Est%C3%AAv%C3%A3o_I_de_Inglaterra

Étienne d'Angleterre http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89tienne_d%27Angleterre

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1st cousin 25 times removed of Queen Elizabeth II

--------------------
Stephen (c. 1092/6 – 25 October 1154), often referred to as Stephen of Blois, was a grandson of William the Conqueror. He was King of England from 1135 to his death, and also the Count of Boulogne in right of his wife. Stephen's reign was marked by the Anarchy, a civil war with his cousin and rival, the Empress Matilda. He was succeeded by Matilda's son, Henry II, the first of the Angevin kings.

Stephen was born in the County of Blois in middle France; his father, Count Stephen-Henry, died while Stephen was still young, and he was brought up by his mother, Adela. Placed into the court of his uncle, Henry I, Stephen rose in prominence and was granted extensive lands. Stephen married Matilda of Boulogne, inheriting additional estates in Kent and Boulogne that made the couple one of the wealthiest in England. Stephen narrowly escaped drowning with Henry I's son, William Adelin, in the sinking of the White Ship in 1120; William's death left the succession of the English throne open to challenge. When Henry I died in 1135, Stephen quickly crossed the English Channel and with the help of his brother Henry of Blois, a powerful ecclesiastic, took the throne, arguing that the preservation of order across the kingdom took priority over his earlier oaths to support the claim of Henry I's daughter, the Empress Matilda.

The early years of Stephen's reign were largely successful, despite a series of attacks on his possessions in England and Normandy by David I of Scotland, Welsh rebels, and the Empress Matilda's husband, Geoffrey of Anjou. In 1138 the Empress's half-brother Robert of Gloucester rebelled against Stephen, threatening civil war. Together with his close advisor, Waleran de Beaumont, Stephen took firm steps to defend his rule, including arresting a powerful family of bishops. When the Empress and Robert invaded in 1139, however, Stephen was unable to crush the revolt rapidly, and it took hold in the south-west of England. Captured at the battle of Lincoln in 1141, Stephen was abandoned by many of his followers and lost control of Normandy. Stephen was freed only after his wife and William of Ypres, one of his military commanders, captured Robert at the Rout of Winchester, but the war dragged on for many years with neither side able to win an advantage.

Stephen became increasingly concerned with ensuring that his son Eustace would inherit his throne. The King tried to convince the Church to agree to crown Eustace to reinforce his claim; Pope Eugene III refused, and Stephen found himself in a sequence of increasingly bitter arguments with his senior clergy. In 1153 the Empress's son, Henry FitzEmpress, invaded England and built an alliance of powerful regional barons to support his claim for the throne. The two armies met at Wallingford, but neither side's barons were keen to fight another pitched battle. Stephen began to examine a negotiated peace, a process hastened by the sudden death of Eustace. Later in the year Stephen and Henry agreed to the Treaty of Winchester, in which Stephen recognised Henry as his heir in exchange for peace, passing over William, Stephen's second son. Stephen died the following year. Modern historians have extensively debated the extent to which Stephen's personality, external events, or the weaknesses in the Norman state contributed to this prolonged period of civil war.

===Early life (1096–1135)===

'''Childhood'''

Stephen was born in Blois in France, in either 1092 or 1096.[1][nb 1] His father was Stephen-Henry, Count of Blois and Chartres, an important French nobleman, and an active crusader, who played only a brief part in Stephen's early life.[2] During the First Crusade Stephen-Henry had acquired a reputation for cowardice, and he returned to the Levant again in 1101 to rebuild his reputation; there he was killed at the battle of Ramlah.[3] Stephen's mother, Adela, was the daughter of William the Conqueror and Matilda of Flanders, famous amongst her contemporaries for her piety, wealth and political talent.[1] She had a strong matriarchal influence on Stephen during his early years.[4][nb 2]

France in the 12th century was a loose collection of counties and smaller polities, under the minimal control of the king of France. The king's power was linked to his control of the rich province of Île-de-France, just to the east of Stephen's home county of Blois.[6] In the west lay the three counties of Maine, Anjou and Touraine, and to the north of Blois was the Duchy of Normandy, from which William the Conqueror had conquered England in 1066. William's children were still fighting over the collective Anglo-Norman inheritance.[7] The rulers across this region spoke a similar language, albeit with regional dialects, followed the same religion, and were closely interrelated; they were also highly competitive and frequently in conflict with one another for valuable territory and the castles that controlled them.[8]

Stephen had at least four brothers and one sister, along with two probable half-sisters.[4] Stephen's eldest brother was William, who under normal circumstances would have ruled the county.[3] William was probably intellectually disabled, and Adela instead had the title passed over him to her second son, Theobald, who went on later to acquire the county of Champagne as well as Blois and Chartres.[3][nb 3] Stephen's remaining older brother, Odo, died young, probably in his early teens.[4] His younger brother, Henry of Blois, was probably born four years after him.[4] The brothers formed a close-knit family group, and Adela encouraged Stephen to take up the role of a feudal knight, whilst steering Henry towards a career in the church, possibly so that their personal career interests would not overlap.[10] Unusually, Stephen was raised in his mother's household rather than being sent to a close relative; he was taught Latin and riding, and was educated in recent history and Biblical stories by his tutor, William the Norman.

'''Relationship with Henry I'''

A contemporary depiction of Stephen's family tree, with his mother Adela at the top, and, left to right, William, Theobald and Stephen
Stephen's early life was heavily influenced by his relationship with his uncle Henry I. Henry seized power in England following the death of his elder brother William Rufus. In 1106 he invaded and captured the Duchy of Normandy, controlled by his eldest brother, Robert Curthose, defeating Robert's army at the battle of Tinchebray.[12] Henry then found himself in conflict with Louis VI of France, who took the opportunity to declare Robert's son William Clito the Duke of Normandy.[13] Henry responded by forming a network of alliances with the western counties of France against Louis, resulting in a regional conflict that would last throughout Stephen's early life.[13] Adela and Theobald allied themselves with Henry, and Stephen's mother decided to place him in Henry's court.[14] Henry fought his next military campaign in Normandy, from 1111 onwards, where rebels led by Robert of Bellême were opposing his rule. Stephen was probably with Henry during the military campaign of 1112, when he was knighted by the King, and was definitely present at court during the King's visit to the Abbey of Saint-Evroul in 1113.[15] Stephen probably first visited England in either 1113 or 1115, almost certainly as part of Henry's court.[14]

Henry became a powerful patron of Stephen's; Henry probably chose to support him because Stephen was part of his extended family and a regional ally, yet not sufficiently wealthy or powerful in his own right to represent a threat to either the King or his heir, William Adelin.[16] As a third surviving son, even of an influential regional family, Stephen still needed the support of a powerful patron such as the King to progress in life.[16] With Henry's support, Stephen rapidly began to accumulate lands and possessions. Following the battle of Tinchebray in 1106, Henry confiscated the County of Mortain from William, the Count of Mortain, and the Honour of Eye, a large lordship previously owned by Robert Malet.[17] In 1113, Stephen was granted both the title and the honour, although without the lands previously held by William in England.[17] The gift of the Honour of Lancaster also followed after it was confiscated by Henry from Roger the Poitevin.[18] Stephen was also given lands in Alençon in southern Normandy by Henry, but the local Normans rebelled, seeking assistance from Fulk, the Count of Anjou.[19] Stephen and his older brother Theobald were comprehensively beaten in the subsequent campaign, which culminated in the battle of Alençon, and the territories were not recovered.[20]

Finally, the King arranged for Stephen to marry Matilda in 1125, the daughter and only heiress of the Count of Boulogne, who owned both the important continental port of Boulogne and vast estates in the north-west and south-east of England.[18] In 1127, William Clito, a potential claimant to the English throne, seemed likely to become the Count of Flanders; Stephen was sent by the King on a mission to prevent this, and in the aftermath of his successful election, William Clito attacked Stephen's lands in neighbouring Boulogne in retaliation.[21] Eventually a truce was declared, and William Clito died the following year.

'''The White Ship and succession'''

An early 14th-century depiction of the White Ship sinking in 1120
In 1120, the English political landscape changed dramatically. Three hundred passengers embarked on the White Ship to travel from Barfleur in Normandy to England, including the heir to the throne, William Adelin, and many other senior nobles.[23] Stephen had intended to sail on the same ship but changed his mind at the last moment and got off to await another vessel, either out of concern for overcrowding on board the ship, or because he was suffering from diarrhoea.[24][nb 4] The ship foundered en route, and all but two of the passengers died, including William Adelin.[25][nb 5]

With Adelin dead, the inheritance to the English throne was thrown into doubt. Rules of succession in western Europe at the time were uncertain; in some parts of France, male primogeniture, in which the eldest son would inherit a title, was becoming more popular.[26] It was also traditional for the King of France to crown his successor whilst he himself was still alive, making the intended line of succession relatively clear, but this was not the case in England. In other parts of Europe, including Normandy and England, the tradition was for lands to be divided up, with the eldest son taking patrimonial lands—usually considered to be the most valuable—and younger sons being given smaller, or more recently acquired, partitions or estates.[26] The problem was further complicated by the sequence of unstable Anglo-Norman successions over the previous sixty years—William the Conqueror had gained England by force, William Rufus and Robert Curthose had fought a war between them to establish their inheritance, and Henry had only acquired control of Normandy by force. There had been no peaceful, uncontested successions.[27]

With William Adelin dead, Henry had only one other legitimate child, Matilda, but as a woman she was at a substantial political disadvantage.[25] Despite Henry taking a second wife, Adeliza of Louvain, it became increasingly unlikely that he would have another legitimate son, and he instead looked to Matilda as his intended heir.[28] Matilda claimed the title of Holy Roman Empress through her marriage to Emperor Henry V, but her husband died in 1125, and she was remarried in 1128 to Geoffrey, the Count of Anjou, whose lands bordered the Duchy of Normandy.[29] Geoffrey was unpopular with the Anglo-Norman elite: as an Angevin ruler, he was a traditional enemy of the Normans.[30] At the same time, tensions continued to grow as a result of Henry's domestic policies, in particular the high level of revenue he was raising to pay for his various wars.[31] Conflict was curtailed, however, by the power of the King's personality and reputation.[32]

Henry attempted to build up a base of political support for Matilda in both England and Normandy, demanding that his court take oaths first in 1127, and then again in 1128 and 1131, to recognise Matilda as his immediate successor and recognise her descendants as the rightful rulers after her.[33] Stephen was amongst those who took this oath in 1127.[34] Nonetheless, relations between Henry, Matilda, and Geoffrey became increasingly strained towards the end of the King's life. Matilda and Geoffrey suspected that they lacked genuine support in England, and proposed to Henry in 1135 that the King should hand over the royal castles in Normandy to Matilda whilst he was still alive and insist on the Norman nobility swearing immediate allegiance to her, thereby giving the couple a much more powerful position after Henry's death.[35] Henry angrily declined to do so, probably out of a concern that Geoffrey would try to seize power in Normandy somewhat earlier than intended.[36] A fresh rebellion broke out in southern Normandy, and Geoffrey and Matilda intervened militarily on behalf of the rebels.[26] In the middle of this confrontation, Henry unexpectedly fell ill and died near Lyons-la-Forêt.[30]

'''Succession (1135)'''

A 13th-century depiction of the coronation of Stephen, by Matthew Paris
Stephen was a well established figure in Anglo-Norman society by 1135. He was extremely wealthy, well-mannered and liked by his peers; he was also considered a man capable of firm action.[37] Chroniclers recorded that despite his wealth and power he was a modest and easy-going leader, happy to sit with his men and servants, casually laughing and eating with them.[37] He was very pious, both in terms of his observance of religious rituals and his personal generosity to the church.[38] Stephen also had a personal Augustinian confessor appointed to him by the Archbishop of Canterbury, who implemented a penitential regime for him, and Stephen encouraged the new order of Cistercians to form abbeys on his estates, winning him additional allies within the church.[39] Rumours of his father's cowardice during the First Crusade, however, continued to circulate, and a desire to avoid the same reputation may have influenced some of Stephen's rasher military actions.[40] His wife, Matilda, played a major role in running their vast English estates, which contributed to the couple being the second-richest lay household in the country after the King.[41] The landless Flemish nobleman William of Ypres had joined Stephen's household in 1133, alongside Faramus of Boulogne, a Flemish relative and friend of Matilda's.[42]

Meanwhile, Stephen's younger brother Henry of Blois had also risen to power under Henry I. Henry of Blois had become a Cluniac monk and followed Stephen to England, where the King made him Abbot of Glastonbury, the richest abbey in England.[43] The King then appointed him Bishop of Winchester, one of the richest bishoprics, allowing him to retain Glastonbury as well.[43] The combined revenues of the two positions made Henry of Winchester the second-richest man in England after the King.[43] Henry of Winchester was keen to reverse what he perceived as encroachment by the Norman kings on the rights of the church.[44] The Norman kings had traditionally exercised a great deal of power and autonomy over the church within their territories. From the 1040s onwards, however, successive popes had put forward a reforming message that emphasised the importance of the church being "governed more coherently and more hierarchically from the centre" and established "its own sphere of authority and jurisdiction, separate from and independent of that of the lay ruler", in the words of historian Richard Huscroft.[45]

Contemporary depiction of Stephen's brother Henry of Blois, with his bishop's staff and ring
When news began to spread of Henry I's death, many of the potential claimants to the throne were not well placed to respond. Geoffrey and Matilda were in Anjou, rather awkwardly supporting the rebels in their campaign against the royal army, which included a number of Matilda's supporters such as Robert of Gloucester.[26] Many of these barons had taken an oath to stay in Normandy until the late king was properly buried, which prevented them from returning to England.[46] Stephen's elder brother Theobald was further south still, in Blois.[47] Stephen, however, was in Bolougne, and when news reached him of Henry's death he left for England, accompanied by his military household. Robert of Gloucester had garrisoned the ports of Dover and Canterbury and some accounts suggest that they refused Stephen access when he first arrived.[48] Nonetheless Stephen probably reached his own estate on the edge of London by 8 December and over the next week he began to seize power in England.[49]

The crowds in London traditionally claimed a right to elect the king of England, and they proclaimed Stephen the new monarch, believing that he would grant the city new rights and privileges in return.[50] Henry of Blois delivered the support of the church to Stephen: Stephen was able to advance to Winchester, where Roger, who was both the Bishop of Salisbury and the Lord Chancellor, instructed the royal treasury to be handed over to Stephen.[51] On 15 December, Henry delivered an agreement under which Stephen would grant extensive freedoms and liberties to the church, in exchange for the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Papal Legate supporting his succession to the throne.[52] There was the slight problem of the religious oath that Stephen had taken to support the Empress Matilda, but Henry convincingly argued that the late King had been wrong to insist that his court take the oath.[53] Furthermore, the late King had only insisted on that oath to protect the stability of the kingdom, and in light of the chaos that might now ensue, Stephen would be justified in ignoring it.[53] Henry was also able to persuade Hugh Bigod, the late King's royal steward, to swear that the King had changed his mind about the succession on his deathbed, nominating Stephen instead.[53][nb 6] Stephen's coronation was held a week later at Westminster Abbey on 22 December.[55][nb 7]

Meanwhile, the Norman nobility gathered at Le Neubourg to discuss declaring Theobald king, probably following the news that Stephen was gathering support in England.[57] The Normans argued that the count, as the eldest grandson of William the Conqueror, had the most valid claim over the kingdom and the duchy, and was certainly preferable to Matilda.[47] Theobald met with the Norman barons and Robert of Gloucester at Lisieux on 21 December, but their discussions were interrupted by the sudden news from England that Stephen's coronation was to occur the next day.[58] Theobald then agreed to the Normans' proposal that he be made king, only to find that his former support immediately ebbed away: the barons were not prepared to support the division of England and Normandy by opposing Stephen.[59] Stephen subsequently financially compensated Theobald, who in return remained in Blois and supported his brother's succession.[60][nb 8]

===Early reign (1136–39)===

'''Initial years (1136–37)'''

Stephen's new Anglo-Norman kingdom had been shaped by the Norman conquest of England in 1066, followed by the Norman expansion into south Wales over the coming years.[62] Both the kingdom and duchy were dominated by a small number of major barons who owned lands on both sides of the English Channel, with the lesser barons beneath them usually having more localised holdings.[63] The extent to which lands and positions should be passed down through hereditary right or by the gift of the king was still uncertain, and tensions concerning this issue had grown during the reign of Henry I. Certainly lands in Normandy, passed by hereditary right, were usually considered more important to major barons than those in England, where their possession was less certain. Henry had increased the authority and capabilities of the central royal administration, often bringing in "new men" to fulfil key positions rather than using the established nobility.[64] In the process he had been able to maximise revenues and contain expenditures, resulting in a healthy surplus and a famously large treasury, but also increasing political tensions.[65][nb 9]

Stephen had to intervene in the north of England immediately after his coronation.[54] David I of Scotland invaded the north on the news of Henry's death, taking Carlisle, Newcastle and other key strongholds.[54] Northern England was a disputed territory at this time, with the Scottish kings laying a traditional claim to Cumberland, and David also claiming Northumbria by virtue of his marriage to the daughter of the former Anglo-Saxon earl Waltheof.[67] Stephen rapidly marched north with an army and met David at Durham.[68] An agreement was made under which David would return most of the territory he had taken, with the exception of Carlisle. In return, Stephen confirmed David's son Prince Henry's possessions in England, including the Earldom of Huntingdon.[68]

Returning south, Stephen held his first royal court at Easter 1136.[69] A wide range of nobles gathered at Westminster for the event, including many of the Anglo-Norman barons and most of the higher officials of the church.[70] Stephen issued a new royal charter, confirming the promises he had made to the church, promising to reverse Henry's policies on the royal forests and to reform any abuses of the royal legal system.[71] Stephen portrayed himself as the natural successor to Henry I's policies, and reconfirmed the existing seven earldoms in the kingdom on their existing holders.[72] The Easter court was a lavish event, and a large amount of money was spent on the event itself, clothes and gifts.[73] Stephen gave out grants of land and favours to those present and endowed numerous church foundations with land and privileges.[74] Stephen's accession to the throne still needed to be ratified by the Pope, however, and Henry of Blois appears to have been responsible for ensuring that testimonials of support were sent both from Stephen's elder brother Theobald and from the French king Louis VI, to whom Stephen represented a useful balance to Angevin power in the north of France.[75] Pope Innocent II confirmed Stephen as king by letter later that year, and Stephen's advisers circulated copies widely around England to demonstrate Stephen's legitimacy.[76]

Troubles continued across Stephen's kingdom. After the Welsh victory at the battle of Llwchwr in January 1136 and the successful ambush of Richard Fitz Gilbert de Clare in April, south Wales rose in rebellion, starting in east Glamorgan and rapidly spreading across the rest of south Wales during 1137.[77] Owain Gwynedd and Gruffydd ap Rhys successfully captured considerable territories, including Carmarthen Castle.[67] Stephen responded by sending Richard's brother Baldwin and the Marcher Lord Robert Fitz Harold of Ewyas into Wales to pacify the region. Neither mission was particularly successful, and by the end of 1137 the King appears to have abandoned attempts to put down the rebellion. Historian David Crouch suggests that Stephen effectively "bowed out of Wales" around this time to concentrate on his other problems.[78] Meanwhile, Stephen had put down two revolts in the south-west led by Baldwin de Redvers and Robert of Bampton; Baldwin was released after his capture and travelled to Normandy, where he became an increasingly vocal critic of the King.[79]

The security of Normandy was also a concern. Geoffrey of Anjou invaded in early 1136 and, after a temporary truce, invaded later the same year, raiding and burning estates rather than trying to hold the territory.[80] Events in England meant that Stephen was unable to travel to Normandy himself, so Waleran de Beaumont, appointed by Stephen as the lieutenant of Normandy, and Theobald led the efforts to defend the duchy.[81] Stephen himself only returned to the duchy in 1137, where he met with Louis VI and Theobald to agree to an informal regional alliance, probably brokered by Henry, to counter the growing Angevin power in the region.[82] As part of this deal, Louis recognised Stephen's son Eustace as Duke of Normandy in exchange for Eustace giving fealty to the French king.[83] Stephen was less successful, however, in regaining the Argentan province along the Normandy and Anjou border, which Geoffrey had taken at the end of 1135.[84] Stephen formed an army to retake it, but the frictions between his Flemish mercenary forces led by William of Ypres and the local Norman barons resulted in a battle between the two halves of his army.[85] The Norman forces then deserted the King, forcing Stephen to give up his campaign.[86] Stephen agreed to another truce with Geoffrey, promising to pay him 2,000 marks a year in exchange for peace along the Norman borders.[80][nb 10][nb 11]

In the years following his succession, Stephen's relationship with the church became gradually more complex. The royal charter of 1136 had promised to review the ownership of all the lands that had been taken by the crown from the church since 1087, but these estates were now typically owned by nobles.[80] Henry of Blois's claims, in his role as Abbot of Glastonbury, to extensive lands in Devon resulted in considerable local unrest.[80] In 1136, Archbishop of Canterbury William de Corbeil died. Stephen responded by seizing his personal wealth, which caused some discontent amongst the senior clergy.[80] Stephen's brother Henry wanted to succeed to the post, but Stephen instead supported Theobald of Bec, who was eventually appointed, while the papacy named Henry papal legate, possibly as consolation for not receiving Canterbury.[89]

Stephen's first few years as king can be interpreted in different ways. From a positive perspective, he stabilised the northern border with Scotland, contained Geoffrey's attacks on Normandy, was at peace with Louis VI, enjoyed good relations with the church and had the broad support of his barons.[90] There were significant underlying problems, nonetheless. The north of England was now controlled by David and Prince Henry, Stephen had abandoned Wales, the fighting in Normandy had considerably destabilised the duchy, and an increasing number of barons felt that Stephen had given them neither the lands nor the titles they felt they deserved or were owed.[91] Stephen was also rapidly running out of money: Henry's considerable treasury had been emptied by 1138 due to the costs of running Stephen's more lavish court and the need to raise and maintain his mercenary armies fighting in England and Normandy.[92]

'''Defending the kingdom (1138–39)'''

Stephen was attacked on several fronts during 1138. First, Robert of Gloucester rebelled against the King, starting the descent into civil war in England.[92] An illegitimate son of Henry I and the half-brother of the Empress Matilda, Robert was one of the most powerful Anglo-Norman barons, controlling estates in Normandy as well as the Earldom of Gloucester. He was known for his qualities as a statesman, his military experience, and leadership ability.[93] Robert had tried to convince Theobald to take the throne in 1135; he did not attend Stephen's first court in 1136 and it took several summonses to convince him to attend court at Oxford later that year.[94] In 1138, Robert renounced his fealty to Stephen and declared his support for Matilda, triggering a major regional rebellion in Kent and across the south-west of England, although Robert himself remained in Normandy.[95] In France, Geoffrey of Anjou took advantage of the situation by re-invading Normandy. David of Scotland also invaded the north of England once again, announcing that he was supporting the claim of his niece the Empress Matilda to the throne, pushing south into Yorkshire.[96][nb 12]

Anglo-Norman warfare during the reign of Stephen was characterised by attritional military campaigns, in which commanders tried to seize key enemy castles in order to allow them to take control of their adversaries' territory and ultimately win a slow, strategic victory.[97] The armies of the period centred on bodies of mounted, armoured knights, supported by infantry and crossbowmen.[98] These forces were either feudal levies, drawn up by local nobles for a limited period of service during a campaign, or, increasingly, mercenaries, who were expensive but more flexible and often more skilled. These armies, however, were ill-suited to besieging castles, whether the older motte-and-bailey designs or the newer, stone-built keeps. Existing siege engines were significantly less powerful than the later trebuchet designs, giving defenders a substantial advantage over attackers. As a result, slow sieges to starve defenders out, or mining operations to undermine walls, tended to be preferred by commanders over direct assaults.[97] Occasionally pitched battles were fought between armies but these were considered highly risky endeavours and were usually avoided by prudent commanders.[97] The cost of warfare had risen considerably in the first part of the 12th century, and adequate supplies of ready cash were increasingly proving important in the success of campaigns.[99]

'''A photograph of a Prince Henry silver penny coin'''

Stephen's personal qualities as a military leader focused on his skill in personal combat, his capabilities in siege warfare and a remarkable ability to move military forces quickly over relatively long distances.[100] In response to the revolts and invasions, Stephen rapidly undertook several military campaigns, focusing primarily on England rather than Normandy. His wife Matilda was sent to Kent with ships and resources from Boulogne, with the task of retaking the key port of Dover, under Robert's control.[93] A small number of Stephen's household knights were sent north to help the fight against the Scots, where David's forces were defeated later that year at the battle of the Standard in August by the forces of Thurstan, the Archbishop of York.[96] Despite this victory, however, David still occupied most of the north.[96] Stephen himself went west in an attempt to regain control of Gloucestershire, first striking north into the Welsh Marches, taking Hereford and Shrewsbury, before heading south to Bath.[93] The town of Bristol itself proved too strong for him, and Stephen contented himself with raiding and pillaging the surrounding area.[93] The rebels appear to have expected Robert to intervene with support that year, but he remained in Normandy throughout, trying to persuade the Empress Matilda to invade England herself.[101] Dover finally surrendered to the queen's forces later in the year.[102]

Stephen's military campaign in England had progressed well, and historian David Crouch describes it as "a military achievement of the first rank".[102] The King took the opportunity of his military advantage to forge a peace agreement with Scotland.[102] Stephen's wife Matilda was sent to negotiate another agreement between Stephen and David, called the treaty of Durham; Northumbria and Cumbria would effectively be granted to David and his son Prince Henry, in exchange for their fealty and future peace along the border.[96] Unfortunately, the powerful Ranulf, Earl of Chester, considered himself to hold the traditional rights to Carlisle and Cumberland and was extremely displeased to see them being given to the Scots.[103] Nonetheless, Stephen could now focus his attention on the anticipated invasion of England by Robert and Matilda's forces.[104]

'''Road to civil war (1139)'''

Stephen prepared for the Angevin invasion by creating a number of additional earldoms.[105] Only a handful of earldoms had existed under Henry I and these had been largely symbolic in nature. Stephen created many more, filling them with men he considered to be loyal, capable military commanders, and in the more vulnerable parts of the country assigning them new lands and additional executive powers.[106][nb 13] Stephen appears to have had several objectives in mind, including both ensuring the loyalty of his key supporters by granting them these honours, and improving his defences in key parts of the kingdom. Stephen was heavily influenced by his principal advisor, Waleran de Beaumont, the twin brother of Robert of Leicester. The Beaumont twins and their younger brother and cousins received the majority of these new earldoms.[108] From 1138 onwards, Stephen gave them the earldoms of Worcester, Leicester, Hereford, Warwick and Pembroke, which—especially when combined with the possessions of Stephen's new ally, Prince Henry, in Cumberland and Northumbria—created a wide block of territory to act as a buffer zone between the troubled south-west, Chester, and the rest of the kingdom.[109] With their new lands, the power of the Beamounts grew to the point where David Crouch suggests that it became "dangerous to be anything other than a friend of Waleran" at Stephen's court.[110]

Stephen took steps to remove a group of bishops he regarded as a threat to his rule. The royal administration under Henry I had been headed by Roger, the Bishop of Salisbury, supported by Roger's nephews, Alexander and Nigel, the Bishops of Lincoln and Ely respectively, and Roger's son, Roger le Poer, who was the Lord Chancellor.[111] These bishops were powerful landowners as well as ecclesiastical rulers, and they had begun to build new castles and increase the size of their military forces, leading Stephen to suspect that they were about to defect to the Empress Matilda. Roger and his family were also enemies of Waleran, who disliked their control of the royal administration. In June 1139, Stephen held his court in Oxford, where a fight between Alan of Brittany and Roger's men broke out, an incident probably deliberately created by Stephen.[112] Stephen responded by demanding that Roger and the other bishops surrender all of their castles in England. This threat was backed up by the arrest of the bishops, with the exception of Nigel who had taken refuge in Devizes Castle; the bishop only surrendered after Stephen besieged the castle and threatened to execute Roger le Poer.[113] The remaining castles were then surrendered to the King.[112][nb 14]

Stephen's brother, Henry of Blois, was alarmed by this, both as a matter of principle, since Stephen had previously agreed in 1135 to respect the freedoms of the church, and more pragmatically because he himself had recently built six castles and had no desire to be treated in the same way.[115] As the papal legate, he summoned the King to appear before an ecclesiastical council to answer for the arrests and seizure of property. Henry asserted the Church’s right to investigate and judge all charges against members of the clergy.[115] Stephen sent Aubrey de Vere as his spokesman to the council, who argued that Roger of Salisbury had been arrested not as a bishop, but rather in his role as a baron who had been preparing to change his support to the Empress Matilda. The King was supported by Hugh, Archbishop of Rouen, who challenged the bishops to show how canon law entitled them to build or hold castles. Aubrey threatened that Stephen would complain to the pope that he was being harassed by the English church, and the council let the matter rest following an unsuccessful appeal to Rome.[115] The incident successfully removed any military threat from the bishops, but it may have damaged Stephen's relationship with the senior clergy, and in particular with his brother Henry.[116][nb 15]

===Civil war (1139–54)===

'''Initial phase of the war (1139–40)'''

The Angevin invasion finally arrived in 1139. Baldwin de Redvers crossed over from Normandy to Wareham in August in an initial attempt to capture a port to receive the Empress Matilda's invading army, but Stephen's forces forced him to retreat into the south-west.[118] The following month, however, the Empress was invited by the Dowager Queen Adeliza to land at Arundel instead, and on 30 September Robert of Gloucester and the Empress arrived in England with 140 knights.[118][nb 16] The Empress stayed at Arundel Castle, whilst Robert marched north-west to Wallingford and Bristol, hoping to raise support for the rebellion and to link up with Miles of Gloucester, a capable military leader who took the opportunity to renounce his fealty to the King.[120] Stephen promptly moved south, besieging Arundel and trapping Matilda inside the castle.[121]

Stephen then agreed to a truce proposed by his brother, Henry of Blois; the full details of the truce are not known, but the results were that Stephen first released Matilda from the siege and then allowed her and her household of knights to be escorted to the south-west, where they were reunited with Robert of Gloucester.[121] The reasoning behind Stephen's decision to release his rival remains unclear. Contemporary chroniclers suggested that Henry argued that it would be in Stephen's own best interests to release the Empress and concentrate instead on attacking Robert, and Stephen may have seen Robert, not the Empress, as his main opponent at this point in the conflict.[121] Stephen also faced a military dilemma at Arundel—the castle was considered almost impregnable, and he may have been worried that he was tying down his army in the south whilst Robert roamed freely in the west.[122] Another theory is that Stephen released Matilda out of a sense of chivalry; Stephen was certainly known for having a generous, courteous personality and women were not normally expected to be targeted in Anglo-Norman warfare.[123][nb 17]

Having released the Empress, Stephen focused on pacifying the south-west of England.[125] Although there had been few new defections to the Empress, his enemies now controlled a compact block of territory stretching out from Gloucester and Bristol south-west into Devon and Cornwall, west into the Welsh Marches and east as far as Oxford and Wallingford, threatening London.[126] Stephen started by attacking Wallingford Castle, held by the Empress's childhood friend Brien FitzCount, only to find it too well defended.[127] Stephen left behind some forces to blockade the castle and continued west into Wiltshire to attack Trowbridge, taking the castles of South Cerney and Malmesbury en route.[128] Meanwhile, Miles of Gloucester marched east, attacking Stephen's rearguard forces at Wallingford and threatening an advance on London.[129] Stephen was forced to give up his western campaign, returning east to stabilise the situation and protect his capital.[130]

At the start of 1140, Nigel, the Bishop of Ely, whose castles Stephen had confiscated the previous year, rebelled against Stephen as well.[130] Nigel hoped to seize East Anglia and established his base of operations in the Isle of Ely, then surrounded by protective fenland.[130] Stephen responded quickly, taking an army into the fens and using boats lashed together to form a causeway that allowed him to make a surprise attack on the isle.[131] Nigel escaped to Gloucester, but his men and castle were captured, and order was temporarily restored in the east.[131] Robert of Gloucester's men retook some of the territory that Stephen had taken in his 1139 campaign.[132] In an effort to negotiate a truce, Henry of Blois held a peace conference at Bath, to which Stephen sent his wife. The conference collapsed over the insistence by Henry and the clergy that they should set the terms of any peace deal, which Stephen found unacceptable.[133]

Ranulf of Chester remained upset over Stephen's gift of the north of England to Prince Henry.[103] Ranulf devised a plan for dealing with the problem by ambushing Henry whilst the prince was travelling back from Stephen's court to Scotland after Christmas.[103] Stephen responded to rumours of this plan by escorting Henry himself north, but this gesture proved the final straw for Ranulf.[103] Ranulf had previously claimed that he had the rights to Lincoln Castle, held by Stephen, and under the guise of a social visit, Ranulf seized the fortification in a surprise attack.[134] Stephen marched north to Lincoln and agreed to a truce with Ranulf, probably to keep him from joining the Empress's faction, under which Ranulf would be allowed to keep the castle.[135] Stephen returned to London but received news that Ranulf, his brother and their family were relaxing in Lincoln Castle with a minimal guard force, a ripe target for a surprise attack of his own.[135] Abandoning the deal he had just made, Stephen gathered his army again and sped north, but not quite fast enough—Ranulf escaped Lincoln and declared his support for the Empress, and Stephen was forced to place the castle under siege.[135]

'''Second phase of the war (1141–42)'''

While Stephen and his army besieged Lincoln Castle at the start of 1141, Robert of Gloucester and Ranulf of Chester advanced on the King's position with a somewhat larger force.[136] When the news reached Stephen, he held a council to decide whether to give battle or to withdraw and gather additional soldiers: Stephen decided to fight, resulting in the battle of Lincoln on 2 February 1141.[136] The King commanded the centre of his army, with Alan of Brittany on his right and William of Aumale on his left.[137] Robert and Ranulf's forces had superiority in cavalry and Stephen dismounted many of his own knights to form a solid infantry block; he joined them himself, fighting on foot in the battle.[137][nb 18] Stephen was not a gifted public speaker, and delegated the pre-battle speech to Baldwin of Clare, who delivered a rousing declaration.[139] After an initial success in which William's forces destroyed the Angevins' Welsh infantry, the battle went badly for Stephen.[140] Robert and Ranulf's cavalry encircled Stephen's centre, and the king found himself surrounded by the enemy army.[140] Many of Stephen's supporters, including Waleran de Beaumont and William of Ypres, fled from the field at this point but Stephen fought on, defending himself first with his sword and then, when that broke, with a borrowed battle axe.[141] Finally, he was overwhelmed by Robert's men and taken away from the field in custody.[141][nb 19]

Robert took Stephen back to Gloucester, where the King met with the Empress Matilda, and was then moved to Bristol Castle, traditionally used for holding high-status prisoners.[143] He was initially left confined in relatively good conditions, but his security was later tightened and he was kept in chains.[143] The Empress now began to take the necessary steps to have herself crowned queen in his place, which would require the agreement of the church and her coronation at Westminster.[144] Stephen's brother Henry summoned a council at Winchester before Easter in his capacity as papal legate to consider the clergy's view. He had made a private deal with the Empress Matilda that he would deliver the support of the church, if she agreed to give him control over church business in England.[145] Henry handed over the royal treasury, rather depleted except for Stephen's crown, to the Empress, and excommunicated many of Stephen's supporters who refused to switch sides.[146] Archbishop Theobald of Canterbury was unwilling to declare Matilda queen so rapidly, however, and a delegation of clergy and nobles, headed by Theobald, travelled to see Stephen in Bristol and consult about their moral dilemma: should they abandon their oaths of fealty to the King?[145] Stephen agreed that, given the situation, he was prepared to release his subjects from their oath of fealty to him, and the clergy gathered again in Winchester after Easter to declare the Empress "Lady of England and Normandy" as a precursor to her coronation.[147] When Matilda advanced to London in an effort to stage her coronation in June, though, she faced an uprising by the local citizens in support of Stephen that forced her to flee to Oxford, uncrowned.[148]

Once news of Stephen's capture reached him, Geoffrey of Anjou invaded Normandy again and, in the absence of Waleran of Beaumont, who was still fighting in England, Geoffrey took all the duchy south of the river Seine and east of the river Risle.[149] No help was forthcoming from Stephen's brother Theobald this time either, who appears to have been preoccupied with his own problems with France—the new French king, Louis VII, had rejected his father's regional alliance, improving relations with Anjou and taking a more bellicose line with Theobald, which would result in war the following year.[150] Geoffrey's success in Normandy and Stephen's weakness in England began to influence the loyalty of many Anglo-Norman barons, who feared losing their lands in England to Robert and the Empress, and their possessions in Normandy to Geoffrey.[151] Many started to leave Stephen's faction. His friend and advisor Waleran was one of those who decided to defect in mid-1141, crossing into Normandy to secure his ancestral possessions by allying himself with the Angevins, and bringing Worcestershire into the Empress's camp.[152] Waleran's twin brother, Robert of Leicester, effectively withdrew from fighting in the conflict at the same time. Other supporters of the Empress were restored in their former strongholds, such as Bishop Nigel of Ely, and others still received new earldoms in the west of England. The royal control over the minting of coins broke down, leading to coins being struck by local barons and bishops across the country.[153]

Stephen's wife Matilda played a critical part in keeping the King's cause alive during his captivity. Queen Matilda gathered Stephen's remaining lieutenants around her and the royal family in the south-east, advancing into London when the population rejected the Empress.[154] Stephen's long-standing commander William of Ypres remained with the queen in London; William Martel, the royal steward, commanded operations from Sherborne in Dorset, and Faramus of Boulogne ran the royal household.[155] The queen appears to have generated genuine sympathy and support from Stephen's more loyal followers.[154] Henry's alliance with the Empress proved short-lived, as they soon fell out over political patronage and ecclesiastical policy; the bishop met Stephen's wife Queen Matilda at Guildford and transferred his support to her.[156]

The King's eventual release resulted from the Angevin defeat at the rout of Winchester. Robert of Gloucester and the Empress besieged Henry in the city of Winchester in July.[157] Queen Matilda and William of Ypres then encircled the Angevin forces with their own army, reinforced with fresh troops from London.[156] In the subsequent battle the Empress's forces were defeated and Robert of Gloucester himself was taken prisoner.[158] Further negotiations attempted to deliver a general peace agreement but Queen Matilda was unwilling to offer any compromise to the Empress, and Robert refused to accept any offer to encourage him to change sides to Stephen.[158] Instead, in November the two sides simply exchanged Robert and the King, and Stephen began re-establishing his authority.[158] Henry held another church council, which this time reaffirmed Stephen's legitimacy to rule, and a fresh coronation of Stephen and Matilda occurred at Christmas 1141.[158]

At the beginning of 1142 Stephen fell ill, and by Easter rumours had begun to circulate that he had died.[159] Possibly this illness was the result of his imprisonment the previous year, but he finally recovered and travelled north to raise new forces and to successfully convince Ranulf of Chester to change sides once again.[160] Stephen then spent the summer attacking some of the new Angevin castles built the previous year, including Cirencester, Bampton and Wareham.[161] In September, he spotted an opportunity to seize the Empress Matilda herself in Oxford.[161] Oxford was a secure town, protected by walls and the river Isis, but Stephen led a sudden attack across the river, leading the charge and swimming part of the way.[162] Once on the other side, the King and his men stormed into the town, trapping the Empress in the castle.[162] Oxford Castle, however, was a powerful fortress and, rather than storming it, Stephen had to settle down for a long siege, albeit secure in the knowledge that Matilda was now surrounded.[162] Just before Christmas, the Empress left the castle unobserved, crossed the icy river on foot and made her escape to Wallingford. The garrison surrendered shortly afterwards, but Stephen had lost an opportunity to capture his principal opponent.[163]

'''Stalemate (1143–46)'''

The war between the two sides in England reached a stalemate in the mid-1140s, while Geoffrey of Anjou consolidated his hold on power in Normandy.[164] 1143 started precariously for Stephen when he was besieged by Robert of Gloucester at Wilton Castle, an assembly point for royal forces in Herefordshire.[165] Stephen attempted to break out and escape, resulting in the battle of Wilton. Once again, the Angevin cavalry proved too strong, and for a moment it appeared that Stephen might be captured for a second time.[166] On this occasion, however, William Martel, Stephen's steward, made a fierce rear guard effort, allowing Stephen to escape from the battlefield.[165] Stephen valued William's loyalty sufficiently to agree to exchange Sherborne Castle for his safe release—this was one of the few instances where Stephen was prepared to give up a castle to ransom one of his men.[167]

In late 1143, Stephen faced a new threat in the east, when Geoffrey de Mandeville, the Earl of Essex, rose up in rebellion against the King in East Anglia.[168] Stephen had disliked the baron for several years, and provoked the conflict by summoning Geoffrey to court, where the King arrested him.[169] Stephen threatened to execute Geoffrey unless the baron handed over his various castles, including the Tower of London, Saffron Walden and Pleshey, all important fortifications because they were in, or close to, London.[169] Geoffrey gave in, but once free he headed north-east into the Fens to the Isle of Ely, from where he began a military campaign against Cambridge, with the intention of progressing south towards London.[170] With all of his other problems and with Hugh Bigod still in open revolt in Norfolk, Stephen lacked the resources to track Geoffrey down in the Fens and made do with building a screen of castles between Ely and London, including Burwell Castle.[171]

For a period, the situation continued to worsen. Ranulf of Chester revolted once again in the summer of 1144, splitting up Stephen's Honour of Lancaster between himself and Prince Henry.[172] In the west, Robert of Gloucester and his followers continued to raid the surrounding royalist territories, and Wallingford Castle remained a secure Angevin stronghold, too close to London for comfort.[172] Meanwhile, Geoffrey of Anjou finished securing his hold on southern Normandy and in January 1144 he advanced into Rouen, the capital of the duchy, concluding his campaign.[160] Louis VII recognised him as Duke of Normandy shortly after.[173] By this point in the war, Stephen was depending increasingly on his immediate royal household, such as William of Ypres and others, and lacked the support of the major barons who might have been able to provide him with significant additional forces; after the events of 1141, Stephen made little use of his network of earls.[174]

After 1143 the war ground on, but progressing slightly better for Stephen.[175] Miles of Gloucester, one of the most talented Angevin commanders, had died whilst hunting over the previous Christmas, relieving some of the pressure in the west.[176] Geoffrey de Mandeville's rebellion continued until September 1144, when he died during an attack on Burwell.[177] The war in the west progressed better in 1145, with the King recapturing Faringdon Castle in Oxfordshire.[177] In the north, Stephen came to a fresh agreement with Ranulf of Chester, but then in 1146 repeated the ruse he had played on Geoffrey de Mandeville in 1143, first inviting Ranulf to court, before arresting him and threatening to execute him unless he handed over a number of castles, including Lincoln and Coventry.[172] As with Geoffrey, the moment Ranulf was released he immediately rebelled, but the situation was a stalemate: Stephen had few forces in the north with which to prosecute a fresh campaign, whilst Ranulf lacked the castles to support an attack on Stephen.[172] By this point, however, Stephen's practice of inviting barons to court and arresting them had brought him into some disrepute and increasing distrust.[178]

'''Final phases of the war (1147–52)'''

England had suffered extensively from the war by 1147, leading later Victorian historians to call the period of conflict "the Anarchy".[nb 20] The contemporary Anglo-Saxon Chronicle recorded how "there was nothing but disturbance and wickedness and robbery".[180] Certainly in many parts of the country, such as Wiltshire, Berkshire, the Thames Valley and East Anglia, the fighting and raiding had caused serious devastation.[181] Numerous "adulterine", or unauthorised, castles had been built as bases for local lords—the chronicler Robert of Torigny complained that as many as 1,115 such castles had been built during the conflict, although this was probably an exaggeration as elsewhere he suggested an alternative figure of 126.[182] The previously centralised royal coinage system was fragmented, with Stephen, the Empress and local lords all minting their own coins.[181] The royal forest law had collapsed in large parts of the country.[183] Some parts of the country, though, were barely touched by the conflict—for example, Stephen's lands in the south-east and the Angevin heartlands around Gloucester and Bristol were largely unaffected, and David I ruled his territories in the north of England effectively.[181] The King's overall income from his estates, however, declined seriously during the conflict, particularly after 1141, and royal control over the minting of new coins remained limited outside of the south-east and East Anglia.[184] With Stephen often based in the south-east, increasingly Westminster, rather than the older site of Winchester, was used as the centre of royal government.[185]

The character of the conflict in England gradually began to shift; as historian Frank Barlow suggests, by the late 1140s "the civil war was over", barring the occasional outbreak of fighting.[186] In 1147 Robert of Gloucester died peacefully, and the next year the Empress Matilda left south-west England for Normandy, both of which contributed to reducing the tempo of the war.[186] The Second Crusade was announced, and many Angevin supporters, including Waleran of Beaumont, joined it, leaving the region for several years.[186] Many of the barons were making individual peace agreements with each other to secure their lands and war gains.[187] Geoffrey and Matilda's son, the future King Henry II, mounted a small mercenary invasion of England in 1147 but the expedition failed, not least because Henry lacked the funds to pay his men.[186] Surprisingly, Stephen himself ended up paying their costs, allowing Henry to return home safely; his reasons for doing so are unclear. One potential explanation is his general courtesy to a member of his extended family; another is that he was starting to consider how to end the war peacefully, and saw this as a way of building a relationship with Henry.[188]

The young Henry FitzEmpress returned to England again in 1149, this time planning to form a northern alliance with Ranulf of Chester.[189] The Angevin plan involved Ranulf agreeing to give up his claim to Carlisle, held by the Scots, in return for being given the rights to the whole of the Honour of Lancaster; Ranulf would give homage to both David and Henry Fitzempress, with Henry having seniority.[190] Following this peace agreement, Henry and Ranulf agreed to attack York, probably with help from the Scots.[191] Stephen marched rapidly north to York and the planned attack disintegrated, leaving Henry to return to Normandy, where he was declared duke by his father.[192][nb 21]

Although still young, Henry was increasingly gaining a reputation as an energetic and capable leader. His prestige and power increased further when he unexpectedly married Eleanor of Aquitaine in 1152; Eleanor was the attractive Duchess of Aquitaine and the recently divorced wife of Louis VII of France, and the marriage made Henry the future ruler of a huge swathe of territory across France.[193]

In the final years of the war, Stephen began to focus on the issue of his family and the succession.[194] Stephen's eldest son was Eustace and the King wanted to confirm him as his successor, although chroniclers recorded that Eustace was infamous for levying heavy taxes and extorting money from those on his lands.[195] Stephen's second son, William, was married to the extremely wealthy heiress Isabel de Warenne.[196] In 1148, Stephen built the Cluniac Faversham Abbey as a resting place for his family. Both Stephen's wife, Queen Matilda, and his older brother Theobald died in 1152.[197]

'''Argument with the church (1145–52)'''

Stephen's relationship with the church deteriorated badly towards the end of his reign.[198] The reforming movement within the church, which advocated greater autonomy from royal authority for the clergy, had continued to grow, while new voices such as the Cistercians had gained additional prestige within the monastic orders, eclipsing older orders such as the Cluniacs.[198] Stephen's dispute with the church had its origins in 1140, when Archbishop Thurstan of York died. An argument then broke out between a group of reformers based in York and backed by Bernard of Clairvaux, the head of the Cistercian order, who preferred William of Rievaulx as the new archbishop, and Stephen and his brother Henry of Blois, who preferred various Blois family relatives.[199] The row between Henry and Bernard grew increasingly personal, and Henry used his authority as legate to appoint his nephew William of York to the post in 1144 only to find that, when Pope Innocent II died in 1145, Bernard was able to get the appointment rejected by Rome.[200] Bernard then convinced Pope Eugene III to overturn Henry's decision altogether in 1147, deposing William, and appointing Henry Murdac as archbishop instead.[201]

Stephen was furious over what he saw as potentially precedent-setting papal interference in his royal authority, and initially refused to allow Murdac into England.[202] When Theobald, the Archbishop of Canterbury, went to consult with the Pope on the matter against Stephen's wishes, the King refused to allow him back into England either, and seized his estates.[202] Stephen also cut his links to the Cistercian order, and turned instead to the Cluniacs, of which Henry was a member.[203]

Nonetheless, the pressure on Stephen to get Eustace confirmed as his legitimate heir continued to grow. The King gave Eustace the County of Boulogne in 1147, but it remained unclear whether Eustace would inherit England.[204] Stephen's preferred option was to have Eustace crowned while he himself was still alive, as was the custom in France, but this was not the normal practice in England, and Celestine II, during his brief tenure as pope between 1143 and 1144, had banned any change to this practice.[204] Since the only person who could crown Eustace was Archbishop Theobald, who refused to do so without agreement from the current pope, Eugene III, the matter reached an impasse.[204][nb 22] At the end of 1148, Stephen and Theobald came to a temporary compromise that allowed Theobald to return to England. Theobald was appointed a papal legate in 1151, adding to his authority.[206] Stephen then made a fresh attempt to have Eustace crowned at Easter 1152, gathering his nobles to swear fealty to Eustace, and then insisting that Theobald and his bishops anoint him king.[207] When Theobald refused yet again, Stephen and Eustace imprisoned both him and the bishops and refused to release them unless they agreed to crown Eustace.[207] Theobald escaped again into temporary exile in Flanders, pursued to the coast by Stephen's knights, marking a low point in Stephen's relationship with the church.[207]

'''Treaties and peace (1153–54)'''

Henry FitzEmpress returned to England again at the start of 1153 with a small army, supported in the north and east of England by Ranulf of Chester and Hugh Bigod.[208] Stephen's castle at Malmesbury was besieged by Henry's forces, and the King responded by marching west with an army to relieve it.[209] Stephen unsuccessfully attempted to force Henry's smaller army to fight a decisive battle along the river Avon.[209] In the face of the increasingly wintry weather, Stephen agreed to a temporary truce and returned to London, leaving Henry to travel north through the Midlands where the powerful Robert de Beaumont, Earl of Leicester, announced his support for the Angevin cause.[209] Despite only modest military successes, Henry and his allies now controlled the south-west, the Midlands and much of the north of England.[210]

Over the summer, Stephen intensified the long-running siege of Wallingford Castle in a final attempt to take this major Angevin stronghold.[211] The fall of Wallingford appeared imminent and Henry marched south in an attempt to relieve the siege, arriving with a small army and placing Stephen's besieging forces under siege themselves.[212] Upon news of this, Stephen gathered up a large force and marched from Oxford, and the two sides confronted each other across the River Thames at Wallingford in July.[212] By this point in the war, the barons on both sides seem to have been eager to avoid an open battle.[213] As a result, instead of a battle ensuing, members of the church brokered a truce, to the annoyance of both Stephen and Henry.[213]

In the aftermath of Wallingford, Stephen and Henry spoke together privately about a potential end to the war; Stephen's son Eustace, however, was furious about the peaceful outcome at Wallingford. He left his father and returned home to Cambridge to gather more funds for a fresh campaign, where he fell ill and died the next month.[214] Eustace's death removed an obvious claimant to the throne and was politically convenient for those seeking a permanent peace in England. It is possible, however, that Stephen had already begun to consider passing over Eustace's claim; historian Edmund King observes that Eustace's claim to the throne was not mentioned in the discussions at Wallingford, for example, and this may have added to Stephen's son's anger.[215]

Fighting continued after Wallingford, but in a rather half-hearted fashion. Stephen lost the towns of Oxford and Stamford to Henry while the King was diverted fighting Hugh Bigod in the east of England, but Nottingham Castle survived an Angevin attempt to capture it.[216] Meanwhile, Stephen's brother Henry of Blois and Archbishop Theobald of Canterbury were for once unified in an effort to broker a permanent peace between the two sides, putting pressure on Stephen to accept a deal.[217] The armies of Stephen and Henry FitzEmpress met again at Winchester, where the two leaders would ratify the terms of a permanent peace in November.[218] Stephen announced the Treaty of Winchester in Winchester Cathedral: he recognised Henry FitzEmpress as his adopted son and successor, in return for Henry doing homage to him; Stephen promised to listen to Henry's advice, but retained all his royal powers; Stephen's remaining son, William, would do homage to Henry and renounce his claim to the throne, in exchange for promises of the security of his lands; key royal castles would be held on Henry's behalf by guarantors, whilst Stephen would have access to Henry's castles; and the numerous foreign mercenaries would be demobilised and sent home.[219] Stephen and Henry sealed the treaty with a kiss of peace in the cathedral.[220]

===Death===

Stephen's decision to recognise Henry as his heir was, at the time, not necessarily a final solution to the civil war.[221] Despite the issuing of new currency and administrative reforms, Stephen might potentially have lived for many more years, whilst Henry's position on the continent was far from secure.[221] Although Stephen's son William was young and unprepared to challenge Henry for the throne in 1153, the situation could well have shifted in subsequent years—there were widespread rumours during 1154 that William planned to assassinate Henry, for example.[222] Historian Graham White describes the treaty of Winchester as a "precarious peace", capturing the judgement of most modern historians that the situation in late 1153 was still uncertain and unpredictable.[223]

Certainly many problems remained to be resolved, including re-establishing royal authority over the provinces and resolving the complex issue of which barons should control the contested lands and estates after the long civil war.[224] Stephen burst into activity in early 1154, travelling around the kingdom extensively.[225] He began issuing royal writs for the south-west of England once again and travelled to York where he held a major court in an attempt to impress upon the northern barons that royal authority was being reasserted.[222] After a busy summer in 1154, however, Stephen travelled to Dover to meet the Count of Flanders; some historians believe that the King was already ill and preparing to settle his family affairs.[226] Stephen fell ill with a stomach disorder and died on 25 October at the local priory, being buried at Faversham Abbey with his wife Matilda and son Eustace.[226]

===Legacy===

'''Aftermath'''

After Stephen's death, Henry II succeeded to the throne of England. Henry vigorously re-established royal authority in the aftermath of the civil war, dismantling castles and increasing revenues, although several of these trends had begun under Stephen.[227] The destruction of castles under Henry was not as dramatic as once thought, and although he restored royal revenues, the economy of England remained broadly unchanged under both rulers.[227] Stephen's remaining son William I of Blois was confirmed as the Earl of Surrey by Henry, and prospered under the new regime, with the occasional point of tension with Henry.[228] Stephen's daughter Marie I of Boulogne also survived her father; she had been placed in a convent by Stephen, but after his death left and married.[222] Stephen's middle son, Baldwin, and second daughter, Matilda, had died before 1147 and were buried at Holy Trinity Priory, Aldgate.[229] Stephen probably had three illegitimate sons, Gervase, Ralph and Americ, by his mistress Damette; Gervase became Abbot of Westminster in 1138, but after his father's death Gervase was removed by Henry in 1157 and died shortly afterwards.[230]

'''Historiography'''

Much of the modern history of Stephen's reign is based on accounts of chroniclers who lived in, or close to, the middle of the 12th century, forming a relatively rich account of the period.[231] All of the main chronicler accounts carry significant regional biases in how they portray the disparate events. Several of the key chronicles were written in the south-west of England, including the Gesta Stephani, or "Acts of Stephen", and William of Malmesbury's Historia Novella, or "New History".[232] In Normandy, Orderic Vitalis wrote his Ecclesiastical History, covering Stephen's reign until 1141, and Robert of Torigni wrote a later history of the rest of the period.[232] Henry of Huntingdon, who lived in the east of England, produced the Historia Anglorum that provides a regional account of the reign.[233] The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle was past its prime by the time of Stephen, but is remembered for its striking account of conditions during "the Anarchy".[234] Most of the chronicles carry some bias for or against Stephen, Robert of Gloucester or other key figures in the conflict.[235] Those writing for the church after the events of Stephen's later reign, such as John of Salisbury for example, paint the King as a tyrant due to his argument with the Archbishop of Canterbury; by contrast, clerics in Durham regarded Stephen as a saviour, due to his contribution to the defeat of the Scots at the battle of the Standard.[236] Later chronicles written during the reign of Henry II were generally more negative: Walter Map, for example, described Stephen as "a fine knight, but in other respects almost a fool."[237] A number of charters were issued during Stephen's reign, often giving details of current events or daily routine, and these have become widely used as sources by modern historians.[238]

Historians in the "Whiggish" tradition that emerged during the Victorian period traced a progressive and universalist course of political and economic development in England over the medieval period.[239] William Stubbs focused on these constitutional aspects of Stephen's reign in his 1874 volume the Constitutional History of England, beginning an enduring interest in Stephen and his reign.[240] Stubbs' analysis, focusing on the disorder of the period, influenced his student John Round to coin the term "the Anarchy" to describe the period, a label that, whilst sometimes critiqued, continues to be used today.[241][nb 23] The late-Victorian scholar Frederic William Maitland also introduced the possibility that Stephen's reign marked a turning point in English legal history—the so-called "tenurial crisis".[240]

Stephen remains a popular subject for historical study: David Crouch suggests that after King John he is "arguably the most written-about medieval king of England".[243] Modern historians vary in their assessments of Stephen as a king. Historian R. H. Davis's influential biography paints a picture of a weak king: a capable military leader in the field, full of activity and pleasant, but "beneath the surface ... mistrustful and sly", with poor strategic judgement that ultimately undermined his reign.[244] Stephen's lack of sound policy judgement and his mishandling of international affairs, leading to the loss of Normandy and his consequent inability to win the civil war in England, is also highlighted by another of his biographers, David Crouch.[245] Historian and biographer Edmund King, whilst painting a slightly more positive picture than Davis, also concludes that Stephen, while a stoic, pious and genial leader, was also rarely, if ever, his own man, usually relying upon stronger characters such as his brother or wife.[246] Historian Keith Stringer provides a more positive portrayal of Stephen, arguing that his ultimate failure as king was the result of external pressures on the Norman state, rather than the result of personal failings.[247]

'''Popular representations'''

Stephen and his reign have been occasionally used in historical fiction. Stephen and his supporters appear in Ellis Peters' historical detective series Brother Cadfael, set between 1137 and 1145.[248] Peters' depiction of Stephen's reign is an essentially local narrative, focused on the town of Shrewsbury and its environs.[248] Peters paints Stephen as a tolerant man and a reasonable ruler, despite his execution of the Shrewsbury defenders after the taking of the city in 1138.[249] In contrast, Stephen is depicted unsympathetically in both Ken Follett's historical novel The Pillars of the Earth and the TV mini-series adapted from it.[250]

===Issue===

Stephen of Blois married Matilda of Boulogne in 1125. They had the following issue:

# Eustace (c. 1130 – 1153), who succeeded his parents as Count Eustace IV of Boulogne
# Matilda (died before 1141), married Waleran de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Worcester
# Marie (1133–1182), who succeeded as Countess Marie I of Boulogne
# Baldwin (died before 1135)
# Adela (died before 1146)
# William (c. 1137 – 1159), who succeeded as Count William I of Boulogne

King Stephen's illegitimate children by a certain Damette were:

# Gervase, Abbot of Westminster
# Ralph
# Americ

For Notes References and bibliography go to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen,_King_of_England Wikipedia]

-----

[FAVthomas.FTW]

King of England 26 Dec 1135. Ruled 1135-1154

?? Line 4571: (New PAF RIN=10290)
1 NAME Stephen (Etienne) King Of /ENGLAND/

The third son of Stephen [Etienne], Count of Blois and Chartres, and his wife Adela, one of the daughters of William I the Conqueror, who was born at Blois in about 1096. From the fact that the armsattributed to him by later heralds are blazoned as gules, a sagittarius or [or, in some versions, gules three sagittarii or] it has been conjectured that he may have been born under that sign of the zodiac, but it may equally refer to the fact that he ascended the throne under that sign.
Stephen was still a child when his father was killed Ramleh on 19 May 1102 while participating in the First Crusade. He was brought up by his energetic and capable mother, who acted as regent of thecounties of Blois and Chartres during the minority of Stephen's elder brother Count Thibaut IV. He also became a favourite of his uncle Henry I, who endowed him with lands in England and with the counties of Mortain and Alencon. In 1125 a brilliant marriage was arranged for him with the niece of Henry's first queen, Matilda, the only daughter and heiress of Eustace III, Count of Boulogne, the marriage probably taking place at Westminster.
In 1126 Stephen was the first of the lay barons to swear to acknowledge his cousin, the Empress Matilda, heiress to England and Normandy. He again swore fealty on the birth of her son Henry [later Henry II] in 1133. In spite of these solemn oaths, on the death of his uncle, at the beginning of December 1135 Stephen left his county of Boulogne [but a day's journey from south-east England] and went straight to London, where he secured the support of the citizens, claiming that his royal uncle had changed his mind about the succession on his deathbed and given the crown to him. He was crownedon St Stephen's Day, 26 December 1135, by William de Corbeil, Archbishop of Canterbury.
Matilda protested against Stephen's succession but he was recognized by Pope Innocent II. Stephen secured the royal treasury with the aid of his brother Henry of Blois, Bishop of Winchester, and setabout bribing many of his opponents, including his wife's uncle, David 1, King of Scots. At the same time he gained popular support by promising to restore the laws of Edward the Confessor, a promise never to be fulfilled. Baronial insurrections and wars with the Scots [terminating in Stephen's victory at the battle of the Standard in 1138] occupied the early years of the reign.
Matilda landed in England in the autumn of 1139, where she was ably supported by her half-brother Robert, Earl of Gloucester [who had earlier attended Stephen's court but later defected], and was joined by several powerful barons. In the course of the civil wars that ensued, Stephen was captured at Lincoln in February 1141 and imprisoned at Bristol. The defeat at Lincoln [in the course of whichthe king fought with prodigious courage] was predicted by superstitious followers before battle was even joined when a wax taper offered by Stephen to his bishop during mass broke and the vessel containing the Host fell from the altar. His brother, Bishop Henry, turned against him and a legatine council of the English Church held at Winchester declared Stephen deposed and proclaimed Matilda 'Lady of the English' on 7 April 1141.
Stephen's supporters continued the struggle and having managed to capture Robert of Gloucester, exchanged him for Stephen, who had himself re-crowned on the anniversary of his first coronation. Thiswas still not an end to the strife that ravaged the country. Stephen and Matilda alternately gaining the upper hand. In 1144 Stephen lost Normandy to Geoffrey of Anjou, Matilda's husband. A feud with the papacy led to an interdict in 1148, not raised until 1151. In 1152 Stephen sought to secure the succession in his own family by crowning his son Eustace, following a practice in use in France, but the pope refused to sanction this coronation.
Matilda had retired to Normandy, but her son Henry, now grown to manhood, took her place in 1153 and was joined by all her old supporters. This time the matter was settled without further bloodshed and by the Treaty of Westminster it was agreed that Stephen should retain the crown for life and that Henry whould succeed him.
The following year Stephen, now 57 or 58, was at Dover when he was seized with what appears to have been an acute attack of appendicitis, aggravated by bleeding piles, and he died in great agony at Dover Castle on 25 October 1154. He was buried with his wife and son Eustace, who had both predeceased him, in Faversham Abbey, his own foundation.
Stephen was a sad figure, but most of his troubles were of his own making or the result of his weakness of character. Although brave in battle, he was politically inept, completely lacking the deviousness of his uncle Henry I, an essential for survival in those days. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle the years of warfare that characterized Stephen's reign were a cause of much grief and 'Men said openly that Christ and His saints slept'. Stephen was generally more popular than Matilda, however, and it was proudly claimed that he was the handsomest man in England, chivalrous and generous and not, apparently, above sitting down to eat with his humblest subjects.
Stephen's coinage is of inferior quality to that of his predecessors; on his coins he is depicted in profile facing right and George Vertue based his famous engraving of Stephen on this likeness. Stephen was survived by his two youngest children, William of Blois and Mary, Countess of Boulogne, who successively held their mother's county of Boulogne.

Stefan (født ca. 1096, død 25. oktober 1154) var den eneste konge av England fra huset Blois. Han styrte landet fra 1135 til sin død, og ble etterfulgt av sin fetter Henrik II fra huset Angevin.

Tidlig liv
Stefan ble født i Blois i Frankrike, og var sønn av grev Stefan av Blois og Adela av Normandie. Theobald II av Champagne og Henry av Blois, biskop av Winchester, var hans brødre.

Han ble i 1106, omkring ti år gammel, sendt til det engelske hoffet for å oppdras his sin onkel, Henrik I. Omkring 1115 ble han greve av Mortain, og omkring 1125 giftet han seg med Matilda av Boulogne som kort tid etter ble grevinne av Boulogne. I 1128 ble Stefan hennes medhersker i Boulogne, noe som varte til 1150. Året etter ble grevskapet gitt til sønnen Eustace. Ettersom Eustace døde barnløs gikk tittelen videre til Stefans nest eldste sønn, William.

På tronen
Før Henrik Is død i 1135 sverget flertallet blant baronene på at de ville støtte hans datter Matilda, som var barnebarn av Wilhelm Erobreren, i hennes krav om tronen. Mens Stefan var også barnebarn av Erobreren gjennom sin mor, og krevde derfor tronen. For å støtte sitt krav hevdet han at onkelen Henrik I hadde skiftet mening på dødsleiet og ville ha ham som tronarving. Han oppnådde å bli kronet, og fikk da raskt støtte fra flertallet av baronene og fra pave Innocens II. De første årene av hans regjeringstid var fredelige, men innen 1139 hadde han fått ry for å være svak og ubesluttsom, og landet gikk mot en borgerkrigstid kjent som ?anarkiet? eller ?Kaoset under Stefan?.

Stefan hadde en rekke egenskaper som på overflaten skulle gjort ham egnet som konge: Høy byrd, avstamning fra Wilhelm Erobreren, godt utseende, mot og en vennlig natur. Men han manglet den hensynsløsheten som kunne være nødvendig i det som var hensynsløse tider. Walter Map skrev om ham at ?han var dyktig i krigskunst, men i andre henseender var han enfoldig?.

Stefan ble stilt overfor keiserinne Matildas styrker flere ganger, blant annet i slaget ved Lincoln og slaget om Beverston Castle. Før slaget ved Lincoln den 2. februar 1141 opplevde han flere dårlige jærtegn. Han stod mot de opprørske baronene Robert, 1. jarl av Gloucester (keiserinne Matildas uektefødte halvbror) og Ranulph de Gernon, 2. jarl av Chester. Kongen kjempet så hardt i slaget at stridsøksen brast; han trakk et sverd og kjempet videre til det også brast. Deretter ble han tatt til fange av en ridder ved navn William de Cahagnes, og brakt til sin kusine, keiserinne Matilda.

Han ble fengslet i Bristol, men hans kone, grevinne Matilda, klarte å holde gløden oppe, og keiserinnen ble snart jaget fra London. Da jarlen av Gloucester, hennes beste kommandant i felten, ble tatt til fange, måtte hun slippe Stefan fri, og i november 1141 kunne han igjen sette seg på tronen. I desember 1142 ble keiserinnen beleiret i Oxford, men hun klarte å komme seg over snødekte jorder til Wallingford Castle, som ble kontrollert av hennes støttespiller Brian FitzCount.

I 1147 sluttet keiserinne Matildas mindreårige sønn Henry seg til krigen. Han samlet en liten styrke av leiesoldater, og invaderte England. Ryktene om hans styrke skremte Stefans våpenbrødre, selv om det egentlig dreide som en en svært liten hær. Etter å ha tapt to slag, og uten penger til å betale leiesoldatene, måtte Henry vende seg til sin onkel Robert for å få hjelp, men han ble avvist. Desperat vendte han seg i hemmelighet til Stefan for å få penger til å betale soldatene. Gesta Stephani forteller at ?da han fikk meldingen hørte kongen, som alltid var full av nåde og kjærlighet, på den unge mannen??; kongen gav Henry de midler han trengte. Det fantes rykter om at Stefan var guttens biologiske far, men til tross for den meget generøse gaven til en som nettopp hadde forsøkt å styrte ham finnes det ikke noe bevis for dette.

Utnevnelse av arving og død
Stefan klamret seg til tronen resten av sin levetid. Etter et uavklart sammenstøt med Henry ved Wallingford, og sønnen Eustaces død i 1153, ble han overtalt til å inngå en avtale med keiserinne Matilda. Ifølge Wallingford-traktaten (også kjent som Winchester-traktaten), skulle hennes sønn Henry etterfølge ham som Henrik II av England.

Kongen døde i Dover Priory i Dover, og ble gravlagt i Faversham Abbey som han hadde grunnlagt sammen med sin kone grevinne Matilda i 1147.

Paret hadde i tillegg til Eustace to andre sønner. Baldwin døde ung, før 1135, mens William av Blois etterfulgte sin eldre bror som greve av Mortain og Boulogne, og som jarl av Surrey eller Warenne. De hadde også døtrene Matilda og Marie. Stefan fikk også minst tre barn utenfor ekteskap; en av dem, Gervase, ble abbed i Westminster.

Den angelsaksiske krønike (i fortsettelsen av Peterborough-krøniken) forteller følgende om Stefan:

?I denne kongens dager var det intet annet enn strid, ondskap og ran, for de store menn som var forrædere vendte seg raskt mot ham. Da forræderne så at Stefan var av vennlig sinn, snill og en mild mann som ikke gav noen straff, begikk de alle slags forferdelige forbrytelser. ? Og slik varte det i nitten år mens Stefan var konge, inntil landet var oppbrutt og hadde mørknet av slike handlinger, og menn sa åpent at Kristus og hans engler sov.?

Estêvão sobreviveu ao naufrágio do White Ship que vitimou o herdeiro Guilherme Adelin em 1120 por ter desembarcado do navio antes da largada. Este golpe de sorte tornou-o num sério candidato à sucessão de Henrique I. O rei, no entanto, preferia ser sucedido pela filha Matilde, então casada com o Geoffrey Plantageneta, conde de Anjou, e obrigou os nobres, Estêvão incluído, a jurarem-lhe fidelidade. Mas o facto de Matilde ser mulher e casada com um angevino (Anjou era a casa tradicionalmente adversária da Normandia), fez os barões mudarem de ideias depois da morte de Henrique. Estêvão tornou-se então rei, mas a sua fragilidade governativa provocou uma revolta em 1139 e o início de uma guerra civil conhecida como a Anarquia.
Estêvão morreu em 1154, sem que a situação de instabilidade tivesse sido resolvida. A solução encontrada em 1153 (tratado de Wallingford) foi nomear como sucessor Henrique Plantageneta, filho de Matilde.

He was also count of Mortain & Boulogne. In 1125 Stephen swore fidelity
to Henry I's daughter Matilda, to succeed her father to the throne. Upon
Henry's death, however, Stephen proclaimed himself king. He was opposed by
many English barons and by Matilda and her supporters, and his reign was
troubled by anarchy and constant internal wars. For six months in 1141 he
was Matilda's prisoner, during which time she reigned as queen. Stephen
was restored to the throne, but for five years Matilda and many of the
nobles continued to oppose him. During the course of the frequent civil
wars, much of the land was ravaged, and England was plunged into almost
complete chaos. In 1148 Matilda left England and gave up her claim in
favor of her son, Henry of Anjou, later Henry II. Henry then waged war
against Stephen until 1153, when Stephen was forced to name Henry his
heir.

Reigned 1135-1154. He siezed the throne from Matilda who invaded England in
1139. The civil war that followed proved him a brave soldier but revealed his
lack of political sense. In 1152, after much of the country had been ravaged
in factional fighting and the royal administration had broken down, Stephen
recognized Matilda's son Henry as heir to the throne.
Duke of Normandy 1135-1144, deposed. Duke of Blois, Count of Mortain, Count of
Boulogne

COUNT OF MORTAIN; ACCEDED 12/22/1135; RULED FROM 1135-4/1141, THEN 11/1141-1154

Stephen, king of England (?1097-1154), the son of Stephen, Count of Blois, and of the Conqueror�s daughter Adela. On Henry I�s death (1135) Stephen took advantage of his personal popularity to claim the throne, as against his cousin Matilda, and was duly crowned. Stephen made enemies of the church and the most powerful of the nobles. Matilda�s son Henry came over from France in 1152 to assert his rights. Stephen was glad to make peace on the basis of acknowledging Henry as heir to the throne. [World Wide Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1935]

1st cousin 28 generations removed

Hundreds of private castles were built during his reign, and a breakdown of royal authority occurred.
For more information see the Our Folk - Hart family Web Site

from "Our Folk" by Albert D Hart, Jr.

He ruled from 25 Dec 1135 until 1154.

1 NAME Etienne /De Blois/
2 GIVN Etienne
2 SURN De Blois
2 NSFX Duc De Normandy

Stephen of Blois (1097?-1154), king of England (1135-54), born probably in Blois, France. He was the grandson of King William I (the Conqueror) and nephew of Henry I. In 1125 Stephen swore fidelity to Henry's daughter Matilda, to succeed her father to the throne. Upon Henry's death, however, Stephen proclaimed himself king. He was opposed by many English barons and by Matilda and her supporters, and his reign was troubled by anarchy and constant internal wars. For six months in 1141 he was Matilda's prisoner, during which time she reigned as queen. Stephen was restored to the throne, but for five years Matilda and many of the nobles continued to oppose him. During the course of the frequent civil wars, much of the land was ravaged, and England was plunged into almost complete chaos. In 1148 Matilda left England and gave up her claim in favor of her son, Henry of Anjou, later Henry II. Henry then waged war against Stephen until 1153, when Stephen was forced to name Henry his heir."Stephen of Blois," Microsoft (R) Encarta. Copyright (c) 1994 Microsoft Corporation. Copyright (c) 1994 Funk & Wagnall's Corporation.

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Voorouders (en nakomelingen) van Stephen de Blois

Thibaut Theobald de Blois
1012-1089

Gersende du Maine
± 1030-1100

William "the Conqueror" FitzRobert
1024-1087

Matilda
± 1031-1083

Étienne Henri de Blois, de Champagne, de Chartres, de Meaux
1045-1102

Adela de Normandie
1066-1137

Stephen de Blois
± 1097-1154

1125

Mathilde de Boulogne
± 1104-1152



					Marie 1136-1182

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Doopdag 21 april 1928

Doopdag 21 april 1928

De temperatuur op 21 april 1928 lag tussen 0.2 °C en 8,6 °C en was gemiddeld 4,1 °C. Er was 4,2 mm neerslag. Er was 2,2 uur zonneschijn (15%). De gemiddelde windsnelheid was 3 Bft (matige wind) en kwam overheersend uit het westen. Bron: KNMI
Koningin Wilhelmina (Huis van Oranje-Nassau) was van 1890 tot 1948 vorst van Nederland (ook wel Koninkrijk der Nederlanden genoemd)
Van 8 maart 1926 tot 10 augustus 1929 was er in Nederland het kabinet De Geer I met als eerste minister Jonkheer mr. D.J. de Geer (CHU).
In het jaar 1928: Bron: Wikipedia
- Nederland had zo'n 7,6 miljoen inwoners.
- 19 februari » Canada verslaat Zwitserland met 13-0 in de finaleronde van het olympisch ijshockeytoernooi in St. Moritz, en prolongeert de olympische én de wereldtitel.
- 28 februari » De Indiase natuurkundige Chandrasekhara Raman ontdekt het naar hem vernoemde ramaneffect.
- 7 juni » Karel Dubois, een kanunnik uit Roeselare, sticht de KSA als onderdeel van de Katholieke Actie (KA) en vervanger van de AKVS.
- 12 juni » Sanatorium Zonnestraal in Hilversum wordt geopend.
- 29 augustus » Oprichting van de Hondurese voetbalclub Club Deportivo Motagua uit de hoofdstad Tegucigalpa.
- 18 november » Mickey Mouse speelt in de eerste tekenfilm met synchroon geluid, Steamboat Willie van Walt Disney.

Dezelfde geboorte/sterftedag

Ook overleden op 25 oktober

Bron: Wikipedia

1047 » Magnus I (23), koning van Noorwegen en Denemarken
1154 » Stefanus (58), koning van Engeland
1400 » Geoffrey Chaucer (57), schrijver van de Canterbury Tales
1733 » Giovanni Saccheri (66), Italiaans wiskundige
1760 » George II (76), koning van Groot-Brittannië en Ierland
625 » Paus Bonifatius V

Over de familienaam De Blois

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Kees den Hollander, "Stamboom Den Hollander en Van Dueren den Hollander", database, Genealogie Online (https://www.genealogieonline.nl/stamboom-den-hollander-en-van-dueren-den-hollander/I6000000000424802839.php : benaderd 12 mei 2024), "Stephen "Stephen of Blois" de Blois (± 1097-1154)".

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Stamboom Den Hollander en Van Dueren den Hollander » Stephen "Stephen of Blois" de Blois (± 1097-1154)