Étienne "Also known as 'Stephen of England'" de Blois King of England (± 1096-1154) » Stamboom Homs

Persoonlijke gegevens Étienne "Also known as 'Stephen of England'" de Blois King of England

Roepnaam is Also known as 'Stephen of England'.
Hij is geboren rond 1097 TO ABT 1096 in Blois, Centre, FranceBlois, Centre.
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:

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{geni:job_title} Comte, de Mortain, de Boulogne, Sieur, de Sées, d'Alençon, Duc, de Normandie, Roi, d'Angleterre
rond 1135 TO ABT 1154 in King of England.
op 22 DEC 1135 TO ABT-04-1141 in England.
{geni:job_title} Conde da Bolonha, Duque da Normandia e Rei da Inglaterra
rond NOV 1141 TO 25-10-1154 in England.
{geni:job_title} King of England (2nd Reign)
rond 1154 .
{geni:job_title} King of England

Hij is overleden op 24 oktober 1154 in Dover Castle, Kent, England.
Hij is begraven op 25 oktober 1154 in Faversham AbbeyFaversham, Kent, England.
Een kind van Étienne II Henri «le Sage» de Blois en Adela 'Alice' de Normandie
Deze gegevens zijn voor het laatst bijgewerkt op 19 januari 2012.

Gezin van Étienne "Also known as 'Stephen of England'" de Blois King of England

Hij is getrouwd met Mathilde Marie de Boulogne.

Zij zijn getrouwd rond 1125 te Westminster AbbeyLondon, UK.

Kind(eren):

Marie de Boulogne ± 1136-1182
Eustachie de Blois ± 1155-1203

Notities over Étienne "Also known as 'Stephen of England'" de Blois King of England

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

[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:occupation} 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

{geni:about_me} 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

-----

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.

-----

Stephen de Blois, King of England was born circa 1096 at Blois, Berri, France.3,4 He was the son of Stephen II Henry, Comte de Blois and Adela de Normandie. He married Matilda, Comtesse de Boulogne, daughter of Eustace III, Comte de Boulogne and Mary of Scots, before 1125 at Westminster, London, England.5 He died on 25 October 1154 at Dover Castle, Dover, Kent, England, from a heart attack.6 He was buried at Faversham Abbey, Faversham, Kent, England.6

Stephen de Blois, King of England gained the title of Count of Mortain before 1115.4 He succeeded to the title of 11th Duc de Normandie in 1135.7 He succeeded to the title of King Stephen of England on 1 December 1135.4 He was crowned King of England on 26 December 1135 at Westminster Abbey, Westminster, London, England, and styled 'Rex Aglorum Dux Normannorum.8' He was deposed as King of England on 10 April 1141.5 He succeeded to the title of King Stephen of England on 1 November 1141.5 He was crowned King of England on 25 December 1141 at Canterbury Cathedral, Canterbury, Kent, England.5

The rightful heiress to the crown of England was Henry I's daughter Matilda but at the time of Henry's death she was with her husband in Anjou and Stephen was the first to reach London and successfully claim the throne. Matilda or Maud, as she was also known, disputed Stephen's claim. Matilda's illegitimate half brother the 1st Earl of Gloucester rebelled, and civil war broke out in 1139 when Matilda invaded. In April 1141 hostile troops seized Stephen at the Battle of Lincoln but in November exchanged him for Gloucester who had been imprisoned by Stephen's supporters. Stephen then regained much lost power and in 1148 Matilda left England. Upon Maud's death, her son Henry Fitz-Empress continued the challenge. While the dispute continued, Henry married the divorced wife of the French King. This gave him great power as his wife was, in her own right, a reigning Princess. Stephen had married Matilda of Boulogne and hoped that their son Eustace would succeed him, however Eustace died and in 1153 at Winchester, Stephen reluctantly declared Henry Fitz-Empress as his heir. He has an extensive biographical entry in the Dictionary of National Biography.9

--------------------

Stephen, often referred to in history as Stephen of Blois, (c. 1096 – 25 October, 1154), was the last Norman King of England and a grandson of William the Conqueror. He reigned from 1135 to 1154 and was succeeded by his rival's son Henry II, the first of the Angevin or Plantagenet kings. Stephen was also the Count of Boulogne jure uxoris.

Contents

Stephen was born at Blois in France, the son of Stephen, Count of Blois, and Adela of England, (daughter of William the Conqueror and Matilda of Flanders). One of ten children, his surviving brothers were Count Theobald II of Champagne, Henry of Blois, bishop of Winchester, and William of Sully. He also had four sisters, including Eléonore of Blois who married Raoul I of Vermandois and had a son, Hugh II of Vermandois.

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. Their marriage was a happy one and his wife was an important supporter during the struggle for the English crown. Stephen became joint ruler of Boulogne in 1128.

There were three principal contenders for the succession of Henry I and one 'fancied outsider'. The least popular of these was Matilda of England, not only because she was a woman, but also because her husband Geoffrey, Count of Anjou was an enemy of the Normans. The other contenders were two men of royal birth, Robert, Earl of Gloucester and Stephen himself. The 'outsider' was the elder brother of Stephen, Theobald, Count of Blois. However, Theobald did not want the kingdom, at least not badly enough to contend for it.[1] Before the 1135 death of King Henry I of England, at his insistence, the majority of the barons of England swore to support Henry's daughter Maude, (The Empress Matilda) (granddaughter of William the Conqueror), and her claim to the throne. However, upon the king's death, Stephen — also a grandchild of The Conqueror — laid claim to the throne, stating that Henry had changed his mind on his deathbed and named Stephen as his heir. Once crowned, Stephen gained the support of the majority of the barons as well as Pope Innocent II and the first few years of his reign were peaceful, notwithstanding insurgence by the Welsh, a rebellion by King David of Scotland, and another by Baldwin de Redvers.

By 1139 Stephen had lost much support and the country sank into a civil war, commonly called The Anarchy. Stephen faced the forces of Empress Matilda at several locations throughout the Kingdom including the Battle of Beverston Castle and the Battle of Lincoln. Bad omens haunted him before the Battle of Lincoln where Stephen was facing the powerful Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester (the Empress' illegitimate half-brother) and Ranulph, Earl of Chester. According to chroniclers Stephen fought bravely in the battle but was captured by a knight named William de Cahaignes (a relative of Ranulph, ancestor of the Keynes family). Stephen was defeated and he was brought before his cousin, the Empress Matilda. He was imprisoned at Bristol.

Stephen's wife rallied support amongst the people from London and the barons. The Empress Matilda was, in turn, forced out of London. With the capture of her most able lieutenant, her half-brother the Earl of Gloucester, she was eventually obliged to trade Stephen for him, and thus Stephen 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, dressed in white, across the snow to Wallingford Castle, held by her supporter Brien FitzCount.

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. Rumours 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...hearkened to the young man..." and bestowed upon him money and other support.

Stephen maintained his precarious hold on the throne for the remainder of his lifetime. However, after a military standoff at Wallingford with Henry, and following the death of his son and heir, Eustace, in 1153, he was persuaded to reach a compromise with Empress Matilda (known as the Treaty of Wallingford or Winchester), whereby her son would succeed Stephen to the English throne as King Henry II.

Stephen died in Dover, at Dover Priory, and was buried in Faversham Abbey, which he had founded with Countess Matilda in 1148.

Besides Eustace, Stephen and Queen 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.

English Royalty

House of Normandy

Stephen

Eustace IV, Count of Boulogne

William, Count of Boulogne

Marie, Countess of Boulogne

An unfavourable thumbnail sketch of Stephen is given by Walter Map (who wrote during the reign of Matilda's son Henry II): "A man of a certain age, remarkably hard-working but otherwise a nonentity [idiota] or perhaps rather inclined to evil."[2]

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (the Peterborough Chronicle, second continuation) provides a more favourable picture of Stephen, but depicts a turbulent 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] Fictional portrayals

Stephen has rarely been portrayed on screen. He was played by Frederick Treves in the BBC TV series The Devil's Crown (1978) and by Michael Grandage in "One Corpse Too Many", the first episode of the television adaptation of the Cadfael novels by Ellis Peters (1994).

He was also portrayed in Ken Follett's Pillars of the Earth.

In fiction, he is a prominent character in Sharon Kay Penman's novel When Christ And His Saints Slept, portrayed as a loving husband and good warrior, but an indecisive monarch who cannot control his barons.

King Stephen is often mentioned in all books of the historical detective series "Brother Cadfael", which take place during The Anarchy. He appears onstage in two of them:

* "One Corpse Too Many" (written 1979, set in August 1138), takes place against the background of Stephen's conquest of Shrewsbury and his decision - described as "uncharacteristically harsh" - to execute all members of the former garrison which had held the city for Empress Maud.

* "Brother Cadfael's Penance" (written 1994, set in November 1145), in which much of the plot takes place during and in the immediate aftermath of an abortive peace conference organised by the Church in an effort to reconcile Stephen with Maud and end the civil war.

Cecelia Holland's The Earl, also published as "Hammer for Princes" (1971) depicts the old and quite tragic King Stephen, facing the death of his own son Eustace and the inevitability of recognising Prince Henry, his rival's son, as his heir.

King Stephen is also featured in 1991's Ellen Jones novel The Fatal Crown. There he is depicted not only as Empress Matilda's rival but her primary love interest, despite her marriage, and the true father of Henry ii.

[edit] English Royal descendents

Philippa of Hainault, the wife of Edward III, was a descendant of Stephen, and he was thus ancestor of all subsequent kings of England.[3]

[edit] Bibliography

* Crouch, David. The Reign of King Stephen, 2000

* Davis, R H C. King Stephen, 1135-1154, 1967

Stephen of England

House of Blois

Born: 1096 Died: 25 October 1154

Regnal titles

Preceded by

Henry I King of England

22 December 1135 – April 1141 Succeeded by

Disputed

Claimed by Matilda

Preceded by

Disputed

Claimed by Matilda King of England

November 1141 – 25 October 1154 Succeeded by

Henry II

French nobility

Preceded by

Henry I Duke of Normandy

1135–1144 Succeeded by

Geoffrey

Preceded by

Robert II Count of Mortain

1121 – 1135 Succeeded by

Eustace IV

Preceded by

Eustace III Count of Boulogne

1128 – 1151

--------------------

1st cousin 25 times removed of Queen Elizabeth II

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_of_England

Stephen (c. 1096 – 25 October 1154), often referred to as Stephen of Blois (French: Étienne de Blois, Medieval French: Estienne de Blois), 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 cousin and 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.

--------------------

Stephen (c. 1096 – 25 October 1154), often referred to as Stephen of Blois (French: Étienne de Blois), 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 cousin and 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.

Contents [hide]

1 Early life

2 Reign

2.1 King of England

2.2 The Anarchy: War with Matilda

2.3 Reconciliation and death

3 Ancestors

4 Fictional portrayals

5 English royal descendants

6 Notes

7 Bibliography

8 External links

[edit] Early life

Stephen was born at Blois in France, son of Stephen, Count of Blois, and Adela of England, the daughter of William the Conqueror and Matilda of Flanders. One of ten children, his surviving brothers were Count Theobald II of Champagne, Henry of Blois, Bishop of Winchester, and William of Sully. He also had four sisters, including Eléonore of Blois.

Stephen was sent to be raised 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 became Countess of Boulogne. Their marriage was a happy one and his wife was an important supporter during the struggle for the English crown. Stephen became joint ruler of Boulogne in 1128.

[edit] Reign

[edit] King of England

There were several principal contenders for the succession to Henry I. The least popular was the Empress Matilda, Henry I's only legitimate surviving child, not only because she was a woman, but also because her husband Geoffrey, Count of Anjou was an enemy of the Normans. The other contenders were Robert, Earl of Gloucester, illegitimate son of Henry I; Stephen; and Stephen's older brother, Theobald, Count of Blois. However, Theobald did not want the kingdom, at least not enough to fight for it.[1] Before his death in 1135, Henry I named his daughter Matilda his heir and made the barons of England swear allegiance to her. Stephen was the first baron to do so. However, upon King Henry's death, Stephen claimed the throne, saying Henry had changed his mind on his deathbed and named Stephen as his heir. Once crowned, Stephen gained the support of the majority of the barons as well as Pope Innocent II. The first few years of his reign were peaceful, notwithstanding insurgences by the Welsh, King David I of Scotland, and Baldwin de Redvers.

[edit] The Anarchy: War with Matilda

Main article: The Anarchy

By 1139, Stephen had lost much support and the country sank into a civil war, commonly called The Anarchy. Stephen faced the forces of the Empress Matilda at several locations, including Beverston Castle and Lincoln. Bad omens haunted him before the Battle of Lincoln, at which Stephen faced Matilda's illegitimate half-brother Robert and Ranulph, Earl of Chester. According to chroniclers, Stephen fought bravely but was captured by a knight named William de Cahaignes (a relative of Ranulph, ancestor of the Keynes family). Stephen was defeated and brought before his cousin Matilda, and was imprisoned at Bristol.

Stephen's wife rallied support amongst the people of London and the barons. Matilda was, in turn, forced out of London. With the capture of her most able lieutenant, her half-brother the Earl of Gloucester, she was obliged to trade Stephen for him, and Stephen was restored to the throne in November the same year.

In December 1142, the Empress was besieged at Oxford, but managed to escape, dressed in white, across the snow to Wallingford Castle, held by her supporter Brien FitzCount.

In 1147, Empress Matilda's teenage son, the future King Henry II of England, decided to assist in the war effort by raising a small army of mercenaries and invading England. Rumours 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, young Henry appealed to his uncle Robert for aid but was turned away. Desperately, and in secret, the boy asked Stephen for help. According to the Gesta Stephani, "On receiving the message, the king...hearkened to the young man..." and bestowed upon him money and other support.

[edit] Reconciliation and death

Stephen maintained his precarious hold on the throne for the remainder of his lifetime. However, after a military standoff at Wallingford with Henry, and following the death of his son and heir, Eustace, in 1153, he was persuaded to reach a compromise with Matilda (known as the Treaty of Wallingford or Winchester), whereby Stephen's son William of Blois would be passed over for the English throne, and instead Matilda's son Henry would succeed Stephen.

Stephen died in Dover, at Dover Priory, and was buried in Faversham Abbey, which he had founded with his wife in 1148.

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

English Royalty

House of Normandy

Stephen

Eustace IV, Count of Boulogne

William I, Count of Blois

Marie I, Countess of Boulogne

An unfavourable thumbnail sketch of Stephen is given by Walter Map (who wrote during the reign of Matilda's son Henry II): "A man of a certain age, remarkably hard-working but otherwise a nonentity [idiota] or perhaps rather inclined to evil."[2]

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (the Peterborough Chronicle, second continuation) provides a more favourable picture of Stephen, but depicts a turbulent 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] Ancestors

Ancestors of Stephen of England[show]

16. Odo I, Count of Blois

8. Odo II, Count of Blois

17. Bertha of Burgundy

4. Theobald III, Count of Blois

9. Ermengarde of Auvergne

2. Stephen II, Count of Blois

10. Herbert, Count of Maine

5. Garsinde du Maine

1. Stephen of England

24. Richard II, Duke of Normandy

12. Robert the Magnificent

25. Judith of Brittany

6. William I of England

26. Fulbert of Falaise

13. Herleva

3. Adela of Normandy

28. Baldwin IV, Count of Flanders

14. Baldwin V, Count of Flanders

29. Ogive of Luxembourg

7. Matilda of Flanders

30. Robert II of France

15. Adela of France, Countess of Flanders

31. Constance of Arles

[edit] Fictional portrayals

Stephen is a prominent character in Sharon Kay Penman's novel When Christ And His Saints Slept, portrayed as a loving husband and good warrior, but an indecisive monarch who cannot control his barons.

King Stephen is often mentioned in all books of Ellis Peters' historical detective series Brother Cadfael, which take place during The Anarchy. He actually appears in two of them. One Corpse Too Many (1979), set in August 1138, takes place against the background of Stephen's conquest of Shrewsbury and his decision - described as "uncharacteristically harsh" - to execute all members of the former garrison which had held the city for Empress Maud. In Brother Cadfael's Penance (1994) much of the plot takes place during and in the immediate aftermath of an abortive peace conference organised by the Church in November 1145 in an effort to reconcile Stephen with Maud and end the civil war.

Cecelia Holland's 1971 novel The Earl, also published as Hammer for Princes, depicts the old and quite tragic King Stephen, facing the death of his own son Eustace and the inevitability of recognising Prince Henry, his rival's son, as his heir. He is also a character in Ken Follett's Pillars of the Earth.

Stephen has rarely been portrayed on screen. He was played by Frederick Treves in the 1978 BBC TV series The Devil's Crown, which dramatised the reigns of Henry II, Richard I and John, and by Michael Grandage in "One Corpse Too Many", the first episode of the television adaptation of the Cadfael novels (1994).

[edit] English royal descendants

Philippa of Hainault, the wife of Edward III, was a descendant of Stephen, and he was thus ancestor of all subsequent kings of England.[3]

[edit] Notes

1.^ Davis,R.H.C King Stephen: 1135-1154, 1967, p14-15

2.^ Walter Map, De nugis curialium 5.6.

3.^ That is, of England until 1707 and of Great Britain since.

[edit] Bibliography

Crouch, David. The Reign of King Stephen, 2000

Davis, R H C. King Stephen, 1135-1154, 1967

[edit] External links

Gesta Stephani, Regis Anglorum et Ducis Normannorum, at Google Books (in Latin).

Stephen of England

House of Blois

Born: 1096 Died: 25 October 1154

Regnal titles

Preceded by

Henry I King of England

22 December 1135 – April 1141 Succeeded by

Disputed

Claimed by Matilda

Preceded by

Disputed

Claimed by Matilda King of England

November 1141 – 25 October 1154 Succeeded by

Henry II

French nobility

Preceded by

Henry I Duke of Normandy

1135–1144 Succeeded by

Geoffrey

Preceded by

William

1190 – 1106 Count of Mortain

1113(?) – 1135 Succeeded by

William of Blois

1154 – 1159

Preceded by

Eustace III Count of Boulogne

1125 – 1147

with Matilda I Succeeded by

Eustace IV

[show]Family information

Theobald III of Blois House of Blois Stephen II

Count of Blois Stephen of England

Gersende of Maine House of Maine

William I of England House of Norman Adela of Normandy

Matilda of Flanders House of Flanders

Notes and references

1. Tompsett, Brian, Directory of Royal Genealogical Data (Hull, UK: University of Hull, 2005).

2. Ross, Kelley L., The Proceedings of the Friesian School (Los Angeles, US: Los Angeles Valley College, 2007).

[show]v • d • eEnglish monarchs

Kingdom of the

English

886–1066 Alfred the Great · Edward the Elder · Ælfweard · Athelstan the Glorious1 · Edmund the Magnificent1 · Eadred1 · Eadwig the Fair1 · Edgar the Peaceable1 · Edward the Martyr · Æthelred the Unready · Sweyn Forkbeard · Edmund Ironside · Cnut1 · Harold Harefoot · Harthacnut · Edward the Confessor · Harold Godwinson · Edgar the Ætheling

Kingdom of

England

1066–1649 William I · William II · Henry I · Stephen · Matilda · Henry II2 · Henry the Young King · Richard I · John2 · Henry III2 · Edward I2 · Edward II2 · Edward III2 · Richard II2 · Henry IV2 · Henry V2 · Henry VI2 · Edward IV2 · Edward V2 · Richard III2 · Henry VII2 · Henry VIII2 · Edward VI2 · Jane2 · Mary I2 with Philip2 · Elizabeth I2 · James I3 · Charles I3

Commonwealth of

England, Scotland and Ireland

1653–1659 Oliver Cromwell4 · Richard Cromwell4

Kingdom of

England

1660–1707 Charles II3 · James II3 · William III and Mary II3 · Anne3

1Overlord of Britain. 2Also ruler of Ireland. 3Also ruler of Scotland. 4Lord Protector.

Debatable or disputed rulers are in italics.

[show]v • d • eDukes of Normandy

Norman Dukes Rollo · William I · Richard I · Richard II · Richard III · Robert I · William II · Robert II · Henry I · William III · Matilda · Stephen · Geoffrey · Henry II · Henry the Young · Richard IV · John I

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British Dukes Anne · George I · George II · George III · George IV · William V · Victoria · Edward VII · George V · Edward VIII · George VI · Elizabeth II

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_of_England"

Categories: English monarchs | Dukes of Normandy | Anglo-Normans | 1090s births | 1154 deaths

--------------------

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_of_England

Stephen of England

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

For the Crusade leader also called "Stephen of Blois", see Stephen II, Count of Blois.

Stephen of Blois

King of the English (1st Reign; more...)

Reign 22 December 1135 – April 1141 (5 Years)

Coronation 26 December 1135

Predecessor Henry I

Successor Matilda

King of the English (2nd Reign; more...)

Reign November 1141 – 25 October 1154

Predecessor Matilda

Successor Henry II

Consort Matilda of Boulogne

Issue

Eustace IV, Count of Boulogne

William I of Blois

Marie I, Countess of Boulogne

House Norman dynasty

Father Stephen II, Count of Blois

Mother Adela of Normandy

Born c. 1096

Blois, France

Died 25 October 1154 (aged 57–58)

Dover, Kent

Burial Faversham Abbey, Kent

Stephen (c. 1096 – 25 October 1154), often referred to as Stephen of Blois (French: Étienne de Blois, Medieval French: Estienne de Blois), 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 cousin and 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.

Contents

[show]

* 1 Early life

* 2 Reign

o 2.1 King of England

o 2.2 The Anarchy: War with Matilda

o 2.3 Reconciliation and death

* 3 Ancestors

* 4 Fictional portrayals

* 5 English royal descendants

* 6 Notes

* 7 Bibliography

* 8 External links

[edit] Early life

Stephen was born at Blois in France, son of Stephen, Count of Blois, and Adela of England, the daughter of William the Conqueror and Matilda of Flanders. One of ten children, his surviving brothers were Count Theobald II of Champagne, Henry of Blois, Bishop of Winchester, and William of Sully. He also had four sisters, including Eléonore of Blois.

Stephen was sent to be raised 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 became Countess of Boulogne. Their marriage was a happy one and his wife was an important supporter during the struggle for the English crown. Stephen became joint ruler of Boulogne in 1128.

[edit] Reign

[edit] King of England

There were several principal contenders for the succession to Henry I. The least popular was the Empress Matilda, Henry I's only legitimate surviving child, not only because she was a woman, but also because her husband Geoffrey, Count of Anjou was an enemy of the Normans. The other contenders were Robert, Earl of Gloucester, illegitimate son of Henry I; Stephen; and Stephen's older brother, Theobald, Count of Blois. However, Theobald did not want the kingdom, at least not enough to fight for it.[1] Before his death in 1135, Henry I named his daughter Matilda his heir and made the barons of England swear allegiance to her. Stephen was the first baron to do so. However, upon King Henry's death, Stephen claimed the throne, saying Henry had changed his mind on his deathbed and named Stephen as his heir. Once crowned, Stephen gained the support of the majority of the barons as well as Pope Innocent II. The first few years of his reign were peaceful, notwithstanding insurgences by the Welsh, King David I of Scotland, and Baldwin de Redvers.

[edit] The Anarchy: War with Matilda

Main article: The Anarchy

By 1139, Stephen had lost much support and the country sank into a civil war, commonly called The Anarchy. Stephen faced the forces of the Empress Matilda at several locations, including Beverston Castle and Lincoln. Bad omens haunted him before the Battle of Lincoln, at which Stephen faced Matilda's illegitimate half-brother Robert and Ranulph, Earl of Chester. According to chroniclers, Stephen fought bravely but was captured by a knight named William de Cahaignes (a relative of Ranulph, ancestor of the Keynes family). Stephen was defeated and brought before his cousin Matilda, and was imprisoned at Bristol.

Stephen's wife rallied support amongst the people of London and the barons. Matilda was, in turn, forced out of London. With the capture of her most able lieutenant, her half-brother the Earl of Gloucester, she was obliged to trade Stephen for him, and Stephen was restored to the throne in November the same year.

In December 1142, the Empress was besieged at Oxford, but managed to escape, dressed in white, across the snow to Wallingford Castle, held by her supporter Brien FitzCount.

In 1147, Empress Matilda's teenage son, the future King Henry II of England, decided to assist in the war effort by raising a small army of mercenaries and invading England. Rumours 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, young Henry appealed to his uncle Robert for aid but was turned away. Desperately, and in secret, the boy asked Stephen for help. According to the Gesta Stephani, "On receiving the message, the king...hearkened to the young man..." and bestowed upon him money and other support.

[edit] Reconciliation and death

Stephen maintained his precarious hold on the throne for the remainder of his lifetime. However, after a military standoff at Wallingford with Henry, and following the death of his son and heir, Eustace, in 1153, he was persuaded to reach a compromise with Matilda (known as the Treaty of Wallingford or Winchester), whereby Stephen's son William of Blois would be passed over for the English throne, and instead Matilda's son Henry would succeed Stephen.

Stephen died in Dover, at Dover Priory, and was buried in Faversham Abbey, which he had founded with his wife in 1148.

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

English Royalty

House of Normandy

Stephen

Eustace IV, Count of Boulogne

William I, Count of Blois

Marie I, Countess of Boulogne

An unfavourable thumbnail sketch of Stephen is given by Walter Map (who wrote during the reign of Matilda's son Henry II): "A man of a certain age, remarkably hard-working but otherwise a nonentity [idiota] or perhaps rather inclined to evil."[2]

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (the Peterborough Chronicle, second continuation) provides a more favourable picture of Stephen, but depicts a turbulent 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] Ancestors

Ancestors of Stephen of England[show]

16. Odo I, Count of Blois

8. Odo II, Count of Blois

17. Bertha of Burgundy

4. Theobald III, Count of Blois

9. Ermengarde of Auvergne

2. Stephen II, Count of Blois

10. Herbert, Count of Maine

5. Garsinde du Maine

1. Stephen of England

24. Richard II, Duke of Normandy

12. Robert the Magnificent

25. Judith of Brittany

6. William I of England

26. Fulbert of Falaise

13. Herleva

3. Adela of Normandy

28. Baldwin IV, Count of Flanders

14. Baldwin V, Count of Flanders

29. Ogive of Luxembourg

7. Matilda of Flanders

30. Robert II of France

15. Adela of France, Countess of Flanders

31. Constance of Arles

[edit] Fictional portrayals

Stephen is a prominent character in Sharon Kay Penman's novel When Christ And His Saints Slept, portrayed as a loving husband and good warrior, but an indecisive monarch who cannot control his barons.

King Stephen is often mentioned in all books of Ellis Peters' historical detective series Brother Cadfael, which take place during The Anarchy. He actually appears in two of them. One Corpse Too Many (1979), set in August 1138, takes place against the background of Stephen's conquest of Shrewsbury and his decision - described as "uncharacteristically harsh" - to execute all members of the former garrison which had held the city for Empress Maud. In Brother Cadfael's Penance (1994) much of the plot takes place during and in the immediate aftermath of an abortive peace conference organised by the Church in November 1145 in an effort to reconcile Stephen with Maud and end the civil war.

Cecelia Holland's 1971 novel The Earl, also published as Hammer for Princes, depicts the old and quite tragic King Stephen, facing the death of his own son Eustace and the inevitability of recognising Prince Henry, his rival's son, as his heir. He is also a character in Ken Follett's Pillars of the Earth.

Stephen has rarely been portrayed on screen. He was played by Frederick Treves in the 1978 BBC TV series The Devil's Crown, which dramatised the reigns of Henry II, Richard I and John, and by Michael Grandage in "One Corpse Too Many", the first episode of the television adaptation of the Cadfael novels (1994).

[edit] English royal descendants

Philippa of Hainault, the wife of Edward III, was a descendant of Stephen, and he was thus ancestor of all subsequent monarchs of England.[3]

[edit] Notes

1. ^ Davis,R.H.C King Stephen: 1135-1154, 1967, p14-15

2. ^ Walter Map, De nugis curialium 5.6.

3. ^ That is, of England until 1707, and then of Great Britain until 1801, and since then of the UK.

[edit] Bibliography

* Crouch, David. The Reign of King Stephen, 2000

* Davis, R H C. King Stephen, 1135-1154, 1967

* Norgate, Kate (1898). "Stephen (1097?-1154)". in Sidney Lee. Dictionary of National Biography, 1885–1900. 54. London: Smith, Elder & Co.

[edit] External links

* Gesta Stephani, Regis Anglorum et Ducis Normannorum, at Google Books (in Latin).

This page was last modified on 22 June 2010 at 07:03.

--------------------

Stephen of England

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Stephen, often referred to in history as Stephen of Blois, (c. 1096 – 25 October 1154), was the last Norman King of England. He reigned from 1135 to 1154 and was succeeded by his cousin Henry II, the first of the Angevin or Plantagenet kings. Stephen was also the Count of Boulogne jure uxoris.

Early life

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. Their marriage was a happy one and his wife was his chief supporter during the struggle for the English crown. Stephen became joint ruler of Boulogne in 1128.

[edit]Reign

[edit]King of England

There were three principal contenders for the succession of Henry I and one 'fancied outsider'. The least popular of these being Empress Matilda, not only because she was a woman, but also because her husband Geoffrey Count of Anjou was an enemy of the Normans. The other contenders were two men of royal birth, Robert, Earl of Gloucester and Stephen himself. The 'outsider' was the elder brother of Stephen, Theobald, Count of Blois. However, Theobald did not want the kingdom, at least not badly enough to contend for it.[1] Before the death of King Henry I of England in 1135, the majority of the barons of England swore to support Henry's daughter Empress Matilda, (granddaughter of William the Conqueror), and her claim to the throne. However, upon the King's death, Stephen—also a grandchild of The Conqueror—laid claim to the throne, stating that Henry had changed his mind on his deathbed and named Stephen as his heir. Once crowned, Stephen gained the support of the majority of the barons as well as Pope Innocent II and the first few years of his reign were peaceful.

[edit]The Anarchy: War with Matilda

Main article: The Anarchy

By 1139 Stephen had lost much support and the country sank into a civil war, commonly called The Anarchy. Stephen faced the forces of Empress Matilda at several locations throughout the Kingdom including the Battle of Beverston Castle and the Battle of Lincoln. Bad omens haunted him before the Battle of Lincoln where Stephen was facing the powerful Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester (the Empress' illegitimate half-brother) and Ranulph, the Earl of Chester. According to chroniclers Stephen fought bravely in the battle but was captured by a knight named William de Cahaignes (a relative of Ranulph, ancestor of the Keynes family). Stephen was defeated and he was brought before his cousin, the Empress Matilda. He was imprisoned at Bristol.

Stephen's wife rallied support amongst the people from London and the barons. The Empress Matilda was, in turn, forced out of London. With the capture of her most able lieutenant, the Earl of Gloucester, she 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, dressed in white, across the snow to Wallingford Castle, held by her supporter Brien FitzCount.

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. Rumours 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...hearkened to the young man..." and bestowed upon him money and other support.

[edit]Reconciliation and death

Stephen maintained his precarious hold on the throne for the remainder of his lifetime. However, after a military standoff at Wallingford with Henry, and following the death of his son and heir, Eustace, in 1153, he was persuaded to reach a compromise with Empress Matilda (known as the Treaty of Wallingford or Winchester), whereby her son would succeed Stephen to the English throne as King Henry II.

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

Besides Eustace, Stephen and Queen 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.

An unfavourable thumbnail sketch of Stephen is given by Walter Map (who wrote during the reign of Matilda's son Henry II): "A man of a certain age, remarkably hard-working but otherwise a nonentity [idiota] or perhaps rather inclined to evil."[2]

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (the Peterborough Chronicle, second continuation) provides a more favourable picture of Stephen, but depicts a turbulent 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."

English Royal descendents

Through his granddaughter Maud of Boulogne, who married Henry I of Brabant, Stephen is the ancestor of some English royals. Through a marriage of Louis d'Évreux, a descendent of the Brabant line, to the Queen of Navarre, Stephen is an ancestor of some monarchs of France and Navarre, including Marguerite of France, second wife of King Edward I of England; however, Edward's heir was already born to a previous wife. Edward and Marguerite's descendents include Joan of Kent, first Princess of Wales and mother of King Richard II of England; Richard was also descended from Stephen through his parternal grandmother, Philippa of Hainault, the wife of Edward III. Since all later English monarchs are direct descendents of Edward III and Philippa, all kings and queens of England[3] since 1377 could claim King Stephen as an ancestor.

The Navarrese monarchs also became Kings of France when Henri III of Navarre became King Henry IV of France.

This is the descent of the English royal line from Stephen:

Stephen

Marie of Boulogne

Maud of Boulogne

Matilde of Brabant

Adelaide of Holland

John II, Count of Holland

William I, Count of Hainault

Philippa of Hainault, married King Edward III of England

The monarchs of Navarre also became Kings of France when Henri III of Navarre became King Henry IV of France, so all Bourbon Kings of France and subsequent pretenders to the defunct throne from 1589 are descended from Stephen too.

Stephen de Blois, King of England1

M, #102039, b. circa 1096, d. 25 October 1154

Stephen de Blois, King of England was born circa 1096 at Blois, Berri, France.3,4 He was the son of Stephen II Henry, Comte de Blois and Adela de Normandie. He married Matilda, Comtesse de Boulogne, daughter of Eustace III, Comte de Boulogne and Mary of Scots, before 1125 at Westminster, London, England.5 He died on 25 October 1154 at Dover Castle, Dover, Kent, England, from a heart attack.6 He was buried at Faversham Abbey, Faversham, Kent, England.6

Stephen de Blois, King of England gained the title of Count of Mortain before 1115.4 He succeeded to the title of 11th Duc de Normandie in 1135.7 He succeeded to the title of King Stephen of England on 1 December 1135.4 He was crowned King of England on 26 December 1135 at Westminster Abbey, Westminster, London, England, and styled 'Rex Aglorum Dux Normannorum.8' He was deposed as King of England on 10 April 1141.5 He succeeded to the title of King Stephen of England on 1 November 1141.5 He was crowned King of England on 25 December 1141 at Canterbury Cathedral, Canterbury, Kent, England.5

The rightful heiress to the crown of England was Henry I's daughter Matilda but at the time of Henry's death she was with her husband in Anjou and Stephen was the first to reach London and successfully claim the throne. Matilda or Maud, as she was also known, disputed Stephen's claim. Matilda's illegitimate half brother the 1st Earl of Gloucester rebelled, and civil war broke out in 1139 when Matilda invaded. In April 1141 hostile troops seized Stephen at the Battle of Lincoln but in November exchanged him for Gloucester who had been imprisoned by Stephen's supporters. Stephen then regained much lost power and in 1148 Matilda left England. Upon Maud's death, her son Henry Fitz-Empress continued the challenge. While the dispute continued, Henry married the divorced wife of the French King. This gave him great power as his wife was, in her own right, a reigning Princess. Stephen had married Matilda of Boulogne and hoped that their son Eustace would succeed him, however Eustace died and in 1153 at Winchester, Stephen reluctantly declared Henry Fitz-Empress as his heir. He has an extensive biographical entry in the Dictionary of National Biography.9

Children of Stephen de Blois, King of England

William (?)6

Sybilla (?)6 d. c 1141

Children of Stephen de Blois, King of England and Dameta de Normandie

Almaric (?)6

Ralph (?)6

Gervaise of Westminster8 b. bt 1115 - 1120, d. 1160

Children of Stephen de Blois, King of England and Matilda, Comtesse de Boulogne

Baldwin de Boulogne b. c 1126, d. b 2 Dec 1135

Eustace IV, Comte de Boulogne b. bt 1127 - 1135, d. 16 Aug 1153

William of Boulogne de Blois, 4th Earl of Surrey b. bt 1132 - 1137, d. 11 Oct 1159

Matilda de Blois10 b. c 1133, d. bt 1137 - 1141

Marie de Boulogne, Comtesse de Boulogne+ b. c 1136, d. 1182

Citations

[S16] Jirí Louda and Michael MacLagan, Lines of Succession: Heraldry of the Royal Families of Europe, 2nd edition (London, U.K.: Little, Brown and Company, 1999), table 2. Hereinafter cited as Lines of Succession.

[S130] Wikipedia, online http;//www.wikipedia.org. Hereinafter cited as Wikipedia.

[S4] C.F.J. Hankinson, editor, DeBretts Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage and Companionage, 147th year (London, U.K.: Odhams Press, 1949), page 20 says 1104. Hereinafter cited as DeBretts Peerage, 1949.

[S11] Alison Weir, Britain's Royal Family: A Complete Genealogy (London, U.K.: The Bodley Head, 1999), page 51. Hereinafter cited as Britain's Royal Family.

[S11] Alison Weir, Britain's Royal Family, page 52.

[S11] Alison Weir, Britain's Royal Family, page 54.

[S38] John Morby, Dynasties of the World: a chronological and genealogical handbook (Oxford, Oxfordshire, U.K.: Oxford University Press, 1989), page 86. Hereinafter cited as Dynasties of the World.

[S106] Royal Genealogies Website (ROYAL92.GED), online ftp://ftp.cac.psu.edu/genealogy/public_html/royal/index.html. Hereinafter cited as Royal Genealogies Website.

[S18] Matthew H.C.G., editor, Dictionary of National Biography on CD-ROM (Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press, 1995). Hereinafter cited as Dictionary of National Biography.

[S6] G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 13 volumes in 14 (1910-1959; reprint in 6 volumes, Gloucester, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000), volume XII/2, page 836. Hereinafter cited as The Complete Peerage.

--------------------

Stephen, often referred to in history as Stephen of Blois, (c. 1096 – 25 October, 1154), was the last Norman King of England and a grandson of William the Conqueror. He reigned from 1135 to 1154 and was succeeded by his rival's son Henry II, the first of the Angevin or Plantagenet kings. Stephen was also the Count of Boulogne jure uxoris.

Stephen was born at Blois in France, the son of Stephen, Count of Blois, and Adela of England, (daughter of William the Conqueror and Matilda of Flanders). One of ten children, his surviving brothers were Count Theobald II of Champagne, Henry of Blois, bishop of Winchester, and William of Sully. He also had four sisters, including Eléonore of Blois who married Raoul I of Vermandois and had a son, Hugh II of Vermandois.

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. Their marriage was a happy one and his wife was an important supporter during the struggle for the English crown. Stephen became joint ruler of Boulogne in 1128.

--------------------

Stephen, often referred to in history as Stephen of Blois, reigned from 1135 to 1154 and was succeeded by his rival Matilda of England's son Henry II, the first of the Angevin or Plantagenet kings. Stephen was also the Count of Boulogne jure uxoris. Beginning in 1139, Stephen's realm was beset by civil strife and general chaos, known in history as The Anarchy.

Stephen was sent to be raised 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 became Countess of Boulogne. Their marriage was a happy one and his wife was an important supporter during the struggle for the English crown. Stephen became joint ruler of Boulogne in 1128.

Before his death in 1135, King Henry I named his daughter Matilda his heir and made the barons of England swear allegiance to her. Stephen was the first baron to do so. However, upon King Henry's death, Stephen claimed the throne, saying Henry had changed his mind on his deathbed and named Stephen as his heir. Once crowned, Stephen gained the support of the majority of the barons as well as Pope Innocent II and the first few years of his reign were peaceful, notwithstanding insurgences by the Welsh, King David of Scotland, and Baldwin de Redvers.

By 1139, Stephen had lost a lot of support and the country sank into a civil war, commonly called The Anarchy. Stephen faced the forces of Empress Matilda at several locations including the Battle of Beverston Castle and the Battle of Lincoln. Bad omens haunted him before the Battle of Lincoln where Stephen faced the powerful Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester (the Empress' illegitimate half-brother) and Ranulph, Earl of Chester. According to chroniclers, Stephen fought bravely but was captured by a knight named William de Cahaignes (a relative of Ranulph, ancestor of the Keynes family). Stephen was defeated and brought before his cousin, the Empress Matilda. He was imprisoned at Bristol.

Stephen's wife rallied support amongst the people from London and the barons. The Empress Matilda was, in turn, forced out of London. With the capture of her most able lieutenant, her half-brother the Earl of Gloucester, she was obliged to trade Stephen for him, and Stephen was restored to the throne in November the same year.

In December 1142, the Empress was besieged at Oxford, but managed to escape, dressed in white, across the snow to Wallingford Castle, held by her supporter Brien FitzCount.

In 1147, Empress Matilda's teenage son, Henry (the eventual King Henry II), decided to assist in the war effort by raising a small army of mercenaries and invading England. Rumours 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, young Henry appealed to his uncle Robert for aid but was turned away. Desperately, and in secret, the boy asked Stephen for help. According to the Gesta Stephani, "On receiving the message, the king...hearkened to the young man..." and bestowed upon him money and other support.

Stephen maintained his precarious hold on the throne for the remainder of his lifetime. However, after a military standoff at Wallingford with Henry, and following the death of his son and heir, Eustace, in 1153, he was persuaded to reach a compromise with Empress Matilda (known as the Treaty of Wallingford or Winchester), whereby her son would succeed Stephen to the English throne as King Henry II.

An unfavourable thumbnail sketch of Stephen is given by Walter Map (who wrote during the reign of Matilda's son Henry II): "A man of a certain age, remarkably hard-working but otherwise a nonentity [idiota] or perhaps rather inclined to evil."

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (the Peterborough Chronicle, second continuation) provides a more favourable picture of Stephen, but depicts a turbulent 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."

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_of_England for more information.

--------------------

Stephen, often referred to in history as Stephen of Blois, (c. 1096 – 25 October, 1154), was the last Norman King of England and a grandson of William the Conqueror. He reigned from 1135 to 1154 and was succeeded by his rival's son Henry II, the first of the Angevin or Plantagenet kings. Stephen was also the Count of Boulogne jure uxoris.

Stephen was born at Blois in France, the son of Stephen, Count of Blois, and Adela of England, (daughter of William the Conqueror and Matilda of Flanders). One of ten children, his surviving brothers were Count Theobald II of Champagne, Henry of Blois, bishop of Winchester, and William of Sully. He also had four sisters, including Eléonore of Blois who married Raoul I of Vermandois and had a son, Hugh II of Vermandois.

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. Their marriage was a happy one and his wife was an important supporter during the struggle for the English crown. Stephen became joint ruler of Boulogne in 1128.
--------------------
Born: 1096
Birthplace: Blois, France
Died: 25-Oct-1154
Location of death: Dover, England
Cause of death: unspecified
Remains: Buried, Faversham Abbey

Gender: Male
Religion: Roman Catholic
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Royalty

Nationality: England
Executive summary: King of England, 1135-54

Stephen, king of England, was the third son of Stephen Henry, count of Blois and Chartres, and, through his mother Adela, a grandson of William the Conqueror. Born some time before 1101, he was still a boy when he was taken into favor by his uncle, King Henry I of England. From Henry le received the honor of knighthood and the county of Mortain. In 1118 he severed his connection with Blois and Chartres, renouncing his hereditary claims in favor of his elder brother Theobald. But he acquired the county of Boulogne by marrying Matilda (c. 1103-1152), the heiress of Count Eustace III and a niece of Henry's first wife. The old king arranged this match after the untimely loss of his son, William Atheling, in the tragedy of the White Ship; until 1125 Stephen was regarded as the probable heir to the English throne. But the return of the widowed empress Matilda to her father's court changed the situation. Henry compelled Stephen and the rest of his barons to acknowledge the empress as their future ruler (1126). Seven years later these oaths were renewed; and in addition the ultimate claims of Matilda's infant son, Henry of Anjou, were recognized (1133).

The death of Henry I found the empress absent from England. Stephen seized the opportunity. He hurried across the Channel and began to canvass for supporters, arguing that his oaths to Matilda were taken under coercion, and that she, as the daughter of a professed nun, was illegitimate. He was raised to the throne by the Londoners, the official baronage and the clergy; his most influential supporters were the old justiciar, Robert, bishop of Salisbury, and his own brother Henry, bishop of Winchester. Pope Innocent II was induced by Bishop Henry to ratify the election, and Stephen thus cleared himself from the stain of perjury. Two charters of liberties, issued in rapid succession, confirmed the King's alliance with the Church and earned the goodwill of the nation. But his supporters traded upon his notorious facility and the unstable nature of his power. Extortionate concessions were demanded by the great barons, and particularly by Earl Robert of Gloucester, the half-brother of the empress. The clergy insisted that neither their goods nor their persons should be subject to secular jurisdiction. Stephen endeavored to free himself from the control of such interested supporters by creating a mercenary army and a royalist party. This led at once to a rupture between himself and Earl Robert (1138), which was the signal for sporadic rebellions. Soon afterwards the king attacked the bishops of Salisbury, Ely and Lincoln -- a powerful family clique who stood at the head of the official baronage -- and, not content with seizing their castles, subjected them to personal outrage and detention. The result was that the clergy, headed by his brother, the bishop of Winchester, declared against him (1139). In the midst of these difficulties he had left the western marches at the mercy of the Welsh, and the defense of the northern shires against David I of Scotland had devolved upon the barons of Yorkshire.

Stephen was thoroughly discredited when the empress at length appeared in England (September 30, 1139). Through a misplaced sense of chivalry he declined to take an opportunity of seizing her person. She was therefore able to join her half-brother at Gloucester, to obtain recognition in the western and southwestern shires, and to contest the royal title for eight years. Stephen's initial errors were aggravated by bad generalship. He showed remarkable energy in hurrying from one center of rebellion to another; but he never ventured to attack the headquarters of the empress. In 1141 he was surprised and captured while besieging Lincoln Castle. The empress in consequence reigned for six months as "Lady (Domina) of the English"; save for her faults of temper the cause of Stephen would never have been retrieved. But, later in the year, his supporters were able to procure his release in exchange for the Earl of Gloucester. After an obstinate siege he expelled Matilda from Oxford (December 1142) and compelled her to fall back upon the west. The next five years witnessed anarchy such as England had never before experienced. England north of the Ribble and the Tyne had passed into the hands of David of Scotland and his son, Prince Henry; Ranulf Earl of Chester was constructing an independent principality; on the west the raids of the Angevin party, in the east and midlands the excesses of such rebels as Geoffrey de Mandeville, Earl of Essex, turned considerable districts into wildernesses. Meanwhile Geoffrey of Anjou, the husband of the empress, completed the conquest of Normandy (1144). In 1147 the situation improved for Stephen; Robert of Gloucester, the ablest of the Angevin partisans, died, and the empress left England in despair. But her son soon appeared in England to renew the struggle (1140) and conciliate new supporters. Soon after his return to Normandy Henry was invested by his father with the duchy (1150). He succeeded to Anjou in 1151; next year he acquired the duchy of Aquitaine by marriage. Stephen struggled hard to secure the succession for Eustace, his elder son. But he had quarrelled with Rome respecting a vacancy in the see of York; the pope forbade the English bishops to consecrate Eustace (1151); and there was a general unwillingness to prolong the civil war. Worn out by incessant conflicts, the king bowed to the inevitable when Henry next appeared in England (1153). Negotiations were opened; and Stephen's last hesitations disappeared when Eustace was carried off by a sudden illness. Late in 1153 the king acknowledged Henry as his heir, only stipulating that the earldom of Surrey and his private estates should be guaranteed to his surviving son, William. The king and the duke agreed to cooperate for the repression of anarchy; but Stephen died before this work was more than begun (October 1154).

On his great seal Stephen is represented as tall and robust, bearded, and of an open countenance. He was frank and generous; his occasional acts of duplicity were planned reluctantly and never carried to their logical conclusion. High spirited and proud of his dignity, he lived to repent, without being able to undo, the ruinous concessions by which he had conciliated supporters. In warfare he showed courage, but little generalship; as a statesman he failed in his dealings with the Church, which he alternately humored and thwarted. He was a generous patron of religious foundations; and some pleasing anecdotes suggest that his personal character deserves more commendation than his record as a king.

Father: Stephen, Count of Blois
Mother: Adela of Normandy
Wife: Matilda (m. c. 1125)
Son: Eustace IV (d. Aug-1153)
Son: Baldwin
Son: William of Blois
Daughter: Matilda
Daughter: Mary
Son: Gervase (illegitimate)

[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.

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 Étienne de Blois

Thibaut III de Blois
± 1012-1089

Gersende du Maine
± 1030-1076

Guillaume I 'le Conquérant' FitzRobert de Normandie
1024-1087

Matilda van Vlaanderen
± 1031-1083

Étienne II Henri «le Sage» de Blois
± 1082-1102

Adela 'Alice' de Normandie
± 1067-1135

Étienne de Blois
± 1096-1154

± 1125

Mathilde Marie de Boulogne
± 1105-1194



				Marie de Boulogne ± 1136-1182		Eustachie de Blois ± 1155-1203

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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.
- 30 januari » Tussen Nederland en de Verenigde Staten komt een draadloze telefoonverbinding tot stand.
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- 11 augustus » Marie Braun wint tijdens de Olympische Spelen van Amsterdam goud op de 100 meter rugslag. Ook ruiter Charles Pahud de Mortanges, de ruiterequipe en bokser Bep van Klaveren winnen goud.
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1537 » Jane Seymour (28), echtgenote van Hendrik VIII van Engeland
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