Stephen's Claim to the Throne

Henry died in 1135 without a legitimate male heir to succeed him. His sons had been lost in the sinking of the "White Ship " in 1120, and a second marriage soon after had not brought him the desired heir. In 1126 he had called his widowed daughter, Matilda, back to England and had secured her recognition by the barons as heir to the throne. Matilda, therefore, based her right to the throne on her descent and on the oaths sworn by the barons.

Her claim was strenuously disputed by Stephen of Blois, Count of Boulogne, who was the son of Adela, daughter of William the Conqueror, and therefore nephew of Henry I. Stephen, being near at hand, at Boulogne, hastened in 1135 to England. There the people and the barons, reluctant to see a woman on the throne of England, accepted him as king. Stephen was informally elected at London, and then, after seizing the royal castle and treasury at Winchester, returned to London to be crowned at the hands of the church. Matilda in despair appealed to Rome early in 1136; but the pope, influenced by legates sent by Stephen to support his cause, despatched a letter to Stephen, confirming him in the possession of his kingdom. Thus Stephen based his title to the throne upon election and coronation, and upon his confirmation by the pope. In return he confirmed the good laws and customs of his uncle, and of Eadward the Confessor, and in a second charter promised to respect the liberty of the church.

Loss OF THE WHITE SHIP.

From an illuminated manuscript.

Civil War between Stephen and Matilda : First Period

The struggle that followed between the two claimants to the crown is the nearest approach that we have in English history to the feudal anarchy which had prevailed in France. For eighteen years England became a battle-ground for feudal lords who viewed Stephen as a king suffered to rule while his treasure lasted or he maintained their feudal interests. As long as Stephen kept his oath to the people, the church, and the lords, so long would they support him, but no longer. We are not surprised, therefore, in the war which followed, that the great lords were ready to go from one side to the other as they pleased, and to follow the party that would offer them the greatest rewards.

The war may be divided into two parts: the first extending to the defeat of Stephen in 1141, and the second to the treaty of Wallingford in 1154. After Stephen had spent the treasure of his uncle, and it became evident that he could not keep all his promises, discontent increased, and the cause of Matilda became the rallying-point of the enemies of the king. In 1138 David, king of the Scots, Matilda's uncle, to whose reign may be traced the beginnings of a united Scotland, invaded England. Stephen was engaged in a struggle in the south with Robert of Gloucester, Matilda's half-brother, and it was left to the men of Yorkshire to meet the invader. This they did in the battle of the Standard (1138), where, rallying about the banners of their northern churches, they drove back the Scots with great slaughter. Stephen, strengthened by this victory, struggled against the rapidly growing rebellion in the south, where one after another the Norman earls were uniting against him.

Stephen was brave but without resources, and his condition drove him to desperation. He debased the coinage, imported mercenaries, and raised up new earls, such as Geoffrey de Mandeville, Earl of Essex, to aid him. Surrounded by danger, he even suspected the clergy, and in 1139 arrested Roger of Salisbury, chancellor of England, and the latter's nephews, Nigel, bishop of Ely, and Alexander, bishop of Lincoln, his own supporters and ministers. Thus Stephen completed the alienation of lords and clergy at the very moment when Matilda, arriving in England for the first time, placed herself at the head of her own cause. Stephen was defeated and captured at the battle of Lincoln in 1141, and Matilda was chosen Lady of England (Anglorum domina, a feudal title), by the barons, April 7-8, 1141. They did not, however, succeed in crowning her queen at Westminster, as in all probability they had intended to do.