Editing The Anarchy (section)

==Origins of the conflict==
===''White Ship''===
[[File:BL Royal 20 A. ii, f. 6v. Henry I & White Ship.jpg|thumb|alt=Picture of Henry I and a sinking ship|Early 14th-century depiction of [[Henry I of England|Henry I]] and the sinking of the ''[[White Ship]]'' off [[Barfleur]] in Normandy in 1120. [[British Library]], London.]]

The origins of the Anarchy lay in a succession crisis involving England and Normandy. In the 11th and 12th centuries, north-west France was controlled by a number of dukes and counts, frequently in conflict with one another for valuable territory.<ref>Barlow, p.111; Koziol, p.17; Thompson, p.3.</ref> In 1066 one of these men, Duke [[William II of Normandy]], mounted an [[Norman conquest of England|invasion to conquer]] the rich [[Anglo-Saxon]] kingdom of England, pushing on into south Wales and northern England in the ensuing years. The division and control of these lands after William's death proved problematic and his children fought multiple wars over the spoils.<ref>Carpenter, p.137.</ref> William's son [[Henry I of England|Henry I]] seized power after the death of his elder brother [[William Rufus]] and subsequently invaded and captured the Duchy of Normandy, controlled by his eldest brother [[Robert Curthose]], defeating Robert's army at the [[Battle of Tinchebray]].<ref>Huscroft, p.69.</ref> Henry intended for his lands to be inherited by his only legitimate son, seventeen-year-old [[William Adelin]].<ref>Carpenter, pp.142–143.</ref>

In 1120, the political landscape changed dramatically when the ''[[White Ship]]'' sank en route from [[Barfleur]] in Normandy to England; around three hundred passengers died, including Adelin.<ref>Bradbury, pp.1–3.</ref>{{#tag:ref|There has been extensive speculation as to the cause of the sinking of the ''White Ship''. Some theories centre on overcrowding, while others blame excessive drinking by the ship's master and crew.<ref>Bradbury, p.2.</ref>|group="nb"}} With Adelin dead, the inheritance to the English throne was thrown into doubt. Rules of succession in western Europe at the time were uncertain; in some parts of France, male [[primogeniture]], in which the eldest son would inherit all titles, was becoming more popular.<ref name=BarlowP162>Barlow, p.162.</ref> In other parts of Europe, including Normandy and England, the tradition was for lands to be divided up, with the eldest son taking patrimonial lands – usually considered to be the most valuable – and younger sons being given smaller, or more recently acquired, partitions or estates.<ref name=BarlowP162/> The problem was further complicated by the sequence of unstable Anglo-Norman successions over the previous sixty years: there had been no peaceful, uncontested successions.<ref>Huscroft, pp.65, 69–71; Carpenter, p.125.</ref>

With William Adelin dead, Henry had only one other legitimate child, [[Empress Matilda|Matilda]], but female rights of inheritance were unclear during this period.<ref>Bradbury, p.3; Chibnall, p.64.</ref> Despite Henry taking a second wife, [[Adeliza of Louvain]], it became increasingly unlikely that Henry would have another legitimate son and instead he looked to Matilda as his intended heir.<ref>Bradbury, pp.6–7.</ref> Matilda had been married to [[Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor]], from which she later claimed the title of empress. Her husband died in 1125 and she was remarried in 1128 to [[Geoffrey V of Anjou]], whose county bordered the Duchy of Normandy.<ref>Barlow, p.160; Chibnall, p.33.</ref> Geoffrey was unpopular with the Anglo-Norman elite: as an [[County of Anjou|Angevin]] ruler, he was a traditional enemy of the Normans.<ref name="Barlow">Barlow, p.161.</ref> At the same time, tensions continued to grow as a result of Henry's domestic policies, in particular the high level of revenue he was raising to pay for his various wars.<ref>Carpenter, p.160.</ref> Conflict was curtailed by the power of the king's personality and reputation.<ref>Carpenter, p.161; Stringer, p.8.</ref>

Henry attempted to build up a base of political support for Matilda in both England and Normandy, demanding that his court take [[oath]]s first in 1127, and then again in 1128 and 1131, to recognise Matilda as his immediate successor and recognise her descendants as the rightful ruler after her.<ref>Bradbury, p.9; Barlow, p.161.</ref> Stephen was among those who took this oath in 1127.<ref>King (2010), pp.30–31; Barlow, p.161.</ref> Nonetheless, relations between Henry, Matilda and Geoffrey became increasingly strained towards the end of the king's life. Matilda and Geoffrey suspected that they lacked genuine support in England, and proposed to Henry in 1135 that the king should hand over the royal castles in Normandy to Matilda while he was still alive and insist on the Norman nobility swearing immediate allegiance to her, thereby giving the couple a much more powerful position after Henry's death.<ref>King (2010), pp.38–39.</ref> Henry angrily declined to do so, probably out of a concern that Geoffrey would try to seize power in Normandy somewhat earlier than intended.<ref>King (2010), p.38; Crouch (2008a), p.162.</ref> A fresh rebellion broke out in southern Normandy, and Geoffrey and Matilda intervened militarily on behalf of the rebels.<ref name=BarlowP162/> In the middle of this confrontation, Henry unexpectedly fell ill and died near [[Lyons-la-Foret]].<ref name="Barlow" />

===Succession===
[[File:StepanAngl.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|alt=A medieval picture of King Stephen being crowned|A 13th-century depiction of the coronation of King [[Stephen of England|Stephen]]]]
After Henry's death, the English throne was taken not by his daughter Matilda, but by [[Stephen of Blois]], ultimately resulting in civil war. Stephen was the son of [[Stephen-Henry of Blois]], one of the powerful counts of northern France, and [[Adela of Normandy]], daughter of William the Conqueror. Stephen and Matilda were thus first cousins. His parents allied themselves with Henry, and Stephen, as a younger son without lands of his own, became Henry's client, travelling as part of his court and serving in his campaigns.<ref name=King2010P13>King (2010), p.13.</ref> In return he received lands and was married to [[Matilda of Boulogne]] in 1125, the daughter and only heiress of the [[Count of Boulogne]], who owned the important continental port of [[Boulogne]] and vast estates in the north-west and south-east of England.<ref>Davis, p.8.</ref> By 1135, Stephen was a well established figure in Anglo-Norman society, while his younger brother [[Henry of Blois|Henry]] had also risen to prominence, becoming the [[Bishop of Winchester]] and the second-richest man in England after the king.<ref>King (2010), p.29.</ref> Henry of Winchester was keen to reverse what he perceived as encroachment by the Norman kings on the rights of the church.<ref>Stringer, p.66.</ref>

When news began to spread of Henry I's death, many of the potential claimants to the throne were not well placed to respond. Geoffrey and Matilda were in Anjou, rather awkwardly supporting the rebels in their campaign against the royal army, which included a number of Matilda's supporters such as Robert of Gloucester.<ref name=BarlowP162/> Many of these barons had taken an oath to stay in Normandy until the late king was properly buried, which prevented them from returning to England.<ref>Crouch (2002), p.246.</ref> Nonetheless, Geoffrey and Matilda took the opportunity to march into southern Normandy and seize a number of key castles; there they stopped, unable to advance further.<ref>Chibnall, pp.66–67.</ref> Stephen's elder brother [[Theobald II, Count of Champagne|Theobald]], who had succeeded his father as count, was further south still, in Blois.<ref name="Barlow, pp.163–4">Barlow, pp.163–164.</ref>

Stephen was conveniently placed in Boulogne, and when news reached him of Henry's death he left for England, accompanied by his military household. Robert of Gloucester had garrisoned the ports of Dover and Canterbury and some accounts suggest that they refused Stephen access when he first arrived.<ref>Barlow, p.163; King (2010), p.43.</ref> Nonetheless Stephen probably reached his own estate on the edge of London by 8 December and over the next week he began to seize power in England.<ref>King (2010), p.43.</ref>

The crowds in London traditionally claimed a right to elect the king of England,{{clarify|date=September 2018}} and they proclaimed Stephen the new monarch, believing that he would grant the city new rights and privileges in return.<ref>King (2010), p.45.</ref> Henry of Blois delivered the support of the church to Stephen: Stephen was able to advance to [[Winchester]], where [[Roger of Salisbury|Roger]], who was both the [[Bishop of Salisbury]] and the [[Lord Chancellor]], instructed the royal treasury to be handed over to Stephen.<ref>King (2010), pp.45–46.</ref> On 15 December, Henry delivered an agreement under which Stephen would grant extensive freedoms and liberties to the church, in exchange for the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Papal Legate supporting his succession to the throne.<ref>King (2010), p.46.</ref> There was the slight problem of the religious oath that Stephen had taken to support the Empress Matilda, but Henry convincingly argued that the late king had been wrong to insist that his court take the oath.<ref name=Crouch2002P247>Crouch (2002), p.247.</ref> Furthermore, the late king had only insisted on that oath to protect the stability of the kingdom, and in light of the chaos that might now ensue, Stephen would be justified in ignoring it.<ref name=Crouch2002P247/> Henry was also able to persuade [[Hugh Bigod, 1st Earl of Norfolk|Hugh Bigod]], the late king's royal steward, to swear that the king had changed his mind about the succession on his deathbed, nominating Stephen instead.<ref name=Crouch2002P247/>{{#tag:ref|Modern historians, such as Edmund King, doubt that Hugh Bigod was being truthful in his account.<ref name=King2010P52>King (2010), p.52.</ref>|group="nb"}} Stephen's coronation was held a week later at [[Westminster Abbey]] on 26 December.<ref>King (2010), p.47.</ref>{{#tag:ref|Opinions vary over the degree to which Stephen's acquisition of power resembled a [[coup]]. Frank Barlow, for example, describes it as a straightforward ''coup d'état''; King is less certain that this is an appropriate description of events.<ref>Barlow, p.165; King (2010), p.46.</ref>|group="nb"}}

Meanwhile, the Norman nobility gathered at [[Le Neubourg]] to discuss declaring Theobald king, probably following the news that Stephen was gathering support in England.<ref>King (2010), pp.46–47.</ref> The Normans argued that the count, as the more senior grandson of William the Conqueror, had the most valid claim over the kingdom and the duchy, and was certainly preferable to Matilda.<ref name="Barlow, pp.163–4"/> Theobald met with the Norman barons and Robert of Gloucester at [[Lisieux]] on 21 December but their discussions were interrupted by the sudden news from England that Stephen's coronation was to occur the next day.<ref>King (2010), p.47; Barlow, p.163.</ref> Theobald then agreed to the Normans' proposal that he be made king, only to find that his former support immediately ebbed away: the barons were not prepared to support the division of England and Normandy by opposing Stephen.<ref>Barlow, p.163.</ref> Stephen subsequently financially compensated Theobald, who in return remained in Blois and supported his brother's succession.<ref>Barlow, p.163; Carpenter, p.168.</ref>{{#tag:ref|The events in Normandy are less well recorded than elsewhere, and the exact sequence of events less certain. Historian Robert Helmerichs, for example, describes some of the inconsistencies in these accounts. Some historians, including David Crouch and Helmerichs, argue that Theobald and Stephen had probably already made a private deal to seize the throne when Henry died.<ref>Helmerichs, pp.136–137; Crouch (2002), p.245.</ref>|group="nb"}}