Editing Stephen, King of England (section)

=== Stalemate (1143–1146) ===
[[File:Invasion of Normandy 1142-3.png|thumb|Geoffrey of Anjou's invasion of Normandy, 1142–43]]

The war between the two sides in England reached a stalemate in the mid-1140s, while Geoffrey of Anjou consolidated his hold on power in Normandy.<ref>Davis, p. 78.</ref> 1143 started precariously for Stephen when he was besieged by Robert of Gloucester at [[Wilton Castle]], an assembly point for royal forces in [[Herefordshire]].<ref name="BradburyP139">Bradbury, p. 139.</ref> Stephen attempted to break out and escape, resulting in the [[battle of Wilton]]. Once again, the Angevin cavalry proved too strong, and for a moment it appeared that Stephen might be captured for a second time.<ref>Bradbury, p. 140.</ref> On this occasion, however, [[William Martel]], Stephen's steward, made a fierce rear guard effort, allowing Stephen to escape from the battlefield.<ref name=BradburyP139/> Stephen valued William's loyalty sufficiently to agree to exchange [[Sherborne Castle]] for his safe release—this was one of the few instances where Stephen was prepared to give up a castle to ransom one of his men.<ref>Bradbury, pp. 140–141.</ref>

In late 1143, Stephen faced a new threat in the east, when [[Geoffrey de Mandeville, Earl of Essex]], rose up in rebellion against him in East Anglia.<ref>Bradbury, p. 141.</ref> The King had disliked the Earl for several years, and provoked the conflict by summoning Geoffrey to court, where the King arrested him.<ref name=BradburyP143/> He threatened to execute Geoffrey unless the Earl handed over his various castles, including the [[Tower of London]], [[Walden Castle|Saffron Walden]] and [[Pleshey]], all important fortifications because they were in, or close to, London.<ref name="BradburyP143">Bradbury, p. 143.</ref> Geoffrey gave in, but once free he headed north-east into the Fens to the Isle of Ely, from where he began a military campaign against [[Cambridge]], with the intention of progressing south towards London.<ref>Bradbury, p. 144.</ref> With all of his other problems and with [[Hugh Bigod, 1st Earl of Norfolk]], in open revolt in [[Norfolk]], Stephen lacked the resources to track Geoffrey down in the Fens and made do with building a screen of castles between Ely and London, including [[Burwell Castle]].<ref>Bradbury, p. 145.</ref>

For a period, the situation continued to worsen. Ranulf of Chester revolted once again in the summer of 1144, splitting up Stephen's [[Honour of Lancaster]] between himself and Prince Henry.<ref name="BarlowP179">Barlow, p. 179.</ref> In the west, Robert of Gloucester and his followers continued to raid the surrounding royalist territories, and Wallingford Castle remained a secure Angevin stronghold, too close to London for comfort.<ref name=BarlowP179/> Meanwhile, Geoffrey of Anjou finished securing his hold on southern Normandy and in January 1144 he advanced into [[Rouen]], the capital of the duchy, concluding his campaign.<ref name="Barlow, p. 178"/> [[Louis VII]] recognised him as Duke of Normandy shortly after.<ref>Amt, p. 7.</ref> By this point in the war, Stephen was depending increasingly on his immediate royal household, such as William of Ypres and others, and lacked the support of the major barons who might have been able to provide him with significant additional forces; after the events of 1141, Stephen made little use of his network of earls.<ref>Crouch (2002), p. 269; White (1998), p. 133.</ref>

After 1143 the war ground on, but progressing slightly better for Stephen.<ref>Bradbury, p. 158.</ref> Miles of Gloucester, one of the most talented Angevin commanders, had died whilst hunting over the previous Christmas, relieving some of the pressure in the west.<ref>Bradbury, p. 147.</ref> Geoffrey de Mandeville's rebellion continued until September 1144, when he died during an attack on Burwell.<ref name="BradburyP146">Bradbury, p. 146.</ref> The war in the west progressed better in 1145, with the King recapturing [[Faringdon Castle]] in Oxfordshire.<ref name=BradburyP146/> In the north, Stephen came to a fresh agreement with Ranulf of Chester, but then in 1146 repeated the ruse he had played on Geoffrey in 1143, first inviting Ranulf to court, before arresting him and threatening to execute him unless he handed over a number of castles, including [[Lincoln Castle|Lincoln]] and [[Coventry Castle|Coventry]].<ref name=BarlowP179/> As with Geoffrey, the moment Ranulf was released he immediately rebelled, but the situation was a stalemate: Stephen had few forces in the north with which to prosecute a fresh campaign, whilst Ranulf lacked the castles to support an attack on Stephen.<ref name=BarlowP179/> By this point, however, Stephen's practice of inviting barons to court and arresting them had brought him into some disrepute and increasing distrust.<ref>Davis, p. 97.</ref>