Editing The Anarchy (section)

===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"}}