Editing Stephen, King of England (section)

=== Initial years (1136–1137) ===
[[File:Stepan z Blois.jpg|thumb|14th-century depiction of Stephen with a [[Falconry|hunting bird]]]]

Stephen's new Anglo-Norman kingdom had been shaped by the [[Norman Conquest]] of England in 1066, followed by the [[Norman invasion of Wales|Norman expansion into south Wales]] over the coming years.<ref>Barlow, p. 86.</ref> Both the kingdom and duchy were dominated by a small number of major barons who owned lands on both sides of the [[English Channel]], with the lesser barons beneath them usually having more localised holdings.<ref>Barlow, pp. 91–92.</ref> The extent to which lands and positions should be passed down through hereditary right or by the gift of the King was still uncertain, and tensions concerning this issue had grown during the reign of Henry I. Certainly lands in Normandy, passed by hereditary right, were usually considered more important to major barons than those in England, where their possession was less certain. Henry had increased the authority and capabilities of the central royal administration, often bringing in "[[List of Henry's new men|new men]]" to fulfil key positions rather than using the established nobility.<ref>Carpenter, p. 159.</ref> In the process he had been able to maximise revenues and contain expenditures, resulting in a healthy surplus and a famously large treasury, but also increasing political tensions.<ref>Carpenter, p. 155.</ref>{{#tag:ref|The nature of Henry's administration and the links between England and Normandy have been hotly debated by historians. [[C. Warren Hollister]], for example, argues that Henry I created a balanced, well-functioning political system beneath him, balancing the different tensions in England and Normandy, an analysis broadly shared by Frank Barlow. By contrast, [[David Carpenter (historian)|David Carpenter]] draws more attention to the pressures on the Anglo-Norman system during Henry's reign and the strains that built up during the period. [[Marjorie Chibnall]]'s analysis of Normandy during these years notes both the distinctive aspects of Normandy politics, the pressure on the cross-Channel relationship and the persisting ties between the English and Norman elites.<ref>Helmerichs, p. 137; Carpenter, pp. 159–160; Chibnall, pp. 94, 115; Barlow, p. 162.</ref>|group="nb"}}

Stephen had to intervene in the north of England immediately after his coronation.<ref name=King2010P52/> [[David I of Scotland]] invaded the north on the news of Henry's death, taking [[Carlisle]], [[Newcastle upon Tyne|Newcastle]] and other key strongholds.<ref name=King2010P52/> [[Northern England]] was a disputed territory at this time, with the Scottish kings laying a traditional claim to [[Cumberland]], and David also claiming [[Northumbria]] by virtue of his marriage to the daughter of [[Waltheof, Earl of Northumbria]].<ref name="Carpenter, p. 165">Carpenter, p. 165.</ref> Stephen rapidly marched north with an army and met David at [[Durham, England|Durham]].<ref name="King2010P53">King (2010), p. 53.</ref> An agreement was made under which David would return most of the territory he had taken, with the exception of Carlisle. In return, Stephen confirmed the English possessions of David's son [[Henry of Scotland|Henry]], including the [[Earldom of Huntingdon]].<ref name=King2010P53/>

Returning south, Stephen held his first royal court at Easter 1136.<ref>King (2010), p. 57.</ref> A wide range of nobles gathered at Westminster for the event, including many of the Anglo-Norman barons and most of the higher officials of the church.<ref>King (2010), pp. 57–60; Davis, p. 22.</ref> Stephen issued a new royal charter, confirming the promises he had made to the church, promising to reverse Henry I's policies on the [[royal forest]]s and to reform any abuses of the royal legal system.<ref>Carpenter, p. 167.</ref> He portrayed himself as the natural successor to Henry's policies, and reconfirmed the existing seven earldoms in the kingdom on their existing holders.<ref>White (2000), p. 78.</ref> The Easter court was a lavish event, and a large amount of money was spent on the event itself, clothes and gifts.<ref>Crouch (2002), p. 250.</ref> Stephen gave out grants of land and favours to those present and endowed numerous church foundations with land and privileges.<ref>Crouch (1986), p. 29; King (2010), pp. 54–55.</ref> His accession to the throne still needed to be ratified by the Pope, however, and Henry of Blois appears to have been responsible for ensuring that testimonials of support were sent both from their brother Theobald and from Louis VI of France, to whom Stephen represented a useful balance to Angevin power in the north of France.<ref>Crouch (2008), pp. 46–47.</ref> [[Pope Innocent II]] confirmed Stephen as king by letter later that year, and Stephen's advisers circulated copies widely around England to demonstrate his legitimacy.<ref>Crouch (2002), pp. 248–249.</ref>

Troubles continued across Stephen's kingdom. After the Welsh victory at the [[battle of Llwchwr]] in January 1136 and the successful ambush of [[Richard Fitz Gilbert de Clare]] in April, [[south Wales]] rose in rebellion, starting in east [[Glamorgan]] and rapidly spreading across the rest of south Wales during 1137.<ref>Carpenter, pp. 164–165; Crouch (1998), p. 258.</ref> [[Owain Gwynedd]] and [[Gruffydd ap Rhys]] successfully captured considerable territories, including [[Carmarthen Castle]].<ref name="Carpenter, p. 165"/> Stephen responded by sending Richard's brother Baldwin and the Marcher Lord Robert Fitz Harold of Ewyas into Wales to pacify the region. Neither mission was particularly successful, and by the end of 1137, the King appears to have abandoned attempts to put down the rebellion. Historian [[David Crouch (historian)|David Crouch]] suggests that Stephen effectively "bowed out of Wales" around this time to concentrate on his other problems.<ref>Crouch (1998), pp. 260, 262.</ref> Meanwhile, he had put down two revolts in the south-west led by [[Baldwin de Redvers]] and Robert of Bampton; Baldwin was released after his capture and travelled to Normandy, where he became an increasingly vocal critic of the King.<ref>Bradbury, pp. 27–32.</ref>

The security of Normandy was also a concern. Geoffrey of Anjou invaded in early 1136 and, after a temporary truce, invaded later the same year, raiding and burning estates rather than trying to hold the territory.<ref name="BarlowP168">Barlow, p. 168.</ref> Events in England meant that Stephen was unable to travel to Normandy himself, so [[Waleran de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Worcester|Waleran de Beaumont]], appointed by Stephen as the lieutenant of Normandy, and Theobald led the efforts to defend the duchy.<ref>Crouch (2008), pp. 46–47; Crouch (2002), p. 252.</ref> Stephen himself only returned to the duchy in 1137, where he met with Louis VI and Theobald to agree to an informal regional alliance, probably brokered by Henry, to counter the growing Angevin power in the region.<ref>Crouch (2008), p. 47.</ref> As part of this deal, Louis recognised Stephen's son Eustace as Duke of Normandy in exchange for Eustace giving fealty to the French king.<ref>Barlow, p. 168;</ref> Stephen was less successful, however, in regaining the [[Argentan]] province along the Normandy and Anjou border, which Geoffrey had taken at the end of 1135.<ref>Davis, p. 27.</ref> Stephen formed an army to retake it, but the frictions between his Flemish mercenary forces led by William of Ypres and the local Norman barons resulted in a battle between the two halves of his army.<ref>Davis, p. 27; Bennett, p. 102.</ref> The Norman forces then deserted Stephen, forcing the King to give up his campaign.<ref>Davis, p. 28.</ref> He agreed to another truce with Geoffrey, promising to pay him 2,000 [[Mark (currency)|marks]] a year in exchange for peace along the Norman borders.<ref name=BarlowP168/>{{#tag:ref|[[Geoffrey of Anjou]] appears to have agreed to this at least partially because of the pressure of the combined Anglo-Norman–French regional alliance against him.<ref>Crouch (2008), p. 50; Barlow, p. 168.</ref>|group="nb"}}{{#tag:ref|Medieval financial figures are notoriously hard to convert into modern currency; for comparison, 2,000 marks equated to around £1,333 in a period in which a major castle rebuilding project might cost around £1,115.<ref>Pettifer, p. 257.</ref>|group="nb"}}

In the years following his succession, Stephen's relationship with the church became gradually more complex. The royal charter of 1136 had promised to review the ownership of all the lands that had been taken by the crown from the church since 1087, but these estates were now typically owned by nobles.<ref name=BarlowP168/> Henry of Blois's claims, in his role as Abbot of Glastonbury, to extensive lands in Devon resulted in considerable local unrest.<ref name=BarlowP168/> In 1136, Archbishop of Canterbury [[William de Corbeil]] died. Stephen responded by seizing his personal wealth, which caused some discontent amongst the senior clergy.<ref name=BarlowP168/> Henry wanted to succeed to the post, but Stephen instead supported [[Theobald of Bec]], who was eventually appointed. The papacy named Henry [[papal legate]], possibly as consolation for not receiving Canterbury.<ref>King (2010), p. 317.</ref>

Stephen's first few years as king can be interpreted in different ways. He stabilised the northern border with Scotland, contained Geoffrey's attacks on Normandy, was at peace with Louis VI, enjoyed good relations with the church and had the broad support of his barons.<ref>Barlow, pp. 165, 167; Stringer, pp. 17–18.</ref> There were significant underlying problems, nonetheless. The north of England was now controlled by David and Prince Henry, Stephen had abandoned Wales, the fighting in Normandy had considerably destabilised the duchy, and an increasing number of barons felt that Stephen had given them neither the lands nor the titles they felt they deserved or were owed.<ref>Barlow, p. 168; Crouch (1998), p. 264; Carpenter, p. 168.</ref> Stephen was also rapidly running out of money: Henry's considerable treasury had been emptied by 1138 due to the costs of running Stephen's more lavish court and the need to raise and maintain his mercenary armies fighting in England and Normandy.<ref name="CarpenterP169">Carpenter, p. 169.</ref>