Stephen is anointed king on December 22, 1135, with the implicit support of the church and nation.

Matilda and her own son stand for direct descent by heredity from Henry I, and she bides her time in France.

The following civil war from 1139–1153 is known as the Anarchy.

In the autumn of 1139, she invades England with her illegitimate half-brother Robert of Gloucester.

Her husband, Geoffroy V of Anjou, conquers Normandy but does not cross the channel to help his wife, satisfied with Normandy and Anjou.

During this breakdown of central authority, the nobles run amok building adulterine castles (i.e. castles erected without government permission).

Empress Matilda and Geoffrey's son, Henry, resume the invasion; he is already Count of Anjou, Duke of Normandy and Duke of Aquitaine when he lands in England.

When Stephen's son and heir apparent Eustace dies in 1153, the king reaches an accommodation with Henry of Anjou (who becomes Henry II) to succeed Stephen and in which peace between them is guaranteed.

England is part of a greater union, retrospectively named the Angevin Empire.

Henry destroys the remaining adulterine castles (fortifications built in England without royal approval) and expands his power through various means and to different levels into Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Flanders, Nantes, Brittany, Quercy, Toulouse, Bourges and Auvergne.

Stephen is captured, and his government falls.

Matilda is proclaimed queen but is soon at odds with her subjects and is expelled from London.

The period of insurrection and civil war that follows continues until 1148, when Matilda returns to France.

Stephen effectively reigns unopposed until his death in 1154, although his hold on the throne is still uneasy.

As soon as he regains power, he begins the process of demolishing the adulterine castles, which are hated by the peasants due to their being employed as forced labor to build and maintain them.

Stephen keeps a few castles standing however, which puts him at odds with his heir.

During the confused and contested reign of Stephen, there is a major swing in the balance of power towards the feudal barons, as civil war and lawlessness break out.

In trying to appease Scottish and Welsh raiders, he hands over large tracts of land.

Ranulf de Gernon, Second Earl of Chester, was born around 1100 at the Château Guernon in Normandy.

He is the son of Ranulf le Meschin, Third Earl of Chester and Lucy of Bolingbroke, both significant landowners with considerable autonomy within the county palatine.

His father had begun a new lineage of the earldom of Chester.

Ranulf had married Maud, daughter of Robert, first Earl of Gloucester and in 1128 had inherited the earldom.

He founds an abbey three years later in North Wales, colonized by Benedictine monks from Savigny Abbey in southern Normandy.

Roger of Salisbury, originally priest of a small chapel near Caen in Normandy, was called "Roger, priest of church of Avranches" in his notification of election to the bishopric.

Although he is uneducated, Roger had shown great talent for business.

On coming to the throne, Henry almost immediately made him Chancellor in 1101.

He, and office he had held until late 1102.

Roger had received the bishopric of Salisbury at Old Sarum Cathedral on September 29, 1102, but had not been consecrated until August 11, 1107, owing to the dispute between Henry and Archbishop Anselm.

He was consecrated at Canterbury.

In the Investitures controversy, he had skillfully managed to keep the favor of both the king and Anselm.

Roger has devoted himself to administrative business, and remodeled it completely.

He has created the exchequer system, which will be managed by him and his family for more than a century, and he has used his position to heap up power and riches.

He has become the first man in England after the King, and is in office, if not in title, justiciar, though he is never called Justiciar during Henry's reign.

Roger has ruled England while Henry was in Normandy, and had succeeded in obtaining the see of Canterbury for his nominee, William de Corbeil.

Duke Robert seems to have been put into his custody after Tinchebry.

Though Roger has sworn allegiance to Matilda, he dislikes the Angevin connection, and in 1135 goes over to Stephen, carrying with him the royal treasure and administrative system upon Stephen's accession.

Stephen places great reliance on him, on his nephews, the bishops of Ely and Lincoln, and on his son Roger le Poer, who is treasurer.

The Death of Henry I and the End of Norman Rule in England (1135 CE)

After spending the autumn of 1135 campaigning to strengthen the southern frontier of Normandy, King Henry I of England traveled to Lyons-la-Forêt in November to enjoy a period of hunting, still seemingly in good health.

However, while there, Henry fell suddenly ill—according to the chronicler Henry of Huntingdon, he had ignored his physician’s advice and consumed an excessive number of lampreys. His condition worsened over the course of a week, marking the end of his 35-year reign.

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Final Days and Death (December 1, 1135)

• As his illness became clearly terminal, Henry made final preparations for his passing:
  • He gave confession, ensuring his spiritual readiness for death.
  • He summoned Archbishop Hugh of Amiens, along with Robert of Gloucester (his illegitimate son and most trusted noble) and other members of the royal court.
  • In accordance with tradition, efforts were made to settle his debts and revoke outstanding sentences of forfeiture.

On December 1, 1135, Henry I died, bringing an end to the longest and most politically stable reign of an Anglo-Norman king.

Burial and Funeral Procession

• His corpse was taken to Rouen, accompanied by the barons of Normandy, where it was embalmed.
• His entrails were buried separately at Port-du-Salut Abbey in Normandy.
• The preserved body was transported to England, where it was interred at Reading Abbey, the monastery Henry had founded in 1121 as his intended burial site.

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Consequences: The Anarchy Begins

Henry’s death without a clear and secure successor led to a crisis of succession, as:

• His daughter Matilda, whom he had designated as his heir, was not in England at the time.
• His nephew, Stephen of Blois, quickly seized the throne, securing the support of the English barons and the Church.
• This usurpation sparked a brutal civil war known as The Anarchy (1135–1153), as Matilda fought to reclaim her inheritance.

Despite Henry I’s political acumen and careful succession planning, his failure to secure Matilda’s immediate recognition led to one of the most chaotic periods in English history, forever shaping the future of the English monarchy.

 

King Stephen had declared that if Roger demanded half of the kingdom he should have it, but has chafed against the overwhelming influence of the official clique that Roger represents.

Roger himself has built at Devizes the most splendid castle in Christendom.

He and his nephews seem to have secured a number of castles outside their own dioceses, and the old bishop behaves as if he were an equal of the King.

Stephen at a council held in June 1139 finds a pretext for demanding a surrender of their castles, and on their refusal they are arrested.

After a short struggle all Roger's great castles are sequestrated, but Henry of Winchester demands the restoration of the bishop.

An invasion of England by Robert and Matilda appears imminent by 1139.

Geoffrey and Matilda have secured much of Normandy and, together with Robert, spend the beginning of the year mobilizing forces for a cross-Channel expedition.

Matilda also appeals to the papacy at the start of the year, her representative, Bishop Ulger, putting forward her legal claim to the English throne on the grounds of her hereditary right and the oaths sworn by the barons.

Arnulf of Lisieux leads Stephen's case, arguing that because Matilda's mother had really been a nun, her claim to the throne is illegitimate.

The Pope declined to reverse his earlier support for Stephen, but from Matilda's perspective the case has usefully established that Stephen's claim is disputed.

Empress Matilda's invasion finally begins at the end of the summer.

Baldwin de Redvers crosses over from Normandy to Wareham in August in an initial attempt to capture a port to receive Matilda's invading army, but Stephen's forces forced him to retreat into the southwest.

Stephen, not wishing to face several forces at once, has to make concessions with the Scottish king.

David's son Henry is given the earldom of Northumberland, which include Carlisle, Cumberland, …