King Henry I of England only one legitimate son, William. In November 1120 Henry and William returned from Normandy by boat. "Henry sailed first, having turned down the offer of a new ship - the White Ship - from Thomas Fitzstephen... followed in the new vessel. But the inebriated crew and passengers were in no fit condition for a night voyage, and the ship was rowed onto a rock outside the harbour of Barfleur. William was put into a small boat and would have escaped had he not turned back on hearing an appeal for help from his bastard sister, whereupon the boat was overloaded by others seeking safety, and sank." (5)

After the death of William, King Henry married Adeliza of Louvain in the hope of obtaining another male heir. Adeliza, was 18 years-old and was considered to be very beautiful, but Henry was now in his fifties and no children were born. After four years of marriage he called all his leading barons to court and forced them to swear that they would accept his daughter, Matilda, as their ruler in the event of his dying without a male heir. This included Stephen of Blois, count of Mortain. Although he had a hereditary claim to the throne through his mother, Adela, daughter of William the Conqueror, he appears to have taken the oath willingly. (6)

Henry now decided to find a husband for Matilda to help her to rule England. He heard good reports of Geoffrey Plantagent of Anjou. Henry began negotiations with Geoffrey's father, Foulques V d'Anjou and on 10th June 1128, the fifteen-year-old Geoffrey, who was more than eleven years her junior, was knighted in Rouen by Henry in preparation for the wedding. Geoffrey of Anjou married Matilda at Le Mans on 17th June 1128. "On his wedding day, Geoffrey of Anjou was a tall, bumptious teenager with ginger hair, a seemingly inexhaustible natural energy and a flair for showmanship." (7)

Matilda had previously been married to the German king, Heinrich V. "The hopes that she would become the mother of an heir to the empire were disappointed; no children survived from this marriage, though one chronicler stated not implausibly that she gave birth to one child who did not live. She proved to be a loyal and able queen consort, who carried out the onerous duties of her office with dignity". (8)

Heinrich died in 1125 and as a childless widow she had no further duties in Germany and went to live with her father in Normandy. Her biographer, Arnulf of Lisieux, claims that Matilda was "a woman who had nothing of the woman in her". (9) Henry of Huntingdon agrees and wrote about her "masculine firmness". (10)

The couple did not like each other and within a year she returned to her father at Rouen. In 1131 Henry took her to England, though Geoffrey had demanded her return. At a council held at Northampton on 8th September 1131, after the magnates had renewed their homage to her and recognized her as Henry's heir, she agreed to return to her husband. (11) Matilda's first child, was born in Le Mans on 5th March, 1133. Henry was named after "the Anglo-Norman king whose Crown it was intended that he should inherit". (12)

Matilda give birth to a second son, Geoffrey on 1st June, 1134. The following year her father died. Under the agreement signed in 1125, Matilda should have become Queen of England. The Normans had never had a woman leader. Norman law stated that all property and rights should be handed over to men. To the Normans this meant that her husband Geoffrey of Anjou would become their next ruler. The people of Anjou (Angevins) were considered to be barbarians by the Normans. Most Normans were unwilling to accept an Angevin ruler and decided to help Matilda's cousin, Stephen, the son of one of the daughters of William the Conqueror, to become king. He was also given the title of Duke of Normandy. (13)

Matilda reacted by establishing herself at Argentan Castle. Her third son, William, was born on 22nd July 1136. Geoffrey Plantagenet led annual raids into Normandy but was unable to gain complete control of the area. The situation improved in 1138, when Matilda's half-brother, Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester, renounced his allegiance to Stephen. (14)

Earl Robert attacked Stephen's forces in the west of England. He then travelled to Normandy and joined Geoffrey Plantagenet in an attempt to take control of the region. This was unsuccessful and Stephen was also able to capture Robert's castles in Kent. Robert returned to England and in November, 1139, his army managed to capture Worcester from King Stephen. (15)

Stephen was eventually captured at the Battle of Lincoln (February, 1141). When Matilda went to be crowned the first queen of England, the people of London rebelled and she was forced to flee from the area. Stephen's army captured the Earl of Gloucester. An exchange of prisoners was agreed, and Stephen obtained his freedom. (16)

In Normandy, Geoffrey Plantagenet, was making good progress in taking control of the region. Geoffrey carried a shield emblazoned with golden lions that had been given to him by his father-in-law, Henry, who used the symbol of a lion as his personal badge. In battle he obtained the nickname of Plantagent on account of the sprig of bright yellow broom flower that he wore in his hat. (17)

John of Marmoutier claims: "As a soldier he attained the greatest glory, dedicating himself to the defence of the community and to the liberal arts.... This man was an energetic soldier and more shrewd in his upright dealings. He was meticulous in his justice and of strong character. He did not allow himself to be corrupted by excess or sloth, but spent his time riding about the country and performing illustrious feats. By such acts he endeared himself to all, and smote fear into the hearts of his enemies. He was usually affable and jovial to all, especially soldiers." (18)

The war was not going very well in England. Matilda's army was forced to retreat to Oxford where she was besieged. In December, 1141, she escaped and managed to walk the eight miles to Abingdon. Eventually, she established herself in Devizes and controlled the west of the country, whereas Stephen continued his rule from London. (19)

Dan Jones, the author of The Plantagenets (2013), has pointed out: "Stephen and Matilda both saw themselves as the lawful successor of Henry I, and set up official governments accordingly: they had their own mints, courts, systems of patronage and diplomatic machinery. But there could not be two governments. Neither could be secure or guarantee that their writ would run, hence no subject could be fully confident in the rule of law. As in any state without a single, central source of undisputed authority, violent self-help and spoliation among the magnates exploded.... Forced labour was exacted to help arm the countryside. General violence escalated as individual landholders turned to private defence of their property. The air ran dark with the smoke from burning crops and the ordinary people suffered intolerable misery at the hands of marauding foreign soldiers." (20)

Stephen was accused of waging war on his own people. One anonymous chronicler wrote: "King Stephen set himself to lay waste that fair and delightful district, so full of good things, round Salisbury; they took and plundered everything they came upon, set fire to houses and churches, and, what was a more cruel and brutal sight, fired the crops that had been reaped and stacked all over the fields, consumed and brought to nothing everything edible they found. They raged with this bestial cruelty especially round Marlborough, they showed it very terribly round Devizes, and they had in mind to do the same to their adversaries all over England". (21)

A. L. Morton has argued that the civil war brought out the "worst tendencies of feudalism" and during this period "private wars and private castles sprang up everywhere" and "hundreds of local tyrants massacred, tortured and plundered the unfortunate peasantry and choas reigned everywhere". Morton claims that this "taste of the evils of unrestrained feudal anarchy was sharp enough to make the masses welcome a renewed attempt of the crown to diminish the power of the nobles." (22)

In 1146 Count Geoffrey Plantagent of Anjou, had gained control of Normandy. He now suggested to King Louis VII of France that his son, Henry, aged thirteen, should marry his recently born child. Bernard of Clairvaux wrote to Louis explaining why he must reject the idea: "I have heard that the Count of Anjou is pressing to bind you under oath respecting the proposed marriage between his son and your daughter. This is something not merely inadvisable but also unlawful, because apart from other reasons, it is barred by the impediment of consanguinity. I have learned on trustworthy evidence that the mothers of the Queen and this boy are related in the third degree. Have nothing to do with the matter." (23)

Geoffrey Plantagent taught Henry about the conduct of business and war. "Twelfth-century French politics was violent, changeable and rough, and Geoffrey was an adept player." (24) In 1147 Henry arrived in England with a small band of mercenaries. His mother disapproved of this escapade and refused to help. So also did Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester, who was in charge of Matilda's forces: "So with the impudence of youth he applied to the man against whom he was fighting and with characteristic generorosity Stephen sent him enough money to pay off his mercenaries and go home." (25)

The following year Matilda decided to abandon her campaign to gain control of England. She returned to Normandy and lived in the priory of Notre-Dame-du-Pré. Over the next few years Matilda was able to combine active involvement in the business of the duchy with a semi-religious retreat. She also helped to finance the building of a new stone bridge over the Seine, linking Rouen with the royal park at Quevilly and the priory of Le Pré. (26)

Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou, died on 7th September 1151. According to John of Marmoutier, Geoffrey was returning from a royal council when he was stricken with fever. He was buried at St. Julien Cathedral in Le Mans. (27)

Christine de Pizan: A Feminist Historian (Answer Commentary)

Wandering Minstrels in the Middle Ages (Answer Commentary)

The Growth of Female Literacy in the Middle Ages (Answer Commentary)

Women and Medieval Work (Answer Commentary)

The Medieval Village Economy (Answer Commentary)

Women and Medieval Farming (Answer Commentary)

Contemporary Accounts of the Black Death (Answer Commentary)

Disease in the 14th Century (Answer Commentary)

King Harold II and Stamford Bridge (Answer Commentary)

The Battle of Hastings (Answer Commentary)

William the Conqueror (Answer Commentary)

The Feudal System (Answer Commentary)

The Domesday Survey (Answer Commentary)

Thomas Becket and Henry II (Answer Commentary)

Why was Thomas Becket Murdered? (Answer Commentary)

Illuminated Manuscripts in the Middle Ages (Answer Commentary)

Yalding: Medieval Village Project (Differentiation)

(1) Alison Weir, Eleanor of Aquitaine (1999) page 80

(2) John of Marmoutier, Deeds of the Counts of Anjou (c. 1174)

(3) Ralph de Diceto, Pictures of History (c. 1180)

(4) Alison Weir, Eleanor of Aquitaine (1999) page 78

(5) J. F. A. Mason, William Adelinus: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (2004-2014)

(6) John Gillingham, The Lives of the Kings and Queens of England (1975) page 31

(7) Dan Jones, The Plantagenets (2013) page 10

(8) Marjorie Chibnall, Matilda: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (2004-2014)

(9) Alison Weir, Eleanor of Aquitaine (1999) page 81

(10) Henry of Huntingdon, A History of the English People (c. 1150)

(11) Marjorie Chibnall, Matilda: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (2004-2014)

(12) Dan Jones, The Plantagenets (2013) page 12

(13) Edmund King, King Stephen : Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (2004-2014)

(14) Orderic Vitalis, Ecclesiastical History (c. 1142)

(15) David Crouch, Robert, Earl of Gloucester: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (2004-2014)

(16) Marjorie Chibnall, Matilda : Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (2004-2014)

(17) Alison Weir, Eleanor of Aquitaine (1999) page 81

(18) John of Marmoutier, Deeds of the Counts of Anjou (c. 1174)

(19) William of Newburgh, History of English Affairs (c. 1200)

(20) Dan Jones, The Plantagenets (2013) page 20

(21) The Deeds of King Stephen (c.1150)

(22) A. L. Morton, A People's History of England (1938) page 54

(23) Alison Weir, Eleanor of Aquitaine (1999) page 54

(24) Dan Jones, The Plantagenets (2013) page 24

(25) John Gillingham, The Lives of the Kings and Queens of England (1975) page 38

(26) Marjorie Chibnall, Matilda: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (2004-2014)

(27) John of Marmoutier, Deeds of the Counts of Anjou (c. 1174)