202 1-06-25

Thirty-five years after Henry ruled this country, there was a rare calm in England. He spent about half his time in England. In the second half of his rule, he had to stay in Normandy most of the time to deal with various problems there.

Although Normandy was under Henry's rule, there were always hidden dangers. Robert was arrested and imprisoned, but his youngest son Guillaume Critto was successfully taken out of Normandy and out of Henry's control. When he grew up, with the support of King Louis of France, he vowed to recapture the Principality of Normandy.

From 1 1 16, there were frequent wars in Normandy. King Louis of France, together with Count Flanders in the north of Normandy and Count Anjou in the south, attacked from three sides. The nobles loyal to Robert also began to rebel. Henry had to sit in Normandy and run around, defeating Louis in a key battle of 1 1 19, and finally stabilizing the situation again.

But fatal blows followed.

1 120 years, Henry's son William went to England on a big ship called "White Ship" and ran aground and sank in the middle of the English Channel. William was killed.

Henry and his queen have only one son and one daughter. Although Henry is merciful outside marriage, there are countless illegitimate children, but William is his only legal heir. William's death cast a shadow over the future of the kingdom. It is said that Henry was heartbroken after hearing the news and never laughed again.

Henry is now in his fifties, and the Queen died two years ago. In order to inherit the throne, he got married again, but he could not have another son.

This is a real crisis. No matter according to Norman tradition or Anglo-Saxon custom, the king should be a man. At present, the closest man to the throne is Robert, an old man in prison, and Guillaume, Robert's son. The father and son have a deep hatred for Henry. Henry can imagine that once the throne falls into their hands, he will really come to a bad end.

However, if the illegitimate child is forcibly designated as the heir, he will be unable to get the support of the church and barons because of his improper bloodline, and Guillaume will still benefit in the end, and a bloodshed is inevitable.

Henry thought hard and was tortured. Finally, he made a bold decision.

Henry's daughter's name is Matilda, and the British used to call her Maud. She was born in 1 102. At the age of eight, she went to Germany and married the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. The emperor was twenty-four years old. As an adult, she helped her husband to be in power and represented the national government when the emperor went out to war. 1 125, the emperor died of illness, and 23-year-old Maud became a widow.

Maud and the emperor have no descendants. According to tradition, the Germans soon elected a new emperor by the big prince, who was also the enemy of the dead emperor. Now, it is not convenient for Maud to stay in Germany. She has returned to her father Henry.

Although Maud left Germany, he still insisted that people around him call her the queen. Since the word also means queen, she may mean that she should inherit the throne from her dead husband.

The return of such a daughter with political ambitions made Henry see hope again. As he had no more sons and his health was getting worse, Henry began to establish Maud as his successor. After some preparation, at the beginning of 1 127, Henry finally summoned Baron Norman and asked them to swear to recognize Maud as the legal heir to the throne.

Whether the sworn barons are sincere or not, Henry has no time to take care of them. Because he really has no better way. He followed Maud's marriage in order to give birth to an heir as soon as Maud could still have children.

Henry's new husband to Maud is Jeffrey, the heir of Count Anjou. Count Anjou's territory is located in the south of Normandy, and he has been cooperating with the French king to occupy Normandy. Henry used marriage to turn enemies into friends, which can be described as well-intentioned. It's just that the age of husband and wife is not quite in tune. They got married. The bride Maud is 26 years old and the groom Jeffrey is only 14 years old.

Less than a month after Maud got married, Guillaume, Henry's opponent and nephew, Robert's son, was injured and died in battle. Henry can finally breathe a sigh of relief, and the biggest threat to Maud's succession to the throne has disappeared.

The relationship between Maud and Jeffrey is not harmonious, but this does not prevent them from giving birth to three sons in a row. This is equivalent to adding three insurances for Maud to inherit the throne.

11At the end of 35, Henry died in Normandy because he ate too many eight-eyed eels. He was sixty-eight years old that year, and he still had a strong appetite. He seemed to be in good health and mental state. If it weren't for greed, he might have stayed on the throne for a few more years.

When William I and William II died, when people died, people around them exploded. Some were busy protecting their property, while others were busy grabbing the throne. This time, Henry's funeral was arranged in an orderly way, and the body was embalmed. Under the management of Henry for many years, the Norman barons finally had some order.

Maud is now in Anjou and pregnant. She agreed that Baron Norman, who was driving with Henry, would go to England together after the funeral affairs of the late king were finished. She knew that the Norman barons had to be controlled around, or they would make trouble.

Unfortunately, Maud ignored a person. This man is not in Normandy, but in boulogne in the north. Hearing the news of Henry's death, he went to England by boat without hesitation. His goal is the throne of England.

He's Stephen. This Stephen is not the same person as Stephen de Oman who appeared before. He is called Stephen de bulova, that is, "Stephen of bulova" because his father is the Earl of bulova. His mother is the daughter of William the Conqueror and the sister of King Henry.

Stephen ranks fifth in the family, with three brothers on it. Traditionally, unless all three brothers died or had an accident, he was qualified to inherit his father's earl territory, which was really too few. Young Stephen came to play in the court of his uncle King Henry, and fought with Henry in Normandy, making many achievements. Henry admired him very much and gave him some land in England and Normandy.

Under Henry's arrangement, Stephen married the daughter of the Earl of boulogne. The Earl had no son, and Stephen became the Earl of boulogne through his wife's inheritance. Boulogne has an important port, and it trades frequently with English and other places, so Stephen becomes rich and his strength greatly increases.

Stephen was among them when he swore that Maud had succeeded to the throne. However, this does not seem to hinder his desire for the crown. He has a plan for his next move. Stephen's younger brother Henry was also deeply loved by King Henry. He was appointed Bishop of Winchester. His energy is not small, and he was once one of the candidates for the archbishop of Canterbury. He will be Stephen's most powerful assistant.

Stephen landed in London. He was in his forties at that time. He is kind to others and has a funny talk, which soon won the favor of Londoners. He went to Winchester to take over the Royal Treasury. This route is exactly the same as when Henry ascended the throne 35 years ago, but in the opposite direction.

Bishop Henry has made all the preparations in Winchester, and Stephen has no difficulty in taking over the vault. Then Bishop Henry reached an agreement with Stephen on behalf of the church. Stephen agreed to give the church full freedom and rights, and the church would support Stephen as king.

As for Stephen, he swore allegiance to Maud? Bishop Henry first declared the oath invalid, and then called King Henry's housekeeper to testify. Before he died, King Henry changed his mind and made his nephew Stephen king. As the most important person in King Henry's court, it is incredible that this housekeeper should leave the king's funeral in Normandy and go back to England to testify. Believe it or not, the Archbishop of Canterbury finally agreed to crown Stephen.

The cooperation between the two brothers is seamless. Three weeks after the death of King Henry, Stephen was crowned in London.

Stephen is called "the usurper" in some English history books. This should mean that he took the throne from Maud. In fact, it may not be so. Since the Norman Conquest, Britain has experienced three successions to the throne, each with twists and turns. The key reason is that the succession rules are not clear, which leads to succession crises.

In contrast, France continued to crown the eldest son when the king was alive, and Germany formed a method of combining the eldest son's succession to the throne and the heir's election of the king by the eldest prince, which was also a clear charter. In England, because the rules are not clear, if there are too many male heirs, brothers will compete with each other. If there are too few male heirs, it is possible to break the heirs, forming the "inheritance curse". This "inheritance curse" is far from over in England, and it appears again and again.

Henry was the first king who made preparations in advance for the smooth succession to the throne. He was more far-sighted and responsible than his father and brother. If Stephen is a usurper, we should admit that Maud's "orthodoxy" comes from Henry's authorization. But Henry himself, didn't he get the authorization from his father and brother? Isn't what Stephen is doing now a replica of Henry coming to power? From the bloodline theory, both Stephen and Maud are the third generation descendants of William the Conqueror, and as men, Stephen is more in line with the conditions of the king at that time. As for whether Stephen is the eldest son, let's look at the three sons of William the Conqueror. Who can say anything more?

Moreover, no matter who comes to power, Stephen or Maud, England has set a precedent. The throne can be inherited by women, one is the daughter of William the Conqueror and the other is William's granddaughter. This not only helped William's descendants solve many problems, but also created endless troubles.

Although he ascended the throne, Stephen knew in his heart that Maud would not let it go, and confrontation would come sooner or later, so he had to be prepared.

He attaches great importance to the support of the church. Referring to King Henry's coronation charter, he also promulgated the charter shortly after he ascended the throne. The main content is to declare that the church has complete jurisdiction over its own personnel and property. Without the request of the church, the king will never interfere. This is in return for the church's support for his accession to the throne. Stephen later discovered that this charter firmly bound his hands and feet in his conflict with the church.

Since William I, the king of England has been wary of the Roman Catholic Church's intervention in British affairs, but Stephen did the opposite and took the initiative to ask the Pope to approve his accession to the throne. When the pope's approval order arrived, he immediately asked his men to copy and distribute it and make it public. His brother, Bishop Henry, was also appointed as the special envoy of the Church by the Pope, surpassing the Archbishop of Canterbury and becoming the head of the Church of England. He will do his best to help the king.

It is not enough to have the support of the church alone. There must be a team to fight At this point, Stephen is ready. As the Earl of boulogne, he took a fancy to a man named William de Ipsos. This William, the illegitimate son of the Flemish aristocrat, fought several battles for the position of Earl, and was finally defeated and taken in by Stephen. William and his men became Stephen's mercenaries. In the royal treasury of Winchester, there is still a large sum of money left by King Henry, which is enough to support the expenses of mercenaries.

With money and mercenaries, Stephen's attitude towards Baron Norman was slightly cold. Anyway, barons are lukewarm to him, still hesitating to admit that he is still Maud. Some Maud supporters began to rebel. Stephen had to change his strategy, give the land to the barons who supported him, and improve his rank and rank in order to buy people's hearts. When Henry was in England, there were only seven counts, but Stephen created a dozen new counts in two or three years.

The war first broke out in Normandy on the other side of the strait. The army of Anjou led by Maud and Jeffrey attacked Normandy. Stephen sent William (Ipsos) to fight, but the local baron refused to cooperate fully, which led to the unfavorable situation. In desperation, Stephen can only ask for peace talks in exchange for a temporary truce in Angola by paying 2000 marks a year.

1 138, Maud's supporters launched an uprising in England. The mastermind behind this is Robert, Earl of Gloucester, who is the illegitimate child of King Henry and Maud's half-brother. Although he was in Normandy, he remotely commanded his men to rebel in the west of England and persuaded Maud to go to England to fight for the throne. Maud finally made up his mind to land in England with Robert the next year. As soon as she arrived, a large number of barons who hesitated to wait and see immediately made up their minds and gathered under her banner.

There's something wrong with Stephen. Just before Maud arrived, he arrested two bishops on charges of building a castle without permission. These two men, Roger, the first minister in charge of the Ministry of Finance, and his nephew, were important ministers in the period of King Henry. Stephen was worried that the two men were trying to rebel and asked them to hand over the castle.

This suddenly angered his brother, Bishop Henry, the Pope's envoy. Henry told Stephen that they were both members of the church. According to the previous promises and charters, the people in the church are under the jurisdiction of the church, and the king can't cross the border. Stephen replied that he was not arresting the bishop, but a vassal of the king.

This answer angered Bishop Henry. It seems that when it comes to power, even your own brother can't be trusted. Stephen finally got the castle, but he had an argument with the church.

Stephen launched an attack on Maud's side, but it had little effect. Soon, the other side began to organize counterattacks. 1 14 1 year, Robert led an army and met Stephen near Lincoln city. After a hard struggle, Robert won and Stephen was captured.

Maud was overjoyed that the crown of England was just around the corner. She soon began to negotiate with Bishop Henry, promising not to interfere with the rights of the church in exchange for the church's support for her coronation. Henry didn't care about his brother's affair, but reached an agreement with Maud to support her to ascend to the throne.

On the other side of the strait, Jeffrey also took the opportunity to launch an offensive and gained most of Normandy. Norman barons saw the situation clearly and supported Maud to ascend to the throne in succession, hoping to keep the fiefs on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. Maud also exercised his power like a queen, and created several new earl as a reward for his followers.

However, Maud's road to the queen eventually fell short. She came to London to prepare for the coronation ceremony, but there was a rebellion and Maud had to flee in a hurry. It is said that Maud's toughness and arrogance annoyed Londoners, which is in line with her usual style.

Stephen's clique seized the opportunity to launch a counterattack, and Maud's morale was greatly dispersed. After a defeat, Count Robert also fell into the enemy. In order to rescue him, Maud offered to exchange Stephen. The two sides hit it off. 1 14 1 At the end, Stephen returned to the throne in London, and his brother Bishop Henry once again expressed his support.

After a year of ups and downs, both sides have lost their morale and the war is deadlocked. 11At the end of 42, Stephen besieged Maud in Oxford. Maud left the city late at night and stepped on the frozen river to escape from the encirclement. The next year, Maud surrounded Stephen in turn and almost captured him again.

This kind of seesaw can't bring any wealth and honor, which exhausted the patience of most Norman barons. 11At the end of 45, the Pope called for the second Crusade, and some of them immediately responded and went far away to show their skills. Those who stayed also decided not to help each other, so they quickly built castles, kept their own territory and property, and took advantage of the chaos to occupy more points.

The war at that time was mainly the offensive and defensive war of the castle. Because the siege technology is still relatively backward, the defensive side is dominant. If the barons attack the city by their own troops, the service period of the knights and their men is only forty days a year, and the defenders will confront each other. When you meet a mercenary, you need to get along with each other for a long time. War is often a war of attrition.

Because the castle is so important, Baron Norman has been building around it for many years. Building a castle is equivalent to controlling a large area around it. Successive kings have forbidden barons to build castles without permission, in case of forming a separatist regime and weakening imperial power. Now, the decline of kingship has given barons a rare opportunity, and castles have mushroomed.

Without the control of kingship, barons fought with each other privately, ravaged villages and infringed on the people, relying on the self-respect of their castles. England is in turmoil, especially in the south. The British lament that "God and angels are asleep". Later generations called this period anarchy.

1 147, Count Robert died, which was a great loss for Maud. The following year, she returned to Normandy and focused on the management of this conquered land. She gave up the battle for the British throne and pinned her hopes on her eldest son Henry.

When Henry was just fourteen years old, he took over the family responsibilities from his mother and continued to challenge Stephen. 1 147, he came to England with his mother to work hard, and two years later he came alone. Neither attempt achieved obvious results, but Henry gained experience. 1 153, Henry made a comeback again.

At this time, Stephen is a 60-year-old man who has just experienced the pain of losing his wife. Facing young Henry, he felt helpless and desperate. He was bent on supporting his eldest son, eustace, hoping to emulate the French and crown his son while he was alive. But the church rejected his request. His brother Henry was removed from the post of special envoy of the church and could no longer give orders.

The Norman nobles in England were tired of the endless struggle for the throne, and they tried their best to avoid new conflicts. The two sides finally accepted the mediation of the church and reached an agreement: Stephen continued to be king of England before his death, and Henry succeeded to the throne after his death. Before the agreement was signed, Stephen's son eustace died, and the biggest obstacle disappeared.

Stephen died on 1 154. He reigned for nineteen years, and England was in turmoil for most of the time. Norman nobles have never been so eager for a powerful king to bring peace and order to England.

In this expectation, twenty-one-year-old Henry ascended the throne. He ended the rule of Norman England and brought England into the Plantagenet era.