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Saturday, August 8, 2020

King Stephen of England & Queen Mathilde of Boulogne

 189110430. King Stephen of England & 189110431. Queen Mathilde of Boulogne

1092, Stephen born in Blois, France, s/o 319838530. Count Stephen of Blois & 756441989. Adela of Normandy.

1100-01, Charte de Comte Hugues: “… These witnesses are: … Adela, countess and daughter of the king of the English, and her three sons, William, Thibaut, and Stephen …”

5/19/1102, Stephen’s father killed on crusade.

~1105, Mathilde born in Boulogne, France, d/o 378220862. Eustace III of Boulogne & 378220863. Mary of Scotland.

1106, Stephen sent to be educated at the English court of his uncle King Henry I. [His mother Adela d/o William the Conqueror, and the sister of King Henry.]

Bef. 9/14/1110, By charter, Adela of Blois had relinquished certain rights over to the abbey of Bonneval. [Adela’s sons Theobald and Stephen both consented to the grant.] (S) Social Origins of Medieval Institutions, O’Callaghan, 1998, P275.

1112, in Normandy, Stephen knighted by King Henry of England.

2/2/1113, Theobald and his brother Stephen with King Henry I on his visit to the abbey of Saint-Evroul.

3/1113, Stephen created Count of Mortain by King Henry I.

1113, King Henry granted Stephen the honour of Eye in Suffolk.

1114, Theobald and Stephen visited Crowland abbey in England to meet with their former tutor Geoffrey of Orleans, now the abbot.

12/25/1115, Stephen at King Henry’s Christmas court at St. Albans for the consecration of the new abbey church.

1115-16, King Henry granted Stephen the honour of Lancaster.

12/1116, Notification … that the king, … appointed to that office Robert bishop of Lincoln … being present with the magnates of the realm, namely Robert count of Meulan, Stephen count of Mortain, Richard earl of Chester, William de Warrene, Earl David the queen’s brother, Walter earl of Buckingham, Ranulf the chancellor, … William Peverel, Pain his brother, … Hugh de Gornai.

1118, Alencon revolted against Count Stephen after he demanded hostages, who he was accused of mistreating. Fulk V of Anjou responded to a call by the citizens and laid siege to the castle.

1118, Stephen with his brother Theobald at the battle of Alencon. Theobald was wounded, and Fulk V of Anjou took the town. (S) The Capetians, Bradbury, 2007, P142.

10/1118, Dispute before the king between Eudes abbot of Caen, and Vitalis, founder of the monastery of Savingny … attested by Stephen count of Mortain, … (S) English Hist. Rev., V34, 1919, P506.

11/1118, At the battle of L’Aigle, Normandy, Count Theobald captured by the garrison. King Henry and Count Stephen brought a force of knights and rescued Theobald.

6/1119, at Evreux, Count Stephen supported King Henry in attacking Amaury de Montfort.

11/25/1120, Many young English-Norman Nobles died at sea when the ‘White Ship’ sank. Stephen, count of Mortain, was supposed to be on the ship, but got off before it left because he was feeling ill. [William Aetheling, 17-year old s/o King Henry I and heir to the throne died in the sinking. Only 1 person survived the sinking.]

1/1121, Counts Theobald and Stephen at King Henry’s Epiphany court, to which all the bishops of England were summoned.

1/29/1121 at Windsor castle, King Henry married Adeliza de Louvain. Counts Theobald and Stephen were present.

12/6/1122, at York.  Notification by Henry ‘rex Anglorum’ to John Bp. of Lisieux, Stephen Count of Mortain, Robert Delahay, ‘et omnibus baronibus et fidelibus suis Normanniae’ : That he has granted to Warin [des Essarts] … (S) Regesta Regum Anglo-Normannorum, 1956, P175.

1124, Furness abbey founded at Tulketh, Lancashire by Stephen, count of Mortain, as the original site for the Order of Savigny. (S) Foundation History of the Abbeys of Byland, Burton, 2006, P1.

[–––Stephen & Mathilde–––]

1125, King Henry arraigned for Stephen’s marriage to Mathilde; acquiring the title Count of Bologne. [Due to Mathilde’s ancestry, the children would descend from both Anglo-Saxon and Anglo-Norman kings.]

1125, ‘Eustachius olim comes Boloniensis nunc autem … monachus Cluniacensis’ donated property to Cluny; which names ‘Mariauxore mea …[et] Mathildi filia mea’, and is subscribed by ‘Stephani comitis Bolonie, Matildis comitisse.’

1125, Count Eustace of Boulogne by charter gave his inheritance to his son-in-law Count Stephen. Stephen became a dominant land owner in southeast England, and held Wissant on the continent, a chief crossing port to England.

1125, Matilda’s father died.

1126, Theobald’s and Stephen’s younger brother Henry appointed abbot of Glastonbury [the richest monastery in England] by King Henry. [The brothers the nephews of King Henry.]

1126, Count Stephen of Boulogne gave lands to Furness abbey. (S) History of Christianity, Johnson, 2012.

1/1/1127, Empress Matilda, d/o King Henry, accepted by her father’s barons as the heir to the crown. Matilda’s uncle, King David of Scotland, and her cousin, Stephen, count of Mortain, were the 1st two to do homage. [Followed by Robert, earl of Gloucester, half-brother of Matilda.]

3/2/1127, Charles the Good, count of Flanders murdered.

1127, King Henry’s nephew, Stephen of Blois, a Flanders baron, formed an alliance with the Duke of Lovain, Baldwin of Hainaut, Thomas de Coucy, and William of Ypres against William Clito’s alliance with King Louis.

1127, Robert earl of Gloucester, and Henry king of the English and duke of the Normans, attested a grant by Stephen, count of Boulogne and Mortain, to St. Mary of Furness of his forest of Furness and Walney.

8/1127, William Clito began a campaign against Count Stephen in Bologne. William and Stephen, kinsmen, agreed to a 3-year truce.

7/28/1128, William Clito died of a hand wound in battle, effectively ending the civil war on the continent.

1128, Thierry of Alsace defeated William Ypres in battle and was recognized as count of Flanders by both the King of England and France. Henry, King of England, Stephen, Count of Bologne, and Thierry, Count of Flanders were all in peace with each other.

1129, Henry, abbot of Glastonbury, and brother of Theobald and Stephen, created Bishop of Winchester [and still holding the abbey of Glastonbury – making him one of the richest men in England.]

1129-30, Stephen, count of Mortain, the dominant landholder in Suffolk, held lands in 19 other counties; along with urban properties in London, Southwark, Winchester, Bedford and Colchester. His total holdings amounted to at least 1,339 hides, making him one of the richest men in Engand.

9/1130, Count Stephen owed a balance of £36 13s 4d and 1 mark of gold for a fine of favorable judgement concerning lands in Lincolnshire. (S) Lancashire Pipe Rolls of 31 Henry I, Farrer, 1902, P3.

Bef. 8/1131, Stephen and Mathilde transferred the ‘earthly honour’ of the church of Gamlingay, Cambridgeshire, to the Augustinian canons at Colchester; for the remission of sins and for the protection of their son Eustace.

12/25/1132, Count Stephen at the Christmas court of King Henry at Windsor.

1133, Count Stephen first visited Westminster, then Winchester, then Woodstock near Oxford by early summer.

8/3/1134, Robert, duke of Normandy, older brother of King Henry I, died in prison in England.

1135 in Normandy, Count Stephen with King Henry when the king confirmed the Truce of God for the duchy of Normandy.

12/1/1135, King Henry I died. [His daughter Empress Matilda was pregnant and in Anjou. Immediatedly after his death she went to Argentan to gain her dower castles and resided their until she gave birth the following July.]

12/1135, Stephen crossed from Wissant [Boulogne’s main port] to Dover; and then rode directly to London.

12/15/1135, Henry, bishop of Winchester [Stephen’s brother], 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.

12/22/1135 at Winchester, the Archbishop of Canterbury crowned Stephen King. In a coup Empress Matilda’s 1st cousin Stephen de Blois became King, violating his oath to Matilda and throwing the country into civil war. [Similarly to what Empress Matilda’s father had done to gain the crown. Because Stephen was not king by inheritance, but by being crowned, the succession of his son was not guaranteed.]

1/5/1136, King Stephen attended the funeral of King Henry I at Reading.

1136 at Reading, King Stephen granted Milo of Gloucester, on doing his homage, all the lands he had held in Gloucester and Brecknock.

2/5/1136, King Stephen arrived at Durham with a large army.

1136, King Stephen and King David of Scotland came to peace terms. [King David had been the 1st person to pledge allegiance to Empress Matilda as successor to King Henry.]

3/22/1136, Stephen’s wife Mathilde crowned Queen at Westminster.

4/1136, King Stephen’s Charter of Liberties issued at Winchester. Waleran de Beaumont pledged his allegiance to King Stephen and was given the marriage of Stephen’s infant daughter. Waleran returned to Normandy as King Stephen’s Lieutenant. [There were rumors spread around about this time that King Stephen had died.]

Aft. 5/10/1136, King Stephen besieged Baldwin de Revieres, the only baron who had refused to do homage, at the castle of Exeter.  The siege lasted 6 months, costing £10,000. Stephen eventually let the defenders, who were without water and emaciated, go free.

1136-37, King Stephen wintered in southeast England.

3/8/1137, King Stephen’s mother died.

3/1137, King Stephen travelled to Normandy and met with Robert de Beaumont, earl of Leicester.

1137, Thibaut met with his brother King Stephen of England in Evreux. King Stephen offered Theobald an annual pension of 2000 silver marks and agreed to fight against the Angevins. [Geoffrey of Anjou had invaded Normandy with 400 knights]. (S) Boulogne and Politica in Northern France, Tanner, 2004, P207.

5/1137, King Stephen met with King Louis VI of France. (S) Tradition and Change, Greenway, 2002, P177.

6/1137, King Stephen’s and his Norman army was at Lisieux. (S) DNB, V20, 1909, P832.

1137, King Stephen arrested Hugh de Gournay (40003892) at Pontaudemar. [Eventually King Stephen and the Angevins arrived at a truce.]

11/1137, King Stephen returned to England. [Never to return to France.] (S) Henry II, Warren, 1977, P31.

12/25/1137, King Stephen held Christmas court at Dunstable, Bedfordshire; laying siege to the castle.

2/2/1138, King Stephen arrived in Northumbria with a large force.

4/1138, King Stephen returned south and held court at Northampton. Stephen then set out for Gloucester.

1138, Milo, constable of King Stephen, conducted the King to the royal palace in Gloucester where the citizens swore allegiance. (S) Memoirs Historical and Topographical of Bristol, V1, 1821, P401.

5-6/1138, King David of Scotland invaded north England. [Defeated in August by Stephen’s forces at the battle of the Standard near Northallerton.]

8/1138, King Stephen besieged and quickly captured the town and castle of Shrewsbury. King Stephen had 93 common soldiers and 5 “men of rank” executed.

1138, King Stephen designated his wife Queen Matilda as the commander of the siege of Dover. Mathilde blockaded the sea with forces from from Boulogne. The garrison quickly surrendered.

12/11/1138, King Stephen called a council at Westminster, summoning all the religious persons of the kingdom under papal authority to select a new archbishop of Canterbury, and conduct other business. [Stephen’s brother wanted, but did not get, the position.] Queen Mathilde worked during this period to arrange a longterm peace agreement between the northern and southern barons.

1/18/1139, King Stephen and Queen Mathilde attended the consecration of Godstow abbey north of Oxford.

4/9/1139 at Durham, Queen Matilda [maternally a Scot] acting for her husband King Stephen, for the sake of peace, surrendered all of Northumberland to King David with the exception of 2 castles, and recognized Scotland as an independent kingdom.

6/24/1139, After an incident at court, King Stephen arrested 3 bishops and Roger the Chancellor, and took their castles.

1139, Herbert Fitz-Herbert, lord chamberlain to King Stephen. (S) Peerage of the United Kingdom, Debrett, 1814, P122.

8/29/1139, King Stephen was summoned by his brother Henry, the bishop, to answer charges that he had violated church liberties.

9/1139, King Henry’s daughter Empress Matilda invaded England with forces led by her half brother Robert, Earl of Gloucester. Empress Matilda landed at Arundel in Sussex. Stephen stopped his siege of Corfe castle, and proceeded to Arundel. Not wanting to be perceived as attacking Matilda and her stepmother, King Stephen arranged for her to be escourted to her brother at Bristol.

1139, King Stephen began a march on Bristol, setting up a siege at Wallingford castle on the way. Milo of Gloucester flanked Stephen and ended the siege, setting free Brian fitz Count. King Stephen turned around to protect London.

1139, King Stephen besieged Ludlow castle. During the siege King Stephen bravely saved Prince Henry of Scotland from being captured by a grappling hook thrown from the castle. (S) The Marches of Wales, Harper, 1894, P195.

1139, The gift of William de Curci I, sewer, and William his son, to Abingdon confirmed by King Stephen at the siege of Wallingford. (S) Honors and Kinght’s fees, V2, Farrer, 1923, P104.

1/5/1140, King Stephen and Queen Mathilde at Reading on the anniversary of the burial of King Henry I.

1/1140, King Stephen led raid into Cornwall.

5/26/1140, King Stephen at the Tower of London.

1140 at Stamford, Attending King Stephen’s court: Ranulf, earl of Chester; Gilbert, earl of Pembroke; Earl Simon; Roger, earl of Warwick; Earl Robert de Ferrers; William Martel; … Richard de Camville; Richard Fitz Urse; Eustace fitz John; … Hugh Wake; …

7/1140, King Stephen’s brother Bishop Henry presided over a meeting near Bristol between Robert, earl of Gloucester,  and Queen Mathilde, wife of Stephen.

8/3/1140, Geoffrey de Mandeville, earl of Essex, and Waler of Meulan 2 of 5 counts that witnessed Queen Mathilde’s foundation of a new Savignac house at Coggeshall.

12/1140, Randulph, earl of Chester, captured Lincoln castle from King Stephen.

1/1141, Stephen recaptured Lincoln castle, but Randulph escaped.

2/2/1141, William de Chesney, a valiant knight, captured King Stephen at the battle of Lincoln. The opposing forces were led by Robert, earl of Gloucester, and Ranulf, earl of Chester. (S) English Historical Documents, Douglas, 1996, P319. [King Stephen was held captive by Robert, earl of Gloucester’s wife Mabel Fitz-Robert.]

2/9/1141, King Stephen was taken to Gloucester to Empress Matilda [and then on to Bristol castle. Queen Mathilde wrote to Empress Matilda requesting that Stephen not be imprisoned in a dungeon.]

3/2/1141, Empress Matilda met with Bishop Henry, the king’s brother, and the papal legate in England, near Winchester. Matilda promised to consult him on important legal matters, and Henry gave his allegiance to her.

1141 at Bristol, King Stephen was visited in prison by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Stephen gave the archbishop permission to swear allegiance to Empress Matilda.

4/7/1141 at Winchester, Empress Matilda acknowledged as “Lady of England and Normandy” by Bishop Henry.

6/24/1141, Londoners, in support of Queen Mathilde, attacked Winchester. Empress Matilda had to flee to her castle at Oxford.

9/1141, From Oxford, Empress Matilda led forces, commanded by Robert of Gloucester, Milo of Gloucester and Brien fitz Count, that laid siege to Winchester to obtain the treasury. Bishop Henry had departed, but he had left a garrison in place. What Empress Matilda’s forces did not know was that William of Ypres’ Flemish forces were surrounding London. Queen Mathilde had marched the Flemish forces from her lands in Kent.

9/14/1141, Empress Matilda’s forces defeated at the battle of Winchester by forces led by Queen Mathilde. They fled London to get Empress Matilda to safety. Earl Robert of Gloucester was captured fighting a rearguard action at the river crossing of Stockbridge. John fitzGilbert (189118348) escorted Empress Matilda in her escape. Queen Mathilde pursued Geoffrey de Mandeville into Hertfordshire where he attempted to capture Stortford castle. (S) The Greatest Knight, Asbridge, 2014, P15.

1141, Queen Mathilde and her son Eustace were taken to Bristol where King Stephen was released. Earl Robert’s son was held hostage at Winchester. [The formal exchange was to involve many prisoners from both sides.]

11/1/1141, King Stephen exchanged by Matilda for Robert, earl of Gloucester.  At Winchester, the cross-over point in a joint release, the two men had a chance to exchange friendly remarks, and Robert apparently assured King Stephen that there was nothing personal in the fight.

12/25/1141, Stephen again crowned King, and held a Christmas court. [The civil war would continue for 12 more years.]

4/1142, Richard Fitz-Urse at King Stephen’s Easter court.

5/1142 at Northampton, King Stephen became seriously ill during a campaign across England.

8/1142, King Stephen captured Wareham, Dorset, the port where Earl Robert had left from to go to Normandy.

9/1142, Stephen beseiged Matilda at Oxford castle. During the siege Earl Robert returned and recaptured Wareham.

12/1142, Empress Matilda escaped Oxford castle at night with an escort of 3 knights, and took refuge at Brien fitz Count’s castle of Wallingford. Matilda then established her base at the castle of Devizes in Wiltshire.

12/1142, William de Warren with King Stephen at his Christmas court.

4/1143, King Stephen at the legatine court in London.

6/7/1143, King Stephen at Peterborough.

7/1/1143, Milo fitz-Walter and Robert de Gloucester defeated the forces of King Stephen at Wilton. William Martel, royal steward, was captured.

9/1143, Pope Innocent II, a supporter of King Stephen, died; and was replaced by Celestine II, a supporter of Empress Matilda.

9/29/1143, King Stephen held court at St. Albans, ordering the arrest of Earl Geoffrey de Mandeville.

1144, [Early in the year] Geoffrey of Anjou [Empress Matilda’s husband, now duke of Normandy] completed subjugation Normandy by taking the city of Rouen.

1144, King Stephen banished his enemies from the castle of Flanders. (S) Flowers of History, Matthaeus, 1853, P48.

1144, King Stephen laid siege to Rochester castle. (S) Antiquities of Sussex, Rouse, 1825, P109.

1145, Ranulf, earl of Chester, switched sides and helped King Stephen capture Wallingford.

1145, King Stephen defeated Matilda’s forces at the battle of Faringdon.

8/26/1146, Randulph, earl of Chester, was getting attacked by the Welsh, and asked Stephen for help in court at Northampton. He was arrested “for treachery”.

12/25/1146, King Stephen held Christmas court at Lincoln. Queen Mathilde witnessed a charter at this court.

4/1147, Henry, s/o Empress Matilda, age 14, invaded England with a small force and attempted to take Purton castle. Deserted by his mercenaries, King Stephen paid for his return trip to Normandy.

1147, King Stephen and Queen Matilda founded Feversham abbey in Kent. (S) Rudimentary Architecture, Bury, 1853, P164.

10/13/1147, Robert, earl of Gloucester, Empress Matilda’s half-brother and chief supporter died.

1148, King Stephen prohibited all clergy except 3 he had picked from attending the General Council called by the Pope to be at Rheims in March. [The Pope threatened Stephen with excommunication.]

5/1148, King Stephen was at York.

6/1148, Empress Matilda returned to Normandy, never returning to England.

1149, at Chichester, King Stephen issued a royal charter with respect to the manor of Bexhill.

1149, King Stephen visited York. (S) Beverlac, Poulson, 1829, P530.

4/1150, King Stephen visited York and destroyed the fortress of Coldric. (S) Church Historians of England, 1856, P27.

1150, King Stephen invaded Worcester and captured and burnt the city, but was unable to take the castle. (S) History of the English People, Huntingdon, 2002, P87.

1151, King Stephen again invaded Worcester.

9/7/1151, Empress Matilda’s husband, Geoffrey, age 38, duke of Normandy, died. He was succeeded by his son Henry [future King Henry II.]

9/16/1151, King Stephen consulted an astrologer who stated that the king would soon compel his barons to perform homage to his son.

1/8/1152, King Stephen’s older brother Theobald died. (S) Priory of Hexham, Raine, 1863, P165.

1152, King Stephen besieged Newbury castle, held by John Fitz Gilbert (189118348). Stephen ordered John to surrender immediately or watch as he hanged his 5-year-old son William (94559174) in front of the castle. John replied that he should go ahead, for “I still have the hammer and the anvil with which to forge still more and better sons!” Fortunately, Stephen could not bring himself to hang young William.

4/1152, Archbishop Theobald of Canterbury refused to crown Eustace as a living heir to King Stephen. (S) Henry II, Hosler, 2007, P45.

5/3/1152, Queen Mathilde of England died on a visit to Aubrey de Vere at Hedingham castle [Essex]; buried at Faversham abbey.

[–––Stephen–––]

1/1153, Duke Henry landed in England with 140 knights and 3,000 infantry in 36 ships. Supported by the Earl of Chester, he captured Malmesbury and relieved Wallingford where King Stephen’s men held the north bank of the Thames.

Winter/1153, with Duke Henry and King Stephen’s forces facing each other in snow and cold, a peace agreement was made.

8/1153, King Stephen’s son and heir Eustace died while dining on eel.

1153, Richard de Luci, Justiciar, and constable of Windsor castle and the Tower in London, switched allegiance to Duke Henry, and advised King Stephen to make peace. [Richard de Lucy witnessed 135 charters of King Stephen.]

11/6/1153, At Westminster, the Treaty of Wallingford recognized Duke Henry as the heir of his cousin King Stephen. Stephen was to reign without dispute until his death. [William, the new heir, was very young and in no position to oppose King Henry.]

1154, King Stephen spent much of the time in the north of England.

3/1154, Duke Henry left England for Normandy.

10/25/1154, At Dover [in Kent], Stephen, meeting with Thierry, Count of Flanders, died of complications from a recurring stomach problem; buried at Faversham abbey, co. Kent.

(S) She-Wolves, Castor, 2011. (S) King Stephen, King, 2011. (S) Reign of King Stephen, Crouch, 2000. (S) English Historical Review, V34, 1919.

Children of Stephen and Matilda:

i. Eustace of Blougne, born bef. 8/1131 in France.

2/1140, Eustace married to Constance, age 12, d/o King Louis VI & Adelaide of Maurienne.

8/1153, Eustace died while dining on eel; buried at Faversham abbey.

ii. Marie of Boulogne (94555215) born 1133 in France.

iii. William of Blois, born ~1137 in England.

By 1153, William married Isabel, d/o 189118242. Earl William de Warenne.

1159, Richard given Chipping Ongar, Essex, by William, s/o King Stephen, consisting of 30 knight’s fees. [Richard married to Rohese of Boulogne, likely a relative of William.]

10/1159, William died, buried in Poitou, France.

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