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.
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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