[MR] Ancient Origins: "The Anarchy" in 12th Century England

[Garth Groff and Sally Sanford]

Noble Friends,

"The Anarchy" was a period during the first half of the 12th century when
the Empress Maude and Stephen of Blois played a real Game of Thrones for
control of England (no dragons though, except on flags and shields).

The problem began with King Henry I. His male heir, William Adelin, drowned
when the White Ship sank in 1120. That left just one child, Matilda (aka
the dowager Empress Maude), who had been married to the late Holy Roman
Emperor Henry V. Now she was married to the powerful Geoffrey of Anjou.
Although Henry I had demanded his barons recognize Maude as his successor,
when the King died in 1135 his nobles baulked over being ruled by a woman.

Enter Henry I's nephew Stephen. Landing in England in 1135, he claimed the
throne. Stephen was backed by the English church, especially by his
powerful younger brother Henry, Bishop of Winchester (it seems everybody
was stuck on the name "Henry" at that time!). After raising an army Empress
Maude and Geoffrey stormed across the Channel in 1139, and a full-scale
civil war erupted. It got even more complicated when the King of Scots
David I sized a big chunk of northern England, and the Welsh rebelled
against English control. The fighting also engulfed Normandy and other
English-controlled territories in France. Whew! With the realm in turmoil,
petty lords fought among themselves, and commoners got trampled by
everybody. Anarchy indeed.

And if you think this is confusing, Stephen's queen was also a "Matilda"
(Matilda I, Countess of Boulougne), and sometimes she played politics as
well as her namesake. This is probably why most historians prefer to call
Henry's I's daughter "Empress Maude".

Eventually both The Empress and Stephen were exhausted and bankrupt. In
1153 the Treaty of Winchester supposedly ended the fighting. Empress Maude
agreed to recognize Stephen as King, in exchange for him naming her son
Henry FitzEmpress (yet another Henry!) as the next king. Stephen died in
late 1154, and Henry II became King of England. Whew!

Ancient Origins has a more detailed article explaining "The Anarchy" at
https://www.ancient-origins.net/history-ancient-traditions/anarchy-0014170 .

Another good summary with lots of cool maps is on Wikipedia at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Anarchy .

Or you could just reread the Brother Cadfael novels or watch Derek Jacobi
in the TV series.

Yours Aye,


Lord Mungo Napier, Laird of Mallard Lodge  🦆