biography
| sex:
| male
|
| lived:
| (c.1090–1154)
|
| biography:
| Last Norman king of England (1135–54), the son of Stephen-Henry, Count of Blois, and Adela, the daughter of William the Conqueror. He had sworn to accept Henry I's daughter, Empress Matilda, as queen, but seized the English crown and was recognized as Duke of Normandy on Henry's death in 1135. Though defeated and captured at the Battle of Lincoln (Feb 1141), he was released nine months later after Matilda's supporters had been routed at Winchester. But Matilda strengthened her grip on the West Country; David I of Scotland annexed the N English counties by 1141; and Matilda's husband, Count Geoffrey of Anjou, conquered Normandy by 1144–5. Stephen was also repeatedly challenged by baronial rebellions, and after 18 years of virtually continuous warfare, he was forced in 1153 to accept Matilda's son, the future Henry II, as his lawful successor. His reputation as the classic incompetent king of English mediaeval history is nevertheless undeserved. He was remarkably tenacious in seeking to uphold royal rights, and his war strategy was basically sound. His inability to defend the Norman empire was due largely to the sheer weight of his military burdens, especially the major offensives of the Scots in the N and the Angevins in the S. |
|
|
