Reign of King Stephen

Historical Context Note

Litencyc Editors (Independent Scholar - Europe)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.02: English Writing and Culture: High and Late Medieval, 1066-1485.
Vol. editors: Kate Ash-Irisarri (University of Edinburgh), Rory Critten (Université de Lausanne), David Fuller (University of Durham), Natalie Hanna (University of Liverpool), Hugh Magennis (Queen's University Belfast), Jamie McKinstry (University of Durham), Sarah Peverley (University of Liverpool), Sebastian Sobecki (Rijksuniversiteit Groningen)

Domains

Changes of government, elections and reigns

Dates

Date of occurrence 1135-1154

Places

England (Location)

On the death of Henry I, his nominal heir was his daughter, Matilda. However, his nephew, Stephen of Blois, crossed the Channel to claim the English throne for himself, claiming that this would ensure the preservation of order in the kingdom. Since Matilda was in Normandy at the time, and pregnant with her third child, she was unable to prevent him taking power. However, she and her husband, Geoffrey of Anjou, first asserted their power in Normandy, and then in 1139 they moved to challenge Stephen in England. He was defeated at the Battle of Lincoln in February 1141, and Matilda seized the throne under the title of "Lady of the English". However, she was only able to hold onto power for a few short months, partly because she refused to g…

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189 words

Citation: Editors, Litencyc. "Reign of King Stephen". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 31 July 2012 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=654, accessed 23 November 2024.]

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Reign of King Stephen

Domains

Dates

Places

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