Stephen

Depiction in Historia Anglorum (1234)

Regnal name: King Stephen of England

Birth name: Estienne de Blois

Born: c. 1092 - 1096, Blois, County of Blois, Kingdom of France

Father: Stephen, Count of Blois

Mother: Saint Princess Adela of Normandy

House: Blois

Nationality: Blésois

Religion: Catholicism

Claim: Grandchild of William I 'The Conqueror' 

Reign: 22 December 1135 - 25 October 1154 (18 years)

Coronation: 22 December 1135 then 25 December 1141

Predecessor: Henry I 'Beauclerc' then Matilda *disputed*

Successor: Matilda *disputed* then Henry II 'Curtmantle' 

Contender: Matilda 

Died: 25 October 1154 (aged 57 - 62), Dover, Kent, Kingdom of England

Cause: Cancer

Burial: Faversham Abbey

Motto: N/A 

Spouse(s):

• Matilda I, Countess of Boulogne (m. 1125 - 1152) 

Children:

• With Matilda I, Countess of Boulogne
• Lord Baldwin of Blois (c. 1126 - c. 1135)
• Matilda, Countess of Meulan (c. 1127 - 1141)
• Eustace IV, Count of Boulogne (c. 1130 - 1153)
• William I, Count of Boulogne (c. 1135 - 1159)
• Marie I, Countess of Boulogne (c. 1136 - 1182) 

• With Damette
• Gervase, Abbot of Westminster (???? - 1157)
• Ralph (???? - ????)
• Amalric (???? - ????)  

Appearance:

Stephen was described as tall and handsome, with red hair, and a robust appearance. 

 

Character:

Throughout the majority of his life, Stephen was a well-liked and popular individual. He was described as having good manners, was modest, and was friendly to everyone, regardless of social status. He often enjoyed laughing and joking with his soldiers, as well as his servants. 

 

Stephen was also regarded as a great leader; firm but fair. 

 

During his youth, he was very close to his mother and his siblings, sharing a strong and supportive bond with them. However, the shadow of his father's negative legacy often loomed over him, and he was paranoid about being viewed as a coward like his father was. 

 

Although he was close with and respected his wife, particularly her intelligence, it appears that he did not remain faithful to her. Stephen sired a few illegitimate children with a well-known mistress, though it is possible that this was before his marriage - the dates of these children's births are uncertain. 

 

In terms of intelligence, he received an excellent education, with heavy influence from his mother, which gave him a more pious side to his personality as well. He was well versed in Latin, possessed an interest in religion, and was also good at handling money.

 

Biography:

Stephen was born in Blois, France, though the exact date of his birth is not known, but is likely some time between 1092 and 1096. He was the fourth of eleven children born to Stephen, Count of Blois, and his wife, Princess Adela of Normandy, the daughter of King William I of England, and who was later venerated as a saint by the Catholic church. 

 

Stephen's father would die when he was only 10 years old, and his mother would play a large role in his upbringing, being a powerful influence on his life. Due to his eldest brother being mentally disabled, many of the lands and titles instead went to his other older brothers, while Stephen was encouraged to become a knight. He was close to his family during his early years, and received an excellent education with heavy Norman influences.

 

As well as being close to his siblings and mother, Stephen was also close to his uncle, King Henry I of England, and was even knighted by him at one point. England and Blois were close allies during this period, and Henry hoped to maintain this for the sake of protection against the French king. As he grew older, Stephen would often become a part of Henry's court, and frequently visited England, with Henry also becoming his patron. Through this, Stephen was able to build his wealth and land holdings, as his uncle was generous in his treatment of him. 

 

After the death of King Henry's only legitimate son, Stephen began to be considered as a possible candidate for the throne of England. With the King of England's second marriage appearing unlikely to produce any more children, Henry continued to foster a close bond with Stephen, and sent him to deal with other potential claimants to the English crown. 

 

Henry also arranged Stephen's marriage to Matilda I, Countess of Boulogne, in 1125 to create further alliances, as well as further provide for Stephen. The marriage further increased Stephen's power and wealth within western Europe. 

 

However, despite Stephen being considered a potential heir, Henry instead appears to have favoured the idea of his legitimate daughter, Empress Matilda, being the next monarch of England. A woman had never ruled England in her own right before, and Henry forced members of the nobility, including Stephen himself, to swear an oath recognising Matilda as his rightful heir. 

 

Henry I eventually died in 1135, effectively leaving a power vacuum behind. His apparent chosen heir, Matilda, along with her husband, were not popular among Anglo-Normans. Stephen was more greatly liked and favoured by nobles and common people alike, and he was desperate to avoid the cowardly reputation that his father had possessed. Furthermore, his wife, Matilda, also encouraged him to take action, likely to safeguard the properties that they owned within the kingdom. 

 

Stephen was able to reach England first, unlike Matilda who had remained in France. Immediately upon arriving, he began acting as king, appointing abbots and bishops, usually consisting of his close family and allies. He quickly reached London and began to consolidate his power. His seizure of power was popular with the people of London, who still believed in the idea of electing a king, and chose Stephen regardless of his seizure of the throne and King Henry's wishes.

 

However, despite his popularity, there was still the issue that he had sworn to Henry I to recognise Matilda as his heir. The oath was religious in nature, and his breakage of the oath would have been taboo. To bypass this issue, Stephen claimed that his oath was more focused on securing stability in the Kingdom of England, and for him to renounce his claim to the throne would plunge England into chaos. He also argued that Henry had changed his mind at the last moment and had made Stephen his heir on his deathbed, though, conveniently, there are no known reliable witnesses to this. Luckily, he was able to gain the support of the Pope, who gave his blessing to Stephen becoming king; this now left little room for argument over the legitimacy of his rule.

 

Unfortunately, Stephen's reign would not be easy and he constantly had to fight to retain his power. Empress Matilda remained a strong contender for the throne, and war would break out between them, which became known as 'the Anarchy'. The Kingdom of England became divided between territory ruled by Stephen, and the south west of the country which was under Matilda's control. They would place each other's castles under siege, and Stephen even nearly lost the throne completely in 1141 when he was captured, and was only able to narrowly maintain power due to his popular support in London, whose citizens chased Matilda and her forces out of the city. 

 

While he was imprisoned, his wife, Matilda of Boulogne, kept fighting in his stead. Her motivation was even more powerful than that of Stephen's, and she refused to compromise with their enemies. She even managed to capture Empress Matilda's half-brother, and most powerful supporter, Robert of Gloucester, and she managed to exchange him for the release of her husband. 

 

Now that he was free, Stephen was able to once again fully re-establish control over England. He had Matilda's castle surrounded, but she managed to escape Stephen's forces by daringly crossing a frozen river during the night. 

 

The war between Stephen and Matilda had reached a complete stalemate by 1143. The country fell on hard times as castles and fields were destroyed, and crime became rampant. The economy was also decentralised. 

 

However, Empress Matilda returned to Normandy by 1147, and many knights had abandoned the fighting to join the Second Crusade. Matilda appears to have begun to abandon any serious attempts on claiming the throne of England for herself, though she continued to style herself as the true reigning monarch of England. 

 

Instead, her eldest son, Prince Henry, took over in the fight for England, especially after the death of Matilda's husband and loyal supporter, Geoffrey V, Count of Anjou. Though Henry's invasions were unsuccessful, he still proved himself to be a popular and powerful opponent. Furthermore, with the death of his wife and second son in 1152, Stephen was forced to confront the chaos that would be his succession, and he was in frequent arguments with the Church, believing that they were encroaching on his authority as king.

 

Stephen was intent on having his eldest surviving son, Eustace, recognised as his heir, though there was a high amount of opposition to this. Eustace was not popular, and this was only worsened when both he and Stephen imprisoned any bishops who refused to recognise him as Stephen's heir. 

 

In the meantime, Prince Henry launched a fresh invasion, and was able to recapture the lands in England that had previously been held by his mother. The Kingdom of England had grown incredibly tired of all of the fighting by this point, and the Church especially wanted to pursue a peaceful resolution to the war. 

 

In the end, Stephen and Henry both had private talks with each other, though they were both none too pleased with having to do so. 

 

Despite both initially being unwilling to compromise with each other, peace was finally reached in 1153 with the Treaty of Winchester. Through this, Stephen officially adopted Henry as his son, and recognised him as his heir to the English throne. Stephen's biological children would retain their lands in France, and would pay homage to Henry, and renounce their own claims to the English throne in exchange for security and protection. All parties agreed, and Stephen and Henry sealed the treaty with a kiss of peace. 

 

Though on paper the two sides were at peace, both Stephen and Henry still did not fully trust each other. Henry even returned to mainland Europe upon hearing rumours that there were plans to have him assassinated. 

 

Stephen spent much of his time afterwards travelling England, especially through the north, attempting to re-establish his own authority in the realm. The kingdom had fallen into chaos during the Anarchy, and he was keen to reassert himself. 

 

Just a year later in 1154, Stephen became increasingly ill during his travels, likely as a result of stomach cancer. He would die later that same year. 

   

Rule:

Stephen's reign over England is largely regarded as chaotic as a result of him technically usurping the throne from Empress Matilda. England fell into disarray during his time on the throne, though arguably, this was mainly down to external factors such as the threat from Matilda, and later her son, Henry. However, one could also argue that this threat was created by himself through seizing the throne. 

 

Despite all of this, Stephen was quite popular with the people of England, especially during the earlier years of his reign. This, however, could be down to the period-typical sexism and uncertainty with having a woman ruling in her own right. Stephen was probably viewed as the safer option for many people, though no doubt his own charisma and character did play a part in his popularity. 

 

Militarily, he was the more successful party within the conflict of the Anarchy, and perhaps if he had been a bit more ruthless in his treatment of his enemies, such as when he failed to properly capture Matilda, he may have completely dominated them and secured both his and his son's positions. 

 

As it stands, the kingdom fell apart during his reign, the currency was decentralised as nobles began minting their own coins, and the distribution of land and castle building went completely unchecked. 

 

Stephen focused so much effort on securing his position that he was unable to properly rule as king.  

 

Trivia:

• N/A

 

Quotes:

 

N/A

 

 

Timeline of Reign:

| 1135: Stephen usurps the throne - Stephen beats Matilda to the throne of England.

| 1136: Scotland invades England - Scotland defeated in Northern England.

| 1137: England invades Normandy - Stephen unsuccessfully attempts to claim Normandy.

| 1138: Second Scottish invasion of England - Scotland invades Northern England again.

| 1138: Gloucester Uprising - Matilda's brother attempts to start a rebellion against Stephen's rule.

| 1138: Battle of the Standard - Stephen victorious against King David I of Scotland.

| 1139: Bishop of Salisbury arrested - On charges of treason.

| 1140: The Anarchy begins - Period of civil war between Stephen and Matilda begins. 

| 1141: Battle of Lincoln - Stephen is defeated and captured by Matilda's forces.

| 1141: Matilda elected Queen - Stephen officially loses the throne to Matilda.

| 1141: London Uprising - Matilda is chased from London by Stephen's supporters.

| 1141: Capture of Robert of Gloucester - Stephen's wife captures Matilda's brother and supporter.

| 1141: Prisoner exchange - Stephen is released by Matilda in exchange for Robert's release.

| 1141: Second coronation - Stephen receives a second coronation and is officially the King again.

| 1142: Siege of Oxford Castle - Stephen's forces besiege Matilda but she narrowly escapes.

| 1146: Welsh attacks against Stephen - Stephen attacked by Cadell and Maredudd ap Gruffydd.

| 1147: Death of Robert of Gloucester - Matilda's brother and strongest supporter dies.

| 1147: Matilda leaves England - Matilda returns to Normandy and makes no more serious campaigns.

| 1147: The Anarchy ends - The period of anarchy in England ends with Matilda's retreat. 

| 1147: Prince Henry invades England - Matilda's son unsuccessfully invades England.

| 1147: Attack on the North - Prince Henry and King David I of Scotland defeated by Stephen.

| 1153: Prince Henry invades England again - Fighting reaches a stalemate.

| 1153: Treaty of Wallingford - Peace reached between Henry and Stephen; Henry recognised as heir.

  

 

Sources & Further Reading:

BL MS Royal 14 C VII f.8v (Stephen).jpg - Wikimedia Commons. (2022). Wikimedia.org. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BL_MS_Royal_14_C_VII_f.8v_(Stephen).jpg 

Brain, J. (n.d.). King Stephen and The Anarchy. Historic UK. https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/King-Stephen-Anarchy/

Cartwright, M. (2019). King Stephen of England. World History Encyclopedia. https://www.worldhistory.org/King_Stephen_of_England/  

Cartwright, M. (n.d.). King Stephen of England Timeline. www.worldhistory.org. https://www.worldhistory.org/timeline/King_Stephen_of_England/ 

pixeltocode.uk, P. (n.d.). Stephen. Westminster Abbey. https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/royals/stephen 

Simkin, J. (2026). King Stephen. Spartacus Educational. https://spartacus-educational.com/MEDstephen.htm

Stephen | King of England | Britannica. (2019). In Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Stephen-king-of-England