[198] Stephen's dispute with the church had its origins in 1140, when Archbishop Thurstan of York died. [28] Geoffrey was unpopular with the Anglo-Norman elite: as an Angevin ruler, he was a traditional enemy of the Normans. [76] Meanwhile, he had put down two revolts in the south-west led by Baldwin de Redvers and Robert of Bampton; Baldwin was released after his capture and travelled to Normandy, where he became an increasingly vocal critic of the King. Biblical: Stephen was the first Christian martyr. Queen Matilda gathered Stephen's remaining lieutenants around her and the royal family in the south-east, advancing into London when the population rejected the Empress. [95] The armies of the period centred on bodies of mounted, armoured knights, supported by infantry and crossbowmen. [144] Archbishop Theobald of Canterbury was unwilling to declare Matilda queen so rapidly, however, and a delegation of clergy and nobles, headed by Theobald, travelled to see Stephen in Bristol and consult about their moral dilemma: should they abandon their oaths of fealty to the King? They hadnt seen each other since Stephen moved out of the neighborhood two years before, and as they catch up Teichner laments the recent 187188. From stephanos. [236] Later chronicles written during the reign of Henry II were generally more negative: Walter Map, for example, described Stephen as "a fine knight, but in other respects almost a fool". [29], Stephen was a well established figure in Anglo-Norman society by 1135. [108], Stephen took steps to remove a group of bishops he regarded as a threat to his rule. [211] The fall of Wallingford appeared imminent and Henry marched south in an attempt to relieve the siege, arriving with a small army and placing Stephen's besieging forces under siege themselves. Jim Bradbury provides an accessible summary of the argument as to the extent of "the Anarchy". He was Count of Boulogne jure uxoris from 1125 until 1147 and Duke of Normandy from 1135 until 1144. 50m. [156] Further negotiations attempted to deliver a general peace agreement but the Queen was unwilling to offer any compromise to the Empress, and Robert refused to accept any offer to encourage him to change sides to Stephen. ), king of England from 1135 to 1154. In 1153, the Empress's son Henry invaded England and built an alliance of powerful regional barons to support his claim for the throne. [60] Both the kingdom and duchy were dominated by a small number of major barons who owned lands on both sides of the English Channel, with the lesser barons beneath them usually having more localised holdings. [245] Historian and biographer Edmund King, whilst painting a slightly more positive picture than Davis, also concludes that Stephen, while a stoic, pious and genial leader, was also rarely, if ever, his own man, usually relying upon stronger characters such as his brother or wife. Barlow, p. 168; Crouch (1998), p. 264; Carpenter, p. 168. [65] Stephen responded by sending Richard's brother Baldwin and the Marcher Lord Robert Fitz Harold of Ewyas into Wales to pacify the region. [169] With all of his other problems and with Hugh Bigod, 1st Earl of Norfolk, in open revolt in Norfolk, Stephen lacked the resources to track Geoffrey down in the Fens and made do with building a screen of castles between Ely and London, including Burwell Castle. Geoffrey of Anjou invaded in early 1136 and, after a temporary truce, invaded later the same year, raiding and burning estates rather than trying to hold the territory. William's children were still fighting over the collective Anglo-Norman inheritance. [210], Over the summer, Stephen intensified the long-running siege of Wallingford Castle in a final attempt to take this major Angevin stronghold. [67] A wide range of nobles gathered at Westminster for the event, including many of the Anglo-Norman barons and most of the higher officials of the church. [102], Stephen prepared for the Angevin invasion by creating a number of additional earldoms. Certainly lands in Normandy, passed by hereditary right, were usually considered more important to major barons than those in England, where their possession was less certain. [130] In an effort to negotiate a truce, Henry of Blois held a peace conference at Bath, to which Stephen sent his wife. [219] Stephen and Henry sealed the treaty with a kiss of peace in the cathedral. From Latin Stephanus, from Ancient Greek (Stphanos), from (stphanos, crown, wreath), from (stph, to put round, to surround) . Barlow, pp. [187] Geoffrey and Matilda's son, the future King Henry II of England, mounted a small mercenary invasion of England in 1147 but the expedition failed, not least because Henry lacked the funds to pay his men. Following their 127-118 victory on the road against the Washington Wizards on Monday afternoon, Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr compared Stephen Curry to Michael Jordan. [104][nb 13] He appears to have had several objectives in mind, including both ensuring the loyalty of his key supporters by granting them these honours, and improving his defences in key parts of the kingdom. Stephen, also called Stephen Of Blois, (born c. 1097died Oct. 25, 1154, Dover, Kent, Eng. [72] His accession to the throne still needed to be ratified by the Pope, however, and Henry of Blois appears to have been responsible for ensuring that testimonials of support were sent both from Stephen's brother Theobald and from the French king Louis VI, to whom Stephen represented a useful balance to Angevin power in the north of France. [168] Geoffrey gave in, but once free he headed north-east into the Fens to the Isle of Ely, from where he began a military campaign against Cambridge, with the intention of progressing south towards London. Crouch (2002), p. 269; White (1998), p. 133. He's very intelligent and focused, but can also be considered oblivious to something begging to be noticed. The King was supported by Hugh of Amiens, Archbishop of Rouen, who challenged the bishops to show how canon law entitled them to build or hold castles. WebWhat does Stephen mean? [138] Many of his supporters, including Waleran de Beaumont and William of Ypres, fled from the field at this point but Stephen fought on, defending himself first with his sword and then, when that broke, with a borrowed battle axe. In 1153, the Empress's son Henry invaded England and built an alliance of powerful regional barons to support his claim for the throne. [27] Matilda claimed the title of Holy Roman Empress through her marriage to Emperor Henry V, but her husband died in 1125, and she was remarried in 1128 to Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou, whose lands bordered the Duchy of Normandy. 50m. [96] These forces were either feudal levies, drawn up by local nobles for a limited period of service during a campaign, or, increasingly, mercenaries, who were expensive but more flexible and often more skilled. [194] He wanted to confirm his eldest son, Eustace, as his successor, although chroniclers recorded that Eustace was infamous for levying heavy taxes and extorting money from those on his lands. [89] Stephen was also rapidly running out of money: Henry's considerable treasury had been emptied by 1138 due to the costs of running Stephen's more lavish court and the need to raise and maintain his mercenary armies fighting in England and Normandy. David Carpenter and R. Davis, however, observe that Stephen had ended up breaking his promises to the Church, was forced to appear before a church court, and damaged his relationship with Henry of Blois, which would have grave implications in 1141. [200] Bernard then convinced Pope Eugene III to overturn Henry's decision altogether in 1147, deposing William, and appointing Henry Murdac as archbishop instead. [25] It was also traditional for the King of France to crown his successor whilst he himself was still alive, making the intended line of succession relatively clear, but this was not the case in England. [113] The incident successfully removed any military threat from the bishops, but it may have damaged Stephen's relationship with the senior clergy, and in particular with his brother Henry. [7] [17] [18] Between 1979 and 2009, he was the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge, widely viewed as one of the [149] Many started to leave Stephen's faction. [111] The remaining castles were then surrendered to the King. One of the first seven deacons of the Christian Church, Saint Stephen is also the first Christian to be martyred for the Faith (hence the title, often applied to him, of protomartyr that is, "first martyr"). [177], England had suffered extensively from the war by 1147, leading later Victorian historians to call the period of conflict "the Anarchy". The character was portrayed by Justine Lupe in the Audience show Mr. Mercedes and by Cynthia Erivo in the HBO series The Outsider. (2002) "From Feudalism to Bastard Feudalism," in, Gillingham, John. [246] Historian Keith Stringer provides a more positive portrayal of Stephen, arguing that his ultimate failure as king was the result of external pressures on the Norman state, rather than the result of personal failings. 1718. Three hundred passengers embarked on the White Ship to travel from Barfleur in Normandy to England, including the heir to the throne, William Adelin, and many other senior nobles. [90] An illegitimate son of Henry I and the half-brother of the Empress Matilda, Robert was one of the most powerful Anglo-Norman barons, controlling estates in Normandy. Stephen King is returning to the character of Holly Gibney in a new novel titled Holly. Stephen, also called Stephen Of Blois, (born c. 1097died Oct. 25, 1154, Dover, Kent, Eng. In English, Stephen is most commonly pronounced as STEEV-n. WebStephen became increasingly concerned with ensuring that his son Eustace would inherit his throne. [17] The gift of the Honour of Lancaster also followed after it was confiscated by Henry from Roger the Poitevin. The spelling as Robert of Gloucester had garrisoned the ports of Dover and Canterbury and some accounts suggest that they refused Stephen access when he first arrived. [58][nb 8], Stephen's new Anglo-Norman kingdom had been shaped by the Norman conquest of England in 1066, followed by the Norman expansion into south Wales over the coming years. He was freed only after his wife and William of Ypres, one of his military commanders, captured Robert at the Rout of Winchester, but the war dragged on for many years with neither side able to win an advantage. Stephen is kind hearted and family oriented. [30] Conflict was curtailed, however, by the power of the King's personality and reputation. [240] Stubbs' analysis, focusing on the disorder of the period, influenced his student John Round to coin the term "the Anarchy" to describe the period, a label that, whilst sometimes critiqued, continues to be used today. From Latin Stephanus, from Ancient Greek (Stphanos), from (stphanos, crown, wreath), from (stph, to put round, to surround) . TV-PG. Watch Now. In other parts of Europe, including Normandy and England, the tradition was for lands to be divided up, with the eldest son taking patrimonial landsusually considered to be the most valuableand younger sons being given smaller, or more recently acquired, partitions or estates. [222] Stephen's middle son, Baldwin, and second daughter, Matilda, had died before 1147 and were buried at Holy Trinity Priory, Aldgate. Stephen Colbert spotted a weird moment involving Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.), the newly elected Long Island House member caught in so many lies that his local GOP leaders are calling on him to resign. [66] An agreement was made under which David would return most of the territory he had taken, with the exception of Carlisle. [176] The war in the west progressed better in 1145, with the King recapturing Faringdon Castle in Oxfordshire. [247], Stephen and his reign have been occasionally used in historical fiction. David of Scotland also invaded the north of England once again, announcing that he was supporting the claim of his niece the Empress Matilda to the throne, pushing south into Yorkshire. [161] Oxford Castle, however, was a powerful fortress and, rather than storming it, Stephen had to settle down for a long siege, albeit secure in the knowledge that Matilda was now surrounded. He's very intelligent and focused, but can also be considered oblivious to something begging to be noticed. Crouch (2008b), pp. 278279; Crouch (2002), p. 276. Ken Follett: The Transformation of a Writer. The events in Normandy are less well recorded than elsewhere, and the exact sequence of events less certain. With some distressing scenes Turn on Parental controls. [7], The rulers across this region spoke a similar language, albeit with regional dialects, followed the same religion, and were closely interrelated; they were also highly competitive and frequently in conflict with one another for valuable territory and the castles that controlled them. Common until the late 18th century. Stephen Hawking, in full Stephen William Hawking, (born January 8, 1942, Oxford, Oxfordshire, Englanddied March 14, 2018, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire), English theoretical physicist whose theory of exploding black holes drew upon both relativity theory and quantum mechanics. [88] There were significant underlying problems, nonetheless. Barlow, pp. Stephen Stephen is an innocent and honest person, yet full of unexpected surprises. White (1990), p. 12, cited Bradbury, p. 211. [46], Theobald met with the Norman barons and Robert of Gloucester at Lisieux on 21 December. [93] In France, Geoffrey of Anjou took advantage of the situation by re-invading Normandy. [133] Stephen returned to London but received news that Ranulf, his brother and their family were relaxing in Lincoln Castle with a minimal guard force, a ripe target for a surprise attack of his own. [150] Waleran's twin brother, Robert of Leicester, effectively withdrew from fighting in the conflict at the same time. [171] As with Geoffrey, the moment Ranulf was released he immediately rebelled, but the situation was a stalemate: Stephen had few forces in the north with which to prosecute a fresh campaign, whilst Ranulf lacked the castles to support an attack on Stephen. [13] Adela and Theobald allied themselves with Henry, and Stephen's mother decided to place him in Henry's court. [100], Stephen's military campaign in England had progressed well, and historian David Crouch describes it as "a military achievement of the first rank". Adela was one of the major reasons for Stephen-Henry deciding to return to the Levant in 1101; Edmund King notes that she gave her husband "very active encouragement" to return; Stephen's brother William was described by chroniclers as being "deficient in intelligence second rate"; he also took a strange oath in, Contemporary chroniclers varied in their explanation for Stephen's absence from the, There has been extensive speculation as to the cause of the sinking of the.