Bristol as the Rebel Headquarters
Bristol was Earl Robert’s military capital, and under the command of his eldest son it had become the chief muster-place for all his dispossessed partisans and followers, as well…
Council of War at Bristol
Stephen held a council of war with his barons to deliberate on the best method of beginning the siege.…
March into Somerset
Abandoning Bristol, Stephen turned southward and struck across the Mendip hills into the heart of Somerset.
Castle Cary and Harptree
In Somerset, Stephen besieged William Lovel in Castle Cary, whose remains—three grass-covered mounds—still overlook the little valley where the river Cary rises at the foot of the…
Dudley and the March to Shrewsbury
Pursuing his northward march, Stephen came to Dudley, held against him by Ralf Paganel. He made no attempt on the castle but contented himself with burning and harrying the neighb…
Taking of Shrewsbury
The castle at Shrewsbury, built by Earl Roger on the neck of a peninsula in the Severn, was held for Matilda by William Fitz-Alan, who had married a niece of Earl Robert.…
Execution of Arnulf of Hesdin
Following up his success, Stephen took a neighbouring castle belonging to Fitz-Alan’s uncle Arnulf of Hesdin and hanged Arnulf himself with ninety-three of his comrades.…
Surrender of Dover
Queen Matilda, with a squadron of ships manned by sailors from her own county of Boulogne, was blockading Walkelyn Maminot in Dover when the tidings of her husband’s victories in…
Pacification of the West
With a truce patched up with Ralf Paganel, the west of England could be considered fairly pacified, and Stephen was free to march into Dorsetshire against Earl Robert’s southernmo…
Tidings of Cowton Moor
Stephen’s successes in the west, and his wife’s at Dover, were quickly followed by tidings of the victory at Cowton Moor. Meanwhile, a peacemaker had come upon the scene.
CAPÍTULO V.
Chapter V covers a series of pivotal events in 1138–1139 during Stephen’s reign, including the end of the papal schism and Alberic of Ostia’s legatine mission, the mediation efforts that produced the treaties of Durham and Nottingham, the abortive siege of Ludlow Castle, Stephen…
End of the Papal Schism and Alberic’s Legatine Mission
In spring 1138, the death of the anti-pope Anacletus ended the seven-year papal schism, and Pope Innocent II sent Alberic, bishop of Ostia, as legate to England following the deat…
Alberic’s Mediation: Carlisle and Westminster Councils
Alberic made a visitation-tour throughout England and concluded with a council at Carlisle, where the king of Scots, who had adhered to Anacletus, came to welcome Innocent’s repre…
Queen Matilda’s Mediation: Treaty of Durham and Nottingham
Queen Matilda, warmly attached to her Scottish relatives, urged Stephen toward reconciliation with them.…
The Siege of Ludlow Castle
The castle of Ludlow, founded probably by Roger de Lacy in the reign of William Rufus and built on a rocky promontory above the junction of the Corve and Teme, had escheated to th…
Bishop Roger’s Administration and Stephen’s Suspicions
The administrative machinery of the state remained in the hands of Bishop Roger of Salisbury and his trained disciples: Roger as justiciar, his nephew Nigel bishop of Ely as treas…
The Arrest of the Bishops at Oxford
At Midsummer 1139 Stephen summoned Bishop Roger to Oxford, where the old man went reluctantly along with the chancellor, the treasurer, and Alexander bishop of Lincoln, each with…
The Fall of Roger’s Castles: Devizes, Sherborne, and Malmesbury
Stephen appeared at Devizes with the two Rogers as captives, lodging the elder in a cowshed and threatening to hang the younger unless the castle surrendered; neither Roger’s fast…
Henry of Winchester’s Legatine Commission
Stephen’s arrest of two bishops roused the whole English Church, which now had a fully qualified spokesman in Henry, bishop of Winchester, who had received the legatine commission…
The Council of Winchester: Compromise and Penance
The council sat for three days, with the legate formally charging Stephen with sacrilege for laying violent hands on bishops and appropriating their lands and goods, while the kin…
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