Geoffrey of Anjou’s Failed Campaigns in Normandy
Geoffrey of Anjou’s attempts on Normandy failed repeatedly: in October 1136 he was wounded in the foot while besieging Le Sap and fled before the united Norman resistance; in spri…
The Burning of Toucques and Angevin Disgrace
In November Geoffrey marched on Toucques, one of Normandy’s most flourishing seaport towns, whose burghers were taken captive “seated in their own arm-chairs” while the Angevins f…
The Empress’s Arrival in England
Neither Geoffrey nor his wife made any further move until late in the following summer, when a prospect was opened for them beyond the sea by Stephen’s arrest of the two bishops:…
CHAPITRE V.
CHAPTER V. The chapter’s concluding fragment (the seventh of seven) consists entirely of scholarly footnote references drawn from primary and secondary medieval sources.…
CHAPITRE V.
CHAPTER V. The seventh fragment of Chapter V sustains the chapter’s reliance on Ordericus Vitalis as its principal narrative source while broadening the documentary base to in…
CHAPITRE VI.
CHAPTER VI. opens the main narrative of the civil conflict between King Stephen and the Empress Matilda, beginning with Matilda’s landing in England in late September 1139 and continuing through the descent upon Lincoln that sets the stage for the Battle of Lincoln on Candlemas…
Matilda’s Landing at Arundel
On the last day of September 1139, Matilda sailed from the continent in company with her half-brother Robert of Gloucester and a retinue of about 140 knights.…
The Siege of Arundel and Stephen’s Safe-Conduct
Stephen threw his energies into the siege of Arundel until his brother Henry of Blois, bishop of Winchester, persuaded him to abandon it.…
The Breakdown of Law and Order
The next seven years were such as England had never seen before or since. Properly speaking they were not years of war but of lawless raids, and the authority of the Crown, whethe…
The Nineteen Winters of Anarchy
The collapse of Henry I’s system revealed its fundamental weakness: it rested in the last resort on the personal strength of the king himself.…
Military Positions by 1140
The military history of the early years is a dreary tale of raid and counter-raid, useless marches and unfinished sieges.…
The Earldom of Chester and Its Ruler Ralf
Of all the great nobles, the one both parties were most eager to win was the earl of Chester.…
The Seizure of Lincoln Castle
No sooner had Stephen’s back turned than Ralf and William, helped by their wives, planned a trick to gain Lincoln Castle.…
Stephen’s March on Lincoln
The news reached Stephen as he was keeping Christmas in London. The peaceful court gathering turned at once into a muster of an armed host that marched to Lincoln, where, actively…
Robert of Gloucester’s Relief Force
Earl Robert, even setting aside that his own daughter was among the besieged, was not the man to miss such a chance.…
The Approach to Lincoln and the Flooded Ford
The two earls probably met at Claybrook in Leicestershire, where Ralf, coming down from Chester by the Watling Street, and Robert, marching up from Gloucester by a branch road, wo…
CHAPITRE VI.
Chapter VI, fragment 2 of 5, continues the narrative of the Battle of Lincoln (February 1141) and its immediate aftermath. It describes the dispute for command before the battle, the omens in Stephen’s camp, the arrangement of the opposing forces, the rout of the royal cavalry,…
Dispute for Precedence Before Battle
On the marshy meadows outside Lincoln, a dispute arose over who should hold the place of honour and danger in the coming battle.…
Omens and Warnings in the Royal Camp
Within the royal camp, several of Stephen’s friends urged him not to risk a pitched battle on that day, for it was both Sexagesima Sunday and the feast of the Purification, and hi…
Arrangement of the Opposing Armies
Stephen drew up his host in three divisions: two of cavalry, one commanded by Alan of Richmond and the other by William of Ypres, and a third of foot-soldiers around the royal sta…
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