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…
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