But the affairs of the North attracted little attention while the civil
war was at its height in the South. In 1139 Stephen had wrought himself
fatal damage by quarrelling with the ecclesiastical bureaucrats, the
kinsmen and allies of Roger of Salisbury, who had been among his
earliest adherents. Jealous of their power and their arrogance, and
doubting their loyalty, he imprisoned them and confiscated their lands.
This threw the whole church party on to the side of Matilda; even Henry,
bishop of Winchester, the king's own brother, disowned him and passed
over to the other side. Moreover, the whole machinery of local
government in the realm fell out of gear, when the experienced ministers
who were wont to control it were removed from power.
Matilda had landed in England in the winter of 1139-1140; for a year her
partisans made steady progress against the king, and on the 2nd of
February 1141 Stephen was defeated and taken prisoner at the battle of
Lincoln. All England, save the county of Kent and a few isolated castles
elsewhere, submitted to Matilda. She was hailed as a sovereign by a
great assembly at Winchester, over which Stephen's own brother Bishop
Henry presided (April 7, 1141) and entered London in triumph in June. It
is doubtful whether she would have obtained complete possession of the
realm if she had played her cards well, for there were too many powerful
personages who were interested in the perpetuation of the civil war. But
she certainly did her best to ruin her own chances by showing an unwise
arrogance, and a determination to resume at once all the powers that her
father had possessed. When she annulled all the royal acts of the last
six years, declared charters forfeited and lands confiscated, and began
to raise heavy and arbitrary taxes, she made the partisans of Stephen
desperate, and estranged many of her own supporters. A sudden rising of
the citizens drove her out of London, while she was making preparations
for her coronation. The party of the imprisoned king rallied under the
wise guidance of his wife Matilda of Boulogne and his brother Henry, and
many other of the late deserters adhered to it. Their army drove the
lately triumphant party out of Winchester, and captured its military
chief, Robert, earl of Gloucester. So much was his loss felt that his
sister exchanged him a few months later for King Stephen.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account