King Stephen of England - 1135-1154
Reign: 22 December 1135 – 25 October 1154 - mid twelth century
- The Anarchy
The period of history after conquest was shaped by the outcome of the White Ship disaster and The Anarchy
Stephen came to power as a consequence of the death of William Adelin (Ætheling) in the White Ship
disaster.
Stephen's mother, Adela, was the daughter of William the Conqueror and Matilda of Flanders.
This made Stephen the nephew of William I and a cousin of Henry I. The Empress Matilda was also Stephen's
cousin as she was the daughter of William I.
Top
Wikipedia says:
I have changed some of the text here (or the Wikipedia page has been edited)
Stephen was brought up by his mother, (Adela), daughter of William the Conqueror.
He was placed into the court of his uncle, Henry I.
Background to this page
Having seen some of my history pages being found by those making an Internet search I have decided to add
a bit more context on how the pages came about.
My interest in Stephen relates to the Medievil "Chess Match" that appeared to be played out in Belchamp Walter from Conquest to aquisition of the Manor by the Raymond Family.
The fact that the manor "was held by a number of families"
A quote found on The Friends of Holy Innocents Church, Lamarsh website:
The Beauchamps of Bedford Castle were well versed in defence and their North Essex manors were set amongst the many
manors of de Vere, with a newly built castle at Castle Hedingham where Matilda, the enemy of Stephen, had been welcomed.
Payne de Beauchamp's son, Simon de Beauchamp, was steward of the household to
King Stephen.
His son and successor, William de Beauchamp, acquired military fame by his prowess and conduct, but proving unfaithful to King Henry III his castle at Bedford was ordered to be demolished.
From Wikipedia
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Stephen (1092 or 1096 – 25 October 1154), often referred to as Stephen of Blois, was King of England from
22 December 1135 to his death in 1154
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The Medievil "Chess Match"
I coined this description as it appears that the history of Belchamp Walter and surrouning area is rather like a chess match in
that there are castles, kings and queens, and quite a few knights.
Hugh Bigod and King Stephen
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In late 1143, Stephen faced a new threat in the east, when Geoffrey de Mandeville, Earl of Essex, rose up in rebellion against him in East Anglia.[167] The King had disliked the Earl for several years, and provoked the conflict by summoning Geoffrey to court, where the King arrested him.[168] He threatened to execute Geoffrey unless the Earl handed over his various castles, including the Tower of London, Saffron Walden and Pleshey, all important fortifications because they were in, or close to, London.[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.[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.
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Treaty of Wallingford - 1153
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The Treaty of Wallingford, also known as the Treaty of Winchester or the Treaty of Westminster, was an agreement reached in England in the summer of 1153. It effectively ended a civil war known as the Anarchy (1135–54), caused by a dispute over the English crown between King Stephen and Empress Matilda. The Treaty of Wallingford allowed Stephen to keep the throne until his death (which was to come in October 1154), but ensured that he would be succeeded by Matilda's son Henry II.
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