The Anarchy: England’s Medieval Civil War

The English Civil War occurred in the seventeenth century, and was fought between supporters of the King and those who wanted him punished. However, centuries before this, in the twelfth century, another civil war waged across the country between two competing claimants to the throne. This period, known as The Anarchy, lasted for nearly twenty years and almost destroyed the country.

The White Ship Disaster, where around 300 young members of the European nobility perished in a shipwreck. The White Ship Disaster of 1120 directly impacted on the Anarchy which began 15 years later. One of the victims of the disaster was William Adelin, heir to the throne of England, being Henry I’s only legitimate son. After William’s death, Henry was not successful in fathering another male heir before his death, and as such his only heir was his only legitimate daughter, Matilda. Matilda was born in 1102, and had been married to the Holy Roman Emperor Henry V whilst still a child. This had given her the title of Empress of Germany. Her husband had died in 1125, 5 years after the White Ship Disaster, and Matilda was recalled to Normandy by her father, Henry I. Matilda was swiftly married to the less illustrious, but still important, Geoffrey of Anjou in order for Henry to have support to protect the southern borders of English lands in France. It was around this time that Henry designated Matilda as his heir, as his hopes of fathering a son were increasingly unlikely to be fulfilled. The hope was partially that Matilda and Geoffrey would quickly create a son who could grow up to a reasonable age before Henry’s death, in order to pass the throne to him.

In 1135, Henry I died. Henry had done all he could to ensure the throne would pass to Matilda on his death – whilst her gender was obviously a disadvantage, Henry had made all of his court swear an oath of loyalty to her and her heirs on three separate occasions, and it seemed reasonably likely that Matilda would succeed him. However, this is where the influence of the White Ship again comes into play. Stephen of Blois, Henry I’s nephew, was meant to have been on the fateful ship, but took ill prior to the voyage and didn’t end up embarking. Upon Henry’s death, with Matilda and Geoffrey caught up in fighting in Anjou, Stephen took his chance. He was currently in Boulogne, and when news of Henry’s death arrived he hurried to England along with his military household. Many of Matilda’s supporters were stuck in Normandy, having taken an oath that they would not leave until Henry was properly buried. Matilda and Geoffrey advanced to Normandy, seizing a number of castles, but were prevented from advancing further.

As such, Stephen was the first to reach England. It appears that Stephen may have been denied access to the ports of Dover and Canterbury by Robert of Gloucester, who may have been protecting Matilda’s claims, but nonetheless Stephen managed to make land probably in his own estates by the edge of London. With Matilda still stuck in France, Stephen made his move and began to seize power. The citizens of London proclaimed Stephen king, whilst Stephen’s brother, Henry of Blois, who was Bishop of Winchester, rallied Church support for his claim. There were some issues for Stephen – he had been amongst those who had sworn to uphold Matilda’s claim to the throne upon Henry’s death, and as this was a religious oath, some members of the church were hesitant to support him. Henry of Blois put forwards numerous arguments as to why this should not impede Stephen, and he also persuaded Henry’s royal steward to swear that on Henry I’s deathbed he had changed his mind and nominated Stephen to be his successor. With Matilda still in France, Stephen was crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey on 26th December, 1135. Stephen had immediate problems. The Scottish King David I, who was Matilda’s uncle, invaded the north, taking key strongholds. Stephen had to immediately march north with an army to stop David, and an agreement was made between the two. At Easter 1136, Stephen held his first royal court, where he did everything he could to bring the nobility onto his side. He positioned himself as Henry’s natural successor, promising to uphold all of Henry’s popular policies, and much money was spent on the festivities, with lavish gifts being distrubted, and numerous grants of land and favour being granted. Later that year, Pope Innocent II confirmed Stephen as lawful king.

However, Stephen was not in the clear. Welsh uprisings early in the year had been successful, which encouraged further rebellions across south Wales in 1137. Revolts occurred in south- west England too, with people defecting to Normandy to criticise the king from a safe distance. Matilda and Geoffrey had not been quiet either; in early 1136, shortly after Stephen’s coronation, Geoffrey attacked Normandy, but Stephen had to stay in England to deal with issues there and could do little to prevent him. Stephen tried to retake land on the Normandy-Anjou border in 1137 which had been seized by Geoffrey in 1135, but his army ended up fighting itself and then his Norman forces deserted him.

Whilst Stephen had been reasonably successful in stablising England, much of the north was now at the mercy of the Scottish king, he had effectively abandoned Wales, and Normandy was destablised by fighting. Even within England, barons began to feel that they had not been suitably rewarded by Stephen, and began to grow disgruntled. Moreover, the royal coffers were almost empty from the expense of war and a lavish court.

In 1138, the real fighting that defined the Anarchy began. Robert of Gloucester, who may have denied Stephen entry to the country in 1135, rebelled against Stephen. He was the illegitimate half-brother of Matilda, and one of the most powerful barons in the country. Importantly, he held lands not just in England, but also Normandy. Robert declared his support for the claim of his sister, Empress Matilda, and this triggered a major rebellion across the south-west of England. This encouraged Matilda and Geoffrey to take action – Geoffrey once again invaded Normandy, and David I once again invaded the north of England, announcing his support for his niece’s claim. This was a powerful three-pronged initiative.

. However, Stephen acted swiftly, once again focusing on holding England. He sent his wife, Queen Matilda, to Kent to deal with Robert’s rebels, whilst a small retinue was sent north to deal with the Scots. Stephen headed west to retake several rebelling counties, although he was unable to take Bristol. Stephen managed to once again negotiate peace with David, but this came at the expense of giving land in Carlisle and Cumberland to David, which greatly aggrevated its current owner, the Earl of Chester.

By 1139, Geoffrey and Matilda had conquered a significant proportion of Normandy, and felt secure enough to begin mobilising forces with Robert to cross to England. Stephen sured up his defenses by creating new earldoms and promoting men he considered loyal and militarily capable to help him hold land when Matilda inevitably attacked. Both sides built new castles to protect their territory, with some of Matilda’s supporters in England building castles in the south-west.

Matilda was hindered somewhat by her sex, as she was not allowed, as a woman, to lead an army into battle. As Geoffrey never crossed to England during the war, instead holding Normandy, Matilda’s forays into England had to be led by senior nobles. In this, her half- brother Robert was most important; he was well known for his military experience and leadership ability, and his close relationship to Matilda meant he could be reasonably relied upon to stay loyal.

In August 1139, Matilda’s initial invasion began. Some of her forces crossed the channel to Wareham to try and capture a port for Matilda’s forces to land, but they were repelled by Stephen’s forces and had to retreat to the south-west. However, in September, Matilda was invited by the Dowager Queen Adeliza (who had been the second wife of Matilda’s father, Henry I) to land in her lands at Arundel, West Sussex. At the end of September Matilda and her brother Robert landed with 140 knights. Robert marched north-west to raise support, and to meet up with the dispersed forces from the first landing attempt, whilst Matilda stayed at Arundel Castle. Stephen ignored the other troops and immediately besieged Arundel, trapping Matilda. Stephen agreed to a truce, and released Matilda from the siege to allow her and her knights to be escorted to the south-west where she was reunited with Robert. The reasons why Stephen allowed this are not quite known, although it could have come from a sense of chivalry, or because Arundel Castle was considered impregnable, or because he worried about keeping his army at Arundel whilst Robert roamed freely. In this, Matilda’s sex may have been to her advantage – it would have been frowned upon to include Matilda in warfare as a woman, and her male half-brother would probably have been viewed as far more of a threat.

Whatever the reason, this proved to be a mistake for Stephen. Matilda managed to consolidate her support in the south-west, and controlled territory from Devon and Cornwall, across Gloucester and Bristol, into the Welsh Marches, and even across to Oxford and Wallingford, threatening London. In 1140, Stephen started to feel the effects of some of his neglected and disgruntled nobility. The Bishop of Ely, who had had his castles confiscated in 1139, rebelled in East Anglia – although unsuccessfully – whilst the Earl of Chester siezed Lincoln Castle, which he had previously held claims to, and eventually he defected to Matilda.

The spite of the Earl of Chester proved invaluable to Matilda. In 1141, Stephen and Chester took to battle on 2nd February. Stephen’s centre was encircled by Robert and Chester’s cavalry, and many of Stephen’s supporters fled. Stephen was captured and taken back to Matilda’s base in Gloucester. The two met, and then Stephen was transferred to Bristol castle.

Matilda swiftly began to take steps to make herself Queen. She managed to get Stephen’s brother, Henry, to declare church support for her, and he handed over control of the royal treasury to her, even going as far as to excommunicate many of Stephen’s supporters who refused to give Matilda their support. Everything seemed set in Matilda’s favour: Stephen even released his subjects from their oath of fealty to him, which had placed many in a dilemma of whether they could morally abandon Stephen for Matilda.

Just after Easter, 1141, the clergy gathered in Winchester and declared Matilda Lady of England and Normandy, prior to her coronation. Matilda then moved to London to begin preparations for her coronation in June. She had the support of the man who controlled the Tower of London, but many were still loyal to Stephen. It was here that Matilda wilted under sexism; whilst in theory, many didn’t have much issue about being ruled by a queen, in practice, her behaviour in London changed many minds. Matilda was very much her father’s daughter, and held a lot of self-importance that was owed to her as previous Empress of Germany, and the soon-to-be Queen Regnant of England and Normandy. However, whilst she didn’t behave in any way that would have been ill-considered of a king, as a woman these characteristics meant that many viewed her as un-womanly and unbecoming, and simply couldn’t abide the realities of being dominated by a woman.

This sexism, combined with the remnants of support for Stephen, meant that just days before Matilda’s planned coronation the City of London rose up against her. She and her followers only just managed to escape. Nonetheless, support for Matilda was still increasing. Many barons held land both in England and Normandy, and with Matilda and Robert seizing land in England, and Geoffrey siezing land in Normandy, many began to defect from Stephen towards Matilda in the interests of keeping their possessions.

Despite Stephen’s captivity, his wife Queen Matilda had been working hard to maintain support for him. When London rose up against Empress Matilda, Queen Matilda led Stephen’s loyal forces into the city. Queen Matilda later led forces towards the Empress, and Robert was captured. Queen Matilda attempted to use Robert as leverage to secure Stephen’s release, but Robert refused to change sides. Eventually, Robert and Stephen swapped places, with Robert being returned to the Empress, and Stephen returned to the Queen. Stephen’s legitimacy as king was renewed by the church under his brother Henry, and Stephen and Matilda were re-coronated during Christmas 1141. Robert returned to Normandy to provide assistance to Geoffrey, whilst Matilda retreated to Oxford Castle. Stephen attempted to assail it, but it was too powerful a fortress, and so he settled down for a long winter siege to attempt to starve her and her forces out. However, Matilda managed to sneak out of the castle, crossing the icy river on foot, avoiding the royal army, and reached safety in Wallingford, allowing Oxford Castle to surrender the next day.

For the next few years, there was much of a stalemate. Numerous skirmishes continued, with lands being captured and recaptured. Stephen was almost captured by Robert once more at the Battle of Wilton in 1143, but he narrowly escaped. The same year, the Earl of Essex rebelled against Stephen, and in 1144 the Earl of Chester revolted once again. Robert continued to raid land in the west, and Wallingford Castle – close to London – continued to be held by Matilda’s forces. At the beginning of 1144, King Louis VII of France recognised Geoffrey as Duke of Normandy, crippling Stephen’s authority there.

By the late 1140s, however, most of the fighting was over. In 1147, Robert died, and Matilda’s son Henry led a small, failed, mercenary invasion of England. Stephen allowed Henry to return home safely, perhaps as a way to build a relationship with him, and as an attempt to move towards peace in a dying war. Nobles began to make deals amongst themselves to maintain peace and secure land which again increased peace and reduced fighting.

Matilda switched her focus to the more secure Normandy, stablising it, and moving her focus to promoting the rights of her son Henry’s claim to the English throne. Henry once again returned to England in 1149, making an alliance with the Earl of Chester that made both Chester and the Scottish King happy, and plans were drawn up to attack the northern city of York. This quickly fell apart when Stephen rapidly marched north. Henry returned to Normandy where Geoffrey proclaimed him Duke of the duchy.

Henry began to gain a reputation as a capable leader, and in 1152 he unexpectedly married Eleanor of Aquitaine, an attractive woman who was recently divorced from the French King. This boosted his reputation, and the lands that Eleanor brought with her increased his influence and power. In 1153, Henry again led forces to England, and was again supported in the north by the Earl of Chester, and in the east by remnant loyal lands. Stephen agreed to a temporary truce and returned to London, but Henry now controlled much of the north, the midlands, and the south-west. By the summer, Stephen was slowly losing land to Henry.

Finally, in November 1153, Stephen agreed to the Treaty of Winchester where he recognised Matilda’s son Henry as his adopted son and successor, as long as Henry gave homage to him. Stephen’s son William would in turn pay homage to Henry and renounce his claims to the throne in return for security of his lands. This peace was precarious, though, and if Stephen lived for many years longer it would have been no guarantee for peace as either Henry or William may have made bids for power. However, on October 25th 1154 Stephen died. Henry was crowned Henry II in December 1154. The period of Anarchy was finally over. The Anarchy had certainly been just that. For nearly 20 years much of the country was in turmoil. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle claimed that “there was nothing but disturbance and wickedness and robbery” and in many places, particularly in the south, there had certainly been periods of lawlessness. The centralised royal coinage system had been destroyed, with Stephen, Empress Matilda, and local lords all producing their own coins. Forest law had collapsed, and royal income severely damaged. Whilst Matilda was never successful in claiming her rightful title as Queen, she was comforted by the fact that her son was now King, and she continued to wield reasonable influence at court. Henry began a programme of reconciliation and rebuilding, and many were relieved that there was peace at last. Whilst Stephen was in many ways a successful king, and had managed to hold onto power until his death, his failure at securing succession for his own children, and subsequent criticism and propaganda of him has meant that there has never been another English king that bore his name. The Plantagenets (1154-1399)

1- Henry II (1154-1189) 2- Richard I “Richard the Lionheart/ son of Henry II” (1189-1199) 3- John “lack land /son of Henry II” (1199-1216) 4- Henry III “son of John” (1216-1272) 5- Edward I “son of Henry III” (1272-1307) 6 -Edward II “son of Edward I” 1307-1327) 7 -Edward III “son of Edward II” (1327-1377) 8- Richard II (1377-1399) “son of Edward the Black and grandson of Edward III”

The House of Lancaster (1399-1461, 1470-1471)

1- Henry IV “His father was the third son of King Edward III of England, John of Gaunt” (1399- 1413) 2- Henry V “son of Henry IV” (1413-1422) 3- Henry VI “son of King Henry V” (1422-1461, 1470-1471)

The House of York (1461-1470, 1471-1485)

1- Edward IV “son of Richard, Duke of York” (1461-1470, 1471-1483) 2- Edward V “son of Edward IV”(1483) 3- Richard III “the fourth surviving son of Richard Plantagenet, the 3rd Duke of York ”( (1483-1485)

Characteristics of the Plantagenets

1-Edward I attempted to create a British empire dominated by England, conquering Wales and pronouncing his eldest son Prince of Wales, and then attacking Scotland. It was to remain elusive and retain its independence until late in the reign of the Stuart kings.

2-In the reign of Edward III the Hundred Years War began, a struggle between England and France. At the end of the Plantagenet period, the reign of Richard II saw the beginning of the long period of civil feuding known as the War of the Roses. For the next century, the crown would be disputed by two conflicting family strands, the Lancastrians and the Yorkists.

3-The period also saw the development of new social institutions and a distinctive English culture. Parliament emerged and grew, while the judicial reforms begun in the reign of Henry II were continued and completed by Edward I.

4-Culture began to flourish. Three Plantagenet kings were patrons of Geoffrey Chaucer, the father of English poetry. During the early part of the period, the architectural style of the Normans gave way to the Gothic, with surviving examples including Salisbury Cathedral. Westminster Abbey was rebuilt and the majority of English cathedrals remodelled. Franciscan and Dominican orders began to be established in England, while the universities of Oxford and Cambridge had their origins in this period.

5-Amidst the order of learning and art, however, were disturbing new phenomena. The outbreak of Bubonic plague or the 'Black Death' served to undermine military campaigns and cause huge social turbulence, killing half the country's population.

6-The price rises and labour shortage which resulted led to social unrest, culminating in the Peasants' Revolt in 1381. 7-These were barbaric times. The punishments of hanging, drawing and quartering and burning at the stake were both invented in England during this period.

8-The slow loss of dictatorial power of the English kings coupled with the introduction of parliamentary democracy. (Magna Carta and Simon de Montfort etc)

9-The continuous battle between English Kings and the Church in Rome for the legal high ground. For example, King Henry 2nd and Thomas Becket.

10-The corruption and unchristian like behaviour of the Church headquartered in Rome particularly through the Inquisition Office which ordered mass killings of peaceable people like the Cathars and the cash payments demanded of the laity to guarantee their passage to heaven.

11-The development of Universities, particularly Oxford and Cambridge as centres of free thought. For example John Wycliffe and his Lollards were a product of Oxford, demonstrating a freedom of religious thought.

12-The steady increase in power of Islamic forces in the Middle East, North Africa, Spain, Turkey and the Balkans and the disastrous efforts of European Christian forces who often fought each other (Rome v Constantinople) in their attempts to save Jerusalem and their trading routes to the Far East. Even though 1000 miles away, the English were often closely involved both with the Pope’s Crusades e.g. Richard 1st and being directly asked for military support (Henry 4th)

Henry 2nd 1154-1189 (21 when Crowned)

Henry was born in Le Mans Anjou, France 1133.He owed his Kingship of England to his Norman mother Matilda, daughter of Henry 1st and his vast lands to his father Count of Anjou and his wife Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine and Countess of Poitou. His father Geoffrey was called Plantagenet because of the sprig of broom (in Latin Planta genista) he habitually wore in his hat. Eleanor had been previously married to the King of France, Louis 7th and was the richest woman in Europe. When crowned King of England, Henry became the ruler of the largest realm in Europe also the richest and most powerful. In those days, this meant he was continuously in the saddle and indeed he made sure there were a number of horses always available to him at strategic points in his empire. He would generally travel with his court which at the minimum was 100 people. Henry, in a similar manner to most Kings since 1066, spent more time in France than England as Anjou was an area of culture, learning, art, music and poetry.

Eleanor, his wife of two years when he was crowned, was 32 on her wedding day and already a royal mother having been wife to the French King but divorced on the grounds of their close blood relations in 1152. Henry had a lot of women in his life, perhaps because of his marriage for political purposes to a woman 10 years older than himself. However they produced 9 children which with the 2 she had produced with the French King shows the poor woman had a total of 11. Henry had time to sire 12 other children, 3 with a woman called Ikenai and the remainder with 6 other women.

In addition to these mistresses and after 21 years of marriage to Eleanor, Henry eventually found the love of his life the 16 year old “fair Rosamund” who, hidden away in a house at Woodstock (near Oxford England) produced him a son.

Henry and Law and Order

Henry is unfortunately best remembered for causing the murder of his Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket. This must be seen as part of the actions he took to restore law and order which had gone to put under his predecessor King Stephen. Firstly, he had to deal with the Barons who under Stephen were fighting each other from their new castles on confrontational land. Henry ordered these to be demolished. Then the church needed to respect the law to give a good example to the people. To help him, Henry installed one of his best friends as Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket.

Henry wished to tighten up, on all the standard of biblical rules, murder, stealing or adultery. It is know ,even today, that priests are only human and commit such offences. Then Henry wanted wayward priests to be tried by the same courts as the rest of the population. Becket insisted priests were above common law and should be tried by the church courts which then as now tend to be lenient. Unfortunately, four Knights overheard Henry saying “who will rid me of this turbulent priest” and taking him at his word went to Canterbury and killed him in the cathedral. Henry was devastated and ordered he himself be lashed hundreds of times as penance.

The main benefits in law under and following Henry 2nd.

 Henry introduced trial by Jury for the first time.  He also set up civil courts in each county shire.  Henry brought the church under the rules of the civil courts. (His arguments with Becket.) Prior to this, backed by the Pope, the Church was literally getting away with murder.  He forbade any appeal to the Pope without his consent.  He introduced the law that no man can be tried for the same offence twice.  No tenant-in-capite should be excommunicated without the Kings consent.  Both Barons and Bishops must come under feudal rules i.e. they pay their taxes in cash in preference to kind.  Forfeited goods (eg confiscated as a state fine) could not be squirreled away in Churches.  That church revenues in diocese, when Bishops are absent , should be collected by the King.

Henry and his family feuds

With his wife, he produced 9 children including 6 sons, two boys: Richard and John became kings of England. Neither were good sons nor indeed good kings. After some 20 years of rule, 3 of his sons Henry, Richard and Geoffrey egged on by their mother, started a separatist rebellion against him in Plantagenet France supported by Louis 7th the French King. This family rebellion was ruthlessly crushed by Henry within a year. A year later, there was a Barons revolt in England supported by the King of Scotland against Henry’s efforts to bring the Barons under the rule of law. This rebellion was swiftly crushed with the help of the loyal Baron Ralph de Glanville. 10 years after the first rebellion by his sons, they did it again. As before crushed by Henry but this time two of his sons, Henry and Geoffrey died.

A third rebellion, headed by Richard and supported by Phillip the King of France, succeeded in ousting Henry from Touraine France. When Henry learnt that his favourite son John was also involved with this rebellion, he died within the year of a broken heart.Henry therefore can be remembered as being the most powerful King in Europe at this time but with a dreadful family life ; his sons, egged on by their mother, rebelled against him. The writing was therefore on the wall for the loss of his French territories because : -His son Richard wanted to rule the French territories himself in opposition to his father.. -This was initially supported by the King of France, Philip Augustus who was destined to become the greatest king for France during this period. -Richard and then his brother John, when they became King of England were useless territorial defenders.

Ireland 1166

Early in his reign, Henry was visited by one of the rulers of Ireland, Dermot King of Leinster, (Ireland was still divided into small tribal Kingdoms), who asked him to come to Ireland to sort out an inter tribal quarrel. Henry sort advice from the Pope who gave him permission to invade and conquer Ireland with the religious objective of bringing the renegade Irish Church under the strong arm of Rome . Henry, who had many more important things to do, sent one of his Barons, Richard de Clare, The Earl of Pembroke, nicknamed Strongbow, who quickly reinstalled Dermot who then conveniently died. Strongbow rapidly filled the vacuum making himself King of Leinster in his place.

Henry, jealous of his vassal’s rise to fortune, visited Ireland with sufficient show of strength to persuade Strongbow and the other Kings of Ireland to pay him homage.

Henry’s territory in Ireland was small only some 5th of the land and centred around Dublin which became known as the “English Pale”.

Oxford University

In 1168, some English scholars were expelled from Paris. When they returned home, they were permitted by Henry to set up a University at Oxford. Along with Cambridge, these have remained the premier universities in Britain until this day.

Richard 1st 1189-1199 (32 when crowned)

The majority of earlier historians show Richard “The Lion Heart” as a hero wearing a Crusaders red cross on a white shirt with a sword in his hand, obviously a popular king. (His statue still stands adjacent to the Houses of Parliament.) But this is far from the reality. He loved fighting and out of his 10 years reign he only spent 10 months in England; he was either leading the Third Crusade, in prison and only latterly fighting to retain his French territories. So his English subjects hardly knew him. England went to pot and his vast empire embracing England, Ireland and half of France lost its centre of authority and became restless, setting the scene for the loss of all the French territories in the reign of his brother John.

Crusades were expensive but popular as the Roman Church absolved Crusaders of their sins where otherwise huge fines would have been paid to the Church. (Penance money also had to be paid by Kings. The Third Crusade was seen to be successful . As Richard negotiated the right for Christian pilgrims to visit Jerusalem but failed to regain the rule of the city of Jerusalem as the occupying Islamic army under Saladin was too strong for him. On his way back to England, he was captured by the German Emperor and ransomed for a huge sum. (Capturing Knights and princes and if possible Kings was a favourite occupation in the Middle Ages as huge sums could be raised. This habit saved many lives in battle as a dead Knight was worth nothing but captured alive and he could be ransomed). Richard remained in prison for two years until the amount required could be raised in England. In the meantime Philip Augustus of France made key gains in England’s French territories. Thus, as far as England was concerned, the Third Crusade was a disaster because:

1-Cash was raised by selling assets in England to finance the trip. For example selling Church and Crown lands and selling the right of self government to certain towns. Not a recipe to maintain central control. 2-Cash was raised to get Richard out of prison. (100,00 Marks) Both were huge sums, each similar in magnitude to two years taxes. Poor men had to sell their pigs and the Church their expensive plate. 3-Richard, as was customary at the time, appointed a “ruler” in his absence called a Justiciar, William Longchamp, Bishop of Ely. Unfortunately Richard’s brother John soon took control in Richard’s absence and under his corrupt leadership all the good laws introduced by their father Henry 2nd were ignored. It can be said that if John had been a better ruler the Magna Carta would not have been required. Robin Hood England’s favourite outlaw lived in Sherwood Forest, Nottinghamshire, in Richards reign, or so the story goes. As with the legend of King Arthur it is likely that a character similar to Robin Hood existed in these turbulent times. 4-Rich outlaws were quite common after the Norman conquest because they were Anglo-Saxon land owners who kicked off their property to make way for Norman/French Barons. 5-An outlaw was anybody who the Kings courts wished to try but who disappeared. Quite easy when the population was so low and most of the land was forest. 6-Generally outlaws of this origin would have been popular with the locals and would have been skilled with the bow and the sword for defending themselves and poaching the Kings deer or wild boar. In Robin Hoods case robbing the corrupt rich to give to the poor. King Richard joined Philip 2nd Augustus on the Third Crusade but only played a small part militarily as he was more interested in getting his French lands back from the rule of English Kings .Richard produced no children although he married a Spanish princess while celebrating his victory over fellow Christians in Cyprus which was then under the rule of Christian Constantinople. The marriage was a surprise to Richard as his mother, Eleanor, turned up unannounced in Cyprus with the said princess and they were married in Limassol. Richard died while fighting Philip Augustus’ forces in France.

John 1199-1216 (33 when crowned)

John was the younger brother of King Richard and the youngest son of Henry 2nd. He is best remembered for loosing all the English lands in France to the King of France Philip 2nd Augustus and for the Magna Carta. In effect, a thoroughly bad king. One has to remember that history in those days was written by monks. In truth, John was a much better king than the Christian favourite Richard and Stephen who ignored the problems of the country. John at least tried to deal with them energetically travelling the lands to check his instructions were being carried out. He should be noted for building up the navy, the sea defences and improving the economy.

The loss of English territory in France

Following the well managed rule of Henry 2nd, his two sons Richard and John were both a disaster for England, while the French produced Philip 2nd who can be compared to Henry in terms of effective government and military acumen.

Philip 2nd Augustus 1165 to 1233

 Hence Philip’s life spanned that of Henry 2nd, Richard 1st and John.  Richard 1st as a boy fought with Philip against his father Henry. Henry won these battles.  Richard and Philip went on the 3rd Crusade together.  Philip soundly beat English King John (even though he was supported by Otto 4th of Germany) in battles for French territory to the extent that Philip produced modern day France and John and his Barons had to resign themselves to ruling only England and some of Ireland.  Philip was requested by the Pope to help in the Crusade to rid southern France of the Christian fundamentalists the Cathars. He refused but the Cathars were exterminated other than those very few who had travelled to England  Philip improved the prosperity and the human rights of the average man in France through economic reform and checking the power of the nobles.  Philip died in 1233, John in 1216

John and Magna Carta

Many historians put Magna Carta or the “Great Charta” as one of the turning points in English history which put England on the road to a democratic state and introduced the lawyers in England to the concept of Human Rights. It really put England ahead of the rest of Europe and probably the world in social justice and fair government.

Norman and Plantagenet Kings ruled like dictators ignoring the safeguards which had been developed by the Anglo-Saxon Kings with their parliament called the Witan. In King John’s case, he demanded excessive taxes from the Barons which had to be collected also from the Baron’s territories and people to finance his unsuccessful wars in France. These wars were of extreme importance to the Barons as in many cases it was their land the English forces were defending. Two important agreements were made:

 The King could no longer act as a dictator but had to discuss and agree all new taxes and indeed all important issues with a council of 25 chosen Barons. If the King could not agree with his Barons they had the right to declare war on him.

 The King could only ask for money for himself, if he was kidnapped and ransomed, at the knighthood of his eldest son and the marriage of his eldest daughter.

John’s reign, a chronological summary.

-1166: John was born in Oxford England, Henry 2nd forth son. His elder brother Richard was also born in Oxford of the same mother, the Franco file, Eleanor of Aquitaine. Richard was 9 years older.

-1177: John was appointed King of Ireland aged 11.

-1189: Richard become King of England and Ruler of half of France and immediately goes on a Crusade. William Longchamp is made Justicar. Prince John is 23 years old and gets married to Isabella from Gloucester making John Earl of Gloucester and King of Ireland. This was a marriage of convenience. John being the youngest son of Henry 2nd had no land as it had been already given away. Isabella brought him most of the land of Gloucester. This loveless marriage was one of the reasons John had so many mistresses, some 12 in total producing as many illegitimate children.

-1191: John ousts Longchamp and takes over as ruler of England in Richards absence. John is 25. He is energetic but could be cruel and unjust.

-1194: Richard returns to England but only stays a few months before he returns to his beloved France to defend the lands being attacked by King Phillip of France. -1199: Richard is killed in France and John becomes King of England and 50% of France. John is now 33. But the coronation is disputed by Prince Arthur John’s elder brother Geoffrey’s son. Arthur is supported by the powerful Phillip King of the other 50% of France.

-1200 :John having failed to produce any children has time to fall in love for the first time, a 12 year old French princess, another Isabella but of Angouleme and granddaughter of the previous King of France. They eventually produce 5 children.

-1200-03: Fighting in France. John and the English Barons against his nephew Arthur and Phillip of France. The Battle for who rules in western France, the English or the French. And for the identity of the English, are they half French of solely English.

John lost. It is not reported that John was a useless general but more that Philip was particularly good.

Background

Philip and Arthur started the conflict by attacking John’s French territories. Arthur was captured while attempting to take the castle of Mirabeau (where his grandmother Eleanor was staying.) John imprisoned him Rouen Castle where he died, probably murdered by John. Philip was furious and with the extra energy of hatred took all English lands in France with the exception of the extreme western part on the Atlantic coast north of Spain and south of the river Loire. (approx 300 miles north south by 50 miles. Or Bordeaux and the west of Gascony.

The land lost included Normandy, perhaps still the emotional home of the English Kings, and its loss caused John and the Barons (who had also lost much land) to consider England as their home (or perhaps their only safe home) for the first time.

-1205: the power of a Medieval Pope. A religious upheaval was commenced by the death of the Archbishop of Canterbury. John and his elder monks voted for John de Grey Bishop of Norwich but the younger monks chose a Reginald. John sent to Rome for an adjudication. Pope Innocent 3rd ignored both local preferences and appointed Stephen Langton who King John rejected.

-1208: the Pope was furious and set out to punish John and England as follows.

 The Pope pronounced an interdict which forbade any religious service to be held other than for the baptism of infants. The purpose was to set the people of England against John. For 4 years nobody could be buried in Church land and no “Mass” was allowed which eliminated the chance of the people “confessing” or the dead being prayed for to move them through purgatory. To the God fearing mind of the superstitious medievals, this was frightening.

 John still refused to budge so the Pope excommunicated him which meant John would believe he had no chance of going to heaven. John reacted by seizing the property of the clergy and bishops.

 Finally the Pope declared that John was no longer King of England and appointed the French King Phillip to the throne and told Philip to attack England.

-1213: After 5 years a religious persecution by the Pope, John and the Barons were in no mood to fight a war with Philip and John agreed to the Pope’s demands and , accept Langton as Archbishop, returned the church property and paid a annual tribute of 1000 marks to Rome. The Pope ordered Philip to stand down. But Philip was so incensed that he turned his assembled French army on Flanders.

-1214: Flanders was a major trading partner for English sheep’s wool so John had little difficulty in persuading the Barons to produce an army to defend Flanders. Unfortunately Philip was too good a soldier and at the battle of Bouvines, King John’s army under the Earl of Salisbury, supported by the Count of Flanders and Otto Emperor of Germany were defeated. Philip 2nd Augustus is sometimes called the creator of modern France

Magna Carta

If the Battle of Bouvines created modern France it certainly created modern England. The English Barons as well as King John had lost all their land in France and so for the first time had to concentrate on making England their only home. There was no real need for them to be bilingual French/English. Most of them had indeed spoken English poorly. They were fed up with the King who they felt must no longer be allowed to be a loose canon and should now be brought under the rule of law, the same as everybody else.

-1213: The Pope’s Archbishop of Canterbury Stephen Langton supported the Barons “uprising” as it developed firstly in Northumbria where the Barons were not old French blood but new self made men of Anglo stock. Langton presented the demands of the northern barons to the others at a meeting at St Paul’s based on the coronation charter of Henry 1st.

-1214: At Bury St Edmunds the Barons took an oath to compel King John to sign a charter detailing agreed rights and liberties or they would take up arms against him.

-1215: the Barons rode into the walled city of London with their charter and were well received by the populace and the King saw that he had the whole country against him.

Hence the first bill of rights and responsibilities signed under oath by any king anywhere in the world.

King John appealed to the Pope who backed John and suspended Archbishop Langton. John immediately recruited an army of mercenaries marched to and sacked Northumbria. The Barons then recruited none other than the son of King Philip of France Prince Louis who on arriving in London found himself the new uncrowned popular King of England. John still in the north hurried towards London and en-route took a short cut over the Wash with his army and all his wealth including the crown of Edward the Confessor.(Also more importantly all the jewellery of his mother Eleanor of Aquitaine who was the richest woman in the world at the time.) He lost the lot as it sank into the quick sands helped by the rapid incoming tide. A daily occurrence well known to the locals but not the King.

-1216: With nothing left to pay his army John fled to Swinestead Abbey in Newark where he fell ill or perhaps he was poisoned and died aged 49.When King John’s son Henry was made King the Barons and the people dropped the Frenchman Prince Louis.