THE REIGN OF HENRY I.
Accession of Henry I.--Robert's Delay in Italy--The Charter
of Liberties--Henry's Popularity--Offers his Hand to
Matilda--Her Lineage--Obstacles to the Marriage--The Church
decides in Favour of it--London at this Period--Coronation
of Matilda--Roger of Salisbury--The Marriage--Punishment of
William's Favourites--Arrival of Robert in Normandy--Prepares
to Attack Henry--Anselm's Services to Henry--Peace effected
between the Brothers--Henry's Dispute with Anselm--Strange Policy
of the Pope--The Dispute Settled--Death of Anselm--The Earl of
Shrewsbury Outlawed--Visit of Robert to England--Campaigns in
Normandy--Robert and Edgar Atheling taken Prisoners--Fate of
Edgar--Captivity and Death of Robert--Normandy in Possession of
Henry--The English King and his Nephew--Return of the King to
England--Betrothal of Henry's Daughter Matilda to the Emperor
of Germany--War with the Welsh--Death of the Queen--Renewed
War in Normandy--Henry before the Council of Rheims--Battle of
Brenneville--Treaty of Peace--Shipwreck and Death of the King's
Son--Henry's Grief--Character of Prince William--More Trouble
in Normandy--The Empress Matilda declared Successor to the
Throne--Her Marriage with the Count of Anjou--Death of William of
Normandy--Last Years of the King's Life--Death of Henry.
When the news of the death of William Rufus was brought to his brother
Henry in the New Forest, the prince immediately set spurs to his horse
and galloped to Winchester. Presenting himself before the officers in
charge of the treasures of the crown, he demanded the keys; but before
he had obtained them, William de Breteuil, the royal treasurer, who had
followed Henry from the New Forest, arrived on the spot, and interposed
his authority. De Breteuil reminded the prince of the oath of allegiance
which they had both taken to Robert of Normandy, to whom also, as the
eldest son of the Conqueror, the throne as well as the treasure by right
belonged. A violent altercation took place, and Henry drew his sword and
threatened De Breteuil with instant death unless the treasure were given
up. Several nobles of the late king's court supported the demand, and the
treasurer found himself compelled to abandon an opposition which proved
unavailing.
Henry, whose abilities had procured him the surname of Beauclerk, or the
"fine scholar," showed himself as prompt in action as skilful in design.
He immediately distributed some of the jewels and money of the crown
among his adherents and the clergy of Winchester, and with these gifts,
and promises still more lavishly bestowed, he secured a certain degree of
popularity in the city. Having been elected king by the barons who were
present, he hastened to London, when he again distributed large gifts
among those whose adhesion was necessary. So rapidly was all this done,
that on the 5th of August, three days after his brother's death, Henry
was proclaimed king, and was crowned in Westminster Abbey by Maurice,
Bishop of London.
It will be remembered that, by the treaty signed at Caen between Robert
of Normandy and William Rufus, the crown of England devolved upon
the survivor; but while Henry was obtaining possession of the throne,
Robert was not yet returned from the Holy Land. Soon after the fall of
Jerusalem, the Duke of Normandy had quitted Palestine and landed in
Italy. Here he was received with high honour and welcome by the Norman
barons who had conquered large possessions in that southern land.
Passing through Apulia, he was entertained at the castle of the Count of
Conversane, who was a relation of Robert Guiscard. The count received his
guest with the utmost hospitality, and all the resources of a princely
establishment were placed at his command. It is not surprising that these
pleasures should attract a man like the Duke of Normandy, who had just
escaped from the protracted hardships of the Crusade. But the Count of
Conversane had a daughter; she was young, accomplished, and of great
beauty. Robert fell in love with the Lady Sibylla, and obtained her hand
in marriage. Ignorant of the critical position of affairs in England, and
probably troubling himself little about the future, the Duke of Normandy
lingered in Italy, while his more ambitious brother was securing himself
in the sovereignty he had usurped.
The English people are said to have been inclined in favour of Henry,
from the circumstance of his having been born and educated in England.
The advantage he thus possessed was improved to the utmost, and the
new king exerted himself to obtain the goodwill of that portion of his
subjects who, however trodden down and oppressed by the arrogant Norman
barons, were, in fact, the strength and sinew of the nation. A charter of
liberties was passed, in which Henry bound himself to restore the laws
of Edward the Confessor--that is, the old customs of the country--and
promised to restrict himself to his just claims over his tenants, making
the same agreement binding in turn upon his tenants towards their
vassals. This charter was the cause of great rejoicing among the people,
and though the effects produced by it were less advantageous than was
expected, it is remarkable as having supplied the groundwork for that
more important concession which was afterwards obtained from King John.
[Illustration: GREAT SEAL OF HENRY I.]
These measures gave to Henry a greater popularity than had been enjoyed
by either of his predecessors. The nation had no fears of foreign
invasion. Some of the most pressing grievances had been redressed,
and hopes were given of the removal of others; and although several
generations had to pass away before the distinction of Norman and Saxon
was entirely to merge into the general name of Englishman, the process
had already commenced--a process which, rousing the slumbering English
from the lethargy of years, and stimulating the energetic principles
of the Norman character to their highest development, ultimately gave
birth to a series of events which placed England foremost in the rank of
nations.
Such was the state of affairs when the new king, rejecting all thoughts
of an alliance with any of the princely families of the Continent, as
the crowning act of reconciliation with his English subjects, offered
his hand to the exiled and portionless daughter of Malcolm Canmore, a
humble novice in the Abbey of Romsey, but the representative of a long
and illustrious line of English princes.
We have seen how, on the death of Edward the Confessor, Harold obtained
possession of the crown, and have recorded his defeat and death, and
the flight of Edgar--"the noble child," as the English chroniclers
fondly term him--with his mother and sisters to Scotland. The results
of his voyage, and the marriage of his sister Margaret with the King of
Scotland, have been already related.
Six children arrived at years of maturity. Edward, who was slain with
his father at Alnwick; Edgar, Alexander, and David, who each in turn
succeeded to the crown. The daughters were named Mary, who married
Eustace, Count of Boulogne; and Matilda, or Maud, afterwards queen of
Henry I.
The death of Malcolm and his eldest son, which occurred in 1093, was soon
followed by that of Margaret. The brother of Malcolm assumed the crown,
to the exclusion of his three nephews; and to this cause we may doubtless
attribute the sending of Matilda, together with her sister, to the care
of their aunt Christina, who had taken the veil in 1086.
As Matilda grew towards womanhood, more than one Norman chieftain had
endeavoured to obtain her hand in marriage; but on preferring their
request to William Rufus, that politic monarch had refused his consent.
He did not wish to see an English princess, a lineal descendant of Alfred
the Great, allied to any man whose power or abilities might enable him
to aspire to the throne. Matilda, therefore, remained in the seclusion
of the cloister until King Henry sent to her his proposals of marriage.
It is related that the young princess received the offer with dislike if
not with disdain. She was not ignorant of the sufferings which the Norman
invasion had brought upon her countrymen, and her sympathy with their
sorrows induced a hatred of their oppressors. Her friends and attendants,
however, combated these scruples, and argued that, by her consent, she
might restore, in some degree, the safety and happiness of the people,
while her refusal would certainly tend to increase the enmity between the
Norman and English races. It is one of the penalties attached to royalty
that those connections which, in a lower and happier sphere of life, are
matters of choice and affection, become among princes mere questions of
State policy. Matilda felt herself unable to resist the arguments brought
forward in favour of the match, and she gave an unwilling consent. An
opposition on the other side, meanwhile, arose among the Norman adherents
of Henry, who were ill-disposed to have an English queen to reign over
them, and were probably jealous of the effect such a marriage would
produce among the people in the king's favour.
It was asserted that the chosen wife of the king was already the bride of
Heaven; that she had been seen to wear the veil of a nun, which shut her
out for ever from the world.
In this difficulty it was necessary for Henry to procure the assistance
of the clergy, and, wishing to obtain the support of the Church against
Robert, he sent messengers to Anselm entreating him to return to England,
and resume the see of Canterbury. The king promised to restore the
privileges of the Church, and to submit to its authority. Anselm acceded
to the request, and agreed to perform the marriage ceremony; but when
he heard the reports in circulation that Matilda had taken the veil, he
declared that the matter required to be investigated, and that he would
himself examine the princess on the subject.
On the question being put to her, Matilda denied that she had ever been
dedicated to a religious life, or had worn the veil of her own consent.
The reason she gave for having been made to do so at particular times
gives a striking picture of the lawlessness and brutality of the Norman
soldiery. "I confess," she said, "that I have sometimes appeared veiled,
but the cause was this:--In my youth I was under the care of my aunt
Christina. She, in order to preserve me from the Normans, by whose
licentiousness the honour of all women was threatened, was accustomed to
throw a piece of black stuff over my head; and when I refused to wear it,
she treated me with great harshness. In her presence, therefore, I wore
that veil, but when she was away, I used to throw it on the ground, and
trample upon it in childish anger."[24]
Anselm convoked a council of nobles and ecclesiastics, who assembled in
the city of Rochester, and to whom the evidence given by Matilda was
submitted. Witnesses were examined in support of her assertions, and the
assembly decided that the princess was free to dispose of her person in
marriage. They cited, as an authority for this decision, the judgment of
Archbishop Lanfranc, who, at a time when some English women had taken
refuge in a convent from fear of the soldiers of the Conqueror, permitted
them to regain their liberty.
At the time of the coronation of Matilda, the city of London could not
have presented much to attract the eye. The convents were few, and the
churches humble. The tall spire, rising like an aspiration towards
heaven; the richly traceried window; the carved portal, did not yet
exist to form a picturesque contrast with the rude, low houses built in
irregular lines.
The Thames, crossed by one poor wooden bridge, was not then, as now,
crowded by a fleet of merchantmen. At the Tower, the Vintry, and
Edred's-hithe, a few small vessels, indeed, might be anchored; and from
time to time some tall Norman galley might glide over its silvery waters.
On either side of the city, and close to the water's edge, stood the
important fortresses of the Tower and Castle Baynard, whilst a rude
collection of huts, of the poorest description, formed that general
receptacle of thieves and outlaws, the Borough. Close to them stood the
convent and church of St. Mary, and far beyond, on the same side of the
river, rising above the marshes which surrounded it, might be seen the
towers of the palace of Lambeth.
As the procession moved on, the eyes of the princess encountered a fairer
spectacle; for, on quitting the village of Charing, she entered the broad
but irregular road which led to the palace of Westminster, the residence
of the sovereign of England. There the hand of improvement, guided by
art, had lavished enormous sums of money both on church and hall. The
abbey, which had been raised by the pious exertions of the Confessor, was
probably no ignoble edifice.
Beside the primate was a churchman of a very different character, Roger,
the king's chancellor, afterwards Bishop of Salisbury. The history of
his progress under royal favour is strikingly characteristic of the
man and the times in which he flourished. At the period when Henry was
fighting under the banner of his brother, William Rufus, with a troop
of mercenaries whom he headed, they entered a church near Caen, and
requested the priest whom they found there to say a mass as quickly
as possible. This priest was Roger, who promptly complied with their
request, and hurried over the service in so rapid a manner that they
unanimously declared that it would be impossible to find a priest more
suitable for a soldier's chaplain. In this new office Roger acquitted
himself so well, that Henry, on his accession, advanced him to the
chancellorship, and in 1107 to the see of Salisbury. He became one of the
ablest financiers of the age, and a great builder of churches and castles.
Of the principal nobles of England and Normandy, it is probable that
only a few were present. Some were in the Holy Land with Robert; others,
dissatisfied at the usurpation of his younger brother, remained in their
respective castles, silently preparing to assert the right of the lawful
heir to the throne. Amongst those, however, who adhered to Henry, was the
famous Roger de Bigod, who had obtained vast possessions both in Norfolk
and Suffolk; whilst another devoted friend of the king was the powerful
Earl of Chester, lord of the Welsh marches, and commonly called Hugh
Lupus, on account of his turbulent disposition.
The marriage was celebrated on the 12th of November, 1100, and the queen
was crowned amidst the acclamations of the people. Previous to the
ceremony, Anselm, who wished to leave no room for slanderous reports,
and to remove all doubts of the lawfulness of the marriage, mounted a
platform before the church door, and explained the question which had
been disputed, and the decision of the council, to the assembled people.
The Normans, however, who had raised the opposition to the marriage,
and many of whom were secret adherents of Duke Robert, vented their
ill-humour in bitter railleries and jests. They gave Henry the nickname
of Godric, and his queen they called Godiva--names which were English,
and were applied in derision. It is related by an old historian that
Henry heard all these things, but that he dissembled his anger, and
pretended to laugh heartily at the jests.
Soon after his marriage the king commenced proceedings against several
of the most vicious of his brother's favourites, whom he despoiled of
their ill-gotten possessions, and either expelled from the country, or
threw promptly into prison. During the time he had been attached to his
brother's court, Henry had taken part in the debaucheries which prevailed
there; and it is probable that the punishment of his former associates
was dictated, not by any regard for the interests of virtue, but rather
from a deference to the wishes of the people; while, at the same time, he
was enabled to fill the royal coffers with the treasures of the banished
lords. Foremost among the proscribed was Randolf Flambard, the minister
of Rufus, who had been made Bishop of Durham, and had amassed large
possessions by extortion, and by selling justice. Flambard was seized and
thrown into the Tower, whence he effected his escape, by means of a rope
which was conveyed to him by some of his friends in a flagon of wine.
Having made his way to the coast, he crossed the Channel, and entered the
service of Robert of Normandy.
When Robert at length returned to his dukedom with his bride Sibylla,
he was received with acclamation by the inhabitants, and soon expressed
the intention of enforcing his claim to the crown of England; but, with
his accustomed procrastination, he took no immediate steps to that end,
but occupied his time with feasts and tournaments. When at length he was
aroused to enter upon the expedition he had planned, he was supported not
only by the resident Norman barons, but also by many of those who had
settled in England, and who agreed to join their forces to his standard.
Among these were the Earl of Surrey William de Warrenne, Robert de
Pontefract, Hugh de Grantmesnil, Robert de Malet, and Robert de Belesme,
Earl of Shrewsbury.
On the other hand, Henry was strong in the support of the English people,
and a party of the Norman nobility. Archbishop Anselm, with other
prelates, rendered the king important service, and secured to Henry
the support of the Pope. There is no doubt whatever that Anselm was a
conscientious man, and that if he adhered to the cause of the younger
brother, he did so from a sincere desire to establish the liberties of
the people, and from a conviction that the rule of Henry, who had pledged
himself to promote the welfare of his subjects, was preferable to that of
the weak and luxurious Duke of Normandy.
Henry fitted out a fleet for the purpose of intercepting the duke in his
voyage across the Channel; but the English sailors, from some cause which
has not been entirely explained, deserted from their allegiance, and
carried the ships over to the service of Robert.
[Illustration: ROBERT OF NORMANDY PAYING COURT TO THE LADY SIBYLLA. (_See
p._ 152.)]
Robert landed with his army at Portsmouth (1101), and was immediately
joined by many barons and knights of Norman birth; the clergy, however,
and the populace remained faithful to the cause of the king. Several days
elapsed before the rival forces came within sight of each other; and in
the meanwhile some of the Norman barons acted as mediators between the
two brothers, and succeeded in arranging terms of peace. Robert agreed
to resign his claim to the crown of England for a yearly pension of two
thousand pounds of silver; and it was decided that the adherents of
either side should be pardoned, and that their possessions, confiscated
by the king or the duke, should be at once restored. A clause was also
added, to the effect that whichever of the two brothers might survive the
other, should succeed to his title and dominions. The effusion of blood
was thus stayed for the moment, and Robert returned with his army to
Normandy (1102).
[Illustration: MARRIAGE OF HENRY I. AND MATILDA. (_See p._ 155.)]
Finding himself securely in possession of the throne, Henry was disposed
to revoke some of the concessions which he had made to Anselm for the
purpose of securing the support of that prelate. The king demanded that
he should do homage for the archbishopric of Canterbury; and Anselm
having returned a decided refusal, a dispute arose which lasted over
several years. In the first instance, the question was referred to the
Pope, Pascal II., who decided that all ecclesiastics should enter the
Church without the authority of laymen, of however high degree. Henry
persisted in maintaining his prerogative, and required Anselm either
to do homage or once more to quit the kingdom. The archbishop remained
firm; and the king, who did not desire an open rupture with the Church,
sent three bishops to Rome to negotiate with the Pope. Anselm, at the
same time, sent two monks as messengers of his own. It is stated by
Eadmer, the biographer of Anselm, that the Pope had recourse to a strange
expedient to evade the difficulty in which he found himself. He refused
to communicate with the three bishops in writing, but informed them
verbally that he ceded the right of investiture to the king; while he
gave letters to the two monks, in which he supported the opposition of
Anselm, and desired him to continue that course of action.
On the return of the messengers to London, an assembly was convened, at
which they delivered the report of their journey. The word of the three
bishops was accepted by the king in preference to the written testimony
produced by the monks; and though the Pope affirmed that the evidence of
the bishops was false, and, moreover, excommunicated them as liars, Henry
stoutly pursued his own line of policy, and invested new bishops with the
sees of Hereford and Salisbury. Anselm obtained permission to proceed
himself to Rome for the purpose of terminating the dispute (1103).
The archbishop remained abroad several years, during which negotiations
were carried on. In 1106 a compromise was agreed to, by the terms of
which the more important parts of the investiture--the oaths of fealty
and homage--were retained by the king; while the Pope was content with
the merely symbolic presentation of the ring and crozier. Upon these
lines the question, which had long agitated Europe, was afterwards
settled at Worms between Calixtus II. and the Emperor Henry V.
After the return of Anselm, a number of canons were passed by a council
of the Church, enforcing upon the clergy the obligation of celibacy.
Lanfranc had previously exerted himself to promote this object, though
with only partial success; and Anselm now undertook to enforce the same
measures. Those priests who were married were commanded to separate from
their wives, whom they were never again to see, except in the presence of
witnesses. Any who should refuse compliance were to be excommunicated and
deposed from the order.
In the year 1109 Anselm died at the age of seventy-six. He was a man of
very great ability and erudition, the evidences of which may be found in
his writings, which are still extant. He exerted himself to establish
schools, and to promote the spread of knowledge throughout the country,
and the news of his death was received with general regret among the
people. He represented in saintliness, administrative powers, and
political foresight the highest ideals of mediæval Christendom.
The treaty which had been signed between Henry and Robert in no degree
affected the policy of the king, who showed himself as unscrupulous and
careless of his plighted faith as had been his brother Rufus. Determined
to punish those barons who had supported the Duke of Normandy, and
whose power and position rendered their disaffection a matter to be
dreaded, Henry took measures calculated to excite them to some overt act
of rebellion, which should enable him to proceed against them without
the shame of a direct violation of the treaty. The first who became the
object of attack was Robert de Belesme, Earl of Shrewsbury, who held
large possessions in Normandy as well as in England. De Belesme was
summoned before the general assembly held in the king's palace, to answer
forty-five charges which were brought against him. On appearing before
the council, the earl, according to the custom of the time, demanded
leave to go and consult with his friends respecting his accusation and
the conduct of his defence. The permission having been granted, the earl
immediately quitted the court, took horse, and galloped off to one of his
fortified castles.
The king and the council having waited in vain for his answer to the
charges, made proclamation of outlawry against him, and declared him a
public enemy unless he returned and appeared before the court at its next
sitting. Robert de Belesme made no answer to the summons, but prepared
energetically for war, and collected large stores of provisions in
his castles of Arundel, Shrewsbury, and Tickhill. Bridgenorth, on the
frontier of Wales, was also strongly fortified.
Henry advanced against his rebellious vassal with an army, a great part
of which was composed of English troops, who marched with alacrity to
punish the proud Norman baron. After having obtained possession of the
castle of Arundel, Henry marched against Bridgenorth, where the earl had
entrenched himself. For several weeks the king besieged the town without
result, when some of the Norman barons undertook to arrange terms of
peace, as they had already done in the case of Robert of Normandy.
Many of the barons waited upon King Henry, and demanded a conference,
or _parlement_, for the purpose of preparing terms of peace. The plain
on which the assembly met was bounded by hills, on which were posted a
large body of English troops. These, who had been informed of the object
of the conference, called out loudly to the king, "Place no faith in
them, King Henry, they want to lay a snare for you: we will give thee
our assistance, and will follow thee to the assault. Make no peace with
the traitor until he falls into thy hands." The warning appears to have
produced its effect, and no reconciliation took place between the
belligerents. The fortress of Bridgenorth at length capitulated, and
the king's forces marched through a densely-wooded country to attack
the earl in his stronghold of Shrewsbury. A short interval elapsed,
and then this fortress also was taken; and Earl Robert, who was made a
prisoner was banished from the country, with the forfeiture of the whole
of his estates. Other nobles, who had adhered to the cause of Robert of
Normandy, were afterwards prosecuted, and met with a similar fate to that
of the Earl of Shrewsbury.
The English troops of Henry had long sought for an opportunity of
vengeance upon the oppressors of their country, and they might not
unreasonably feel elated at the victories they had obtained over the
Norman insurgents. It does not appear, however, that the nation at large
derived any benefit from the suppression of the rebellion. Although Henry
was bred in England, and had married an English wife, his sympathies were
not with the people whom he governed. The old historians tell us that the
good Queen Matilda used all the influence she possessed to advance the
happiness and secure the liberties of her countrymen; but her counsel and
entreaties do not seem to have produced any effect upon the conduct of
the king. The condition of the people soon after the marriage of Henry
with Matilda is thus described in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle:--"It is no
easy matter to relate all the miseries with which the land was at this
time afflicted, by unjust and continual exactions. Wherever the king
went, those in his train oppressed the people, and were guilty of murder
and incendiary fires in many places."
Alarmed for the safety of his adherents, Robert, without hesitation, came
over to England, accompanied only by a small escort, and placed himself
unreservedly in his brother's power for the purpose of pleading the cause
of the proscribed nobles.
At this time Robert resigned his pension of two thousand pounds.
According to some historians, he was detained by Henry as a prisoner, and
the pension was the price paid by the duke for his liberty; while another
account states that the sum was given as a present to the Queen Matilda.
It is, however, certain that Robert soon returned to Normandy without
having succeeded in the object of his visit.
The Duke of Normandy was ill-fitted to restrain the excesses of his
turbulent barons, or to hold with a firm hand the reins of government.
Many disorders sprang up in his duchy, and were left unnoticed or
unpunished by the sovereign. The fair Sibylla died in 1102, and since
that time the duke had resumed his irregular way of life, and had shown
more completely than ever his utter incapacity for the management of
public affairs.
King Henry took advantage of this state of things to interfere in the
disputes of the Norman barons; and, after appearing for a time in the
character of a mediator, he at length threw off the mask, and declared
himself the protector of the duchy against the maladministration of his
brother. He summoned Robert to give up possession of the duchy in return
for an annual payment of money. The duke indignantly refused to comply
with the demand, and Henry prepared to dispossess his brother by force.
In the year 1105 the king entered Normandy with an army, and captured
several castles and fortified places. Robert, however, was not without
means of defence; some few nobles of power and influence still remained
attached to his cause, and Henry returned to England, having added Caen
and Bayeux to his possessions.
A second campaign was opened in the following year, and Henry crossed the
Channel with a more formidable armament than before. He appeared before
Tenchebrai, an important stronghold, situated at a few leagues' distance
from Mortain. Having in vain attempted to corrupt the garrison with gold,
the king laid siege to the castle with his whole army. Messengers came
to Robert with the news that his troops were hard pressed by the enemy,
and the duke promised that, in defiance of every obstacle, he would come
on a certain day to their assistance. The promise was redeemed; and, at
the time appointed, the duke, with a small but gallant band of troops,
attacked the army of his brother. Placing himself at the head of his
knights he dashed in upon the English infantry, which gave way before him
in disorder. So impetuous was the charge, that the fortune of the day
seemed likely to be in favour of Robert, when the cowardice or treachery
of the Earl of Shrewsbury turned the tide of affairs. De Belesme, whose
troops formed an important division of the army of the duke, suddenly
fled from the field. A panic ensued among the Normans, and the brilliant
deeds of valour performed by their leader failed to restore their courage
or to secure the victory. After a desperate resistance, Robert was taken
prisoner, with many of the chief nobles who had fought under his banner.
Edgar Atheling, who was serving in the Norman army, also fell into the
hands of Henry. At the instance of the queen, his niece, a pension was
granted to him, and he is related to have passed the rest of his days on
a small farm in England, where he lived in obscurity, and no historian
has noted the time of his death or the place of his burial.
In 1106 a harder fate was reserved for the Duke of Normandy. He was
confined in Cardiff Castle, which stood near to that of Gloucester, and
had recently been conquered from the Welsh. At first some degree of
liberty was permitted to him, and he was allowed to take exercise among
the fields and woods of the neighbourhood. On one occasion, however, he
made an attempt to escape on horseback, but was pursued and taken in a
marsh, which he had attempted to cross in his flight. It is related by
some historians that, to prevent the possibility of another attempt of
the same kind, the king ordered his brother's sight to be destroyed by a
painful operation. In this miserable condition, with light and liberty
alike shut out, the once gay and gallant Duke of Normandy lingered on for
twenty-eight years, without quitting his prison. He died in 1135.
After the victory of Tenchebrai the whole of Normandy fell into the
hands of Henry. Rouen, the capital, submitted without resistance to the
conqueror, and the town of Falaise capitulated after a siege of short
duration. Among the prisoners taken at Falaise was William, the son of
Robert and Sibylla. Some feeling of pity seems to have entered the breast
of the king when his nephew, then a child of five years old, was brought
before him. He committed the prince to the care of Hélie de St. Saen, a
Norman nobleman of high character, who had married a natural daughter of
Robert. Soon afterwards, however, Henry attempted to secure the person of
his nephew, and sent a body of troops to the castle of St. Saen for that
purpose. Hélie, who feared some evil intention on the part of the king,
effected his escape, and carried his young charge to the court of Louis
VI., King of France. On the way Hélie passed some time at the courts of
the most powerful Norman barons, and at that of Fulk, Count of Anjou,
by whom, as well as by Louis, the prince was received with kindness and
protection. He was brought up in the palace of the French king, who, as
he grew up, presented him with horses and the harness of a knight, while
Fulk promised to give him his daughter Sibylla in marriage.
Louis, who dreaded the power of the King of England, saw the advantage
he might obtain by supporting the legitimate claims of William Clito,
or William of Normandy, as he was afterwards called. In the name of
the young prince, he entered into a league with the chiefs of some of
the neighbouring states, among whom was the Count of Flanders. Henry
was attacked at various points along the frontiers of Normandy, and
some of his fortresses and towns were taken. At the same time, many
Norman barons, who were secretly attached to the cause of Duke Robert,
engaged in a conspiracy against Henry. At length the king succeeded by
policy in dissolving the league against him. A treaty was signed, by
which the estates of Hélie de St. Saen were given to Fulk of Anjou, to
whose daughter, Matilda, Henry agreed to marry his own son, William. The
contract of marriage between Sibylla and the son of Robert was broken
off, and the cause of the latter was no longer to be supported by the
Count of Anjou. William of Normandy retired to the court of Baldwin,
Count of Flanders, who was one of the warmest supporters of his cause.
Having brought these negotiations satisfactorily to an end--for which
purpose he had spent two years in Normandy--Henry returned to England.
The sums expended by the king in procuring the submission of the friends
of William were obtained by heavy burdens and exactions from the people
of England. Each year is described as being attended with its peculiar
calamity, and in the year 1110 the sufferings of the people were heavy,
"caused by the failure of the crops and the taxes demanded by the king
for the dowry of his daughter."[25]
This daughter, who bore her mother's name of Matilda, was then only seven
years old. By the feudal laws the king was entitled to levy a tax on the
marriage of his eldest daughter, and Matilda was betrothed to Henry V.,
Emperor of Germany, who had sent ambassadors to demand her hand. The
nominal rank of the German emperor was high, but the country over which
he ruled was poor, and the prince himself not unfrequently kept state
with empty coffers. He demanded a large dowry, which, after some delay,
was seized rather than collected from the English people, and the young
princess was committed to the hands of the ambassadors, who conducted her
"with all honour" to Germany, where she was to receive her education.
Her embarkation was a splendid sight, and is described in glowing terms
by contemporary historians, but the people could not forget "how dear
all this had cost the English nation,"[26] and Matilda's unpopularity in
after years might in some degree be traced to the circumstances which
had attended her marriage.
[Illustration: DUKE ROBERT'S SON BEFORE KING HENRY. (_See p._ 160.)]
About the year 1111 the Welsh made incursions into the English counties
on their borders, and overran the whole of Cheshire, causing great
distress and damage to the inhabitants. Henry advanced against them,
and as they retreated before him he followed them to the fastnesses of
the mountains, defeating them whenever he could find an opportunity
of engaging them in battle. As had been the case with his father, the
Conqueror, and his brother Rufus, Henry found himself unable to subdue a
people whose home was among trackless mountains and dangerous morasses,
and he contented himself with building a chain of forts or castles a
little farther into the country than those erected by his predecessors.
He also brought over a number of Flemings, to whom he gave a district of
Pembrokeshire, with the town of Haverfordwest. These people were at once
industrious and warlike, and they maintained themselves in prosperity
in their new colony, in spite of repeated attacks made upon them by the
Welsh.
On May 1, 1118, Queen Matilda died, "with the sad reflection that she
had sacrificed herself for her race in vain."[27] Of this unhappy lady
the historians of the time record no acts which were not gentle and
womanly; and she appears to have merited the affection of the people,
and that title of "the Good" which they conferred upon her. For the
last twelve years of her life she was neglected by her husband, and
lived in the palace of Westminster, surrounded by the pomp and state of
royalty, but not the less friendless and alone. She passed much of her
time engaged in exercises of devotion, and it is related of her that her
chief recreation consisted in listening to the songs and the stories of
minstrels, whom the spirit of chivalry prompted to offer their tribute to
her virtues and misfortunes.
Meanwhile, a dangerous confederacy was forming on the Continent among
the adherents of William of Normandy. Henry had neglected, in almost
every instance, to perform the promises which he had made to the Norman
barons; and he had refused to conclude the match which had been agreed
upon between his son William and the daughter of Fulk, Count of Anjou.
Louis of France, who still extended his favour and support to the son
of Robert, entered into a league with Fulk of Anjou and Baldwin of
Flanders, for the purpose of wresting the dukedom of Normandy from the
possession of Henry. The first campaign was favourable to the arms of
the English king, who successfully defended his territory against the
attacks of the allies. Louis then determined to demand the assistance of
the ecclesiastical power. A council of the clergy was convoked at Rheims,
at which the Pope, Calixtus II., was present; and thither the King of
France carried the young prince, and presenting him to the council,
craved its assistance on his behalf. Louis addressed an eloquent speech
to the Pope, in which he dwelt upon the unjust and merciless character of
the King of England, who not only refused to his nephew those possessions
which belonged to him of right, but also retained his brother, the Duke
of Normandy, in solitary and endless imprisonment. Henry, who had been
apprised of the purpose of the council, sent costly presents to the Pope
and the clergy, and subsequently had an interview with Calixtus, at which
similar inducements were employed with success. The council looked coldly
on the suit of Louis, and refused him the assistance he demanded.
The friends of William of Normandy continued the war with vigour, and
Henry experienced several reverses. At the siege of Eu, Baldwin, Count
of Flanders, the most energetic and determined of the allies, was killed;
and finding himself thus freed from one formidable foe, Henry determined
to get rid of another by means which, on a former occasion, had proved
efficacious. He sent messengers to the Count of Anjou, proposing that
the marriage between his son and the count's daughter should take place
immediately; a bribe of money was also added. The count accepted the
terms, withdrew his forces from those of the King of France, and the
marriage was soon afterwards celebrated.
The cause of the allies now rapidly lost ground. The less powerful
barons, wearied with the ill success of their arms, or induced by
presents, which were distributed with a lavish hand by Henry, deserted
one after the other, until the French king was left to sustain the
struggle almost alone. During the desultory warfare which was carried
on between the opposing forces, an engagement took place which has been
honoured with the title of the battle of Brenneville, and which has been
cited as a curious example of the mode of warfare common at that time.
Louis having laid a scheme for surprising the town of Noyon, Henry
marched to the relief of the place, and encountered a portion of the
French army at Brenneville (1119). On the side of the French were four
hundred knights, while King Henry was attended by somewhat more than that
number. William of Normandy, at the head of a body of the French, made
a gallant charge upon his opponents, and penetrated through their ranks
to the place where Henry was standing. The English king was struck on
the head by Crispin, a Norman soldier, who had followed the fortunes of
William. Henry, however, was rather excited than injured by the blow,
and he struck his adversary to the ground, following up his advantage
with other feats of gallantry. By this means he encouraged his troops,
and after an obstinate conflict, the French were beaten off, with the
loss of their standard and one hundred and forty knights, who were
taken prisoners. The number of dead in this engagement amounted only to
two, or, as some say, to three knights. At this period the cavalry were
encased in heavy armour, which almost secured the wearers from blows of
sword or lance, while, according to the usages of chivalry, all knights,
on whichever side they fought, were regarded as one brotherhood, and the
object aimed at in battle was not to despatch an adversary, but to take
him prisoner. These circumstances account for the number of dead being
unusually small as compared with the number engaged; though in the battle
of Brenneville the proportion of the former seems to be less than in any
other engagement on record.
The battle of Brenneville was followed by a treaty of peace, which was
arranged by the intervention of the Pope Calixtus, between Louis and
Henry. By this treaty, the interests of William Fitz-Robert were entirely
set aside, and the whole of the duchy of Normandy was to remain in the
hands of Henry, whose son William was to render homage to Louis for the
possession of the duchy. By this means the King of England evaded the
declaring of himself a vassal of the King of France--an act which, as
Duke of Normandy, he was called upon to perform.
Henry carried his son William into Normandy, where he received his first
arms, and was acknowledged as King Henry's successor by the barons. He
also obtained the hand of the daughter of Fulk of Anjou. The bride was
a child of twelve years old, and the prince had but just passed his
eighteenth year. These various matters being accomplished, and peace
established on a tolerably secure footing, King Henry prepared to return
to England (1120).
The fleet was assembled at Barfleur, and at the moment when the king
was about to embark, a man named Thomas Fitz-Stephen advanced to speak
with him, and offering a mark of gold, said, "Stephen, the son of Erard,
my father, served all his life thy father by sea, and he steered the
vessel which carried the duke to the conquest of England. My lord the
king, I pray thee to appoint me to the same office. I have a ship called
_La Blanche Nef_,[28] which is well rigged and fully manned." The king
answered that, as regarded himself, the choice of a ship was already
made, but that he would entrust the petitioner with the care of his two
sons and his daughter, with the nobles and attendants of their train.
The vessel in which Henry embarked then set sail with a fair wind, and
reached the English coast in safety on the following morning. On board
the _Blanche Nef_ were the prince, his half-brother Richard, and their
sister the Lady Marie, or Adela, Countess of Perche, with other nobles
of England and Normandy, to the number of 140 persons, besides fifty
sailors. Before setting sail three casks of wine were distributed among
the crew by the prince's order; and several hours were spent carousing,
during which many of the crew drank themselves "out of their wits."
After nightfall, and when the moon had risen brightly, the vessel left
her moorings, and proceeded with a soft and favourable breeze along the
coast. Fifty skilful rowers propelled her on her way, and the helm was
held by Fitz-Stephen. The sailors, excited by wine, pulled stoutly, so as
to overtake the vessel of the king, when suddenly they found themselves
entangled among some rocks off Barfleur, then called the Ras de Catte,
and now known as the Ras de Catteville. The _Blanche Nef_ struck on one
of the rocks, and immediately began to fill. The cry of terror which
broke from the startled revellers passed through the calm night air,
and reached the king's ship at a distance of several miles. Those who
heard it, however, little suspected its meaning, and passed on their way
unconscious of the catastrophe which had taken place so near to them.
As the ship struck, the stout-hearted captain hastily lowered a boat,
and placing the prince with a few of his friends therein, entreated him
to make for the shore without delay. The devotion of Fitz-Stephen was,
however, without avail. William heard the screams of his sister Marie,
who had been left on board the vessel, and he commanded the boat to be
put back to save her. When the order was obeyed, the terrified passengers
threw themselves into the boat in such numbers that the frail bark was
immediately upset, and all who were in it perished. In a few moments
more the ship was also engulfed beneath the waters. The only trace which
remained of the wreck was the main-yard, to which two men clung with the
tenacity of despair; one of these was a butcher of Rouen, named Berauld,
and the other a young man of higher birth, named Godfrey, the son of
Gilbert de l'Aigle.
Fitz-Stephen, the captain, after falling into the water, rose to the
surface, and swam towards the two men who were clinging to the spar.
"The king's son!" he cried, "what has become of him?" "We have seen
nothing of him," was the reply; "neither he nor any of his companions
have appeared above water." "Woe is me!" the captain exclaimed, and sank
to rise no more. It was in the month of November, and the coldness of
the water fast numbed the limbs of the younger of the two survivors, who
at length let go his hold, and committing his companion to the mercy of
Heaven, disappeared beneath the waves. Berauld, the butcher, the poorest
of all those who had set sail in the _Blanche Nef_, was the only one who
survived to tell the story of the shipwreck. Wrapped in his sheepskin
coat, he supported himself until daybreak, when he was seen by some
fishermen, who rescued him from his perilous situation. This occurred on
the 26th of November, 1120.
[Illustration: SHIPWRECK OF PRINCE WILLIAM. (_See p._ 163.)]
The news reached England on the following day, but no man dared tell the
king of his bereavement. At length the courtiers tutored the young son of
Count Theobald of Blois, who was sent in to the king, and, falling at his
feet, told him of the loss of the _Blanche Nef_, with all on board. Henry
is said to have fainted at the news, and the historians agree in dwelling
upon the grief he felt--a grief so rooted that he was never afterwards
seen to smile.
The English people appear to have regarded the shipwreck as a judgment
of Heaven upon the vices of the prince and the cruelties of his father.
This view was strengthened by the circumstance that the disaster took
place, not in a storm, but on a calm sea and under a tranquil sky. The
character of Prince William is represented by the chroniclers as that
of a tyrannical and licentious youth. He is said to have detested the
people from whom his own mother was descended, and to have declared that
when he became king he would bend the necks of the English to the plough,
and treat them like beasts of burden. "The proud youth!" says Henry of
Huntingdon, a contemporary writer; "he was anticipating his future reign;
but God said, 'Not so, thou impious one; it shall not be.' And thus it
happened that his brow, instead of being encircled with a crown of gold,
was dashed against the rocks of the ocean." It is possible, however, that
the historians gave too much importance to the light words of a heedless
youth, and we may well be cautious in covering with infamy the name of
one of whose life the last and best authenticated act at least was noble
and generous.
On the death of Prince William, the Count of Anjou sent messengers to
Henry, demanding back his daughter Matilda, together with the dowry which
had been given to the king on her marriage. Henry willingly consented to
the return of the princess to her father, but refused to give up any part
of the money. Fulk was thus furnished with a pretext for renewing his
former connection with William of Normandy, on whose future prospects
the death of his cousin might exercise considerable influence. The son of
Duke Robert was placed by Fulk in possession of the earldom of Le Mans,
and was again betrothed to Sibylla, the younger daughter of the Count
Henry, who was apprised of these proceedings, passed over into Normandy,
and after a year of desultory warfare, made prisoners of several of the
Norman barons, and detached Fulk of Anjou once more from the cause of
William.
[Illustration: HENRY I.]
In 1126 Henry's daughter Matilda became a widow, by the death of her
husband, Henry V. of Germany, and the king then determined to appoint
her his successor to the throne of England and the dukedom of Normandy.
The native English, as well as the Normans, were altogether opposed to a
scheme whose object was to place them under the government of a woman.
The power of Henry was, however, so firmly established that the barons
who murmured in secret did not dare openly to resist his will. Those
among them who had the greatest influence were conciliated by grants of
land; the assistance of the clergy was already secured; and on Christmas
Day, 1126, a general assembly of the nobles and higher ecclesiastics of
the kingdom was convened at Windsor Castle for the purpose of declaring
the Empress Matilda (as she was still called) the legitimate successor
to the throne. The clergy and the Norman barons of both countries
unanimously swore allegiance to her, in the event of the king's death.
Several disputes as to precedence took place on the occasion, and one of
these was remarkable as having an importance beyond the mere question of
court etiquette. Robert, Earl of Gloucester, who was an illegitimate son
of the king, demanded to take the oath before Stephen, Count of Blois,
who was the son of Adela, daughter of the Conqueror, and therefore nephew
to Henry. It is probable that both of these men aspired to the throne,
and that, while in the act of taking vows which they had no intention of
performing, each was anxious to have his rank and standing determined.
The legitimate birth of Stephen prevailed over the nearer relationship of
Robert, and the Count of Boulogne first took the oaths to maintain the
succession of Matilda.
In the same year (1126) Fulk, Count of Anjou, departed for the Holy
Land, having first placed the government of his country in the hands
of his son Geoffrey, surnamed Plante Genest, or Plantagenet, from his
custom of wearing on his helmet a sprig of yellow broom instead of a
feather. The young Count of Anjou is described as possessing elegant and
courtly manners, a noble person, and a reputation for gallantry in the
field. These qualities recommended him to the favour of King Henry, who
personally invested him with the order of knighthood. The ceremony took
place at Rouen with great pomp, and the king, according to the custom of
chivalry, presented his son-in-arms with a horse and a splendid suit of
armour.
The English king had frequently had cause to dread the opposition of the
House of Anjou, and therefore he was induced, not less by motives of
policy than by his regard for Geoffrey, to form an alliance with that
powerful family. He determined that his daughter Matilda should wed the
Count of Anjou. The marriage was concluded without the knowledge of the
barons, who afterwards declared their disapproval of it, and many of them
made it a pretext for breaking the oath of allegiance which they had
taken to the ex-empress.
The marriage was celebrated in Rouen on August 26, 1127, and the
festival, which was marked with all the splendour which the wealth of
Henry could command, was prolonged during three weeks. On the first day
heralds went about the streets, commanding in the king's name that all
men whatsoever should take part in the festivities, and that any man
neglecting to make merry on the joyful occasion should be considered
guilty of an offence against the king.
Meanwhile, William of Normandy had obtained a position of power and
influence which gave Henry much uneasiness. When Fulk of Anjou abandoned
his connection with the son of Robert, the cause of the latter was still
upheld by Louis, King of France. Charles the Good, Count of Flanders, the
successor of Baldwin, was murdered by his own people while attending a
service of the church in Bruges, and Louis gave that county to William.
The Flemings, who at first received their new earl without opposition,
broke out into revolt after the departure of the French king, and
sent to ask the support of Henry. William, however, was not without
supporters, and his personal gallantry, joined to high military talents,
gave him the victory over the insurgents in various encounters. His
career, however, was destined to be short; in an engagement under the
walls of Alost, in which he completely defeated his opponents, the son of
Robert received a wound on the head, which proved fatal within a few days
afterwards. He died on the 27th of July, 1128, at the age of twenty-six.
Henry was thus relieved from any dread of the pretensions of his nephew,
and he passed over into Normandy. In 1133 Matilda gave birth to a son,
who was named Henry, and who afterwards reigned in England with the title
of Henry II. Subsequently two other sons, named Geoffrey and William,
were the fruit of this marriage. On the birth of his grandson, the king
again endeavoured to secure to his race the succession to the throne
by causing the barons once more to swear fealty to Matilda and to her
children. During Henry's stay in Normandy, various quarrels took place
between the ex-empress and her husband, and the king had great difficulty
in keeping the peace between them. It would appear that Matilda seized
every opportunity of prejudicing her father against her husband, who was
exasperated at the king's refusal to place him in immediate possession of
Normandy.
The last years of Henry's life were embittered by these dissensions in
his family, and his health rapidly declined. In the year 1135 he received
news of an incursion of the Welsh, and while preparations were making
for his return to England he was seized with a sudden illness. Having
passed a day in hunting at Lions-la-Forêt, in Normandy, he supped late
in the evening upon a dish of lampreys, of which he was remarkably fond.
An indigestion, which resulted in a fever, was the consequence of this
indulgence, and three days afterwards he expired (December 1, 1135).
His body was afterwards conveyed to Reading Abbey, which he had himself
founded, and was there buried.
In spite of the misery endured by the English during this reign, their
condition was better than it would have been had a weak king been at the
head of affairs. As far as in him lay, Henry maintained order throughout
the kingdom. He could do but little to ameliorate the evils of famine,
pestilence, and floods; but he could, and did, check the exactions and
cruelties of the barons, whether lay or ecclesiastical; he put a stop to
the excessive contributions in kind levied by the followers of the court
under the name of _purveyance_. Although the people suffered fearfully
from taxation, they were better off than if they had been subject to
the extortions of every petty landowner. The issuers of false coin were
hanged without mercy, and all crimes of violence were punished with equal
severity. "He made peace," says the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, "for man and
beast. Whoso bare his burden of gold and silver, no man durst do him
aught but good."
In order to carry out the maintenance of order, Henry strengthened the
administrative machinery throughout the kingdoms. The best features
in the old English system had been the local assemblies, which were
remarkably representative, and did their work efficiently. These
institutions, which had been allowed to lapse into decay, Henry
restored in their integrity, and renewed at the same time the system of
_Frank-pledge_, or mutual responsibility. But he was not content with
mere restoration; it was necessary that the local courts should keep in
touch with a powerful central authority, otherwise they would undoubtedly
be too weak to withstand the courts of the land-owning nobility. He
therefore organised his ordinary council into a great court, which
became known as the _Curia Regis_, or king's court. It was composed of
a selection of barons, the chief officers of the royal household, and
those who were best qualified for judicial matters. Its president was
the _Justiciar_, who was the king's representative. The business of the
court was twofold--financial and judicial. When employed in financial
business the court sat in the exchequer chamber--so called because its
table was covered with a cloth resembling a chess-board--and was spoken
of as the court of the barons of the exchequer. The organisation of this
court was the great work of Roger of Salisbury. From it proceeded men who
were sent to traverse the country, first in the capacity of officers of
finance, afterwards as officers of justice. These judicial visitations
were developed by Henry II. into a permanent part of the system of the
country.