King Stephen and the English Church
Conflict and Reconciliation between King Stephen and the English Church Assistant Dr. Monica Oancă
The civil war between King Stephen and Empress Matilda was an Anglo-Norman crisis with deep implications both for the English aristocracy and for the ecclesiastical authority within the realm. Although the political repercussions of the splintering of the Anglo-Norman ruling elite have often been discussed, the position of the Church and its bishops has been usually overlooked although during medieval times the Church had a durable influence in both political and social life, especially because the Christian teaching was central to everyone’s experience.
1. The Chroniclers and their depiction of the relationship between the king and the Church When Henry I died he left behind him several children, of whom only a daughter, Matilda (or Maud) was legitimate. His illegitimate son, Robert, the Earl of Gloucester, who was an important political figure (respected, competent, and extremely wealthy), was not considered able to inherit the crown, due to his illegitimacy. Obviously this had not been the case in 1035, when William the Conqueror, who had been the illegitimate offspring of the Duke of Normandy, had been named heir by his father and had inherited the duchy when his father died, although he was also a minor at the time. Such a practice was not acceptable 100 years later and Henry I left his kingdom to his only legitimate child, Matilda.[1] So in 1135, notwithstanding the excruciating dilemma of the death of a king without legitimate sons, the possibility of the late king’s bastards inheriting the throne seems to have been ruled out (Bartlett 9). The King was well aware of this and, in 1127, he ordered his most important nobles to swear an oath of allegiance[2] to Matilda in order to assure this rather unique succession (although there have been many daughters to inherit their fathers’ domains, this had not happened for the kingdom
The civil war between King Stephen and Empress Matilda was an Anglo-Norman crisis with deep implications both for the English aristocracy and for the ecclesiastical authority within the realm. Although the political repercussions of the splintering of the Anglo-Norman ruling elite have often been discussed, the position of the Church and its bishops has been usually overlooked although during medieval times the Church had a durable influence in both political and social life, especially because the Christian teaching was central to everyone’s experience.
1. The Chroniclers and their depiction of the relationship between the king and the Church When Henry I died he left behind him several children, of whom only a daughter, Matilda (or Maud) was legitimate. His illegitimate son, Robert, the Earl of Gloucester, who was an important political figure (respected, competent, and extremely wealthy), was not considered able to inherit the crown, due to his illegitimacy. Obviously this had not been the case in 1035, when William the Conqueror, who had been the illegitimate offspring of the Duke of Normandy, had been named heir by his father and had inherited the duchy when his father died, although he was also a minor at the time. Such a practice was not acceptable 100 years later and Henry I left his kingdom to his only legitimate child, Matilda.[1] So in 1135, notwithstanding the excruciating dilemma of the death of a king without legitimate sons, the possibility of the late king’s bastards inheriting the throne seems to have been ruled out (Bartlett 9). The King was well aware of this and, in 1127, he ordered his most important nobles to swear an oath of allegiance[2] to Matilda in order to assure this rather unique succession (although there have been many daughters to inherit their fathers’ domains, this had not happened for the kingdom
Bibliography: (GS) Gesta Stephani, edited by Richard Clarke Sewell, London, Sumptibus Societatis. 1846. Duby, George. The Knight, the Lady and the Priest: The Making of Modern Marriage in Medieval France. Chicago. The University of Chicago Press. 1993. Gransden, Antonia. Historical Writing in England: c. 500 to c. 1307. London. Routledge: 2000. Marritt, Stephen. “Reeds Shaken by the Wind? Bishops in Local and Regional Politics in King Stephen’s Reign”. King Stephen 's Reign (1135-1154) edited by Paul Dalton and Graeme J. White. Woodbridge. Boydell Press: 2008. p. 115-138. White, Graeme J. Restoration and Reform, 1153-1165: Recovery from Civil War in England. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press. 2000.