The reign of King Stephen (1135-54) is famous as a period of weak government, as Stephen and his rival the Empress Matilda contended for power. A contemporary chronicler described it as 'nineteen long winters in which Christ and his saints were asleep'. Historians today refer to…
Known as 'The Anarchy', the reign of Stephen, saw England plunged into a civil war that illuminated the fatal flaw in the powerful Norman monarchy, that without clear rules ordering succession, conflict between members of William the Conqueror's family were inevitable. In 1135 t…
Known as 'The Anarchy', the reign of Stephen, saw England plunged into a civil war that illuminated the fatal flaw in the powerful Norman monarchy, that without clear rules ordering succession, conflict between members of William the Conqueror's family were inevitable. In 1135 t…