Henry I (Beauclerc) of England

Notes:

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_I_of_England

He also known as Henry Beauclerc, was King of England from 1100 to his death. Henry was the fourth son of William the Conqueror and was educated in Latin and the liberal arts. On William's death in 1087, Henry's elder brothers Robert Curthose and William Rufus inherited Normandy and England, respectively, but Henry was left landless.

Henry purchased the County of Cotentin in western Normandy from Robert, but William and Robert deposed him in 1091. Henry gradually rebuilt his power base in the Cotentin and allied himself with William Rufus against Robert. Henry was present when William died in a hunting accident in 1100, and he seized the English throne, promising at his coronation to correct many of William's less popular policies.

Henry married Matilda of Scotland but continued to have a large number of mistresses, by whom he had many illegitimate children. Henry had a considerable sexual appetite and enjoyed a substantial number of sexual partners, resulting in a large number of illegitimate children, at least nine sons and 13 daughters, many of whom he appears to have recognised and supported. It was normal for unmarried Anglo-Norman noblemen to have sexual relations with prostitutes and local women, and kings were also expected to have mistresses. Some of these relationships occurred before Henry was married, but many others took place after his marriage to Matilda. Henry had a wide range of mistresses from a range of backgrounds, and the relationships appear to have been conducted relatively openly. He may have chosen some of his noble mistresses for political purposes, but the evidence to support this theory is limited.

Robert, who invaded in 1101, disputed Henry's control of England; this military campaign ended in a negotiated settlement that confirmed Henry as king. The peace was short-lived, and Henry invaded the Duchy of Normandy in 1105 and 1106, finally defeating Robert at the Battle of Tinchebray. Henry kept Robert imprisoned for the rest of his life. Henry's control of Normandy was challenged by Louis VI of France, Baldwin of Flanders and Fulk of Anjou, who promoted the rival claims of Robert's son, William Clito, and supported a major rebellion in the Duchy between 1116 and 1119. Following Henry's victory at the Battle of Brémule, a favourable peace settlement was agreed with Louis in 1120.

Considered by contemporaries to be a harsh but effective ruler, Henry skilfully manipulated the barons in England and Normandy. In England, he drew on the existing Anglo-Saxon system of justice, local government and taxation, but also strengthened it with additional institutions, including the royal exchequer and itinerant justices. Normandy was also governed through a growing system of justices and an exchequer. Many of the officials who ran Henry's system were "new men" of obscure backgrounds rather than from families of high status, who rose through the ranks as administrators. Henry encouraged ecclesiastical reform, but became embroiled in a serious dispute in 1101 with Archbishop Anselm of Canterbury, which was resolved through a compromise solution in 1105. He supported the Cluniac order and played a major role in the selection of the senior clergy in England and Normandy.

Henry's only legitimate son and heir, William Adelin, drowned in the White Ship disaster of 1120, throwing the royal succession into doubt. Henry took a second wife, Adeliza, in the hope of having another son, but their marriage was childless. In response to this, Henry declared his daughter, Matilda, his heir and married her to Geoffrey of Anjou. The relationship between Henry and the couple became strained, and fighting broke out along the border with Anjou.

The Anglo-Norman barons were gathered together at Westminster on Christmas 1126, where they swore to recognise Matilda and any future legitimate heir she might have. Putting forward a woman as a potential heir in this way was unusual: opposition to Matilda continued to exist within the English court, and Louis of France was vehemently opposed to her candidacy.

Henry died on 1 December 1135 after a week of illness.
Despite his plans for Matilda, the King was succeeded by his nephew, Stephen of Blois, resulting in a period of civil war known as the Anarchy. Lasting between 1135 and 1154, the period was marked by fierce fighting with English barons, rebellious Welsh leaders and Scottish invaders.

Matilda invaded in 1139 with the help of her half-brother, Robert of Gloucester.

Neither side was able to achieve a decisive advantage during the first years of the war; the Empress came to control the south-west of England and much of the Thames Valley, while Stephen remained in control of the south-east. Much of the fighting was attritional in character, comprising sieges, raiding and skirmishing between armies of knights and footsoldiers, many of them mercenaries. In 1141 Stephen was captured following the battle of Lincoln, causing a collapse in his authority over most of the country. However, on the verge of being crowned queen, Empress Matilda was forced to retreat from London by hostile crowds; shortly afterwards, Robert of Gloucester was captured at the rout of Winchester and the two sides agreed to swap their respective captives.

The war dragged on for many more years. Empress Matilda's husband, Geoffrey of Anjou, successfully conquered Normandy, but in England neither side could achieve victory.By the early 1150s the barons and the Church mostly wanted a long-term peace. Stephen and Henry agreed a negotiated peace, the Treaty of Winchester, in which Stephen recognised Henry as his heir. Stephen died the next year and Henry ascended the throne as Henry II, the first Angevin king of England.

Buried:
Grave location, biography, photo of abbey ruins and memorial plaque:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=1949

Henry married Matilda of Scotland. Matilda (daughter of Malcolm III of Scotland and Saint Margaret of Wessex, Queen of Scotland) was born ca 1080, Dunfermline Fife, Scotland; died 01 May 1118, Westminister Palace, London, England; was buried , Westminster Abbey, London, England. [Group Sheet]

1. Matilda of England was born 07 Feb 1102, Sutton Courtenay, Berkshire, England; died 10 Sep 1167, Rouen, Seine-Maritime, Haute-Normandie, France; was buried , Abbey of Our Lady of Bec, Normandy, France, reinterred Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Rouen, Rouen, Haute-Normandie, France.

William married Matilda of Flanders. [Group Sheet]