Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Maps
- Preface
- Abbreviations
- Genealogical Table
- Introduction
- 1 Henry I and the Origins of the Civil War
- 2 Royal Income and Regional Trends
- 3 King Stephen and Northern France
- 4 A Week in Politics: Oxford, late July 1141
- 5 Allegiance and Intelligence in King Stephen's Reign
- 6 English Monasteries and the Continent in the Reign of King Stephen
- 7 Reeds Shaken by the Wind? Bishops in Local and Regional Politics in King Stephen's Reign
- 8 Violent Disorder in King Stephen's England: A Maximum Argument
- 9 The Lure of Stephen's England: Tenserie, Flemings and a Crisis of Circumstance
- 10 Legal Treatises as Perceptions of Law in Stephen's Reign
- Index
Introduction
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 September 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Maps
- Preface
- Abbreviations
- Genealogical Table
- Introduction
- 1 Henry I and the Origins of the Civil War
- 2 Royal Income and Regional Trends
- 3 King Stephen and Northern France
- 4 A Week in Politics: Oxford, late July 1141
- 5 Allegiance and Intelligence in King Stephen's Reign
- 6 English Monasteries and the Continent in the Reign of King Stephen
- 7 Reeds Shaken by the Wind? Bishops in Local and Regional Politics in King Stephen's Reign
- 8 Violent Disorder in King Stephen's England: A Maximum Argument
- 9 The Lure of Stephen's England: Tenserie, Flemings and a Crisis of Circumstance
- 10 Legal Treatises as Perceptions of Law in Stephen's Reign
- Index
Summary
THE REIGN OF Stephen invites and receives frequent attention from historians. Although it lasted a mere nineteen years it was rich in historical sources, both chronicle and charter. Moreover the charters, whether produced in monasteries or in secular writing offices, were far from stereotyped and frequently contained passages of narrative. Henry I died in December 1135 without any surviving legitimate son; the seizure of the throne by his nephew Stephen before his daughter Matilda was able to reach England occurred at a critical time for the development of the Anglo-Norman realm. Changes were taking place both in royal government and in the relations between lords and vassals, as well as in customary law, regional organisation and relations with other powers. The abundant sources focus a somewhat erratic spotlight on the events of the reign, and the effect is sometimes to illuminate short periods in unusual detail and sometimes to dazzle and invite exaggeration. The importance of the charters granted in Stephen's reign tempted J. H. Round (who might almost be said to have seen historical writing as the interpretation of charters) to produce his nearest approach to a volume of narrative history. Not surprisingly in recent years, when historiography has frequently taken the form of revising specific periods, much work on the reign has consisted of a revision of Round. Most recently, however, historians have preferred to approach the subject from new and different standpoints. In particular it has been seen from a longer perspective and considered in relation to historical changes in Europe as a whole and in the position of the papacy.
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- King Stephen's Reign (1135–1154) , pp. 1 - 10Publisher: Boydell & BrewerPrint publication year: 2008