Talk:Stephen, King of England

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Anarchy

The section on the Anarchy states the Henry II entered the fray with few soldiers and was latter defeated, it then states that Stephen assisted him. This makes littles sense as it sounds as though Henry would be fighting against Stephen (and in turn support his mother) and yet Stephen assits him. Some clarification is needed. Sovereignlance (talk) 02:26, 17 August 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Untitled

Why is this page "Stephen I"? There was only one. -- Zoe

"The majority of the barons of England swore to support Matilda," but in the next sentence, "Stephen's claim was supported by the majority of the barons." What gives? Did people change allegiance or were the barons giving 110%? JHCC 18:43, 24 Aug 2004 (UTC)

It wasn't that the barons were giving 110%, the fact was that Henry I had forced them into swearing an oath to be faithful in seeing Matilda to the throne upon his death. However, upon Henry's death, Stephen moved for the throne with great speed, and managed to win the support of many of the barons due to the fact that he had more to offer them than Matilda. He was a strong male baron in Europe at the time, held extensive lands in England, and had the support of the Church. Matilda's husband was Geoffrey of Anjou, who was an Angevin and not liked by many of the lords who held lands in both Normandy and England, and who would be opposed to an Angevin king, so when Stephen was crowned, they instantly lent their support, hoping that they may benefit from his reign more so than Matilda's. However, the issue as a whole of the anarchy that ensued following his succession is much more complex than this, but I hope what I can give helps! a lot of this is subject to debate, and are covered in 'King Stephen' by RHC Davis and 'The Reign of Stephen' by K Stringer

image

is the statue pictured a statue of the kind in this article or is it a statue of some other king with the same of name (and if so king of where when). (when information is found the image should be placed in an approprote place on the commons and removed from commons:Commons:Really unused

That looks like a statue of King Stephen I of Hungary Missi

Claims

~~In the article it states, " Empress Maud, Henry's daughter, and her claim to the throne. However, Stephen of Blois, who was a grandson of William the Conqueror through his mother, Adela..."~~

Matilda (Maud) was also The Conqueror's grandchild through her father, so had at least an equal claim to the throne. Should her relationship to William not also be cited? One of the reasons why neither Matilda's nor Stephen's claim to the throne was ironclad was that the application of Salic Law had not been resolved in England, and wasn't until Mary. Both Matilda and Stephen were descended from William in the female line. Duckecho (Talk) 4 July 2005 16:47 (UTC)

I edited to accommodate the above concerns. Duckecho (Talk) 6 July 2005 17:53 (UTC)

Pronounciation

Is it pronouced Steven or Stefan? I always wonder when I see "King Stephen". Sotakeit 19:21, 10 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

It's pronounced Étienne since he was French, but Steven for the english pronunciation. Ciriii 00:22, 3 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

last Norman King of England?

How on earth was Stephen any more a Norman king of England than Henry II? Both of them had a mother from the House of Normandy and a father from another northern French dynasty. I'm going to change this. john k 22:42, 9 September 2006 (UTC) Actually, Stephen is considered to be the last king of the Norman dynasty. Henry is considered the first king of the House of Plantagenet. RockStarSheister (talk) 06:39, 10 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

personal heraldry

[1] ha an image that is supposedly his personal coat of arms, a liontaur passant on a red field. Does anyone have a reliable cite to conform this? Rhialto 23:00, 2 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Description by Walter Map

I gave a precise reference for this and had a go at translating it accurately. But I'm not sure what Walter meant by idiota. Perhaps someone who has a better idea will correct my version. Andrew Dalby 15:59, 18 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Recent??

Is it true that Stephen has only recently been accepted as a King in English history? I'm sure I read that somewhere... If true, should this be mentioned in the article? --El Pollo Diablo (Talk) 10:07, 7 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I've never heard of anything to suggest he wasn't always considered a King of England. A quick search on google books will find books from 200 years ago or more that mention him as king. 86.21.225.156 (talk) 17:40, 28 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Foggy history

Was King Stephen's reign 1135-54 or 1135-41, 1141-54. Was Matilda Queen regnant of England in 1141? GoodDay (talk) 20:36, 16 December 2007 (UTC)[reply]

English Royal descent

This section, included by Andrei Iosifovich, has been proven incorrect in that there is a traceable line from Stephen to Elizabeth. Still, it's some nice info, so I'll include it here. Andrei Iosifovich (talk) 14:51, 30 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

English Royal descendents

Through his granddaughter Maud of Boulogne, who married Henry I, Duke of Brabant, Stephen is the ancestor of English royals, but no line leads directly to the current monarch. Through a marriage of Louis d'Évreux, a descendent of the Brabant line, to the Queen of Navarre, Stephen is an ancestor of some monarchs of France and Navarre, including Marguerite of France, second wife of King Edward I of England; however, Edward's heir was already born to a previous wife. Edward and Marguerite's descendents include Joan of Kent, first Princess of Wales and mother of King Richard II of England; but Richard had no children and the throne passed to his cousin Henry IV. Henry married Joanna of Navarre, another descendent of King Stephen's, but they had no children together.

The Navarrese monarchs also became Kings of France when Henri III of Navarre became King Henry IV of France. His daughter Henrietta Marie married King Charles I of England and Scotland, and thus became ancestor to the rulers of England and Scotland from 1660 to 1714; but following the Act of Settlement 1701 the throne passed to descendents of Charles I's sister Elizabeth, and no further British monarchs can claim descent from Stephen. However, Stephen is an ancestor to the Jacobite pretenders and their successors to the present day.

This is the descent of the House of Stuart and subsequent Jacobite claimants from Stephen:

Stephen helping Henry????

The following confuses me:

"Desperately, and in secret, the boy then asked Stephen for help. According to the Gesta Stephani, "On receiving the message, the king...hearkened to the young man..." and bestowed upon him money and other support."

"The boy" being Maud's son Henry, the future Henry II, who was fighting AGAINST Stephen. Why on earth would Stephen help him?

Stephen did indeed assist the future Henry II. It was this sort of behaviour that drove his supporters to despair and allowed Matilda to be as strong as she was. Paul75 (talk) 05:32, 24 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

In 1147, Stephen bought the young Henry out since he couldn't pay his mercenaries. The ODNB says : 'It was Stephen, ‘always full of pity and compassion’ (Gesta Stephani, 206–7), who sent Henry the money to pay off his troops and return home. ' For Baldwin de Reviers, he didn't pardon him, but exiled him. Baldwin soon joined the angevin court. Regards, PurpleHz (talk) 18:32, 18 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

If I recall, he did the same with Baldwin de Redvers - after defeating and capturing him, Stephen promptly forgave him and released him, only for Baldwin to immediately take up arms against him once again. My understanding is that Stephen was chivalrous to a fault, and lacked the ruthlessness required of a king in that age. 86.21.225.156 (talk) 21:28, 28 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Duke of Normandy?

I have read that Matilda was able to take Normandy fairly early, and was the "Duke of Normandy". Why is she not listed as the duke?173.137.205.77 (talk) 16:38, 18 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Mathilda didn't took over the Normandy, but her husband did. So she was the duchess, but not the ruler of the duchy. Geoffrey did hommage for the duchy to the King of France in 1144, but he had his control since 1141/1142. Regards, PurpleHz (talk) 18:26, 18 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Heirs General

William I, Count of Boulogne, only son outlived Stephen as William III
Marie I, Countess of Boulogne, elder-sister of William as Mary I
Ida, Countess of Boulogne, eldest daughter of Marie
Matilda II, Countess of Boulogne, daughter of Ida
Albert, Count of Clermont, only son of Matilda
Henry III, Duke of Brabant, eldest paternal grandson of Mathilde of Flanders younger sister of Ida, Countess of Boulogne as Henry II
Henry IV, Duke of Brabant, eldest son of Henry II as Henry III
John I, Duke of Brabant, younger brother of Henry III as John I
John II, Duke of Brabant, only son of John I as John II
John III, Duke of Brabant, only son of John II as John III
Joanna, Duchess of Brabant, eldest daughter of John III
John the Fearless, eldest maternal grandson of Margaret of Brabant, Countess of Flanders younger sister of Joanna as John IV
Philip the Good, only son of John IV as Philip I
Charles the Bold, only son of Philip as Charles I
Mary of Burgundy, only daughter of Charles as Mary II
Philip I of Castile, only son of Mary II as Philip II
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, eldest son of Philip II as Charles II
Philip II of Spain, eldest son of Charles II as Philip III
Philip III of Spain, only son outlived Philip III as Philip IV
Philip IV of Spain, eldest son of Philip IV as Philip V
Charles II of Spain, only legitimate son of Philip V as Charles III
Louis, Grand Dauphin, only son of Maria Theresa of Spain eldest sister of Charles III as Louis I
Louis, Duke of Burgundy (1682–1712), eldest son of Louis I as Louis II
Louis, Duke of Brittany (1707–1712), eldest son of Louis II as Louis III
Louis XV of France, younger brother of Louis III as Louis IV
Louis XVI of France, eldest paternal grandson of Louis IV as Louis V
Louis XVII of France, only son outlived Louis V as Louis VI
Marie Thérèse of France, eldest sister of Louis VI as Mary III
Henry, Count of Chambord, grandson of Charles X of France youngest brother of Louis V as Henry IV
Robert I, Duke of Parma, eldest son of Louise Marie Thérèse d'Artois only sister of Henry IV as Robert I
Henry, Duke of Parma, eldest son of Robert I as Henry V
Joseph, Duke of Parma, younger brother of Henry V
Elias, Duke of Parma, younger brother of Joseph
Robert II, Duke of Parma, son of Elias as Robert II
Infanta Alicia, Dowager Duchess of Calabria, younger sister of Robert II as Mary IV

Heinrich ⅩⅦ von Bayern (talk) 15:42, 3 August 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Current picture same as that of Henry II

This current picture is the same as that of the page about Henry II. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Plinythemodern (talk • contribs) 21:55, 7 August 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Similar, but not the same at all. PurpleHz (talk) 13:00, 12 August 2010 (UTC)[reply]