Meanwhile, William of Normandy had obtained a position of power and influence which gave Henry much uneasiness. When Fulk of Anjou abandoned his connection with the son of Robert, the cause of the latter was still upheld by Louis, King of France. Charles the Good, Count of Flanders, the successor of Baldwin, was murdered by his own people while attending a service of the church in Bruges, and Louis gave that county to William. The Flemings, who at first received their new earl without opposition, broke out into revolt after the departure of the French king, and sent to ask the support of Henry. William, however, was not without supporters, and his personal gallantry, joined to high military talents, gave him the victory over the insurgents in various encounters. His career, however, was destined to be short; in an engagement under the walls of Alost, in which he completely defeated his opponents, the son of Robert received a wound on the head, which proved fatal within a few days afterwards. He died on the 27th of July, 1128, at the age of twenty-six.
Henry was thus relieved from any dread of the pretensions of his nephew, and he passed over into Normandy. In 1133 Matilda gave birth to a son, who was named Henry, and who afterwards reigned in England with the title of Henry II. Subsequently two other sons, named Geoffrey and William, were the fruit of this marriage. On the birth of his grandson, the king again endeavoured to secure to his race the succession to the throne by causing the barons once more to swear fealty to Matilda and to her children. During Henry's stay in Normandy, various quarrels took place between the ex-empress and her husband, and the king had great difficulty in keeping the peace between them. It would appear that Matilda seized every opportunity of prejudicing her father against her husband, who was exasperated at the king's refusal to place him in immediate possession of Normandy.
The last years of Henry's life were embittered by these dissensions in his family, and his health rapidly declined. In the year 1135 he received news of an incursion of the Welsh, and while preparations were making for his return to England he was seized with a sudden illness. Having passed a day in hunting at Lions-la-Forêt, in Normandy, he supped late in the evening upon a dish of lampreys, of which he was remarkably fond. An indigestion, which resulted in a fever, was the consequence of this indulgence, and three days afterwards he expired (December 1, 1135). His body was afterwards conveyed to Reading Abbey, which he had himself founded, and was there buried.
In spite of the misery endured by the English during this reign, their condition was better than it would have been had a weak king been at the head of affairs. As far as in him lay, Henry maintained order throughout the kingdom. He could do but little to ameliorate the evils of famine, pestilence, and floods; but he could, and did, check the exactions and cruelties of the barons, whether lay or ecclesiastical; he put a stop to the excessive contributions in kind levied by the followers of the court under the name of purveyance. Although the people suffered fearfully from taxation, they were better off than if they had been subject to the extortions of every petty landowner. The issuers of false coin were hanged without mercy, and all crimes of violence were punished with equal severity. "He made peace," says the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, "for man and beast. Whoso bare his burden of gold and silver, no man durst do him aught but good."
In order to carry out the maintenance of order, Henry strengthened the administrative machinery throughout the kingdoms. The best features in the old English system had been the local assemblies, which were remarkably representative, and did their work efficiently. These institutions, which had been allowed to lapse into decay, Henry restored in their integrity, and renewed at the same time the system of Frank-pledge, or mutual responsibility. But he was not content with mere restoration; it was necessary that the local courts should keep in touch with a powerful central authority, otherwise they would undoubtedly be too weak to withstand the courts of the land-owning nobility. He therefore organised his ordinary council into a great court, which became known as the Curia Regis, or king's court. It was composed of a selection of barons, the chief officers of the royal household, and those who were best qualified for judicial matters. Its president was the Justiciar, who was the king's representative. The business of the court was twofold—financial and judicial. When employed in financial business the court sat in the exchequer chamber—so called because its table was covered with a cloth resembling a chess-board—and was spoken of as the court of the barons of the exchequer. The organisation of this court was the great work of Roger of Salisbury. From it proceeded men who were sent to traverse the country, first in the capacity of officers of finance, afterwards as officers of justice. These judicial visitations were developed by Henry II. into a permanent part of the system of the country.
CHAPTER XVI.
REIGN OF KING STEPHEN.
Stephen of Blois—Arrival in England—His Coronation—Pope Innocent's Letter—Claims of Matilda—The Earl of Gloucester's Policy—Revolt of the Barons—The King of Scotland Invades England—The Battle of Northallerton—Outrage on the Bishops of Salisbury, Lincoln, and Ely—The Synod of Winchester—Landing of the Empress Matilda—Outbreak of Civil War—Battle at Lincoln—Defeat and Capture of Stephen—Matilda's Arrogant Behaviour—Rising of the Londoners and Flight of Matilda—London Re-occupied by the King's Adherents—Matilda Besieged in Winchester—Exchange of the Earl of Gloucester for the King—Stephen Resumes the Crown—Reign of Terror—Siege of Oxford—Flight of Matilda—Desultory Warfare—Death of the Earl of Gloucester—Stephen's Quarrel with the Church—The Interdict Removed—Further Dangers from Normandy—Divorce of Eleanor—Her Marriage with Prince Henry—Landing of Henry in England—Unpopularity of the War—Violence and Death of Eustace—Treaty Arranged between Henry and the King—Death of Stephen.
The exertions made by Henry to preserve to his daughter the succession to the throne proved altogether fruitless, and those solemn vows which he had exacted from the barons, and with which he had endeavoured to fence about the cause of Matilda, were of no avail. No sooner did the news of the king's death reach Stephen of Blois than he instantly took measures for seizing upon the English crown. Allusion has already been made to this ambitious noble, who, on taking the oaths of fealty to Matilda, had caused himself to be recognised as the first prince of the blood.