Stephen maintained his precarious hold on the throne for the remainder of his lifetime. However, after a military standoff at Wallingford with Henry, and following the death of his son and heir, Eustace, in 1153, he was persuaded to reach a compromise with Empress Matilda (known as the Treaty of Wallingford or Winchester), whereby her son would succeed Stephen to the English throne as King Henry II.

Stephen died in Dover, at Dover Priory, and was buried in Faversham Abbey, which he had founded with Countess Matilda in 1147.

Besides Eustace, Stephen and Queen Matilda had two other sons, Baldwin (d. before 1135), and William of Blois (Count of Mortain and Boulogne, and Earl of Surrey or Warenne). They also had two daughters, Matilda and Marie of Boulogne. In addition to these children, Stephen fathered at least three illegitimate children, one of whom, Gervase, became Abbot of Westminster.

An unfavourable thumbnail sketch of Stephen is given by Walter Map (who wrote during the reign of Matilda's son Henry II): "A man of a certain age, remarkably hard-working but otherwise a nonentity [idiota] or perhaps rather inclined to evil."^[2]

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (the Peterborough Chronicle, second continuation) provides a more favourable picture of Stephen, but depicts a turbulent reign:-

"In the days of this King there was nothing but strife, evil, and robbery, for quickly the great men who were traitors rose against him. When the traitors saw that Stephen was a good-humoured, kindly, and easy-going man who inflicted no punishment, then they committed all manner of horrible crimes . . . And so it lasted for nineteen years while Stephen was King, till the land was all undone and darkened with such deeds, and men said openly that Christ and his angels slept".

The monastic author said, of The Anarchy, "this and more we suffered nineteen winters for our sins."

[

Ancestors

Stephen's ancestors in three generations

Stephen of England	Father: Stephen II, Count of Blois	Paternal Grandfather: Theobald III, Count of Blois	Paternal Great-grandfather: Odo II, Count of Blois
			Paternal Great-grandmother: Ermengarde of Auvergne
		Paternal Grandmother: Garsinde du Maine	Paternal Great-grandfather: Herbert, Count of Maine
			Paternal Great-grandmother:
	Mother: Adela of Normandy	Maternal Grandfather: William I of England	Maternal Great-grandfather: Robert the Magnificent
			Maternal Great-grandmother: Herleva
		Maternal Grandmother: Matilda of Flanders	Maternal Great-grandfather: Baldwin V, Count of Flanders
			Maternal Great-grandmother: Adela of France, Countess of Flanders

[

Fictional portrayals

Stephen has rarely been portrayed on screen. He was played by Frederick Treves in the BBC TV series The Devil's Crown (1978) and by Michael Grandage in One Corpse Too Many, the first episode of the television adaptation of the Cadfael novels by Ellis Peters (1994).

He was also portrayed in Ken Follett's Pillars of the Earth.

[

English Royal descendents

Through his granddaughter Maud of Boulogne, who married Henry I of Brabant, Stephen is the ancestor of some English royals. 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; Richard was also descended from Stephen through his parternal grandmother, Philippa of Hainault, the wife of Edward III. Since all later English monarchs are direct descendents of Edward III and Philippa, all kings and queens of England^[3] since 1377 could claim King Stephen as an ancestor.

This is the descent of the English royal line from Stephen:

1. Stephen
2. Marie of Boulogne
3. Maud of Boulogne
4. Matilde of Brabant
5. Adelaide of Holland
6. John II, Count of Holland
7. William I, Count of Hainault
8. Philippa of Hainault, married King Edward III of England

The monarchs of Navarre also became Kings of France when Henri III of Navarre became King Henry IV of France, so all Bourbon Kings of France and subsequent pretenders to the defunct throne from 1589 are descended from Stephen too.

[

Notes

[

Sources

• Gesta Stephani
• Walter Map, De nugis curialium
• Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
• Stephen of England at Genealogics

[

Bibliography

• Crouch, David. The Reign of King Stephen, 2000
• Davis, R H C. King Stephen, 1135-1154, 1967

Stephen of England House of Blois Born: 1096 Died: 25 October 1154
Regnal titles
Preceded by Henry I	King of England 1135–1154	Succeeded by Henry II
French nobility
Preceded by Henry I	Duke of Normandy 1135–1144	Succeeded by Geoffrey
Preceded by Robert II	Count of Mortain 1121 – 1135	Succeeded by Eustace IV
Preceded by Matilda I	Count of Boulogne 1128 – 1151 with Matilda I

Family information
Theobald III of Blois House of Blois	Stephen II Count of Blois	Stephen of England
Gersende of Maine House of Maine
William I of England House of Norman	Adela of Normandy
Matilda of Flanders House of Flanders
Notes and references
1. Tompsett, Brian, Directory of Royal Genealogical Data (Hull, UK: University of Hull, 2005). 2. Ross, Kelley L., The Proceedings of the Friesian School (Los Angeles, US: Los Angeles Valley College, 2007).

v • d • e English Monarchs Overlords (or Bretwaldas) of the English Aelle of Sussex · Ceawlin of Wessex · Æthelberht of Kent · Rædwald of East Anglia · Edwin of Deira · Oswald of Bernicia · Oswy of Northumbria · Wulfhere of Mercia · Æthelred of Mercia · Ethelbald of Mercia¶ · Offa of Mercia · Cœnwulf of Mercia · Egbert of Wessex Monarchs (pre-Conquest) of England Alfred the Great · Edward the Elder · Ælfweard · Athelstan¶ · Edmund the Magnificent¶ · Edred¶ · Edwy the Fair¶ · Edgar the Peaceable¶ · Edward the Martyr · Ethelred the Unready · Sweyn Forkbeard · Edmund Ironside · Canute¶ · Harold Harefoot · Harthacanute · Edward the Confessor · Harold Godwinson · Edgar the Atheling Monarchs (post-Conquest) of England William I the Conqueror · William II Rufus · Henry I · Stephen · Matilda · Henry II · Richard I the Lionheart · John† · Henry III† · Edward I† · Edward II† · Edward III† · Richard II† · Henry IV Bolingbroke† · Henry V† · Henry VI† · Edward IV† · Edward V† · Richard III† · Henry VII† · Henry VIII† · Edward VI† · Jane† · Mary I† · Elizabeth I† · James I‡ · Charles I‡ · Commonwealth · Charles II‡ · James II‡ · William III‡ with Mary II‡ · William III‡ · Anne‡ ¶ Also King/Overlord of Great Britain. † Also Lord/Monarch of Ireland. ‡ Also Monarch of Scotland and Ireland.

BCUZ.com FACTS Encyclopedia content is licensed under the GFDL as approved by Wikipedia.
For more information review our copyright contact and privacy policy. © 1996 - BCUZ.COM - We have all the FACTS you need about Small Business Financing, Behavior Disorder, Having Too Many Bills, Needing Cash Fast, Structured Settlements, Frequent Flier Programs, Top Steak Houses, The Mayan Indians, Norfolk and Suffolk England, Growing Longer Hair and a full reference English Encyclopedia and Spanish Encyclopedia.Privacy Policy