A Chronology of Medieval British History: 1066–1307 9780367333386

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A Chronology of Medieval British History 1066–1307

A Chronology of Medieval British History 1066–1307 covers events in British history, starting with the arrival of the new Norman ruling dynasty which ‘connected’ British politics, culture, religion and society more closely to mainland Europe, and ending with Edward I’s death and Robert Bruce’s revolt in 1307. The book is designed as a year-by-year guide to political, military, religious and cultural developments, centred on the states within the British Isles – England, Scotland, the Welsh states until annexation in 1282, and Ireland until conquest in the 1170s. Throughout the book, a detailed but succinct narrative of events is provided, clearly explaining what happened and when. The relevant sources and the latest academic studies for each period are listed, and any difficulties relating to the dating, accuracy and interpretation of records are identified. Comprehensive and accessible, A Chronology of Medieval British History 1066–1307 will be of great use to students of medieval British and European history. Timothy Venning is an independent scholar and researcher and formerly worked on the Oxford New Dictionary of National Biography. His previous books include A Chronology of the Crusades (2015) and A Chronology of Early Medieval Western Europe (2017).

A Chronology of Medieval British History 1066–1307

Timothy Venning

First published 2020 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2020 Timothy Venning The right of Timothy Venning to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Venning, Timothy, author. Title: A chronology of medieval British history 1066–1307 /   Timothy Venning. Description: Abingdon, Oxon ; New York : Routledge, [2020] | Includes   bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2019051471 (print) | LCCN 2019051472 (ebook) |   ISBN 9780367333386 (hardback) | ISBN 9780429317088 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Great Britain—History—Medieval period,   1066–1485—Chronology. | Great Britain—History—Norman period,   1066–1154—Chronology. | Great Britain—History—Angevin period,  1154–1216—Chronology. Classification: LCC DA175 .V46 2020 (print) | LCC DA175 (ebook) |   DDC 941.02—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019051471 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019051472 ISBN: 978-0-367-33338-6 (hbk) ISBN: 978-0-429-31708-8 (ebk) Typeset in Sabon by Swales & Willis, Exeter, Devon, UK

Contents

Introduction1 1  Chronology: 1066 to 1154

5

2  Chronology: 1155 to 1217

145

3  Chronology: 1218 to 1307

305

Index471

Introduction

The period from 1066 to 1307 has advantages for the scholar over the AngloSaxon period of British history in that sources are more common, though of course there is no complete ‘break’ in coverage between the pre-1066 and post1066 practice of historical writing in England despite the drastic political (and cultural) upheaval and the shift in the ‘second language’ of official record from Old English to French. (Latin remained the main language of record for the secular administration and monasteries/cathedrals alike, but the scope of action and survival of records increases substantially over the next half-century.) In Wales and Scotland the basic sources remain as before for the immediate post-1066 period, though events that impinged on England are now covered by the Latinate or French writers there, and as parts of Wales were militarily/politically absorbed by the Marcher Anglo-Norman elite they were integrated into English administrative and cultural practices. In Scotland Anglicisation and increasing use and survival of records commenced in Malcolm III’s reign, peaked under his youngest son David and his family, and make knowledge of basic events easier though not on an English scale. In Ireland, Anglo-Norman influence and greater (and Europeanised) use of records was not to commence until the conquest after 1169, though ‘modern’ practices and greater systematic recording had begun earlier in the C12th in the Church; pre-Anglicisation local chronicles continue for all three ‘Celtic’ (not a contemporary term) realms. We are therefore faced with much greater survival of data after 1066 than before, and both continuing (mostly monastic) chronicles on an ever larger scale along with the final period of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (ASC), the main semi-official record of high politics and war as seen by literate clerks from southern England (though now less influenced by the courtly royal elite), to 1154. This source also now narrows down from several slightly different records to one basic source, and gives a ‘worm’s eye’ view of how the literate ‘native’ English monks in major monasteries viewed the Conquest of 1066 – with harsh words about the priorities and cruelties of William I and the miseries of the civil war between his grandchildren Stephen and Matilda. The new rift in a formerly precariously united country, between an almost monolithically French (ethnically and culturally) secular and religious elite and a conquered English (or Anglo-Scandinavian) society, is reflected in the sources which survive. The picture and interpretations of events in 1066 are different between the triumphalist tone of the identifiably Norman contemporary sources, e.g. the chronicles of William

2 Introduction of Poitiers and William of Jumièges and the poem ‘Carmen de Hastingae Proelio’, and the later works of monastic writers of Anglo-Norman origin, e.g. the English Eadmer (writing in Canterbury) and the ethnically mixed Orderic Vitalis (writing in Normandy in the 1120s but brought up in the Welsh Marches in the crucial 1070s). In Orderic’s case, he both continued William of Jumièges’ 1060s ‘heroic’ Gesta Normannorum Ducum into his own era, presumably for an elite courtly audience, and created his own ‘ecclesiastical’ (but also secular) history for the more English lower ranks of the literate in the demonstrably English tradition of Bede, and fused both traditions with sympathy expressed for both conquerors and conquered. The long tradition of English monastic recording of events, both as longer story-packed histories with moralist Christian excursions to demonstrate God’s purpose and interventions and as shorter annalistic chronicles, continued after 1066 and expanded rapidly as both literacy and the notion of record-driven secular and ecclesiastical administration expanded in Anglo-Norman society. Chronicles duly appear in larger numbers in smaller as well as long-established and well-connected monasteries through the C12th and into the C13th, and increasing numbers of minor clerks (still in holy orders but not all in monasteries) writing histories appear as literacy and the concept of creating history spread in the ‘Twelfth Century Renaissance’. Richard Southern indeed argues that there was a specific concept in the embattled Anglo-Saxon monastic ‘lower ranks’ of some of the great monasteries, their elite offices and their culture now hijacked by the Normans, to write ‘objective’ history from their own point of view to challenge the dominant pro-Norman tone of the written products of the new regime and so they used as much extant evidence from their own past (e.g. charters and hagiographies) as possible to preserve it. (See his ‘Aspects of the European Tradition of Historical Writing’ in Medieval Humanism and Other Studies, Oxford UP 1970, pp. 246–56.) The concepts of using oral evidence from eyewitnesses and extant written records were already standard, though by modern reckoning there was a good deal of credulity (e.g. about miracles and portents), stories were supposed to provide edification for readers and listeners, and the reports of high-status (usually male) witnesses received far more prominence to show the author’s connections. The concept of writing to record the past – and also to draw moral lessons from it, which could distort the evidence and lead to deliberate omissions that we can only guess at – drew on a long English tradition from Bede and before him the Welsh writers ‘Nennius’ and Gildas, but was boosted in the early decades of the C12th by the major histories written by monastic authors like William of Malmesbury and Henry of Huntingdon. They covered both the pre-Norman period and more recent events and clearly drew on sources that are now lost for both as well as personal knowledge – and their scepticism (especially William’s) for unlikely stories, romances and obvious bias show their value as contemporary sources. But the same cannot be said about other ‘histories’ that by contrast drew on the equally long traditions of romance and what we would now refer to as political ‘spin’, most obviously the seminal 1130s History of the Kings of Britain by the Welsh Marches cleric Geoffrey of Monmouth that purported to be a ‘history’ of

Introduction  3 Britain from c. 1000 BC to the C7th but was really a mixture of fiction, romance and distortion with a distinct flavour of C12th culture and high politics. This created a whole fictional ‘backstory’ for the expanding Anglo-Norman state as it forced its dominance on Wales, Scotland and Ireland and distorted the extant Welsh myths of ‘King Arthur’ into a programme for English kings to follow. Arguably this version of ‘history writing’ had a major real-life impact on British politics as well as culture, as inspired kings such as Henry II and Edward I used it to justify an ‘Imperial mission’ within the British Isles and abroad in terms of returning to Arthurian precedents. The tradition of creating ‘history’ as political propaganda was one legacy of the period, but more accurate – and consciously so – chronicles by humbler clerics writing for a localised audience was another development and these recycled past written annals, abbey records and oral histories and preserve much that would otherwise have been lost. We should also remember that what we actually possess from this period is subject to the vagaries of what was printed (or otherwise duplicated by copying) before and/or survived through the Reformation when the monasteries were looted and destroyed; piles of manuscripts were burnt or dumped in a Cultural Revolution-style orgy of destruction and much of what remains was transferred to Oxford and Cambridge universities. Usefully, we can also build up ‘lineages’ of what earlier chronicles (lost or not) were used by later writers, so we have a series of chains of transmission of facts or interpretations. Thus William of Malmesbury’s 1120s Gesta Regum Anglorum used Eadmer, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (Peterborough version), William of Jumièges, and Abbot Gilbert Crispin of Westminster. John of Worcester, now considered to be the main author of the first part of the Chronicon ex Chronicis to 1118 (previously attributed to Florence of Worcester) as well as the later part to his death c. 1140, used Bede, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (several versions), King Alfred’s biographer Asser, hagiographies of the C10th, and Eadmer. Henry of Huntingdon used the Chronicon ex Chronicis/Worcester Chronicle, Eadmer, William of Malmesbury, and William of Jumièges. Symeon of Durham (or someone completing his work using his name) used the same sources. The St Albans monk Roger of Wendover (d. 1235) in the first part of the Flowers of History (previously attributed to Matthew Paris) used Bede, ‘Florence of Worcester’, Geoffrey of Monmouth, William of Malmesbury, Henry of Huntingdon, and the not always reliable Palestinian Crusader historian William of Tyre. He also used some of the more reliable and analytical regional chroniclers of the later C12th and early C13th, such as Roger of Hoveden/Howden (who had served Henry II in missions in the 1170s and was on Richard I’s Crusade in 1190–2), Ralph of Diss/‘Diceto’ (d. 1202, Dean of St Paul’s Cathedral), and Ralph of Coggeshall (Abbot of Coggeshall, d. after 1227). These latter writers and some well-connected monastic chroniclers who witnessed or had connections to major events, e.g. Benedict of Peterborough (d. 1193), are important and reliable sources, though questions have been raised over their own partiality due to their background, Benedict being a supporter of Thomas Becket in his stand against Henry II and Ralph of Coggeshall being a Church critic of King John. Other Church writers are more evidently even-handed and clearly try to avoid bias, e.g. William of Newburgh (a canon from Bridlington, writing

4 Introduction c. 1200), and the impersonal and well-informed tones of writers like Roger of Hoveden are shared by occasional secular writers such as Richard of Devizes (fl. 1192). Straightforward regional monastic chronicles at a greater distance from elite political struggles are also invaluable and show what was known or believed at that level, e.g. the chronicle of Lanercost Priory in Cumberland (for after 1272) covering Anglo-Scots affairs. The mid-C13th also has the major and well-informed Chronica Majora of Matthew Paris (d. 1259), covering from 1235 to 1259 as a continuation of the work of Paris’ fellow St Albans monk Roger of Wendover. Its gossipy and anecdotal account of the turbulent reign of Henry III is bolstered by his role as a minor participant in events from time to time and diligent use of and direct quotes from written sources. The notion of history as a literary-style collection of stories as opposed to just brief and drily chronological annals was also now developed, as stated by the well-informed monastic historian (in the new sense) Gervase of Canterbury c. 1200. Letters and charters were now incorporated verbatim. Balder annalistic coverage in the style of the English pre-1066 chronicles continues in the Welsh (from the C12th increasingly Anglicised by their Marcher patrons), Scots and Irish Church chronicles, where in some cases the extant copies are later medieval. They are short on literary flourishes but have a clear and not always approving view of the wars of the feuding elites and the atrocities of Anglo-Norman encroachment. In Wales the continuing Brut y Tywysogion, the princely chronicle, sought to record the struggles of the often fratricidal royal dynasties and the incoming Marchers and heroic ‘last stands’ of the two Llywelyns of Gwynedd. In Scotland, the later survival of the state after the failed Edwardian conquest means that we have not only more ‘nationalist’ later chronicles looking back to this period (with varying reliability) but also the heroic and ‘determinist’ C14th poetic and annalistic sagas of Robert Bruce to compare to the similar late C11th Norman heroisation of William I’s Conquest. Similarly rare poetic works mark the career of 1216–19 English regent William Marshal and Simon de Montfort’s victory at Lewes in 1264.

1

Chronology: 1066–1154

1066

4 January. King Edward dies after a short illness, aged probably 60 or 61; the ‘Vita’ written for his widow c. 1075 and later hagiographies say he raved about forthcoming destruction for his people in his final delirium, and recovered enough to bequeath the protection of his kingdom to his wife Edith’s brother Earl Harold. This is interpreted as nominating Harold as his heir, and Harold thus takes it. 5 January. Edward is buried in Westminster Abbey. REIGN OF KING HAROLD II: JANUARY–OCTOBER 1066 6 January. Harold is crowned – by Archbishop Ealdred of York as he is accepted by the Pope, not Stigand. (The Bayeux Tapestry and other ‘Norman’ sources falsely say Stigand crowned him to show his reign’s illegality.) In practical terms, Tostig, possibly Harald ‘Hardradi’ of Norway, and Duke William can all be expected to invade in 1066 and Harold’s ‘legitimate’ rival, Edgar Atheling (son of Edward the Confessor’s half-brother’s son Edward the ‘Exile’, d. 1057), is at most around 14; the kingdom needs a proven adult war leader. Edward probably (but not certainly) meant Harold as king rather than Tostig regent for Edgar. Harold hands over the earldom of Wessex to his brother Gyrth, and the latter is replaced by their next brother Leofwine in East Anglia (with Kent, Middlesex and Surrey). Harold may also now marry Eadgyth/Edith, daughter of his late hereditary rival Earl Aelfgar of Mercia, sister of current Earl Edwin, and widow of Gruffydd ap Llywelyn who Harold killed in 1063. Alternatively he may have done this in 1064/5 to secure Edwin’s agreement for his succession; he has set aside his long-term mistress or ‘common-law’ wife (not married in church?), Edith ‘Swan-Neck’, mother of his semi-adult sons Godwin and Magnus. Easter. Harold returns to London from a visit to York – possibly but not definitely for his marriage, and presumably for a ‘summit’ with the potentially hostile Earl Morcar (now his brother-in-law). This is followed by (week of 24 April) the appearance of Halley’s Comet in the skies which is seen (at least in retrospect) as a portent of doom and is put in the Bayeux Tapestry.

6  Chronology: 1066–1154 BRITAIN/FRANCE/NORWAY Both William and Harald ‘Hardradi’ threaten invasion; William is allegedly furious at the betrayal of the ‘promise’ of the throne made to him by Edward in 1064/5 (Norman sources) and holds an assembly of his nobles, possibly at Lillebonne, to win support. He succeeds; in the C12th account by Wace his most optimistic and vociferous supporter is his late steward/regent Osbern’s son, his trusted friend William FitzOsbern. He sends Archdeacon Gilbert of Lisieux to Pope Alexander for advice (according to Orderic Vitalis) and/or explicit backing against the ‘usurper’, and receives the latter. He also receives a consecrated banner with a probable promise to expel the illegal Archbishop of Canterbury Stigand. (Stigand, a client of Harold’s family, replaced the evicted Norman archbishop, Robert of Jumièges, in 1052.) William sends missions to the young Emperor Henry IV and to Harold’s cousin Swein Estrithson of Denmark (d. 1074), neither of whom help Harold so he probably achieves their goodwill. William visits Bonneville-sur-Toques on the upper Normandy coast at the end of May, then travels around Normandy to win recruits for the war and summons mercenary troops from Normandy’s current vassal Brittany; he builds a large invasion fleet at the mouth of the River Dives on the coast where the Channel is narrowest in his domains, as shown on the Bayeux Tapestry, and collects weaponry, horses and provisions. Allies who join the expedition include William’s Breton cousins Counts Brian, Alan the Black, and Alan the Red, and Count Eustace of Boulogne who is the widower of the late King Edward’s sister Goda. William gets leading Norman and foreign nobles to subscribe payment for individual ships, probably in return for promises of land and titles in England. Harold’s disgraced and exiled brother Tostig who was deposed by rebels as Earl of Northumbria in 1065 and abandoned to his fate by Harold (a rival as potential heir?), is husband to Judith of Flanders, sister to William’s wife Matilda; he turns up in Normandy (only according to Orderic) but gets no help and is either sent by William to ‘test out’ the defences of SE England, in which he is unsuccessful, or does so on his own decision. Defeated, he heads N by sea to his old ally King Malcolm III of Scots. 18 June. Duke William and his court attend the grand dedication ceremony of his wife’s foundation of the Abbey/nunnery of La Trinite at Caen; it is near where his fleet is assembling so he probably brings his assembling commanders for a display of strength and propaganda for his ‘holy’ cause. King Harald ‘Hardradi’ of Norway, one of whose kings once ruled York to which he has a remote claim, sails an expedition to the Orkneys, and

Chronology: 1066–1154  7 compels the new Jarls Paul and Erlend to submit to his overlordship and join in his huge naval expedition – not yet aimed definitely at England. Harold sets up his army and fleet on the S coast, initially basing himself on or near the Isle of Wight (his ancestral estates are nearby at Bosham in W Sussex). His fleet patrols the South coast. Tostig has no Scots aid for an invasion, and he joins Harald’s invading Norwegian armada in the Orkneys, possibly at Malcolm’s suggestion. William’s assembled army is reckoned by a Poitevin source at 14,000 men; his own encomiast William of Poitiers says 50,000 and 60,000 in separate references, and the ‘Carmen de Hastingae Proelio’ (late 1060s?, probably by Bishop Guy of Amiens) says 150,000 – logistics suggest 14,000 is the likeliest to be correct. The fleet (3000 ships according to William of Jumièges) is built/assembled around the Dives Estuary and is eventually (July) concentrated further east at St-Valery-sur-Somme – a change of plan. William is anxious to sail as soon as possible but is held up by adverse winds (William of Poitiers), so the initial intention may have been to sail from further west, N to the Solent or Portsmouth Harbour. Late August? Harald ‘Hardradi’ sails south from Scotland with 300 ships (ASC) and invades the Humber (early to mid-September). Harold keeps watch with a large fleet and the county levies on the South coast but (on 8 September) has to send his men home to take in the harvest; the Norwegians and Tostig land on the lower Ouse near York (probably at Riccall) and march on York up the Roman road. They defeat the inexperienced Earls Edwin of Mercia and (his brother) Morcar of Northumbria, son of Harold’s late rival Earl Aelfgar of Mercia (d. c. 1062), at the Battle of Gate Fulford, and take York. Harold and his ‘standing army’ of housecarls, the veterans of the Welsh campaigns, march north from London and take the invaders by surprise. Having secured the submission of Edwin and Morcar, King Harald of Norway and Tostig have moved on east to receive other submissions in eastern Yorkshire, and the later saga of King Harald has them caught unawares on the banks of the Derwent at Stamford Bridge. 25 September. Battle of Stamford Bridge. As recounted in Harald’s saga, the Norse think the arriving English are locals who have come to hand over hostages until they see the sun glinting on chainmail. They have to run across the bridge to the far, east bank and there scramble to get armed and form in line while a solitary warrior defends the bridge to hold up the attackers. He is then stabbed from under the bridge by Englishmen in a boat, and the English cross to form up. The resulting battle is a conclusive English victory, with thousands of invaders killed, among them both Harald and Tostig (the latter traditionally in combat wih his brother). Having pulled off as swift an advance as with his 1063 attack on Gruffydd ap Llywelyn of Gwynedd/Powys at Degannwy with a far larger

8  Chronology: 1066–1154 army, Harold and his men now destroy the main Scandinavian ‘fighting machine’ under the era’s premier warlord and end the Norwegian claim to rule York permanently. The survivors under Harald’s sons Magnus (nicknamed ‘Barefoot’; for fleeing without his shoes) and Olaf, fleeing to their ships at Riccall, are allowed to leave for home but only fill about 24 (ASC, ‘D’ version) out of Harald’s 300 ships. 27 or 28 September. The north winds that aid the Norwegian flight bring Duke William’s fleet across the Channel in a risky overnight crossing. They arrive in broad Pevensey Bay (then a large inlet), William’s flagship (the Mora) outstripping the rest and waiting for them to catch up. The Roman fortress there is occupied followed by nearby Hastings where William builds a castle to defend his men. He sets about ravaging his rival’s home county, Sussex, to lure him back for battle. Given the contemporary geography of eastern Sussex, it would seem that he chose to occupy the Hastings peninsula (protected by Pevensey Bay to the west and river valleys to the north and east) as it was easy to seal off, with only one road into it from London along a narrow ridge between two valleys; the resulting battle duly takes place on this ridge. Harold hastens south, gathers as many men as possible in London in a brief halt (early October), and presses on to Sussex to halt more ravaging; critics have argued that he should have rested his exhausted men longer but in that case William might have broken out into Kent. (John of Worcester and William of Malmesbury say he fought before all his troops had arrived.) According to the latter and Orderic Vitalis, Harold rejects his brother Earl Gyrth of Wessex’s offer to lead the army to battle (which is in his earldom) and so produce less disaster in case of defeat, letting Harold bring later arrivals to Sussex or if needed hold out in London. The recent English losses in battle and exhaustion from the march give William an advantage, and when (13 October) the main English army and their local reinforcements reach the rendezvous at the ‘Hoar Apple Tree’ (probably on Caldbec Hill, north of Battle) he launches a quick attack and forces battle. Both sides send monk envoys to the other on the 13th to exchange demands or ritual defiance, and possibly King Edward’s French courtier Robert FitzWimarc (an Essex landowner) also represents Harold and boasts that he will inevitably win (William of Poitiers). 14 October. Battle of ‘Hastings’ (actually 7 miles from that town; known to some writers a generation later as ‘Senlac’, i.e. ‘Sand Lake’, but the use of that name then is unclear.) Harold has a defensive position on a narrow ridge above/north of a marshy valley – traditionally the hill on which Battle Abbey was built in the 1070s, though the top of that was levelled and the site is not as steep as the Tapestry implies. A few writers claim the battle was fought to the NNE, on steeper Caldbec Hill itself (the next ridge behind the abbey hill, backing onto the forest – and site of the ‘Malfosse’ ditch into which Normans fell in the pursuit after the

Chronology: 1066–1154  9 battle). The armies seem to have been well-matched in numbers, around 6–7000 each – the English on foot, defending a ‘shield wall’ on the hilltop, and the Norman cavalry attacking uphill aided by their archers. William of P and the ‘Carmen’ say the Normans have the archers in the front line, the heavy infantry behind, and the cavalry to the rear; William is in the centre and the Bretons on the left. The battle begins in the morning and lasts for around 6–8 hours or so, and it is a tribute to the English defence line and their general that they nearly win despite having fought a major battle a fortnight earlier and having their ranks showered with arrows for hours. One English wing charges downhill after ‘retreating’ Normans and is trapped on a hillock in the valley by a Norman cavalry counter-charge and wiped out – either a Norman ‘trap’ or a lucky chance. William is rumoured dead as a charge falters and the Normans panic, as stated by all the major sources (W of Poitiers, the ‘Carmen’, and the Tapestry), and the Tapestry shows him raising his visor to show his men he is alive. Harold’s infantry ‘shield wall’ holds out on a steep ridge against repeated cavalry charges and showers of arrows, and the sun is waning when the Normans finally break through. Harold is killed in the final attack late in the day, aged around 44, probably following the deaths of his younger brothers Gyrth of Wessex and Leofwine of East Anglia, and this either accompanies or leads to the flight of his remaining men. There is a dispute over whether the famous picture in the Tapestry showing a warrior with an arrow in his eye under the statement of his death refers to him or if the king is the man next to him being cut down by a cavalryman. Amatus of Montecassino Abbey (1080s in the Norman lands in S Italy) first states the ‘arrow in the eye’ story; William of Malmesbury and Henry of Huntingdon (early C12th) repeat it. Four leading Norman knights, led by King Edward’s brother-in-law Count Eustace of Boulogne and Hugh the heir of Ponthieu, have sworn to kill Harold and do so (according to the ‘Carmen’), possibly including William himself (though W of Poitiers does not mention him and says he wanted to spare his foe chivalrously). Harold is almost hacked to pieces by them as he lies injured, whether already fatally shot in the eye or not. His body has to be identified by his ex-mistress/wife Edith ‘Swan-Neck’ after the battle when she and his mother Gytha request his body, as his face is unrecognisable; he is buried quietly at his foundation, Waltham Abbey, Essex (or on the cliffs at Dover according to the ‘Carmen’ and W of Poitiers). A Chester Abbey story c. 1120 alleges that he survived and lived as a holy hermit into Henry I’s reign; as the last Saxon king of England, he becomes a figure of heroic myth. His son or twin sons Edith of Mercia are born posthumously at Chester; his illegitimate sons later to invade Devon from Dublin in 1068. One daughter, Gunnhilde, ends up in Wilton nunnery; the other, Gytha, joins her grandmother Gytha in exile in Denmark with the latter’s nephew King Sweyn Estrithson (acceded 1042/7, d. 1074)

10  Chronology: 1066–1154 and ends up marrying the Russian ruler Vladimir ‘Monomakh’ of Kiev (d. 1125). Through her the later English sovereigns are descended from Harold as well as William. REIGN OF KING WILLIAM I: 1066–87 The Normans have suffered losses in charging recklessly downhill into woodland after the fleeing English following the battle and stumbling into the ‘Malfosse’ ditch; this is on the north side of Caldbec Hill. William waits at the battlefield for a day or so but no senior figures arrive to surrender as he hopes; he then marches on east to sack New Romney (where some Normans had been killed after landing nearby before the battle) and proceeds to Dover where during an eight-day halt he repairs the castle and his men suffer a dysentery epidemic. Canterbury sends to surrender and he enters it. According to the ASC he continues to burn and loot the countryside until the formal English surrender, though it is now argued that the lower post-1066 values of areas of land S and E of London do not show his route of march after all; William of Malmesbury presents it as a peaceful ‘progress’. He advances on London, where Edwin and Morcar have arrived with reinforcements and a council meeting recognises Edgar ‘Atheling’ as king. William probably bases his army on the North Downs ridgeway in Kent and heads W towards Winchester; his troops reach Southwark, and win a clash with English who sally over London Bridge and sack the local suburb. Unable to cross the Thames, William heads west (via Guildford and Farnham?) to secure Winchester which King Edward’s widow Edith, Harold’s sister, surrenders; she continues to hold her estates there. (More Normans land in Hampshire to reinforce him?) William crosses the Thames at Wallingford, where Archbishop Stigand surrenders (first of the English elite to do so) according to W of Poitiers, and advances on London via ravaging in Hertfordshire; the nobles, Archbishop Ealdred of York, and Edgar, Edwin and Morcar come out to surrender at Berkhamsted and recognise William as king. He enters London; possibly there is a clash between Normans and locals inside the city (William of Jumièges). He consults his nobles, and according to W of Poitiers even his soldiers, over whether he should be crowned immediately or wait for his wife Matilda to arrive and for the fall of the rest of the country; immediate coronation is agreed. (Orderic says that the English also gave this advice.) 25 December. Coronation of William by Archbishop Ealdred at Westminster Abbey (W of Poitiers and the ‘D’ version of the ASC), barring the ‘illegal’ Stigand from officiating; the latter and John of Worceser say that Ealdred demanded or William offered to swear to rule as justly as his predecessors. Bishop Geoffrey of Coutances then addresses the congregation in French. The shouts of the crowd outside (in English)

Chronology: 1066–1154  11 acclaiming William alarm the Normans, who think it is a riot and attack them and set nearby houses afire. Orderic has most of the congregation rushing outside and leaving the clergy to conduct the service, disrupting the orderly ceremony; eventually order is restored. 1067

William imposes extensive and no doubt resented new taxes, as well as confiscating the land of those who fell at Hastings to reward his followers and meet his promises given to those who came on the expedition. William of Poitiers downplays the extent and harshness of the taxes, probably to fit his propaganda picture of a just and not predatory ruler, but the ASC (‘D’ version) says the taxes were harsh and unexpected and implies that William broke his promises to Ealdred at the coronation. The action of a new (and foreign invader) king raising a large ‘geld’ to pay his large army with rebellion and an invasion threatening in fact parallels Cnut’s situation in 1016–17. There is no immediate English revolt, which William of Poitiers uses to scorn native timidity; W says that the king made a progress around his kingdom before he left in March but this can only have been in the SE. He meets Edwin and Morcar again at Barking (Orderic and W of Poitiers) and according to the former offers Edwin one of his daughters in marriage; presumably the earls’ position and duties under the new regime are arranged. Other nobles who surrender there include the later Shropshire rebel leader Eadric ‘the Wild’, nephew(?) of the treacherous 1000s Earl Eadric ‘Streona’ of Mercia (ex. 1016 by Cnut). This is probably when East Anglia is granted as an earldom to the Breton Ralph ‘the Staller’ (i.e. royal constable), a noble long resident in England under King Edward and probably elderly as he dies within two years or so. Distant and troublesome Northumbria is given to the local noble Copsi, a follower of Tostig. Morcar (a poor general in 1066) is probably sacked, but his deputy in Bernicia (N of the Tees), local Oswulf from the prestigious Anglian kindred ruling Bamburgh since c. 880, is retained. Lands in the SE Midlands (and possibly an earldom there) go to Waltheof, the young adult surviving son of Cnut’s and Edward’s Danish/ Anglo-Danish loyalist Earl Siward of Northumbria (d. 1055). William FitzOsbern gains western Wessex, based at Winchester, and the king’s half-brother Bishop Odo of Bayeux (born c. 1032), a fighting cleric who reputedly wielded a mace at the Battle of Hastings so as not to breach the ban on clerics using swords, is made Earl of Kent and so holds Dover and Canterbury. FitzOsbern may also have a role in preparing to deal with trouble from the local Anglo-Danes in the NE or a Danish invasion; Eustace of Boulogne gains lands in Gloucs and Surrey, and Edgar Atheling gains unspecified large estates. Possibly William is already giving his trusted senior elite lands scattered across the country so that they can act for him in several regions and/or they do not in most cases have domination of one compact ‘bloc’ where

12  Chronology: 1066–1154 they could later stage defiance of him or his heirs. The ‘divide and rule’ principle may already be William’s main political/geographical weapon, and giving his Norman elite lands in several different areas at once certainly becomes his policy by c. 1070 as more English lords have their lands seized. It appears that he commences the policy of building defensive ‘motte and bailey’ castles (originally of wood as quicker to put up, later permanent buildings of stone) as early as 1067–8, but historians are still in disagreement on whether he always intended to gradually remove the English local elite in favour of a French-speaking elite of ‘Frenchmen’ (not only Normans), based on mobile cavalry forces, or if this only followed the forthcoming revolts. In London, William founds the ‘White Tower’ and its surrounding stockade/walls (nucleus of the Tower of London) in the SE corner of the old Roman walls and a, probably smaller, fortification that becomes ‘Baynard’s Castle’ in the SW corner – both adjacent to the Thames for easy access in case of attack by the citizens. Colchester Castle, based on a Roman site, is also probably founded this early. March. William sails back to Normandy, taking along Edwin and Morcar, Edgar Atheling, Waltheof, the archbishops and others of the elite to make sure they do not revolt in his absence; W of Poitiers implies that they were virtual hostages. He holds a celebratory court at Fécamp for Easter (8 April), and then goes on to Rouen and on a tour of inland southern Normandy. Possibly his daughter Adela, later Countess of Blois, is born during these celebrations as implied by a later poem by Geoffrey of Rheims on her betrothal. He goes to St Vaudreuil S of Rouen (April) with his wife and eldest two sons, Robert (c. aged 15) and Richard (c. aged 11), named after his father and grandfather; then to St-Pierre-surDives, near where his fleet first assembled, for the dedication of its new church (1 May) and then the abbey at Jumièges for the dedication of the new abbey church (1 July). The religious benefactions are a presumed mixture of thanks for his success and a propaganda offensive, aimed at sidelining criticism of his recent blood-shedding and reminding all of God’s approval of it via his victory. St Stephens Abbey at Caen receives looted tapestries from England. July. Death of Archbishop Maurilius of Rouen; the see’s clergy elect William’s favourite clerical adviser, the learned and reformist Abbot Lanfranc of Bec (originally from N Italy and a supporter of papal-led reforms of the Church), but he is unwilling and possibly William wants him for Canterbury. He excuses his refusal in person to the Pope and is replaced by Bishop John of Avranches. 1 September. Death of William’s father-in-law, neighbour and ally Count Baldwin V of Flanders; he is succeeded by his elder son Baldwin VI, Queen Matilda’s brother.

Chronology: 1066–1154  13 England is apparently quiet at first in William’s absence, with ­castle-building underway and according to the ASC harsh repression by leading royal deputies FitzOsbern and Bishop Odo. But later a force of Normans sailing to England and landing off course at Exeter are attacked, possibly leading to the town rebelling against the king, and the mass castle-building by intruded Norman landowners in Edwin’s earldom in the Midlands (most notably Warwick?) leads to outbreaks there; in Herefordshire Eadric ‘the Wild’ ravages part of the county in alliance with neighbouring ruler Bleddyn ap Cynfyn of Gwynedd/Powys (k. 1075), one of the half-brothers of the late ruler Gruffydd installed by his destroyer Earl Harold in summer 1063. Hereford Castle, probably built in King Edward’s reign by his local Norman vassals as part of an importation of North French knightly cavalry using ‘Norman’ military tactics against the Welsh post-1049, is attacked but holds out under the new sheriff, Richard FitzScrob (one of King Edward’s 1050s imports). Other revolts occur in SE England; in N Northumbria (ancient Bernicia N of the Tees) local magnate Oswulf murders his loyalist superior, Earl Copsi, and assumes his title in March and due to inability to send troops the killer is allowed to stay as earl. He is murdered in turn around six months later. A mysterious attack is carried out on Dover across the Channel from Boulogne by the latter’s Count, William’s close ally Eustace, who has knowledge of the town dating back to his visit in 1051; he has local help but is driven off by Bishop/Earl Odo’s men (evidence in W of Poitiers and Orderic). Possibly he is after the Crown – one theory suggests for his (suppositious) son by King Edward’s late sister Goda? He is either captured or induced to surrender and appear before the king. 6–7 December. William crosses the Channel back to Winchelsea in E Sussex (next port to Hastings), leaving Matilda and their son Robert ruling Normandy; he holds his Christmas court at Westminster and according to Orderic shows and urges his men to show justice and generosity to the English. Eustace is banished from England and his lands there are seized on the advice of William’s Norman and English advisers, but he is restored to them c. 1070. Oswulf is replaced by his cousin Cospatrick, also related to the Anglian Bamburgh dynasty (son of daughter of Earl Uhtred, d. 1016) and son of the Scots Prince Maldred, uncle of Malcolm III so with two local power blocs to back him. Supposedly he pays the king well for the role. Remigius, Abbey Almoner of Fécamp in Normandy, is appointed at this court to succeed the late Bishop Wulfwig at Dorchester-upon-Thames, a see that includes much of the E Midlands so it is open to Danish invasion and a ‘security’ appointment too. Remigius had apparently been offered the first English bishopric to become vacant in 1066 in return for funding ships for William, so his enemies later accuse him of simony to the papal court; he is summoned to Rome for this in 1071 but clears

14  Chronology: 1066–1154 himself despite the evidence, due to help from the papal ally and new archbishop, Lanfranc. 1068 The ASC claims that William now gives away ‘every man’s land’ in England, implying a large-scale transfer of estates to loyal Normans starting this winter. The most favoured recipients include in W Sussex (Arundel) and the turbulent middle Welsh border (Shrewsbury) Roger of Montgomery, seigneur of St-Germain-de-Montgommery and St-Foy-de-­ Montgommery in Normandy and husband of the diminutive and ferocious heiress Mabel of Bellême (a restless semi-autonomous lordship on the extreme S border of Normandy). Roger was probably one of the main lords left to govern Normandy with Matilda in 1066, though one source says he was at Hastings, and is with FitzOsbern one of the king’s closest comrades; he now or soon receives seven-eighths of Shropshire as his new lordship there as he reasserts authority; Eadric flees to Wales. His neighbours to his east in Sussex, where he receives the ‘rape’ (district) centred on Arundel (named by him, possibly after the local swallow, ‘hirondelle’ in French) and builds its castle on the same two-courtyarded model as William’s new Berkshire HQ at Windsor Castle, along with the ‘rape’ of Chichester to the west, are the de Braoses (or Briouzes) at Bramber, William of Warenne (son of a relative of William I’s great-grandmother Duchess Gunnora and himself brother-in-law of the new Earl Gerbod of Chester) at Lewes, and William’s other half-brother Count Robert of Mortain at Pevensey; all these towns have new castles. Robert is also granted the earldom of Cornwall and control of most of SW England. March? William marches west on rebel-held Exeter, where Harold’s mother Gytha (probably well over 60) has taken refuge and is expected to be joined by a fleet of mercenaries hired from the Scandinavian kingdom of Dublin in Ireland, ruled by King Diarmait of Leinster, by Harold’s sons by Edith ‘Swan-Neck’, Godwin, Edmund and Magnus. The latter are expected soon and Cornwall is in rebellion, but William reaches Exeter first, calling up English troops for the first time (Orderic). He burns the lands and levies heavy taxes en route, and Gytha escapes down the River Exe by ship before or after the siege starts. The citizens send out peace emissaries as he approaches and offer to pay the tax, but refuse an order to do homage; he besieges the (Roman-walled) city and after 18 days the citizens surrender. The ASC (‘D’ version) emphasises that he suffers substantial losses and has to promise to keep taxes at pre-1066 levels, which he violates later, and he bans his men from looting the fallen city; the eventual commander of the new garrison, builder of the castle there, and Devon strongman/sheriff is Baldwin of Meules, son of Count Gilbert of Brionne. William invades and subdues Cornwall, then returns to Winchester for Easter (23 March) to hold one of his regular ‘crown-wearing’ assemblies on the great Church feasts, in the manner of King Edward.

Chronology: 1066–1154  15 Later in the year Harold’s illegitimate sons and their Dublin fleet attack the Bristol Channel area of Somerset, as their father did while in exile in 1052, but are driven off by the locals; they land at the mouth of the Avon and attack Bristol but are driven off as the city gates remain shut; King Edward’s ‘staller’ Eadnoth leads the royal army to defeat the invaders nearby at Bleadon but is killed in the battle. 11 May. Queen Matilda, having arrived in England, is crowned at Westminster.Soon after the coronation, Edgar Atheling and his mother (Agatha) and sisters (Margaret and Christina) flee to Malcolm III of Scots to gain help (ASC); Earl Edwin also deserts William, apparently (Orderic) annoyed at the promised marriage to the king’s daughter not taking place and with his own lords in Mercia in revolt as many of their lands are confiscated and castles built. Edwin and his brother Morcar may flee to Bleddyn ap Cynfyn in Wales, and from the results co-ordinate plans in Powys or ‘outlaw’ rebel camps in Shropshire with the local resistance leader Eadric ‘the Wild’. A separate revolt breaks out in the E Midlands and the North, apparently with expected support from a Danish fleet, but William marches quickly into W Mercia to cut the rebels there off from their eastern allies. His approach in force causes Edwin and Morcar to surrender, and they are pardoned. (At around this time William gives his main new central Midlands stronghold, Warwick Castle, to Henry de Beaumont.) He then marches through the NE Midlands to Nottingham and York, where he founds new castles; William Peverel holds the former and Robert FitzRichard the latter. The local rebels surrender and give hostages. The rebel English Bishop Aethelwine of Durham in the far North also surrenders, and mediates with King Malcolm who agrees to peace and (?) swears fealty to William via his emissaries. Returning south, William founds castles at Cambridge and Huntingdon. (or 1069?) Roger de Montgomery receives the earldom of Shrewsbury and the lordship of the central ‘Marches’ on the Welsh frontier, and subsequently builds the ‘old’ castle of ‘Montgomery’ (called after his Norman lordship) in invaded Radnorshire W of Shrewsbury up the River Severn; Gerbod initially receives the earldom of Chester with the Northern Marches. (or 1069?) William gives William FitzOsbern the command of the Southern Marches, moving W from Gloucester to the River Usk. He duly founds his main new fortress of Chepstow Castle, by the mouth of the River Wye, becomes Earl of Hereford, and builds assorted new castles in the region. August or September? Probable date of the birth of William and Matilda’s youngest son, the future Henry I: traditionally at Selby during

16  Chronology: 1066–1154 William’s Yorkshire campaign, but this is not clear as is the date (but probably the 1068 not 1069 campaign). Autumn? Flight of the rebel Earl Cospatric of Northumbria to Scotland to join his cousin King Malcolm who he induces to invade again; he is replaced by a Fleming, Robert de Commines, probably after William leaves for Normandy. William and his entourage return to Normandy for the Christmas festivities. 1069

31 January. Robert de Commines is assassinated and his large entourage are killed in an ambush in Co. Durham, possibly after mistreating and killing the local peasantry (account of historian Simeon of Durham); the rebels co-ordinate a series of planned uprisings across parts of England and send to King Swein Estrithson of Denmark, Harold’s cousin, for help (William of Jumièges). The garrison commander at York, Robert FitzRichard, and many of his men are killed in a revolt there and leading new local landowner William Malet and the other survivors shut themselves in the castle ‘motte’ and send to William for help. The rebels send to Edgar Atheling in Scotland and may accept him as king. Merleswein, pre-1066 sheriff of Lincolnshire, leads the local revolt; also involved are the sons of the 1030s Anglo-Danish Lord Karli. February. William returns to England and marches north swiftly to recapture York, storming the city and violating the cathedral (probably by killing rebel refugees there); he appoints William FitzOsbern to command and leaves for the South eight days later. FitzOsbern fights off a subsequent rebel attack and Edgar Atheling returns to Scotland, but a Norman force marching into Durham is routed in thick fog near Northallerton. William returns to Winchester for the crown-wearing ceremony at Easter (13 April), as does FitzOsbern; in his absence from Normandy a revolt breaks out in its adjacent and restive dependency, Maine, in the name of one of its deposed comital family. The capital, Le Mans, falls and its Norman garrison flees; Bishop Arnold joins William for Easter to seek help. Spring. William’s envoy to Swein, Abbot Aethelsige of St Augustine’s Abbey, Canterbury, fails to dissuade him from invading; Matilda returns to Normandy to take command but William stays in England. June. Harold’s illegitimate sons return from Dublin to the Bristol Channel with their fleet and land in N Devon but are routed at the mouth of the River Taw by the Breton Count Brian, now in control of Cornwall, and William de Vauville. A revolt in Dorset is put down by Bishop Geoffrey of Coutances, leading an army from London; the citizens of Exeter stay loyal and fight off a rebel attack. On the central Welsh border, Eadric ‘the Wild’ and his local rebels plus help from Powys/Gwynedd and Cheshire combine to sack Shrewsbury, but the castle holds out;

Chronology: 1066–1154  17 as a relief force approaches Eadric retreats back into the countryside (Orderic). Swein Estrithson’s brother Osbern (a former regional governor in England for King Edward in the 1040s) and some of his many sons lead a large Danish fleet to Dover and then Sandwich but are driven off; they move up the East coast to try Ipswich, and they or local rebels fail to capture Norwich where the new (Breton) Earl Ralph ‘le Guader’, who has recently succeeded his eponymous father, holds out in his ‘motte’ castle. They move up to the Humber where there are enough local rebels to enable them to land safely, and are joined by Edgar Atheling, Edwin and Morcar, Merleswein and Cospatrick; Siward’s son Waltheof, as leading landowner in his family’s Northants region, joins them too. The Norman commanders in York decide to venture out and fight. On 11 September Archbishop Ealdred dies, allegedly broken by the news of the impending invasion. There is then a disastrous fire in York on 19 September when the cathedral is burnt down, which is blamed on the Normans and probably due to them clearing houses that attackers could use as cover near the castle. The rebels and the Danes defeat the Normans and take York (Monday 21 September), killing the garrison and taking its commander hostage. The rising touches off revolts in Devon and Somerset (siege of Montacute Castle); Montacute is relieved by Bishop Geoffrey of Coutances, marching from Winchester. William hears of the Danish landing while hunting in the Forest of Dean W of Gloucester (Orderic), possibly on a local tour of inspection which involves his plans for William FitzOsbern to build and set up his HQ at nearby Chepstow Castle. He marches swiftly to Yorkshire, and the rebels and Danes abandon the city and retreat to the fleet at the Humber mouth and to marshy Lindsey in Lincs. Probably they believe the ­autumnal-rain-swollen rivers will hold the Normans back. Robert of Mortain and Robert of Eu retake Lincs and drive the rebels there back to the Humber. William defeats rebels around Stafford and reaches Nottingham safely, but is held up by the flooded River Aire at Pontefract for three weeks. He eventually crosses upstream with an advance force and when the rest of the army joins them they ravage the countryside as far as York which falls. December. William spends Christmas in York and holds a crown-­wearing ceremony in the burnt cathedral. 1070

Late January? William marches as far north as the Tees, where Cospatrick and Waltheof surrender; Edgar Atheling flees to Monkwearmouth with his mother and sisters and around Easter heads for Scotland, probably

18  Chronology: 1066–1154 by sea; the hagiography of his sister (St) Margaret claims that the family were intending to sail to the Continent and return to Hungary, whence they came with Edgar’s father in 1056, but a storm blows them to a Scottish port. They are welcomed by King Malcolm, and subsequently the latter divorces his first wife Ingebiorg of Orkney (mother or sister of Jarls Erlend and Paul), by whom he has a surviving son Duncan, and marries Margaret. Orderic claims William reaches Hexham, others that he stays at the Tees for 15 days; in either case, as he marches south he destroys all the food supplies and kills livestock as well as massacring the populace and burning their villages. The sources agree on a deliberate policy of destruction and creating a famine to punish current and undermine future resistance, and that the land was left waste from Durham to York – though Orderic’s figures of 100,000 deaths may well be exaggerated, Orderic was a boy in Shropshire at the time. This is subsequently regarded as the worst of William’s atrocities by the English sources, and Continental ones also refer to mass deaths, famine and cannibalism. He then goes on (February?) over the Pennines to N Mercia to relieve Chester. During Lent (after 17 February). William has the monasteries across England ‘plundered’ (ASC), i.e. of goods deposited there for safekeeping by the English which are taken for the government’s use (John of Worcester). This is carried out by his officials centred in London, led by William FitzOsbern, while he is still returning south during Lent. Early spring? William pays the Danish fleet off and lets them take local supplies as their food runs short; Osbern agrees to leave England and abandons his local allies. King Swein arrives belatedly to join the part of his fleet which has not left England with the bribed Osbern, i.e. mainly the force in Lincolnshire; he concentrates his efforts on the marsh-surrounded Isle of Ely in the Fens, where the abbey is sympathetic to the local rebels. These are led by the famous guerrilla leader Hereward, later a figure of myth and apparently the dispossessed son of the late lord (Leofric?) of Bourne, Lincs. Hereward’s most prominent early exploit in this campaign is his sack of nearby Peterborough Abbey, where the death of Abbot Brand (27 or 29 November 1069), possibly Hereward’s relative, has led to the appointment of a resented Norman abbot, Turold the harsh ex-Abbot of Malmesbury, Wilts. The Danes assist the sack, and allegedly lose their looted treasure when their ships are later hit by a North Sea storm. A group of papal legates (Bishop Ermenfrid of Sion, Cardinal-priest John Minutus, and Peter) arrive in England for an Easter religious council at Winchester, probably beginning on 11 April; this is designed to reform the English Church on ‘modern’ Continental lines and in the process remove many of the senior incumbent clergy. Orderic, William of Malmesbury, and Lanfranc’s biographer say the initiative was William’s. Stigand (who

Chronology: 1066–1154  19 has sent his treasure to safety at Ely before arriving), his brother Bishop Aethelmaer of East Anglia, and three abbots are deposed, Stigand for occupying the illegally evicted (1052) Robert of Jumièges’ see in his lifetime and obtaining his ‘pallium’ of office from the illegal Pope Benedict X. Stigand, who William of Malmesbury says protests his loyalty and has already been kept on for over three years despite his past, is placed in custody at Winchester (and d. early 1072). The illegally married Bishop Leofwine fails to turn up to explain his behaviour and is excommunicated and later deposed. Bishop Aethelric of Selsey is deposed now or soon afterwards, the legality of which the Pope queries; probably Bishop Remigius of Dorchester-on-Thames gets his see moved to Lincoln as this is more central for his huge see in the E Midlands than the Thames valley. Walcher the Lotharingian, a ‘fighting bishop’ used to command like Odo of Bayeux, is appointed to the militarily vital Durham; Bishops Siward of Rochester and the holy Wulfstan of Worcester (who also commands troops in a crisis, e.g. 1075) are retained. The two religious councils, at Easter and Whitsun, reform the English Church on Continental disciplinary lines by introducing the latter’s rules and procedures in their new ‘canons’; pre-1066 pluralism is banned along with simony and married priests. The archbishopric of Canterbury soon goes to William’s trusted adviser Lanfranc of Bec (appointed 15 August); Thomas acquires the vacant archbishopric of York, and Stigand’s other see of Winchester goes to royal chaplain Walkelin/Walchelin, canon of Rouen, who soon begins the complete rebuilding of the cathedral there and moves its site off its pre-1066 axis. Ex-chancellor Herfast secures East Anglia (moved from the minor Norfolk village of North Elmham to larger Thetford in 1072 then Norwich in 1094/5), and Stigand, a royal chaplain, secures Selsey, Sussex (appointed 23 May 1070 after Bishop Aethelric is deposed, and d. 1087) and subsequently moves his see to the nearby city of Chichester. The Lotharingian Giso (King Edward’s 1060 appointment) keeps Wells, the Lotharingian Walter (appointed 1061) keeps Hereford and d. 1079, Siward (d. 1075) keeps Rochester, and the elderly Leofric keeps Exeter. Other Frenchmen secure the vacated or seized abbacies. July or August? Having reached an agreement with King Swein to end a stalemate in Lincs/Ely and paid him to return home with his fleet, William returns to Normandy for a visit of some months but fails to try to retake Maine. 17 July. Death of Queen Matilda’s brother Count Baldwin VI of Flanders, leaving his dominions to his two, under-age sons by Countess Richildis of Hainault – Flanders to the elder, Arnulf and Hainault (which Richildis had probably inherited from her father) to the younger, Baldwin. But this is challenged by Baldwin VI’s ambitious younger brother Robert, who seeks to depose his nephews despite his initial oath to recognise their rule and who is backed by the overlord of Flanders (and Normandy), King

20  Chronology: 1066–1154 Philip I (ruled 1060–1108). Philip distrusts the Norman ruler’s potential as a threat to the French monarchy, and William’s acquisition of the resources of England in 1066 has multiplied that threat. Now the French monarchy is out to weaken William and securing an ally in the ducal seat in Flanders in place of a Norman ally is vital. King Philip backs Robert’s plans for rebellion, and the Countess-regent Richildis offers her hand to the widowed William FitzOsbern, King William’s lieutenant, if he would come and help defend her sons’ rights from the rebels. FitzOsbern agrees, presumably with the king’s approval. He marries her later in 1070, and brings in an expeditionary force of Anglo-Normans to assist her. Hereward and the Fenland rebels hold out at Ely. WALES Battle of Mechain in Gwynedd. King Bleddyn ap Cynfyn defeats the invasion of his excluded nephews, the sons of Gruffydd ap Llywelyn (k. 1063), who fall in battle; his brother and co-ruler Rhiwallon is also killed. 1071 ENGLAND 22 February. Robert the claimant to Flanders defeats the loyalists there at the Battle of Cassel, and FitzOsbern is killed, along with his new stepson Duke Arnulf; Robert seizes control of Flanders and retains it for his lifetime (until 1093), but is forced to release the captured Duchess Richildis and allow her and her younger son Baldwin to retain Hainault. FitzOsbern is succeeded in his English lands, most crucially the earldom of Hereford/Gloucester and the Isle of Wight, by his second son by his first marriage, Roger of Breteuil. As is the usual practice by French legal custom, the eldest son – William – inherits his father’s ancestral lands, i.e. the family’s Norman estates headed by Breteuil, and the younger son inherits lands gained by conquest. Earl Gerbod of Chester, also at the Battle of Cassel, is accused of the blunders that led to the defeat and resigns his lands and titles to become a monk; William imposes a new ‘strongman’ as Earl of Chester, his countryman Hugh d’Avranches (c. 1047–1101). The latter is nicknamed ‘Lupus’, ‘the Wolf’ and less flatteringly ‘le Gros’, ‘the Fat’ – though the latter nickname had also been borne by his father, Richard ‘Le Gros’, viscount of Avranches in the Cotentin in Normandy, and may have been inherited. Hugh’s mother is Emma, according to some accounts from the family of de Conteville who are related to the knight Herluin de Conteville, stepfather of King William. Hugh takes control of the Northern marches, as Lord of Cheshire with the potential to expand westwards across Flintshire, and builds a major new castle at Chester as the centre of his dominions.

Chronology: 1066–1154  21 Spring. At a Church council presided over by William, the excommunicated Leofwine of Lichfield resigns his bishopric. The Frenchman Peter becomes Bishop of Lichfield, and later combines this with the new see of Chester in 1072. On the king’s subsequent tour of SW England, Bishop Wulfstan of Worcester arrives and successfully reclaims some former estates of his bishopric held by his predecessor Ealdred, also Archbishop of York, from Ealdred’s successor Archbishop Thomas. Edwin and Morcar desert William again after being suspected of treason, according to Orderic after unjust targeting by the king’s councillors and according to John of Worcester to avoid arrest. They flee into the countryside and allegedly wander ‘aimlessly’ (ASC); one of them is subsequently killed (Edwin according to the ‘D’ version of ASC and Morcar according to the ‘E’ version) and the other joins Hereward at Ely as do assorted refugee Saxon landowners. William blockades the island with ships, and the Gesta Herwardi and Liber Eliensis describe a series of strategies by the king to surround, cut off and construct causeways to Ely which are foiled by the ingenuity and heroism of Hereward. Two causeways to Ely from Aldreth are destroyed and the Normans suffer heavy casualties, though much of the details of the story may be myth. But eventually William secures a safer route to the island, possibly by blackmailing the abbey’s monks by threats of confiscation of their lands in other regions. He takes the island, and is recorded as visiting the abbey church on 27 October; a garrison and castle are installed at Ely. Hereward is driven out and flees into Northants; he later surrenders and is pardoned and according to the Gesta becomes William’s loyal vassal, though some stories say he is later killed in a revenge attack on his home by Normans. Either Edwin or Morcar is intercepted heading for Scotland after the fall of Ely; Edwin is killed in flight (by his own men?) and his head is delivered to an allegedly shocked William. Morcar is captured too and imprisoned in reasonable conditions in Normandy for the rest of William’s life; possibly the lower social ranks of rebels are killed or mutilated and the abbey is heavily fined. Some time in 1070 or 1071 Waltheof returns to William’s allegiance and is pardoned and married off to his niece Judith, daughter of his sister Adelaide by Lambert of Lens. Approximate date of the foundation of the ‘New Forest’ hunting preserve in SW Hampshire by William, who is excoriated in some sources (e.g. his obituary in the ASC) for preferring deer to people and evicting large numbers of villagers to make way for his deer. Certainly the harsh ‘Forest law’, banning locals and their dogs from interfering with or killing the king’s deer and imposing policing by special royal officials, is introduced over a wide area there – and there are many other hunting forests under similar laws across England. Farms would have been ruined as the deer had immunity for eating their corn and other livestock would have been in difficulty. But the assumption that the ‘waste’ state of

22  Chronology: 1066–1154 many New Forest parishes in the Domesday Book in 1086 is a testimony to those destroyed in William’s supposed mass destruction of villages is now thought unlikely, the number of proven villages which disappeared suddenly pre-Domesday in the region is minimal, and the poor soil there makes it unlikely that a large population was removed. What was new was the systematic creation of special and huge preserves run by royal officials with drastic legal powers. Autumn. Visit to Rome by Archbishops Lanfranc and Thomas to obtain their ‘pallia’ of office, accompanied by Bishop Remigius of Dorchester-­ upon-Thames and Lincoln and Baldwin, the Abbot of Bury St Edmunds – who are possibly intended to reassure/make excuses to the papacy over the amount of bloodshed committed by the regime in their areas recently. Remigius secures his exoneration from a threat of deposition for simony, and Baldwin obtains his abbey’s independence from the legal authority of the local bishopric (Thetford). The dispute between the two archbishops over whether York is subordinate to Canterbury or not is referred back to a Church council in England. 1072 IRELAND 7 February. ‘High King’ and King of Leinster Diarmait mac Mael Morda (accession 1042) is killed at the Battle of Odba by Conchobar ua Mael Sechlainn of Midhe (Annals of Tigernach); he is succeeded in Leinster by his nephew, Donnchad mac Domnhal (d. 1089) and as ‘High King’ by Leinster’s traditional rival Munster’s king, Toirrdelbach Ua Briain (grandson of ‘High King’ Brian Borumha). ENGLAND/NORMANDY/SCOTLAND February. Death of Bishop Leofric of Exeter; he is succeeded (consecrated 27 May) by Osbern FitzOsbern, brother of William FitzOsbern and formerly priest at the Godwin family residence of Bosham, W Sussex. Easter (8 April). Probable date of a Church council for Normandy at Rouen, presided over by Archbishop John with Odo of Bayeux and Geoffrey of Coutances present; canons are issued reforming the Church on papally approved lines. William is by then back in England, where his Easter Church council at Winchester agrees that York is to owe obedience to Canterbury and to have control over only the Bishop of Durham in England and the bishops of Scotland. William excuses Archbishop Thomas from doing homage to Lanfranc – but not definitively by right of office rather than a personal favour, which causes later disputes. (After 15 August, according to John of Worcester) William invades Scotland by land and sea, to punish King Malcolm for his attacks in recent years, his support for the rebels and his still harbouring Edgar Atheling whose sister Margaret he has married. Implicitly Malcolm could claim the English throne or back Edgar again. William marches across Lothian, probably

Chronology: 1066–1154  23 unchallenged due to his larger army, and Malcolm probably carries out ‘scorched earth’ tactics. Eventually when William reaches the River Tay they enter talks, and the kings meet at Abenethy Abbey on the lower Tay where Malcolm agrees peace and does homage. He hands over his eldest son (by Ingebiorg of Orkney), Duncan, as a hostage and agrees to exile Edgar Atheling, who leaves for Flanders. Duncan is placed in the entourage of Count Robert of Mortain and enters the Norman landed elite, and William may be intending to use him later as a controllable ally king if needed. On his way home(?) (c. 1 November) William allegedly visits St Cuthbert’s shrine at Durham and grants gifts to it and Bishop Walcher, as claimed by the local clerical historian Simeon. Waltheof is appointed as Earl of Northumbria to replace King Malcolm’s cousin Cospatrick as supposedly more reliable, and is assisted by the new post-1070 stratum of trusted Norman lords, including the Breton Count Alan at Richmond in N Yorks, Robert of Mortain at York, the latter’s Sussex neighbour William of Warenne (of Lewes and Reigate) at Conisborough Castle, and Ilbert de Lacey at Pontefract. Cospatrick returns to Scotland and becomes Lord of Dunbar for Malcolm, a possible Borders threat. 1073 WALES Maredudd ap Owain of Deheubarth (SW), co-ruler with his brother Rhys, is killed fighting raiding Normans on the River Rhymney; Rhys rules alone but is challenged by their hereditary foe, Caradog ap Gruffydd of Gwent, and neither of these warlords seems aware of the existential Norman threat. ENGLAND 30 March. William is recorded at Bonneville-sur-Touques in coastal Normandy, so back there – presumably preparing for his reconquest of rebel Maine, though some historians have claimed this had already been accomplished. It more likely accompanies his recorded (in the acta of the archbishopric of Rouen) presence in Maine on 24 August. William invades via Fresnay-sur-Sarthe, where he knights his senior commander Roger of Montgomery’s eldest son and main heir Robert of Bellême – a capable but thuggish and scheming captain and castle-builder, who is heir to his mother Mabel’s lands of Bellême close to Maine to the east so he will be a future lynchpin of the region’s loyalty (or revolts). Hubert the viscount of Le Mans, leader of anti-William rebels in 1062–3, surrunders Fresnay and returns to loyalty; Sille surrenders too. William surrounds Le Mans, and it surrenders next day in return for an amnesty; the English participate in William’s army in the war for the first time. 1073/4 and next decade. The middle Marches opposite Powys, commanded by Roger of Montgomery as lord of 7/8ths of and Earl/sheriff

24  Chronology: 1066–1154 of Shrewsbury and Shropshire, become the base for adventurous lords moving west into Radnor and up the Severn valley, building new ‘motteand-bailey’ castles as they go. Earl Roger establishes his W base at a site on the upper Severn in Radnor called Montgomery after his home in Normandy, the ‘old castle’ of the town, with a chain of eight nearby castles including the formidable ‘Moat Lane’ site near Llandinam which has a ‘motte’ 40 feet high and two ‘baileys’. These sites are now used to raid and later subdue the small adjoining Welsh ‘commotes’ of Ceri and Cedewain to the N/NW and Arwystli to the W. As early as 1073–4 exploratory raids are crossing the mountains into eastern Deheubarth/Dyfed, whose divided state and constant drain of ‘hit and run’ raids on the coast by the Dublin and Waterford Scandinavians keep the feuding indigenous princes weak. (Main feud: the sons of Maredudd vs their cousin Rhys ap Tewdr and the family’s rival Caradog ap Gruffydd.) Other new lords on the central frontier include Roger’s niece’s husband Warin of Hesdin, ‘the Bald’, the new Flemish sheriff of Shropshire and Reginald de Bailleul (from the eponymous town in Normandy, and related to the new North Country barons de Balliol/Bailleul of County Durham) who builds the new N Shropshire castle of ‘L’Ouevre’ (‘The Work’). Reginald later succeeds Warin to both his sheriffdom and his wife; Warin’s daughter marries another incoming ‘man on the make’, the Breton Alan FitzFlaald (c. 1070–1114), who later succeeds to the sheriffdom in turn as a trusted supporter of the new King Henry I. ISLE OF MAN A ‘Godred mac Amlaith’ is ruling Dublin as viceroy for the Irish ‘High King’, Toirrdelbach Ua Briain (grandson of Brian ‘Borumha’), also king of Munster, in the early 1070s, and it may have been his brother Sihtric who was killed with two of the Ua Briain dynasty in 1073 while raiding the Isle of Man. If the Ua Briains of Munster were hostile to the current government of the Isle of Man in 1073, this would link in with the island’s continuing alliance with the Munster rulers’ rivals in Leinster, late King Diarmait (d. 1072)’s family. IRELAND King Conchobar mac Domnhall, king of W Midhe (Ui Niall dynasty of Clan Colman) since 1030, is assassinated by his nephew Murchad mac Flann, who seizes the throne. 1074 ENGLAND Death of King Edward’s Norman Bishop of London, William (in office since 1051); replaced by Hugh d’Orival.

Chronology: 1066–1154  25 (or 1070/1?) Approximate date of the accidental death of William’s second son Richard in a riding accident in the New Forest, probably in his mid–late teens; Richard is said to have been abler, better liked and less capricious than his next brother William ‘Rufus’ (born 1056/60), who replaces him as reserve heir and who may be originally considered for the Church or at least given an unusually erudite Church education, probably by Archbishop Lanfranc (this may be myth reflecting his later anti-clerical behaviour). 8 July (ASC: ‘D’ version). Edgar Atheling returns to King Malcolm’s court from Flanders, probably after a failed attempt to attract Continental allies to attack England – e.g. William’s foe Count Robert of Flanders, who may give him a castle. Exact events are confused as to whether Malcolm pays him off with treasure and sends him away, to avoid annoying William, and he then is shipwrecked and has to return to Scotland; in any event he is eventually sent by Malcolm to William to submit, and travels to Normandy where he is welcomed at court. His alleged rewards for submission do not seem to be that great – two estates in Hertfordshire are in his hands in 1086. 1075 The reckless Earl Roger of Hereford (Lord of the S end of the Welsh Marches), usually called ‘de Breteuil’, plans to turn on the king in alliance with another major royal ‘tenant-in-chief’ holding a compact regional bloc of land, the Breton Earl of East Anglia – Ralf ‘le Guader’ or ‘De Gael’, lord of Gael in Brittany, the son and successor of Ralph ‘the Staller’. Either may have built the original Norwich Castle. Roger and Ralph now organise a plot to depose the king, apparently arranged at Ralph’s wedding to Roger’s sister Emma – a match which King William (possibly already suspicious of the two men) has banned but which goes ahead anyway in defiance. The wedding, at Exning in Cambridgeshire, and its accompanying feast are notorious in historical memory for the treason to the king plotted there, with presumed promises that they were too scared to back out of in case they were reported and ruined anyway. As Swein of Denmark has recently died (28 April 1074) they cannot command Danish aid from his son Harald III. One of the guests at the wedding-banquet, Earl Waltheof of Northumbria, backs out of his initial support for the rebels, and may have warned the king but is arrested anyway. As Roger raises his tenants and marched from Herefordshire Eastwards to assist the rebel Ralph he is blocked at the Severn by a force of loyalists headed by one of his subordinate landowners, Walter de Lacy – the new lord of Weobley in Herefordshire and probably also by now Ludlow in southern Shropshire – aided by Bishop Wulfstan of Worcester, now the one English bishop in office. The rebellion fizzles out, and both Roger and Ralph are forced to surrender, arrested, and tried for treason; Roger

26  Chronology: 1066–1154 is imprisoned for the rest of William’s reign and Ralph is banished to Brittany. Wigmore Castle on the northern borders of Herefordshire, built by FitzOsbern, passes from the Earls of Hereford to the loyalist Ranulf or Ralph de Mortimer, son of the lord of Mortemer in Normandy. Lord of St. Victor-en-Caux in Normandy, Ranulf (d. 1137) is the son of an obscure junior Norman baron called Roger, lord of Mortemer, ‘son of the bishop’ – apparently Hugh, Bishop of Coutances, d. c. 1020. Roger’s younger brother was related to (father of?) Duke/King William’s senior lieutenant William de Warenne (c. 1025–88), first Earl of Surrey and lord of Reigate Castle. The other main ‘second-ranking’ baron to benefit from Earl Roger’s fall and now to assume military and socio-economic leadership in Herefordshire is Walter de Lacey, who commanded the force that kept Roger back on the West side of the Severn in 1075 and so enabled King William to deal with Ralf le Guader. De Lacey now holds not only Weobley Castle in N Herefordshire and Ludlow Castle in S Shropshire but Holme Lacey, East of Hereford, and his brother Ilbert de Lacey is a major lord in Yorkshire, as founder and first lord of Pontefract Castle. WALES William organises a punitive raid on and looting of Gwent and Deheubarth to punish King Caradog for assisting Roger de Breteuil; this is led by his third but second surviving son William ‘Rufus’, probably aged 15 to 19, and is the latter’s first campaign. Bleddyn ap Cynfyn, senior of the two half-brothers of the late King Gruffydd ap Llywelyn of Gwynedd/Powys appointed by Earl Harold to replace him in 1063, is betrayed and defeated in battle (and either killed then or murdered later) by Rhys ap Owain, a claimant to Deheubarth and rival to Caradog ap Gruffydd. The two clash over their frontier as Bleddyn is seeking to expand his control SW, and Rhys takes Bleddyn by surprise in an attack. Bleddyn’s eulogy remembers him as generous, just and not self-seeking unlike most of the other current princes. The vacant throne of Gwynedd/Powys is seized by an ‘outsider’ of dubious lineage and no known close connections to the main line of Gwynedd, the Princeling Trahaern of Arwystli. Now or in 1076 Trahaern faces a rival for Gwynedd – Gruffydd ap Cynan (born c. 1055), a descendant of King Anarawd (d. 914/16) and son of Cynan ap Iago by an Irish Norse princess, Ragnhild of Dublin. He invades from Dublin with Scandinavian help and briefly rules the peninsula of Lleyn in the NW, allying with the intruding Norman baron Robert of Rhuddlan in the NE. But he soon quarrels with Robert and attacks Rhuddlan, unsuccessfully. Gruffydd is later driven out due to local anger at his plundering Scandinavian mercenaries and flees to Ireland. Trahaern then takes over Lleyn to add to the rest of Gwynedd.

Chronology: 1066–1154  27 1076 Powys soon regains independence, probably in a reaction against Trahaern who has no dynastic claim on it unlike his predecessors; it is seized by Madoc and Rhiryd, the eldest two of the many sons of Bleddyn ap Cynfyn. ENGLAND Waltheof is condemned to death for treason, but the English sources are dubious about his guilt and John of Worcester claims even Lanfranc believes him innocent. Easter. William presides at a Church council in Winchester, which adds to the list of updated Continental-style canons. 31 May. Waltheof is executed on St Giles’ Hill outside Winchester and buried at Crowland Abbey near his ancestral E Midlands estates; his execution is controversial as a cult grows viewing him as a martyr with claims of miracles, e.g. that his head recited prayers after he was beheaded. Orderic claims his enemies incite William to kill him out of greed for his lands. His small daughter Matilda, the king’s great-niece, is heiress to his Huntingdonshire and Northants estates and is later married off to Henry I’s loyalist Simon de St Liz/Senlis (earl of these two counties). The earldom of East Anglia is abolished; as with Hereford, William now relies on a lower tier of loyal vassals in the region – Richard FitzGilbert (founder of the de Clare dynasty), Lord of Tonbridge in Kent, gains the ‘honour’ of Clare in Suffolk and local predominance. Summer. William returns to Normandy, where his eldest son Robert has been residing recently and may be training as the next duke – he is also sometimes referred to in documents as Count of Maine. William invades Brittany, which may be connected with Ralph ‘le Guader’s presence there as well as a current struggle between Count Hoel and his predecessor Alan III’s illegitimate son Geoffrey Grennonat, his choice as but now rebel Lord of Rennes. September. William besieges the fortress of Dol, whose bishop, Juhel, his ally, has been evicted by a rival faction (backed by Geoffrey and also by Normany’s hostile neighbour Anjou?) and has fled to Mont-St-Michel. The Angevins under Count Fulk ‘Rechin’ have supplied Dol, and William is aided by Count Hoel (who holds S and W Brittany) and ravages the neighbourhood but (in November) is taken by surprise as King Philip of France, currently visiting his local ally Poitou, advances N to attack him. His army is routed and he flees, losing his baggage and mobile treasury; this emboldens his other enemies.

28  Chronology: 1066–1154 IRELAND Overthrow of usurper King Murchad mac Flann of W Midhe (Ui Niall line of Clan Colman), acc. 1073; he is succeeded by his predecessor and victim, uncle Conchobar’s son Mael Sechnaill ‘Ban’, who has been defying his regime since his 1073 coup (Annals of Tigernach). 1077 ENGLAND/NORMANDY Soon after March/May. William’s neighbour and ally, and his wife Matilda’s cousin, the devout Count Simon of the Vexin (lands between SE Normandy and the King of France’s Isle de France), decides to abdicate and become a monk after a visit to Rome to consult the Pope. This follows a visit to him and unsuccessful attempt to dissuade him by William and Matilda, who offered him their daughter (Adeliza?) as a wife instead. His lands go to his overlord the King of France who thus adds to his potential threat to meddle in Normandy, but William and Philip come to a temporary agreement with a treaty. 14 July. William is at the consecration of the cathedral of Bayeux, in Odo’s diocese. 13 September. William attends the consecration of the cathedral of St Stephen at Caen. SCOTLAND There is war between Malcolm III and his cousin Maelsnechtai, ‘mormaer’ of the N province of Moray and son of the king’s predecessor and victim Lulach (k. 1058, stepson of Macbeth). This is presumably a struggle for the Scots throne as Lulach’s line is descended from former King Kenneth III (k. 1005), predecessor of Malcolm’s grandfather Malcolm II, and/or an ‘autonomist’ stand by the men of Moray who used to have a separate (sub?-)kingdom of the Picts there. Maelsnechtai has his flocks taken or killed and his crops burnt, weakening the province’s ability to resist central royal power, and flees into exile; he dies the following year but his line survives to challenge the ruling dynasty into the C12th via the ‘MacHeth’ (sons of Aodh/Hugh) family. 1078

25 February. Death of the Fleming Hermann, Bishop of Sherborne (Dorset) and Ramsbury (Wilts); his successor is the Norman Osmund of Séez, the royal chancellor from c. 1070, whose see is now moved to the newly planned and fortified town of ‘Old Sarum’ close to the future site of Salisbury. (or late 1077?) An incident involving William’s sons while they are staying at L’Aigle near the S Norman frontier leads to Robert rebelling against his father and brings to a head Robert’s apparent impatience to be given lands and power and allowed an independent command.

Chronology: 1066–1154  29 According to Orderic, Robert, ridiculed by his father for his short stature and other shortcomings and teased by his brothers, is violently angry after the latter tip water (or urinate?) on him from an upper balcony, and rides off with his personal entourage in a blundering attempt to show his mettle by seizing the castle at Rouen. He is driven off easily by the commander Roger of Ivry, and crosses the border from Normandy into the French king’s lands to seek his help for a rebellion. It is possible that there is already tension over what exactly Robert is intended to inherit from William and the latter being unwilling to confirm he will get England as well as Normandy, with his brother William ‘Rufus’ hoping for rule of the former and stoking Robert’s fears. Local Lord Hugh of Châteauneuf-en-Thimerias gives Robert the castle of Rémalard, c. 20 miles from L’Aigle, to raid William’s lands, and William buys off the local warlord Count Rotrou of Perche to stop him joining in. William then sets up local fortresses to blockade Rémalard, and Robert flees – apparently to seek help from his father’s foe Count Robert of Flanders. WALES King Rhys ap Owain of Deheubarth (SW) is attacked and killed in battle by his regional rival Trahaern of Arwystli, usurping king of Gwynedd/ Powys, in declared revenge for Rhys’ unpopular killing of Trahaern’s respected predecessor Bleddyn ap Cynfyn. Deheubarth passes to the full control of Rhys’ enemy Caradog ap Gruffydd of Gwent, who is in turn challenged by Rhys’ cousin, the adventurer Rhys ap Tewdr. ENGLAND/NORMANDY Probable date of visit to England by Abbot Hugh of the leading central/ southern French reformist Abbey of Cluny. This is probably connected to the foundation of the first Cluniac priory in England, that of Lewes, by the religious patrons Earl William of Warenne (Lord of Lewes) and his wife Gundreda, as in the priory’s later foundation stories. 26 August. Death of Abbot Herluin of Bec, leading Norman cleric and ex-superior and patron of Lanfranc; he is succeeded by the abbey’s prior, the learned and holy future Archbishop Anselm. Late autumn. Robert ‘Curthose’ sets himself up at the castle of Gerberoi, in the Vexin (i.e. King Philip’s lands) close to the SE Norman frontier, and raids the border; William attacks and is apparently joined by King Philip according to charter evidence, implying that the latter has second thoughts about destabilising the frontier. There are also negotiations with Robert, probably involving Abbot (St) Anselm of Bec the future Archbishop of Canterbury, but it ends in an armed clash where Robert surprises his attackers with his military ability. William is unhorsed by

30  Chronology: 1066–1154 his son in a clash, unrecognised under his helmet, and is nearly killed (ASC versions, William of Malmesbury and John of Worcester); J of W has Robert recognise his father by his voice and help him to remount and escape the melee, i.e. downplaying his unfilial actions. After this William abandons the three-week siege and retreats, and Robert leaves for Flanders. William probably stays in Normandy to deal with the threat posed by Robert for the 12–18 months; the ‘regency’ in England is dominated by Bishop Odo who aggressively pursues his legal rights against other ­tenants-in-chief and bishops. 1079 Successful but prolonged negotiations for Robert Curthose’s pardon, while William complains to Matilda about her sending Robert money; eventually Robert returns to Normandy pardoned but this may not be until early 1080. (or 1078?) A ‘summit’ is held between William and his neighbour Count Fulk IV ‘Rechin’ of Anjou (ruled 1068–1109), at an unidentified site; probably in Maine and connected to Fulk’s 1078(?) attack on Maine and William and Matilda’s visit to Le Mans this year. At around this time William also arranges the future marriage of his daughter Adela to his other neighbour SE of Maine, Count Theobald of Blois’ (d. 1089/90) son and heir Stephen. Theobald’s cousin, ex-Count Odo of Troyes, is currently a lord in England (Aumale, Yorks?). August. Serious ravaging of Durham by Malcolm of Scotland, implying a breakdown of the 1072 treaty and the Scots ‘testing’ how much William has weakened; there is no effective response from the local governor, Bishop Walcher of Durham, which may undermine his hold on his tenants. Bishop Walkelin commences the rebuilding of Winchester Cathedral. ISLE OF MAN Fingal, son of Godred, is ruling in the Isle of Man by 1079; if his father was Godred MacAmlaith, son of the 1070s ruler of Dublin, then his father’s expulsion from Dublin by the ‘High King’ in 1075 would have weakened him. The first fully recorded dynasty of Manx kings is founded by Godred ‘Crovan’ in 1079. Godred, a Viking of Manx origin and a veteran of the Norse army of Harald ‘Hardradi’ at the battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066, is nicknamed ‘Crobh Bann’, ‘White Hands’, from the gauntlets that he wears in battle. He is referred to in the Irish Annals of Tigernach as ‘Mac mic Arailt’, i.e. a grandson of Arailt or Harald; either his father or uncle was presumably Imar MacArailt (son of Harald), ruler of Dublin from 1038–46. An alternative genealogy for King Ragnald/

Chronology: 1066–1154  31 Reginald of the Isle of Man (d. 1227), preserved in a Welsh source and in a collection published by PC Bartrum in 1966, gives Arailt/Harald as son of ‘Ivar son of Olaf Sihtricsson’, as does a family genealogy of Christina MacLeod, great-granddaughter of the elusive ‘Leod’ (founder of the MacLeod clan and supposed son of King Olaf ‘the Black’ of the Isle of Man). This makes Harald’s grandfather King Olaf ‘Cuaran’ of Dublin (abd. 980). An alternative Manx chronicle reference gives his father or grandfather as Harald, a ruler of Iceland – which did not actually have any kings. (The mid-C11th material in the Manx chronicle is somewhat inaccurate in its dating anyway.) Godred evicts the current Manx ruler, ‘Fingal the son of the King of Dublin’, in a struggle that ended in 1079. Irish sources claim that he had previously lived on the Isle of Man as a refugee after the Battle of Stamford Bridge, taking service there with its then ruler Godred Sihtricson. The Manx chronicle recounts that Godred Crovan’s success was after three invasions, the first two unsuccessful, and involves laying an ambush for the local army in a wood on the ridge of Snaefell near his landing place of Ramsey. He puts 300 men ready in ambush in the wood so that they can emerge and attack the enemy in the rear as the two armies confront each other, and the Manxmen flee to be trapped by a flooding river. Many of Godred’s mercenary army prefer to take their loot and go home, so he gives the Manx survivors the northern half of the island as his tenants and takes the southern half for his own men. He then goes on to overrun parts of the Hebrides to form a seaborne ‘empire’ on the lines of its Orkney rival. Godred establishes both a dynasty and the Manx legislative assembly or ‘Tynwald’. ENGLAND/NORMANDY (or 1077?) 2 December. Mabel of Bellême, wife of Earl Roger of Shrewsbury (Lord of Arundel) but spending much of her time on her own SE Norman lands, is hacked to death in her bath at the castle of Bures by a local landowning rival with a grudge, Hugh Bunel; he escapes the pursuit of her son, Robert of Bellême, by cutting down the castle bridge as he flees. Robert succeeds to Mabel’s lands, Bellême and other local lordships, with his brother Hugh as their father’s heir to Shrewsbury/ Arundel. 29 December. Consecration of new Bishop Robert Losinga of Hereford (d. 26 June 1095), who has recently succeeded Bishop Walter. 1080

7 January. William is at Caen, possibly the site of the 1079 Christmas court; then in upper Normandy. April. Robert appears back at court for the first time, with his parents and brothers at the island of Oyssel on the Seine near Rouen. The presence of the Archbishops of Bourges and Vienne there may suggest a

32  Chronology: 1066–1154 papal-backed family mediation mission – and given the subsequent leading role for Robert in the Scottish campaign it is probable that Robert has secured a promise of having more of a part in governing England (implicitly as heir?). 14 May. Assassination of Bishop Walcher of Durham, ‘strongman’ of the Northern borders, at Gateshead by part of his entourage. This seems to be connected to rivalries among the Normans and local English in his elite, and leads to another local power vacuum at a time of heightened Scots threat. The decline of kingly control over the region in the late 1070s may be linked to the seizure of rule in Cumbria (W of Durham and part of the old kingdom of Strathclyde now merged with Scotland) by ex-Earl of Northumbria Cospatrick’s brother Earl Dolfin, as a Scots nominee – but the date of this is unclear. 31 May. William holds a Church council at Lillebonne, Normandy. 14 July. William, Matilda and Robert are at Bonneville-sur-Touques on the Norman coast. ENGLAND/SCOTLAND July–August? Bishop Odo leads an army north to ravage county Durham between Tees and Tyne, probably as punishment for the killing of Walcher and local disorders; he reputedly loots the shrine of St Cuthbert at Durham. This is followed by the despatch of Robert ‘Curthose’ to northern England with a second army, to invade Scotland and punish Malcolm III. The outnumbered Scots retreat and Lothian is ravaged; Malcolm comes to meet Robert at Falkirk and does homage to restore peace, probably confirming the 1072 treaty. On Robert’s southwards march he founds the new castle at Newcastle as the major local Norman HQ, shoring up the regime’s position as far as the Tyne, and his role leading the expedition probably gives him implicit hope of the English crown. The lead in defending the region now passes from the bishopric of Durham to the secular lords, led by Aubrey of Coucy-le-Château-­Auffrique as Earl of Northumberland and Robert de Mowbray (probably a relative of the later major dynasty of Mowbray). William of St Calais, Abbot of St Vincent in Normandy and future Archbishop of Canterbury, becomes Bishop of Durham – as an administrator not a warlord. Bishop William is consecrated during the king’s Christmas–New Year court at Gloucester. ENGLAND Foundation of a Benedictine monastery (or refoundation of a former Anglo-Saxon monastery) as the cathedral priory of St Andrew, Rochester.

Chronology: 1066–1154  33 Approximate date of foundation of Much Wenlock Priory, Shropshire (Cluniac obedience, formerly a defunct C7th Anglo-Saxon house), by La Charité-sur-Loire, France. 1081

2 February. William holds his Candlemas court at the 1070s ‘new town’ and bishopric of Old Sarum/Salisbury; Robert ‘Curthose’ joins him there. He goes on to London, then to Winchester for the Whitsun court – presumably to plan and collect troops for his forthcoming South Welsh campaign, with him then proceeding to Gloucester. At the Whitsun court, Abbot Baldwin of Bury St Edmunds turns up to appeal successfully against Bishop Herfast of Thetford’s plan to transfer his bishopric to and thus usurp his own legal authority at Bury. WALES Trahaern of Gwynedd is killed at the Battle of Mynydd Carn in Pembrokeshire, when his evicted rival Gruffydd ap Cynan returns from Ireland for a second time and lands in Pembrokeshire. Gruffydd joins forces with a claimant to Deheubarth, Rhys ap Tewdr, at St David’s under the auspices of the local bishopric. They challenge Trahaern’s ally Caradog, son of Gruffydd ap Rhydderch (killed by Gruffydd ap Llywelyn in 1055), who is a hereditary foe of Rhys’ family and may be from the long-standing dynasty of Gwent not of Deheubarth; Trahaern comes to help Caradog but both are killed at Mynydd Carn. Gruffydd ap Cynan takes Gwynedd, but ends up fighting local Norman warlord Robert of Rhuddlan who rules the N coast; Rhys takes Deheubarth but faces rebellious cousins (of the family of 1070s ruler Rhys ap Owain) and the Normans of E Gwent. The change in regional power may tip the balance to William intervening quickly. Summer. William marches into SE Wales with a large army, proceeding via FitzOsbern’s great stronghold at Chepstow across Gwent to the old Roman fortress of Cardiff; presumably he annexes whatever part of Gwent has not already been conquered by the local incoming 1070s Norman lords, Hamelin of Ballen (Abergavenny and the upper Usk valley) and his brother Winnebald (Caerleon and the lower Usk valley). He then marches along the coast across Deheubarth to the regional episcopal seat at St Davids, shrine of the eponymous ‘Dewi Sant’. The Brut y Tywysogion calls this a pilgrimage, but the aim is principally political to overawe the local rulers by force and secure submission as with Scotland in 1080. William uses the expedition for religious propaganda by giving gifts at the shrine, and secures the vassalage of Rhys ap Tewdr (£40 tribute per annum). The ASC ‘E’ version also claims that William subsequently had his eyes on an expedition to Ireland too. The Normans on the northern Welsh frontier, led by Earl Hugh of Chester and Robert of Rhuddlan, invade the main part of Gwynedd in force from

34  Chronology: 1066–1154 the SE – probably co-ordinated with King William’s Southern expedition to St David’s. King Gruffydd ap Cynan is defeated and captured at Corwen, and is deported and imprisoned by Hugh at Chester Castle for up to a decade; the Normans conquer most of the coastal territories as far west as Caernarfon. In the early 1080s, coastal castles are erected on a strip of territory as far west as opposite Mon/Anglesey and much of later Flintshire is incorporated in the earldom as two new English ‘hundreds’. An English ‘borough’ is founded at Rhuddlan and a first castle at Caernarfon. The vacant kingdom of Glamorgan, the E part of Deheubarth, is seized some time after the Battle of Mynydd Carn by the adventurer Iestyn (Justin) ap Gwrgan, of uncertain lineage and only distantly connected to the ruling dynasty there of the C10th and C11th; his insecurity and probable fear of revolt later lead him to import Norman knights as his allies. ENGLAND/NORMANDY Presumed date of a successful attack on Le Flèche on the Maine frontier by Fulk ‘Rechin’ of Anjou, breaking the earlier treaty with William; this brings William back to Normandy with a large Anglo-Norman army (60,000 according to Orderic), probably in autumn 1081, and he marches south. Fulk is backed by Count Hoel of Brittany; the two sides confront each other on the River Loir and there may be a battle. Eventually a cardinal-priest mediates a treaty, aided by Roger of Montgomery. This is signed at Blanchlande on the River Sarthe, and Robert ‘Curthose’ does homage as heir to Maine to Count Fulk as its traditional overlord. 1082 William is in Normandy (spring–summer). Bishop Odo is arrested for alleged plotting and imprisoned. He is accused (Orderic and William of Malmesbury) of seeking the papacy as successor to current Gregory VII, amassing money to bribe cardinals aided by Earl Hugh of Chester, and buying a palace in Rome; (C12th) Guibert of Nogent records that Odo allegedly wanted the English throne instead. Odo is absent from the royal court at Oyssel near Rouen in June, probably indicating his absence in England and activities there of which his foes (exaggeratedly?) informed William. Odo is arrested on the Isle of Wight as he prepares to leave England secretly (Orderic) and is accused, as an earl not a bishop so under full royal jurisdiction, of illegally deserting his post without permission. He is tried at a royal court (Christmas 1082?) and imprisoned. The earldom of Kent is abolished and follows the similar regional commands of East Anglia and Hereford into abeyance. 1083 William and Matilda are in Normandy. (or 1082) Wedding of their younger daughter Adela to Stephen, eldest son of Count Theobald of Blois – aimed at alliance to contain their mutual potential foe Fulk of Anjou?

Chronology: 1066–1154  35 2 November. Death of Matilda, probably aged around 53; she is buried at her foundation, the Abbey of St Trinite at Caen, and bequeaths it her crown and sceptre. Most of her English estates, especially those in Gloucs, go to her second surviving son William ‘Rufus’ but a financial legacy is left to her youngest surviving son Henry. The sources emphasise her piety, competence as an active administrator of her lands and influence on William, and role as a mediator among the elite and her family; her strong support for Robert’s rights may imply that her death led to his father’s renewed estrangement from and eventual exclusion from the Crown of him. Winter. Imposition of a heavy tax of 72 pence per ‘hide’ on England; it is not known if William does this in England or Normandy. Foundation of cathedral priory of St Cuthbert (Benedictine), Durham. 1084 (from 1083?) A ‘three-year’ war according to Orderic) Revolt of local governor/viscount Hubert of Le Mans and a siege of the town by William; William’s 1084 campaign in Maine is aimed at Hubert’s ally Robert ‘the Burgundian’, Lord of Sable and Craon near Sainte Suzanne (SS), and he builds a new fortress at ‘Le camp de Buergy’ near SS as part of surrounding and starving out Robert’s castles. After some time William has to leave the sieges for urgent business elsewhere and leaves his Breton ally Count Alan, Lord of Richmond (Yorks), in charge. 1085

After 23 May. The war in Maine concludes with a peace agreement between William and Hubert as the latter submits to do homage. Autumn. William returns to England from Normandy with a large, new mercenary army to oppose a threat of invasion by King Cnut of Denmark (ruled 1080–86), who is backed by his father-in-law Count Robert of Flanders, William’s foe. Cnut is said to have 1000 ships and Robert 600, and Norway is involved too. William ravages the coastal lands of East Anglia/Lincs so that if Cnut lands there, as his father did in 1069, he will find no supplies and can be starved out earlier; however, no invasion results. The war may be linked to Robert ‘Curthose’s second major quarrel with his father and departure from his court with a small entourage for exile, but as Robert witnesses a charter in December 1085 this is more likely to be in 1086 despite a claim of it being three years before William’s death. The unusually large, administratively complicated, and resented billeting of William’s foreign troops on English estates across the country (also intended to suppress any local help for the invaders?) may be proposed by Lanfranc, as suggested by the biography of Bishop/St Wulfstan. Arguably, its administrative demands helps to push William towards the forthcoming massive assessment of who owns what lands in England

36  Chronology: 1066–1154 and calculation of the precise resources of all his tenants-in-chief, and sub-tenants under them, as far down as the parish level – the so-called ‘Domesday Book’. The survey owes much to the complex tax-collecting system and hierarchy of administration from local ‘hundred’ to county level to national level set up by the pre-1066 Anglo-Saxon governments (which have met a heavy tax burden for the late C10th–mid C11th Scandinavian invasion crises), rather than to any major Norman innovations. Late (ASC). William consults his leading landholders at the Christmas court at Gloucester – an unusually detailed consultation of all the elite. He decides to hold a massive administrative survey of landholding; commissioners are sent out across the country in the next few months, leading to an eventual peace agreement with him (possibly in 1085). There appear to be a separate series of regional ‘circuits’, with bishops and abbots involved as well as the secular elite; the landholders in the counties’ sub-strata of ‘hundreds’ are called to meet and swear to the accuracy of the data which have been compiled on each estate before it is sent to the court. Its survey is used as the basis for a national-level register of titles, describing who held what lands before 1066 and now, and so can act to fend off inaccuracies or fake claims in future legal cases over ownership. December. Nomination of Maurice as Bishop of London to succeed Hugh (who d. January 1085). Foundation of Great Malvern Priory, Worcs. 1086

Early 1086. The Danish invasion crisis passes, probably partly due to King Cnut being sidetracked by the flight of the anti-Imperial rebel German leader, Hermann of Salm, N to Denmark in flight from Emperor Henry IV – who moves after him into Saxony and could invade. Cnut’s brother Olaf revolts, possibly as part of local resistance to his war taxes. William ‘stands down’ and dismisses part of his huge army. 5 April, Easter. William is at Winchester. 24 May, Whitsun. William is at Westminster, where his youngest son Henry is knighted. 1 August. William is at Old Sarum/Salisbury; he receives formal oaths of loyalty from all the landholders present at the major council/assembly of the elite there. This involves all the landholders of England holding land directly from the Crown (John of Worcester and Henry of Huntingdon, C12th) and also their own sub-tenants (ASC: ‘E’ version), with formal homage to the king. This is traditionally seen as a public legal confirmation of the ‘hierarchy of loyalty’ written down and fixed by the ‘Domesday’ survey, and part of the latter – and it may coincide with William receiving the survey’s results.

Chronology: 1066–1154  37 Resignation(?) and departure for the Continent of Earl Aubrey of Northumberland; probably formally replaced by his regional deputy, Robert de Mowbray, or else the latter soon replaces temporary regional commander Bishop Geoffrey of Coutances. DENMARK July. Assassination in church at Odense of King Cnut, William’s foe (acc. 1074); succeeded by his rebel brother, Olaf ‘Hunger’. IRELAND 14 July. Death of the ‘High King’ and king of Munster, Toirrdelbach Ua Briain, grandson of Brian Borumha, aged 76 (Annals of Tigernach and Annals of Ulster); he is succeeded by his sons, Muirchertach (as senior ruler), Diarmait and Tadhg in Munster. The two junior kings are soon removed by Muirchertach, who becomes ‘High King’ as well (until 1119). ENGLAND/NORMANDY Late summer? William leaves England for Normandy, after the final results of the ‘Domesday’ survey of England come in. These are then written up in a series of official government records; it is striking that only one major pre-1066 ‘English’ tenant-in-chief survives among the elite. William sails from the Isle of Wight to Normandy, allegedly with a large treasure. 8 December. William attends the Norman wedding of his younger daughter Constance to his neighbour and vassal, Count Alan (IV) of Brittany. 1087

Spring? William campaigns in the Vexin against raids into Normandy by the French king’s aggressive garrison of the crucial town of Mantes-la-Jolie. (End of July, Orderic/ < 15 August, John of Worcester and ASC) An attack by William takes Mantes by surprise and he storms and burns it; he is taken ill during the attack (Orderic), being flung against the pommel of his saddle as his horse stumbles and the latter piercing his intestines. He is carried by litter to Rouen where his condition deteriorates at the priory of St Gervase. August. Death of the royal ex-chaplain Stigand, Bishop of Chichester; he is succeeded by Godfrey. 9 September. Death of King William, aged probably 58 or 59. He bequeaths Normandy to Robert, who is still in exile, and leaves England to God as he received it from Him but tells the attendant William ‘Rufus’

38  Chronology: 1066–1154 to go and take it and gives him the crown, implying that he is intended as heir (Orderic). It is unclear if there was already a legal tradition in France of the eldest son receiving his father’s lands and the next receiving his mother’s or any conquered, which would have William following custom, or if he excluded Robert unexpectedly and in breach of (1080?) promises. Robert believes the latter and does not accept the plan. William expresses remorse for his cruelty, greed and misrule, e.g. the 1070 ‘Harrying of the North’, and asks for his long-term prisoners, e.g. Earl Morcar and King Harold’s brother Wulfnoth plus Roger of Bretueil, to be released according to Orderic; he also frees and reinstates Bishop Odo (only at the request of their brother Robert of Mortain according to Orderic). The ASC obituary (near-contemporary?) is also excoriating about William’s record of violence and extortion and about his royal forests. REIGN OF KING WILLIAM II: 1087–1100 William ‘Rufus’ leaves quickly for England (William of Malmesbury and Simeon of Durham) and (26 September) is crowned by Archbishop Lanfranc at Westminster; meanwhile there is disorder in Rouen and assorted barons hasten home to fortify their residences ready for any civil war or plundering. Archbishop William of Rouen takes over the funeral arrangements, which have been left to a knight called Herluin after the great courtiers departed hastily, and the late king is buried at the church of St Stephen at Caen amidst a shambolic and interrupted ceremony. His son Henry is present, but Robert only arrives in Normandy later and is soon being accused of being far more lax about baronial turbulence, violence, extortion and feuding than his father (though this may be partly post-1106 propaganda stirred up by his replacement Henry). The new king distributes his father’s treasure among the nation’s churches as decreed in William I’s will, to secure Church backing for his accession and regime. He allegedly cheats Henry by refusing to pass on to him the lands which their mother Queen Matilda left to him, defying his father’s wishes. The late king apparently leaves Henry £5000 in cash with some advice to use it wisely and be patient and he will acquire much more (or so Orderic claims, probably myth). Foundation of Bardney monastery, Lincs (Benedictine, previously AngloSaxon until C9th). IRELAND Death of King Mael Sechnaill ‘Ban’ of W Midhe (Ui Niall, Clan Colman line); he is succeeded by his cousin Domnhall, brother of the late Murchad who Mael Sechnaill overthrew in 1076.

Chronology: 1066–1154  39 1088 ENGLAND/NORMANDY Spring. Robert ‘Curthose’ forms a conspiracy to invade England with hired shipping, aided by his allies in that country. The latter include both of his paternal uncles, Robert of Mortain, Lord of Pevensey and Cornwall, and Bishop Odo, Earl of Kent. As they hold most of the coast of SE England, at the narrowest point of the Channel, plus Pevensey Bay and castle they are a serious threat. The plot also draws in other senior nobles, such as Roger Bigod (the main lord in Norfolk since the disgrace of Ralph le Gael in 1075, and Suffolk), Hugh de Grandmesnil, Lord of Leicestershire, and the Breton Count Alan, Lord of Richmond in Yorkshire, Bishop Geoffrey of Coutances in Somerset and Devon, the latter’s nephew Robert Mowbray. Also Roger de Montgomery, Earl of Shrewsbury and ruler of the central Welsh Marches, who as Lord of Arundel can either assist a Norman landing or take his men to aid de Mortain and Odo further E. After Easter. Roger Bigod seizes Norwich in revolt; de Grandmesnil ravages loyalist lands in Leics and Northants. Odo seizes Dover, presumably to help Robert ‘Curthose’ land there; Bishop Geoffrey and Mowbray march with their rebel army from the Bishop’s castle at Bristol to sack Bath and then ravage N into Gloucs to Berkeley, but cannot take Gloucester to link up with Roger of Montgomery’s Marcher forces. Bishop William of Durham is involved with the plot, but may also inform the king of what is going on; he raises his men in revolt but his role is more equivocal and hostilities are delayed as he secures a safe conduct to visit London and negotiate. His terms for surrender are apparently too rigid and he returns to Durham and is declared forfeit as a rebel. William raises an army around London, relying on the pre-1066 English administrative system to call up the national military assembly, the ‘fyrd’. Possibly a majority of the Norman elite have backed Duke Robert, with Lanfranc the main senior adviser to his father to stay loyal. William shrewdly plays up his trust in the English and the role they have in showing their loyalty unlike the rebellious Normans (account of Roger de Hoveden), using their antagonism to the latter. He also promises more just and less harsh laws and to reduce taxation to pre-1066 levels, but does not deliver. Duke Robert is thwarted by a mixture of bad luck and his own sluggishness; he also lacks enough money to hire many ships and mercenary troops quickly and has to sell off the Cotentin peninsula to his poorly resourced but ambitious younger brother Henry and thus gives the latter a foothold in Normandy to his own future political detriment. Bad weather impedes Robert’s sailing, and while he is held up the quick-acting ‘Rufus’ proceeds to rally his own supporters in England and puts the main military centres held by the rebels in the SE, Rochester and Pevensey Castles, under siege. The advantage lies with the defence

40  Chronology: 1066–1154 provided that they have enough men and provisions. But the king uses his time while vainly besieging the two castles and awaiting Robert’s fleet to make approaches to various of his opponents with offers of pardon and guarantees of all their current possessions if they surrender. With no sign of Duke Robert arriving, Roger of Montgomery – absent from the SE collecting his Marches troops – decides that it is safer to preserve what he has than to gamble on Robert and agrees to switch sides and is pardoned. The stalemate ends in victory for ‘Rufus’ with Duke Robert failing to land and de Mortain and Odo having to negotiate terms too. The former is among those who the victor pardons and allows to keep his lands, but ‘Rufus’ is more bitter against the defenders of Rochester Castle (a castle of Odo’s), who include Roger de Montgomery’s eldest surviving son Robert de Bellême – one of Duke Robert’s vassals in Normandy so with a reason to remain loyal to the latter. The king refuses the Rochester rebels’ offer to surrender in return for guarantees of their freedom and property and threatens to hang them and seize their lands; Earl Roger helps to negotiate a compromise whereby they lose their English lands and go into exile. Odo is banished to his see of Bayeux in Normandy. As the exiles, in company with the king’s younger brother Henry, are sailing to Normandy Odo, who had arrived earlier, accuses Robert de Bellême and Henry of plotting against Duke Robert, and the latter believes him. On arrival Robert de Bellême and Henry are promptly arrested and imprisoned, Robert at Odo’s own episcopal castle of ­Neuilly-l’Évêque, but Robert’s wife Adeliza, heiress of Ponthieu, and other kin refuse to surrender his castles and the duke duly attacks them. Ballon is taken, but at Saint Céneri on the River Sarthe (where Robert’s family are sheltering) commander Robert Quarell obeys his employer’s orders to hold out rather than negotiate quickly and holds up the duke for weeks. On surrender he is blinded and his garrison mutilated, but the duke’s resolve soon ends and he abandons the attempt to take the other defiant de Bellême castles and is later persuaded by Earl Roger’s emissaries to pardon and release Robert. Henry is imprisoned at Bayeux by Robert but released, minus his title as count; according to William of Malmesbury he visits King William in England (late 1088 or 1089?) but gets no concrete aid and the nervous Robert invites him back to Normandy to keep an eye on him. Roger de Lacey (d. after 1106), successor of his father Walter as Lord of Ludlow in Shropshire (where he probably builds the extant castle) and also owning part of the lower Golden Valley, Herefordshire, as ‘Ewias Lacey’, takes part in the plot against William II by his neighbours the de Montgomerys of Shrewsbury. He is assisted by Ralph de Mortimer of Wigmore and by Osbern FitzRichard, son and successor of Richard FitzScrob of Richard’s Castle, who has a claim on the allegiance of local Welshmen and their rulers as husband to Nest, the daughter of Gruffydd

Chronology: 1066–1154  41 ap Llywelyn (k. 1063) by Edith of Mercia. Richard and Nest’s daughter’s husband Bernard of Neufmarché, an ambitious recent Norman ‘incomer’ who from 1087/8 is lord of the ‘Three Castles on the Herefordshire/ Monmouthshire border’ (Skenfrith, Grosmont and the White Castle) in succession to the late king’s household knights Alfred of Marlborough and Gilbert FitzTurold, also aids the revolt; the rebels enter Hereford unchallenged and march E to sack Gloucester before turning north up the Severn towards Worcester. However, the aged Bishop Wulfstan rallies his own household and the town’s citizenry, arms them and leads them out over the Severn to successfully ambush the rebels in their camp somewhere around Powick, reputedly killing around 500 of them. The revolt fails, and Roger de Lacey and the other leaders are pardoned, probably due to the number of senior lords involved; King William needs their expertise to defend the borders and cannot spare the time to replace the entire local landowning leadership. 24 June. Death of William de Warenne, first Lord of Lewes and Earl of Surrey (born c. 1025?), also founder of the first Cluniac priory in England (Lewes) where he is buried; he is succeeded by his elder son by Gundreda (d. 1085), William the second Earl of Surrey (c. 1070–11 May 1138). September. William marches North and besieges Durham; Bishop William surrenders and is exiled. 25 September. Death of the new Bishop Godfrey of Chichester; he is succeeded by William (d. 1090). WALES By this date one Norman baron, Richard Fitz Pons of Clifford Castle in the upper Wye valley, has penetrated over the Brecon Beacons as far as Llandovery in Deheubarth; their conquest of Brycheiniog seems to have followed the replacement of some west Herefordshire barons for rebelling against William II in 1088. The new regional ‘strongman’, Bernard de Neufmarché, has been granted the castles of Ewias Harold, Durstone and Snodhill and is thus the immediate neighbour of Brycheiniog, ruling the ‘Golden Valley’. Married to the daughter of Princess Nest of Gwynedd (daughter of Gruffydd ap Llywelyn apSeisyll and Edith of Mercia by Osbern FitzRichard of Richard’s Castle in Herefordshire), he appears to have overrun Brycheiniog in summer–autumn 1088; castles are built at Brecon and (probably) Bronllys. This poses a serious threat to Rhys ap Tewdr of Deheubarth. Rhys ap Tewdr of Deheubarth is temporarily expelled from his kingdom by the elder sons of Bleddyn ap Cynfyn, Madoc and Rhiryd, but returns with a Viking fleet from Ireland – the usual resort of expelled Welsh princes – and kills them in battle. He regains his kingdom. Madoc and Rhiryd are succeeded in their Powys lands by their next two brothers, Cadwgan and Iorweth ap Bleddyn.

42  Chronology: 1066–1154 Death of Bishop Giso of Wells, an Edwardian nominee; he is succeeded by the Norman John de Villula (d. 1122), who adds the new bishopric of Bath in 1090. Foundation of Castle Acre Priory, Norfolk (Cluniac obedience), by the de Warenne family’s Lewes Priory, Sussex. 1089 ENGLAND May. Death of Archbishop Lanfranc of Canterbury, after an 18-year episcopate; the king keeps the see vacant so he can use its revenues for his treasury. Henry resumes his effective but unrecognised (?) rule as a count governing part of W Normandy after his release by Duke Robert, while William starts to bribe various nobles in NE Normandy near the Ponthieu border to desert to him; other regions, e.g. Brionne, Ivry and Alençon, slip from Robert’s control due to his weak supervision of their feuding lords. Foundation of Bermondsey Abbey (Cluniac obedience), SE of London Bridge, by La Charité-sur-Loire, France. 1090 William interferes in Normandy in a campaign to destabilise Robert’s rule and nibble away at his lands. His loyalists win over and take over the castles of Reginald of St Valery (on the lower Somme), Stephen of Aumale (on the River Bresle) and Walter Giffard (of Longueville), and place garrisons in these and other places to secure control of NE Normandy. Ralph of Tosni (on the River Seine) and Conches, cousin of the Lords of Clifford on the Wye in Herefordshire, also join him in return for help against his half-brother. Robert allies to Helias of Saint-Saëns by giving him his illegitimate daughter, the castle of Bures and the county of Arques. A sporadic war between William and Robert’s loyalists follows. Robert calls on King Philip for help and the latter brings an army, but William bribes the king to withdraw. October. William’s partisans in Rouen, led by the senior burgess Conan, plot to stage a revolt and admit an arriving force of the king’s allies from NE Normandy. Robert finds out in time and summons his own supporters, led by William Count of Évreux and his nephew William of Breteuil; Robert also summons Henry and (despite recent defiance from him) Robert of Bellême to help and they bring their men in time. 3 November, early morning. Duke Robert’s local loyalists resist the Rouen rebels and are joined by the arriving Gilbert of Laigle and his men, who reach the S gate just as pro-Williamite Reginald de Warenne arrives at another gate. The latter and his Rouen allies try to seize the city, and armed clashes spread through the streets; Robert and Henry

Chronology: 1066–1154  43 lead their men out of the ducal castle to confront the attackers, but notoriously Robert loses his nerve and slips away to the suburb of Emendreville thinking he is losing. Henry by contrast keeps his nerve and the attackers are defeated, with Robert of Bellême typically concentrating on rounding up prisoners to ransom. Conan is captured and taken to Henry in the ducal castle, and Henry allegedly berates him for his socially insolent behaviour in betraying his lord and throws him out of a high window in the keep to his death. The tower is then called ‘Conan’s Leap’ for decades (Orderic and William of Malmesbury). Robert returns and orders his men to stop harassing, looting and mistreating the rebel citizenry, but they carry on doing so and take off many hostages for ransom. Robert cannot trust Henry and sends him away again; instead he aids Robert of Bellême in a private war with the Grandmesnil and Courcy families, which reverberates on him in future in England as their relatives there do not help him in 1100–2. Autumn. Death of William’s, Robert’s and Henry’s uncle Robert, Count of Mortain and Lord of Pevensey, probably aged in his late 50s; he is succeeded by his son William. (or early 1091?) Death of Bishop William de Beaufai of Thetford (East Anglia). 1091

January? Consecration of new Bishop Herbert Losinga of Thetford, Abbot of Ramsey (Fens) since 1088. 6 January. The royal chaplain Ralph Luffa (d. 1123) is consecrated as Bishop of Chichester. 2 February. William lands in the Cotentin for a new campaign, and bases himself at Eu, paying out large amounts of money to deserters. The war with Robert ends in a truce and treaty at Rouen, where Robert agrees to hand over the county of Eu, Mont-St-Michel, Fécamp Abbey and Cherbourg so William rules W Normandy. William will help Robert regain Maine and various castles which are being held against him by rebel nobles. Each brother will be the other’s heir, which excludes the rights of their younger brother Henry, and William will restore the lands of those nobles who have been exiled from England especially the 1088 rebels. Odo of Bayeux and Count Eustace of Boulogne are barred from England, but exiled Bishop William of Durham is restored. Lent. Henry, objecting to the treaty, revolts at his lands of Coutances and Avranches, but his brothers are warned in time to advance swiftly so he flees to the marshland island abbey of Mont-St-Michel. He takes and garrisons it with the help of the monks, and ravages the nearby countryside. He is besieged there by his brothers, and skirmishes reputedly

44  Chronology: 1066–1154 include an incident where William is unhorsed and nearly killed but after being rescued pardons and offers service to the knight who managed to get the better of him. William eventually gives up the stalemated siege (as the island has plenty of food and fresh water?) and either he or Robert lets Henry get away safely. William leaves for England after dispossessing Edgar Atheling of the lands which the duke has given him in what is now his part of Normandy. Edgar joins his brother-in-law Malcolm in Scotland. Henry is deprived of his W Norman lands again by Robert, and leaves for Brittany and later the Vexin with little money or men. ENGLAND/SCOTLAND May. King Malcolm unsuccessfully invades NE England, possibly stirred up by Edgar. August. William is joined in England by Duke Robert for a campaign to punish the Scots. They march north to Durham, where William restores Bishop William exactly three years after his exile. The king marches on into Lothian, but (just before Michaelmas/29 September, according to Roger of Hoveden) a storm decimates his fleet at sea and he runs short of provisions. The more accommodating Duke Robert sends a message to his friend Edgar at Malcolm’s HQ to break the stand-off, and a meeting of the armies’ leadership is arranged. It is agreed that Malcolm will do homage to William as he did to his father, and in return will have his 12 confiscated estates in England restored provided he pays 12 gold ‘marks’ a year for them. Peace returns. ENGLAND/WALES Marriage of one of Roger of Montgomery’s younger sons, Roger, principal lord in N Lancashire between the Rivers Mersey and Lune and also with lands in Notts and Suffolk/Essex, to the heiress Almodis of La Marche in Poitou; this makes Roger, hence known as ‘The Poitevin’, ruler by marriage of La Marche and even more rich and politically important than he is already as bulwark of the NW English borders. The Benedictine monastery at Bath (c. 963) is refounded as a cathedral priory. WALES A faction of nobles in Deheubarth offer the Crown to Gruffydd, son of Maredudd ap Owain (k. 1072), an exile in England, to depose Rhys ap Tewdr. He invades but is killed in battle at the mouth of the River Towy.

Chronology: 1066–1154  45 (Approx. date) Gruffydd ap Cynan of Gwynedd, imprisoned at Chester Castle by Earl Hugh of Chester who has seized his coastal lands, secures his release as client ruler of Anglesey, possibly being regarded as able to keep the predatory Scandinavian fleets from Dublin that roam the Irish Sea at bay better than a non-local Norman as he has a Dubliner mother and ‘contacts’. ENGLAND Christmas. Having failed to secure the lands he was promised in England in the Rouen treaty, Robert leaves William’s court in the middle of festivities in frustration and returns to Normandy. 1092 SCOTLAND/ENGLAND 6 January. Consecration of William’s chaplain Ralph Luffa (d. December 1123) as Bishop of Chichester after the death of Bishop William (1090). Spring. Serious fire in London which causes St Paul’s Cathedral to have to be rebuilt. ‘Nones’ of April. Dedication of the new cathedral of Old Sarum/Salisbury by its founder Bishop Osmund, assisted by Bishop Walkelin of Winchester. 6 May. Death of Bishop Remigius of Lincoln, in office since 1067, shortly before the planned ceremony for the dedication of his new cathedral at Lincoln for which the king has summoned all the nation’s bishops to the town. (Archbishop Thomas of York is disputing the right of Remigius rather than himself as the local metropolitan to carry out the ceremony and tries to arrange a boycott, but the king is allegedly paid by Remigius to order the other bishops to come.) The king postpones the dedication and goes off to arrange his next Scots war. William invades and secures Cumbria for England, invading and moving the current Scots border north from the Lune or Morecambe Bay to the Solway Firth where it is now fixed. He builds a castle to dominate the W border at Carlisle, once the pre-Saxon British stronghold of Caerluel and a Roman fortress town, confiscating the region from its mixed Anglo-Scottish ruler Dolfin – Malcolm III’s cousin and brother of the deposed Earl Cospatrick of Northumbria (now living in Scotland, close to the border, as Earl of Dunbar). An Anglo-Norman royal court clerk, Hervey, becomes the first ­English-appointed Bishop of Bangor – a sign of English control of the N Wales coastal strip (in office until his transfer to Ely in 1109).The monastery of St Werburgh, Chester (Benedictine), is founded and granted assorted confiscated Gwynedd church lands in annexed territory, to local resentment. Summer. Henry returns quietly to Normandy and secures the town and castle of Domfront in the S by a sudden attack, probably with local help;

46  Chronology: 1066–1154 he thereafter wages a private war against his old foe Robert of Bellême in the region and restores his authority over part of SW Normandy; Duke Robert can stop neither of them. 1093

March. William falls ill at Alveston en route to Gloucester, and reaches the latter but deteriorates there. He is seriously ill for weeks, and is worked on by his priests over incurring damnation for his many irreligious acts and promises to reform; he agrees to end his enforced vacancy and use of the revenues of the see of Canterbury and decides to choose the highly moral and respected theologian Anselm of Bec as archbishop. 6 March. Nomination of Anselm as Archbishop of Canterbury. The king’s repentance also leads to the nomination of a new bishop for vacant Lincoln – royal clerk Robert Bloet (d. January 1123), the current chancellor who is replaced in 1093/4 by William Giffard. He arranges the consecration of Lincoln Cathedral, which had been due to take place one or two days after his predecessor, its builder Remigius, died – but Bloet has to pay off the Archbishop of York, Thomas, who claims control of the see as being carved out of his archdiocese in 1072 so he is remunerated to abandon the lawsuit with either £3000 or £5000. WALES July. Rhys ap Tewdr of Deheubarth is killed in a skirmish with Norman settlers in Brycheiniog at Aberhonddu near Brecon in April, probably assisting rebels against the new local lord, Bernard de Neufmarché (owner of the ‘Three Castles’ of the upper Monnow valley and the adjacent Golden Valley in Herefordshire). The battle takes place near Bernard’s new castle at Brecon which Rhys is attacking with local help. July? Gruffydd ap Cynan, ruling Mon/Anglesey, is able to kill his longterm foe Robert of Rhuddlan in a sudden ‘strike’ with three warships against his castle. He lands on the beach nearby at the base of the Great Orme headland and proceeds to loot the castle’s adjoining village and farms. Seeing the raiders, Robert furiously charges down onto the beach with a couple of men to recapture loot and is overpowered and killed; his men have to watch as the raiders cut his head off and stick it on the prow of their warship. Dyfed is largely overrun by the Anglo-Norman barons after the death of Rhys ap Tewdr at the hands of the Norman settlers of Brycheiniog in spring 1093; they advance down the Tywi valley to Carmarthen and along the coast W, and southern Pembrokeshire is heavily settled and permanently occupied. Earl Roger of Montgomery apparently leads the initial expedition which penetrates to Pembrokeshire in July, and may have returned in 1094. He may have built the original Pembroke Castle – only a ‘motte and bailey’ construction of timber with earthworks – on

Chronology: 1066–1154  47 the peninsula between two rivers at the S end of Milford Haven as the centre of the new local lordship. Arnulf of Montgomery, youngest son of Earl Roger and probably in his mid–late 20s, takes over this new lordship at Pembroke which proves permanent, and either builds himself or completes his father’s new castle; he may have held the title of Earl of Pembroke too. He certainly covets the local lands of the bishopric of St David’s and is recorded by the Welsh annals as sending his castellan at Pembroke, Gerald of Windsor, to pillage them later. The first Anglo-Norman bishop of St Davids, Wilfrid (who takes over authority some time around 1090–5 after the death of the Welshman Sulien, as subordinate to the Archbishop of Canterbury), duly complains to Archbishop Anselm. Much of Arnulf’s rule at Pembroke may have been in the hands of the capable Gerald of Windsor, his constable there, who soon establishes a strong local presence and reputation. The latter is a typical ambitious younger son of the frst generation of Norman incomers to England who carves out a career for himself in a new area; his father Walter FitzOtho was the first castellan of the new Windsor Castle (built c. 1080) for King William I and Walter’s elder son William inherits that role, with younger sons Robert inheriting Eton and Gerald inheriting the small Berkshire estate of Moulsham. Ranulf/Ralph de Mortimer of Wigmore (d. 1137), Ralph de Tosni of Clifford (d. 1102) the brother-in-law of the late William FitzOsbern, and Philip de Briouze/Braose (primarily a Sussex dynast as Lord of Bramber Castle, but with lands in the Marches too) lead the successful invasion of ‘Rhwng Gwy a Hafren’, the land ‘Between Wye and Severn’, which becomes Radnorshire under Marcher rule. (This is probably the obscure Welsh district of ‘Cynllibiwg’, aka ‘Kenthlebac’ according to the C13th ‘Red Book of the Exchequer’, between Wye and Severn.) The main Norman fortress is built at Radnor and owned by de Braose and his heirs. Glamorgan is acquired some time from the late 1080s to 1092/3 by the baron Robert FitzHamon, son-in-law of Iestyn ap Gwrgan (acc. 1081), who legendarily starts off as a mercenary knight called in by Iestyn to fight his rivals. Originating from Creully in Calvados, Normandy, and probably living in the Gloucester region as a tenant on the new King William II’s lands there – he later re-founds local Tewkesbury Abbey in 1092 – and in the king’s military household, he legendarily has 11 knights in his first warband as they enter Morgannwg to assist Iestyn. The 12 later divide up their employer’s lands into 12 fiefs. The extant literary account of their adventures was written c. 1560 by the local landowner and antiquarian Sir Edward Stradling of St Donat’s Castle, who probably invented a great deal. The legendary list of 12 knights includes some families who were not certainly active in the region this early and who may have been included due to their families ‘pushing back’ their involvement as far as possible without real evidence in order to add to their reputation.

48  Chronology: 1066–1154 More certainly involved in Glamorgan in the mid-1090s are Sir William de Londres (‘of London’), who acquires the lands of Ogwr (‘Uch Gwyr’, i.e. ‘Opposite/Below Gower’) at the mouth of the eponymous river and builds Ogmore Castle by its junction with the River Ewenny; Sir Payn de Turberville, who acquires the lands further up the Ogmore around the site of the new borough of Bridgend and builds Coety Castle and probably the ‘New Castle’ on the west side of the river at Bridgend; Sir Gilbert Umfraville of Penmark Castle near the site of the present Cardiff Airport; Sir Reginald de Sully at Sully, along the coast east near Penarth; Sir Oliver St John at nearby Fonmon Castle (which in its present form dates from c. 1200); and Sir John Fleming at Wenvoe inland nearer Cardiff. The Berkerolles appear at St Athan, and a Sir Robert St Quintin (grandson of a supposed 1066 veteran) builds the first Llanblethian Castle inland adjoining the new borough of Cowbridge. FitzHamon soon proceeds to evict his father-in-law from power. Having parcelled up the kingdom, he marries Sybil de Montgomery, daughter of Earl Roger of Shrewsbury and sister of the notorious Robert de Bellême, and rules until March 1107. SCOTLAND/ENGLAND Malcolm comes south to protest at the 1092 annexation of Cumbria to William at Gloucester. On his way to court he attends the dedication of Durham Cathedral with Bishop William and prior Turgot, confirming his dynasty’s close links with the place’s cult of St Cuthbert as its senior lay patrons. 24 August. Malcolm is ignored and allegedly refused an interview with William at Gloucester, and is told to submit his claim to the royal legal court like a normal English tenant-in-chief (i.e. vassal) and denied the right to an inter-royal ‘summit’ on the border between equals. He leaves in a rage; his visit may also have involved a call on his daughters by his second wife (St) Margaret, Edith and Mary, who are being educated at the school at Wilton Abbey by her sister Christina (a nun); the girls were until recently with Christina at her own nunnery, Romsey. There is some question of William having been to see Edith recently and possibly expressing an interest in marrying her, which would link him to the old pre-1066 royal family – a plan which Henry carries out instead in 1100. This logically follows the recent attempt by Count Alan of Brittany, Lord of Richmond in Yorks, to bargain for Edith’s hand in marriage as the price of his alliance against Duke Robert. In the event, William refused the match and Alan ran off with Edith’s schoolfellow Gunnhilde, illegitimate daughter of King Harold II, was lambasted for ‘abducting a nun’ by the Church, and soon died. Nothing comes of any interest by William or his visit to Edith – this may be due to lack of concern for the future rather than distaste for marriage. There are modern

Chronology: 1066–1154  49 claims that William’s lack of known mistresses or bastards and entourage of over-dressed, fashionable young nobles with long hair imply that he is homosexual and that this is one reason for Church distaste for him. Malcolm’s retaliatory invasion of Northumbria to punish William and support a rebellion by its earl, Robert de Mowbray, leads to his killing at the siege of Alnwick Castle on 13 November. Apparently the steward promises to hand over the keys and rides out to meet the king with them on the end of his lance, but runs him through with the latter. The garrison then sets on the aghast Scots troops and routs them. Malcolm (acc. 1054 Lothian, 1057 South/Central Scotland, 1058 Moray/North) is probably in his early 60s. His reign has been the most ‘high-profile’ of the Scots kings’ in terms of all-Britain importance, reflecting his ambition, statesmanlike qualities and leadership – but his wife’s chaplain and hagiographer Turgot claims Margaret ‘civilised’ a semi-literate ruler and that she was the main backer of new ‘Continental’ culture, e.g. the Normanised new cathedral and monks at Dunfermline. Malcolm’s heir by Margaret, Edward, is also killed in the battle. It appears that Malcolm’s brother Donald ‘Ban’ – the correct heir under traditional Scots laws of royal inheritance – proceeds to attack and drive out Malcolm’s other younger sons and seizes the throne. Traditionally the news of the disaster caused the already ill Margaret, probably in her late 40s, to collapse (weakened by devout fasting?) and die at Edinburgh Castle on 16 November. She is canonised in 1250. Duncan, Malcolm’s son by his first wife Ingebiorg, is still in England, and William decides to impose him as his client king as he requests and lends him an army. Count William of Eu in Normandy transfers his allegiance to King William, allegedly in return for a bribe, thus further undermining Robert’s shaky rule, and visits England to do homage to him; William accepts which annoys Robert as it is a breach of the 1091 treaty. Allegedly Robert sends a Christmas message to William that unless he hands over the English lands agreed in 1091 it will be war. Foundation of Hertford Priory, Herts, by St Albans Abbey. 1094

February. With Robert asserting that he regards the 1091 treaty as void, William decides on invasion and collects an army. En route to embarkation he goes to Battle for the consecration of the new abbey there, allegedly built on the exact site of the 1066 battle with the high altar where King Harold was killed (the accuracy of this is disputed by some modern historians, but it seems likelier that those locals who told the 1070s monks where to build were correct). William seizes the goods of and banishes Bishop Herbert Losinga of Norwich for proposing to go to Rome without permission and seek papal absolution for illegally paying for his appointment.

50  Chronology: 1066–1154 Duncan and his English army invade Lothian and depose Donald ‘Ban’ in spring, but he is unable to drive him out of Scotland. Lent. William invades Normandy (lands 19 March) and clashes with Robert; various nobles act as mediators and the brothers agree to meet, but this is unsuccessful as William refuses to accept the decision of a panel of ‘neutral’ arbitrators about his bad faith in breaching the treaty by seducing Robert’s vassals. The meeting breaks up as William walks out, and William, based at Eu, wins over and bribes more of Robert’s vassals to defect; he takes the castle of Bures (from Helias of Saint-Saëns) and many knightly prisoners, who he imprisons in Normandy or sends to England. Facing disaster as local revolts break out, Robert calls on King Philip to help him; William besieges Argentan, which Robert has taken from his adherent Roger of Poitou, and takes 700 prisoners there. Surrender of the castle of Hulme and its large garrison of 800 men under William Peverel to Robert. William summons a large army of 20,000 infantrymen from England, raised by the ‘fyrd’ system; however, when the troops assemble at Hastings for sailing, the king’s chief minister and chancellor Ranulf Flambard confiscates the money they have brought from home to buy provisions, sends them home, and takes the money to hire (more militarily effective) mercenaries. This increases his unpopularity and the perception of the king’s extortionate rule. William is besieged in Eu by Robert and King Philip but bribes the latter to leave; Philip takes his army home and Robert has to withdraw. 27 July. Death of Roger of Montgomery, Earl of Shrewsbury, Lord of the central Welsh Marches and Lord of Arundel, at the monastery at Shrewsbury; he is succeeded in his English/Welsh lands by his younger son Hugh, second earl, and in his Continental lands by his eldest son Robert, already (1077/9) Lord of Bellême, and his youngest son Arnulf of Pembroke. Gruffydd ap Cynan invades his former mainland territories in Gwynedd to take advantage of local Norman lords going off to join rebels in England; he regains Arfon (and some of the coast?) but is forced to flee to Ireland again temporarily when his foes return. SCOTLAND Duncan is killed in battle by Donald’s adherent, the ‘Mormaer’ of the Mearns, on 12 November – probably aged in his early 30s. Donald then resumes the throne while William II prepares to invade Scotland and curtails his Norman campaign. Either in late 1094 or in 1095 he imposes one of Malcolm’s younger sons by Margaret, Edgar, as ruler of Cumbria,

Chronology: 1066–1154  51 probably driving out the latter’s pro-Donald brother Edmund, and he intends Edgar as the next king of Scotland. Duncan’s son by Earl Cospatrick’s daughter Uhtreda, William FitzDuncan, remains loyal to the sons of Malcolm III and St Margaret, and does not claim the Scottish throne. His family become Lords of Egremont in Cumbria – previously ruled by his maternal uncle Dolfin. The eldest of the surviving sons of Malcolm and Margaret, Aethelred, is not considered for kingship – perhaps bought off by Donald Ban with the mormaership of Fife or physically unfit? The second, Edmund, joins Donald Ban – probably as the sonless king’s heir – and is given the rule of Strathclyde, which used to go to the heir. IRELAND Killing of King Domnhall of W Midhe (Ui Niall, Clan Colman line), acc. 1087, by Murchad Ua Briain of Munster; he is succeeded by joint rule, by his own brother Murchad (dep. 1076)’s son Donnchad and his cousin and predecessor Mael Sechnaill’s son Conchobar. ENGLAND/WALES One of the more secure new Norman lordships created after the (1093) death of Rhys ap Tewdr is at Radnor and Builth (Wells) in the later Radnorshire, controlling the next region west of NW Herefordshire as a compact new family domain. This is taken over by Philip de Briouze/ Braose (c. 1075–1150), of a major W Sussex dynasty, who inherits his father William’s lands in the ‘rape’ of Bramber – between those of de Montgomery at Arundel and de Mortain at Pevensey – late in 1093. In 1094/5 he occupies Radnor and Builth and builds a castle at the latter; the new lordship takes over the Welsh ‘cantref’ of ‘Gwerthyrnion’, a part of Powys reputedly once ruled by the family of the mythical C5th ‘High King’ Vortigern. He marries Aenor, the daughter and heiress of the Breton incomer Judhael, Lord of Totnes and Barnstaple in Devon. The see of Thetford (East Anglia) is moved to the larger town and Norfolk county administrative centre, Norwich, by Bishop Herbert Losinga; construction of Norwich Cathedral commences. ISLE OF MAN Ruling Dublin from an unknown date, Godred ‘Crovan’ of the Isle of Man is evicted by ‘High King’ Muirchertach Ua Briain (of the line of Brian ‘Borumha’ as king of Munster). He has by this point married a lady of Norse extraction called Ragnhild ‘daughter of Harald’ who may or may not have been an illegitimate daughter of his ex-patron, King Harald ‘Hardradi’ of Norway.

52  Chronology: 1066–1154 ENGLAND 29 December. William returns to England via Dover, having summoned his brother Henry (still at Domfront) and the latter’s ally Hugh of Chester to Eu (when he was in Normandy) and after a change of plans to London to meet him. 1095

20 January. Death of the venerable and holy (St) Wulfstan, Bishop of Worcester since 1062 and the last pre-Conquest bishop in office. February. William sends envoys, his senior clerks William Warlewast (future Bishop of Exeter) and Gerard (future Archbishop of York), to Rome to offer to recognise the threatened incumbent Pope Urban rather than his challenger Clement if Urban will cancel Anselm’s appointment as archbishop and give the embassy a ‘pallium’ that the king can give to a new archbishop of his own choice. Urban accepts the recognition but presents a ‘pallium’ only for presentation to Anselm, and on the embassy’s return (by mid-May) William gives in to this. William sends Henry to Normandy with a large sum of money to seduce more of Robert’s allies, but is held up himself by another aristocratic conspiracy in favour of Robert against him at home. This one is led by Robert de Mowbray, Earl of Northumbria, who refuses a summons to court and is aided by the king’s ex-ally Count William of Eu. Possibly Robert is uneasy at the king’s new assertion of power in the NW by building Carlisle Castle and fears he will be targeted next and Robert ‘Curthose’ will be a weaker and easier to manipulate ruler; alternatively Robert Mowbray’s choice of king is the late King William’s nephew Stephen of Aumale (Roger de Hoveden). Robert is joined by another powerful regional governor under threat, Earl Hugh of Shrewsbury, who probably hopes for greater royal leniency to act according to his own wishes (in attacking both Anglo-­­Norman and Welsh neighbours) under Robert. William marches north and takes firstly the great castle built by Duke Robert at Newcastle in 1080, then Tynemouth where Mowbray’s brother is captured; Mowbray is besieged at Bamburgh Castle, which is virtually impregnable though the king builds a counter-work outside to blockade it. Mowbray slips out to attempt to retake Tynemouth but is driven off, holes up in the nearby priory of St Oswin, and is wounded in a royalist attack on it six days later and caught hiding in the church by royal troops. He is imprisoned at Windsor Castle, disgraced, stripped of his lands and titles, and exiled – the earldom of Northumberland now follows those of Hereford (1075), East Anglia (1075) and Kent (1083/8) into oblivion due to an untrustworthy holder. Count William of Eu is blinded for treason, but Hugh of Shrewsbury escapes with a fine of £3000, a major sum, and turns his ambitions to expansion against Gwynedd in alliance with his neighbour Hugh, Earl of Chester, and other ambitious nobles.

Chronology: 1066–1154  53 ISLE OF MAN King Godred dies on Islay in the Inner Hebrides, which is presumably part of his empire, of the plague. His son Laghman (an official Manx rank, i.e. ‘lawman’, not a personal name in origin but probably a normal name by this time) succeeds. 1096 ENGLAND 2 January. Death of the ex-rebel William of St Calais, Bishop of Durham (since 1081); his see is kept vacant. At around the same time, the king has the arrested rebel Count William of Eu blinded and his cousin hanged as an example to rebels; Robert of Bellême’s younger brother Philip is imprisoned. June. Samson, canon of Bayeux, is nominated as the new Bishop of Worcester to succeed (St) Wulfstan; he remains in office until his death on 5 May 1112. WALES Gerald of Windsor fights off a Welsh attack on his castellanship, Pembroke Castle, by local commanders Uchtred ap Edwin and Hywel ap Goronwy. When some of his men despair of holding out and desert he quickly transfers their lands to their loyal juniors to give the latter an incentive to fight on. He then arranges for a fake letter to his absent Lord Arnulf to be captured by the Welsh, in which he boasts that he has enough provisions to hold out for four months and there is no need of a quick relief; the besiegers are duly demoralised and abandon the siege. 15 June. Consecration of ex-chancellor Gerard as Bishop of Hereford (to York in 1100), succeeding Robert Losinga. The Benedictine monastery of Colchester is founded in this year (or in 1097). Robert ‘Curthose’ departs from Normandy on the First Crusade, having sent the papal envoy Jarento, Abbot of St Bénigne at Dijon, to William with a successful offer that he serve as regent in his absence in return for a subvention of 10,000 ‘marks’ for his war chest. September. William goes over to Normandy with the promised money to hand it over to Robert, who departs with Bishop Odo of Bayeux and other lords; William sets up his governorship. Helias of Saint-Saëns comes to Rouen and asks the king to let him hold Le Mans in Maine as vassal as he has hereditary rights there, but is refused. 1097

Bishop Odo of Bayeux dies on the Crusade, in Palermo, Sicily (February), probably aged over 60.

54  Chronology: 1066–1154 William returns to England at Easter, landing at Arundel on Easter Eve (4 April), and holds his Whitsun court at Windsor. Anselm has failed to get him to agree to hold a reforming Church council for months, and now requests permission to go to Rome. The king refuses but he leaves anyway. William then invades SW Wales with a large army and marches across Deheubarth, but the locals hide in the hills so he achieves little; after losing too many men in ambushes in hill passes he has new castles built and returns home to plan his next Scots campaign. There are continuing grumbles about extortionate taxes to pay for the king’s wars, and also a new wall round the Tower of London (i.e. the current outer wall) and the massive new hall at Westminster Palace (i.e. Westminster Hall). Archbishop Anselm settles in France. ENGLAND/SCOTLAND October. King Donald Ban is deposed again, by an Anglo-Norman army sent by William II on behalf of Malcolm III and Margaret’s sons and led by their uncle, Edgar ‘Atheling’. The third eldest survivor of the latter, Edgar (probably already sub-ruler of Cumbria for England), probably born c. 1074, is installed as king as a dependent English ally and is duly succeeded by his brother Alexander (August 1107). The youngest brother, David, is still in his early teens at most and stays at the English court. Edgar Atheling subsequently goes off on the First Crusade, to join his long-term friend Duke Robert, and ends up leading an Anglo-Norman fleet to Syria in 1098. 11 November, Martinmas. William returns to Normandy. 1098 ENGLAND 3 January. Death of Bishop Walkelin of Winchester, founder of the new cathedral. ISLE OF MAN King Laghman either abdicates voluntarily in guilt at his part in his captured rebel brother Harald’s mutilation and death, or is forced out – possibly by his new Norwegian overlord King Magnus ‘Barefoot’ (ruled Norway 1093–1103) in the 1098 campaign, below. If it is correct that Laghman’s abdication preceded the Norwegian conquest of 1098/9 by several years, the period 1096–8 sees civil war, a brief incursion by a Norwegian governor sent by Magnus called Ingemund who was killed in battle on the Outer Hebrides, and a battle between the northern and southern Manxmen at Santwat in which the rival commanders, Jarl Othere and Macmarus, were both killed. The chronicle links this latter battle

Chronology: 1066–1154  55 time-wise to the First Crusade and the fall of Antioch to the Christians, i.e. 1097–8. ENGLAND/NORMANDY/SCOTLAND/WALES February. In Normandy, King William invades Maine with the aid of Robert of Bellême and via his territory, to deal with a rebellion by Helias and besieges his castle near Danguel. A number of leading rebel knights are captured and held hostage for their castles’ surrender; after William has left the siege of Danguel, Robert captures Helias in an ambush (28 April). Fulk of Anjou has moved into Maine to aid the rebels and occupies Le Mans where he has put his men in strategic towers which he claims as the Lord of Maine; William besieges Le Mans, and is able to enter the town to blockade the towers. Fulk reinforces the defence but has to pull out; in July he surrenders the towers. William and Fulk reach agreement and the latter concedes his rival’s rule of Maine. King Edgar of Scots abandons claims to authority over the Hebrides to the resurgent naval power of Norway by agreement with King Magnus ‘Bareleg’ (ruled 1093–1103, nicknamed after his wearing the Gaelic kilted plaid not breeches on his local expeditions) in a treaty this year, connected to the Norse royal fleet’s voyage to the area to reassert Norwegian power – showing the Anglicised Scots rulers’ concentration on Lowland affairs to the exclusion of the Highlands. But as Scotland lacked a fleet this is only recognising a ‘fair accompli’, though the abandonment of sovereignty over the dynastic burial place of Iona is symbolic. Jarls Paul and Erlend of Orkney (acc. c. 1065) are required to attend on and are then deposed by King Magnus ‘Bareleg’ of Norway, on his Hebridean voyage, as he launches a major naval expedition to the northern Scottish isles which are claimed to have been vassals of his dynasty’s C10th founder, King Magnus ‘Finehair’. Magnus installs his 8-year-old son Sigurd, later king of Norway and a noted Crusader, as his deputy ruler in Orkney. The ambitious son of Jarl Paul, Haakon, has been exiled to Norway earlier due to his disputes with Erlend’s sons and, having encouraged King Magnus to invade Orkney and emulate Harald ‘Finehair’, he becomes the boy Sigurd’s regent. The Orkney forces also join Magnus for his successful Irish Sea expedition in 1098–9. According to the stories of Erlend’s son (St) Magnus, the latter, probably a teenager, is required to join King Magnus as his page/hostage but escapes from his warship off the coast of Wales, swims ashore and eludes a search. Magnus goes on to campaign in northern Ireland, and deports Paul and Erlend to Norway where they soon die; Erlend’s other son Erling dies on one of Magnus’ Irish Sea expeditions, in or after 1098. King Gruffydd ap Cynan of Gwynedd is aided by Cadwgan, co-ruler of Powys, but they flee as William II’s Northern ‘Marcher’ vassals Earls Hugh of Chester and Hugh of Shrewsbury march along the N

56  Chronology: 1066–1154 Wales coast to Bangor, retaking Rhuddlan and probably Caernarfon, and invade Mon/Anglesey. The Normans now clash with King Magnus ‘Bareleg’ of Norway, who has just secured control of both the Orkneys and the Isle of Man, dispossessed Godred’s sons from the latter, and is now heading by sea for Dublin. The Norse warlord regards himself as lord of the Irish Sea, and his large and well-experienced fleet heads for Mon/Anglesey to try to secure it too. The Normans muster on the shore as it is sighted, and Earl Hugh of Shrewsbury is killed by an arrow fired from a longship into the Norman ranks on the beach. Magnus’ propagandists claimed their king had done this personally, hitting the earl expertly in the face below his helmet. As the Norse head on for Ireland the discomfited Normans retreat to Cheshire; Gruffydd is able to return and secure rule of Gwynedd. The earldom of Shrewsbury and its vast estates pass to the sonless Hugh’s elder brother Robert of Bellême, who comes to England to ask King William for the lordships and pays him lavishly. He also acquires the ‘honour’ of Tickhill in Derbyshire around this time, probably as nominated to be custodian during the new holder’s under-age years. He thus becomes one of the largest landholders in England to add to his politically dangerous border lordship in SE Normandy. While away in Ireland with his ally Gruffydd ap Cynan, Cadwgan of Powys is deposed by a Norman invasion after giving aid to Gwynedd; when Gruffydd is able to return home he returns to Wales and negotiates his pardon and resinstatement in return for vassalage. 1099 William returns to England. Westminster Hall is completed around Easter; according to Henry of Huntingdon the king boasts to his guests at the opening ceremony that it is only a bedchamber compared to his full plans for the palace. King Edgar of Scotland attends his patron William II’s Easter crown-wearing ceremony at Westminster for the inauguration of Westminster Hall at Pentecost (May), carrying the king’s crown in the procession like a regular ‘feudal’ vassal rather than an autonomous king. 29 May. Nomination of the hugely unpopular and resented royal chancellor and chief minister Ranulf Flambard to fill the vacant see of Durham; the latter is popularly accused of acting extortionately as a fee-demanding judge during judicial tours. William hears while hunting in the New Forest that his garrison (and kin?) are under attack in a castle in Maine from the rebel count Helias who is trying to reconquer Le Mans. He rides to the coast with a small group of intimates and commandeers a ship to sail to Normandy at once despite an oncoming storm, boasting that he never heard of a king being drowned. He reaches Normandy safely and gallops to Maine at full speed, catching Helias by surprise and forcing him to flee; his troops

Chronology: 1066–1154  57 arrive later and he reduces the county to full subjection before leaving for England. Helias hides out on the French border. Some time after the fall of Jerusalem to the First Crusade, including Duke Robert and Edgar Atheling (15 July), Count William IX of Aquitaine announces plans to go out to the Holy Land to help with Crusader reinforcements; he needs a ‘regent’ to govern (Aquitaine and?) Poitou successfully in his absence, and William successfully negotiates for this role in return for a ‘down payment’ for his campaign. The accompanying boost in resources and revenue for William will make up for Robert returning to control Normandy, and has been argued as either implying a new venture by William to build up his power SW of Normandy or a reason for King Philip to plan to murder him. 3 December. Death of Osmund, first Bishop of Old Sarum/Salisbury, in office since 1078. 25 December. William holds court at Gloucester. 1100

Easter. William holds court at Winchester; he is at Westminster for Whitsun. 2 August. Sudden and unexpected death of William in a hunting accident in the New Forest, a few months after the similar death of his brother Robert’s illegitimate son there. Robert is en route home to Normandy, and when he arrives will be in place again as William’s heir – so there has been modern speculation that Henry, who was at the hunting party, acted to seize the throne before Robert’s return. Robert has also married Sibyl of Conversano, a S Italian relative of his Crusading colleague Prince Bohemund of Taranto (half-brother of Duke Roger of Apulia), on his way home so he could have an heir soon. The list of lords attendant on William at the time of the ‘accident’ shows that they include later senior advisers of Henry. The question of William’s death has been exhaustively analysed by Frank Barlow in his biography William Rufus (1983); he concludes that the details are reasonably straightforward and a number of coincidences and possible motives do not add up to the possibility of a plot. Duncan Grinnell-Milne (The Killing of William Rufus, 1968) and Hugh Williamson (The Arrow and the Sword: An Essay in Detection, 1955) point the blame at Henry and/or a group of nobles eager to do him a service. They believe that the king’s violent death at that crucial moment for Henry’s fortunes was more than coincidence. After his midday meal on 2 August William leaves an unnamed royal hunting lodge for a day’s hunting and never returns. Some monastic writers mention bad dreams of Divine wrath which disturb the blasphemous king’s sleep, but this may be ‘ex post facto’ rationalisation. The nature of C12th attitudes towards the supernatural meant that Divine intervention

58  Chronology: 1066–1154 against the blaspheming and Church-revenue-seizing king was a logical explanation. William of Malmesbury, giving the first detailed account of the killing c. 1125, indicates that some business was transacted before the (hung-over?) king’s meal and departure for the hunt – later in the day than usual. William has it that the delay until after the meal was caused by William’s companion and guest Robert FitzHamon (the first Norman Lord of Glamorgan by marriage c. 1093 to the daughter of its Welsh ruler Iestyn ap Gwrgan, with his own lands probably in Gloucestershire) earlier receiving a visiting monk who claimed that a vision had warned of danger to the king that morning. FitzHamon and/or his companions decide to persuade the king to stay indoors and do business that morning, and the party goes out after a meal which would have been around noon. Orderic records that before setting out for the hunt that day William had a bizarre exchange with his killer-to-be Tyrrell, giving him the best of a bunch of six new arrows which had been brought for his use by a local blacksmith and telling him to carry out ‘justice’ on some matter. Orderic clearly means his readers to think that it turned out to be a prophetic hint at what was about to happen. It is too far-fetched for a whole theory to be erected on the basis of this exchange, alleging that William was not only a critic of the Church but also a secret adherent of a ‘pagan’ cult and wanted Tyrrell to kill him in some sort of ritual sacrifice. Where the king ventures to hunt is unclear, as the site chosen to put the commemorative ‘Rufus Stone’ in Canterton Woods in 1745 is miles from the most probable royal residence at Brockenhurst. The largest village remaining after William I’s presumed clearances in the forest by the time of the ‘Domesday’ survey in 1085–6, Brockenhurst, is the site of the bestknown early mediaeval royal hunting lodge but there were other early lodges, including probably the site at Beaulieu (‘Bello Loco’, ‘Beautiful Place’ in French) given by King John to the Cistercians in 1204. It is unclear when precisely various sites were brought into use as royal residences, which the sparse written evidence does not make clear. A major village with existing accommodation is most likely; an isolated site without a known pre-1066 village, such as ‘Castle Malwood’ close to the ‘Rufus Stone’ site, is less likely. There are no early medieval remains at this site, an abandoned pre- or post-Roman fortified enclosure. Its use in 1100 was guessed at by C19th novelist Charles Kingsley. ‘Througham’ (now Park Farm) S of Beaulieu has been mentioned as an alternative site, and if the site was near a demolished church there was none at the RS stone site. But was Beaulieu too far for the hunters to have reached Winchester in an hour or two after the killing as apparently happened? The king’s party includes Henry, the latter’s friends the Beaumont twins (Count Robert of Meulan and Henry, Earl of Warwick, the sons of Count Roger de Beaumont who d. 1094), William of Breteuil, possibly Henry’s Norman associate Robert FitzHamon (Lord of Glamorgan and

Chronology: 1066–1154  59 the king’s chief ally in the S Welsh Marches) who is said to have been distraught at the accident, and according to the later, mid-C12th account of Geoffrey Gaimar also members of the de Clare family, Lords of Tonbridge in Kent. Also present is Walter Tyrrell, Lord of Poix in Normandy, who had been drawn to the court by the king’s generosity according to William of Malmesbury. Poix being near the Norman frontier, he may have been invited along by William as a useful ally among the Norman baronage once Robert returned; was William thinking of using his lands to infiltrate agents to stir up rebellion? According to one source Tyrrell was asking about William’s intended route next time he campaigned in northern France, but this is not proof that he was sent to England as a spy – or a murderer? – by the ageing French king’s ruthless and devious heir, Prince Louis (later Louis VI) as recently suggested by Emma Mason. Tyrrell was to be blamed for the killing by the others – but was he the ‘fall guy’ for a plot? The ‘official’ version of the killing, which could only have come from Henry and the others in the hunting party, appears in the monastic chronicles of William of Malmesbury and Orderic Vitalis. They give more details than the brief statements in other sources like the ASC that the king was shot with an arrow in the forest in an accident. They say that William was shot in the early evening, as (William of Malmesbury) he was dazzled by looking into the declining sun as he gazed at a passing deer and did not see his danger. Another huntsman in the party, aiming for a deer standing near him, does not see the king and the arrow misses its target and glances off either the deer or a tree to hit William in the chest. Orderic states that Walter Tyrrell lets fly at a deer near him and accidentally hits the king, without mentioning the sun dazzling him or William; the Chronicon ex Chronicis by John of Worcester says that the king is killed by rash shooting by Tyrrell which implies the same version. The king falls dead, and as soon as the rest of the party realise that he is beyond aid Henry gallops off to Winchester to seize the treasury. Some of the party accompany him, which would logically have included his personal friends and others who take their chance to show their loyalty to the potential coupleader and so gain rewards later; other members head home to their estates to prepare for possible civil war or revolts. If anyone fired deliberately at the king under cover of his own shot it would probably have been a member of his own party, as they would have had their positions near him. If the identification of Tyrrell as the killer was due to his arrow being found in the king’s body, this may have been purloined from his quiver earlier to set him up as the ‘fall guy’; he claimed he had not been in that part of the wood so he was not one of the king’s immediate companions. Duncan Grinnell-Milne’s 1968 ‘reconstruction’ of the killing and reckoning that Tyrrell, who as he was accused of the killing by the other members of the party would have been the next shooter ‘along the line’

60  Chronology: 1066–1154 from the king and so ‘must’ have been around 80 yards away to be ‘in cover’, is too flawed to rely on. We have no certainty that the ‘Rufus Stone’ was put up at the correct site (in 1745 based on enquiries by Charles II in c. 1670). The king’s body is left unattended until eventually someone, either junior attendants to the party or a forester (called Purkiss in later legend), puts it in a cart and takes it to Winchester for burial at the cathedral next day. By that time Henry is on his way to London to be crowned. Gaimar’s 1150s account has a larger, noble escort for body. Eadmer’s brief statement says that William went out hunting after his midday meal and was shot in the heart in a wood while his party were shooting at deer, though others say that the king stumbled and fell on an arrow. Nor is there proof that Henry plans the ‘accident’, however convenient it is to his cause. Walter Tyrrell immediately flees to the coast (supposedly via ‘Tyrrell’s Ford’ on the Avon S of Ringwood), takes ship to Normandy, and never returns to England. He has no reason to stay and argue it out, with the chance that Henry would have him executed as a scapegoat and thus prevent him from resisting the ‘official version’ of the events. According to Abbot Suger of St Denis near Paris, writing the biography of William’s fellow sovereign Louis VI decades later, Tyrrell was heard many times in later years back in France claiming that he was not even in that part of the wood at the time the king was killed. He insisted it was an accident even when he was dying, according to John of Salisbury (Anselm’s biographer). This would logically suggest that he was not part of any conspiracy, which he had no reason to deny at this late date. Was he ‘framed’? REIGN OF KING HENRY I: 1100–35 3/4 August. Henry’s presence in Winchester results in the nomination of a new bishop for the vacant see, William Giffard (d. 25 January 1129). Sunday 5 August. Henry is crowned at Westminster Abbey, by senior Bishop Maurice of London (soon to be chancellor) as Archbishop Anselm is in France and Archbishop Thomas of York is at Ripon. He issues a coronation charter promising just and non-extortionate rule and a return to the traditional practices and reasonable levels of taxes and legal fines of King Edward pre-1066, including most or all of these promises in his coronation oath. The charter is cited as a precedent for new kings subsequently and is referred to in Magna Carta 1215, so makes a major impact. He also promises to end William’s practice of keeping church appointments vacant (currently two bishoprics and around 12 abbacies) and using the revenues. 15 August. Henry formally charges his brother’s chancellor Bishop Ranulf Flambard of Durham with extortion, and Archbishop Thomas confirms that the ex-minister violated legal promises given at ordination;

Chronology: 1066–1154  61 Flambard is sacked and imprisoned in the Tower of London but soon escapes down a rope from the walls. Henry invites Archbishop Anselm to return from exile in Lyons, promising to end royal interference in the Church and abuse of its resources; Anselm is already en route back after hearing of William’s death, and arrives at Dover (23 September) en route to meet Henry at Old Sarum/ Salisbury. 29 September. Major royal council and assembly of magnates at Old Sarum/Salisbury; Anselm refuses to receive his ring and staff of office from the king as this is banned by recent papal ruling by Urban II at a Rome council, April 1099, in Anselm’s presence – and is a major source of dispute between secular rulers and the Church on the Continent (‘Investiture Controversy’). Clerics doing homage to secular lords is also now banned, but Henry is infuriated by Anselm’s explanations. Anselm threatens to leave England again rather than break papal laws, and (Eadmer) Henry fears he will get a better response from Duke Robert and might back him as king instead; a truce with no investitures until Easter 1101 and a mission to the new Pope Paschal to get a ruling is agreed; Anselm will accept a waiver on the bans if the Pope so states. November. Death of Archbishop Thomas of York after a 30-year episcopate. Nomination to the see (in December) of Gerard, Bishop of Hereford and nephew of the late Bishop Walkelin of Winchester. Henry decides to marry Malcolm III and Margaret’s older daughter Edith (born c. 1075 or 1078), to strengthen his link to the pre-1066 royal family and ‘cut out’ possible rivals as well as being part of his ‘spin’ appeal to pre-1066 tradition and the English. There are legal doubts over whether her being made to wear a nun’s veil by her aunt Christina while living at Wilton nunnery/school (presumably to ward off ambitious fortune-hunting nobles after her hand and hence her lands) amounts to her taking irrevocable religious vows. Anselm considers this possible and has condemned her schoolfellow at the convent, Harold II’s daughter Gunnhilde, for ‘illegally’ marrying Alan of Richmond, but Edith insists wearing a veil was done against her wishes when she was under the age of legal consent for taking vows. Anselm sends envoys to Wilton to check up on whether Edith took irrevocable vows, and is satisfied by the reply; a Church/magnate council at his Lambeth residence agrees. The marriage goes ahead (Saturday 11 November, Westminster Abbey), with both parties keen on it; Edith is renamed ‘Matilda’ after Henry’s mother, and Anselm crowns Matilda as queen. There are some stories of antagonistic Norman nobles mocking the couple as ‘Godric and Godgifu’ (stereotypical English names), i.e. non-Norman rustics. In contrast to these critics, Henry’s closest advisers are reported as Earl Henry of Chester, Robert Count of Meulan and his brother Earl Henry of Warwick, Roger

62  Chronology: 1066–1154 Bigod ex-sheriff of Norfolk, Robert FitzHamon of Glamorgan and Richard de Redvers (Lord of Christchurch, Hants). 25 December. Royal crown-wearing ceremony at Westminster; Henry and Matilda are joined by Prince Louis, heir to Philip of France. (or 1101) Foundation of the priory of St Guthlac and St Peter, Hereford, by Gloucester Abbey. 1101

Early February. Ranulf Flambard escapes from the Tower of London, allegedly climbing down a rope from his room while his guards are drunk (Orderic and William of Malmesbury), and heads for the Continent to join Duke Robert. 10 March. Henry renews the English treaty of alliance with Count Robert II of Flanders at Dover, hiring 1000 knights for his war against his brother. Arnulf of Pembroke, brother of Robert of Bellême, aids Henry to arrange an alliance with Count Robert of Flanders against the threat of invasion of England by Henry’s excluded elder brother Duke Robert of Normandy. But he soon becomes involved in the war between Henry and Robert on the side of Robert, putting family solidarity first, and in pursuit of this sends Gerald, his castellan of Pembroke, to arrange a pioneering alliance with his neighbour across the Irish Sea, King Muirchertach Ua Briain of Munster (ruled 1086–1119), great-grandson of ‘High King’ and national leader Brian Borumha (killed 1014) and son and successor of ‘High King’ Toirrdelbach Ua Briain (d. 1086). Muirchertach has just seized the ‘High Kingship’ too in 1101 and has experienced troops (though infantry not Norman-style cavalry) to lend. Arnulf’s move is a first Norman involvement across the Irish Sea and is to lead his successors in Pembroke on to the invasion of Ireland in 1170 and a whole new field for Norman (and English) colonisation. Arnulf goes to Munster and marries a daughter of Muirchertach who the Welsh records call ‘Lothcota’, and hires Munster troops for his brother Robert’s campaign against Henry. Easter. Henry holds a crown-wearing ceremony at Winchester, presumably near the coast in case of invasion; (Pentecost, 9 June) court at St Albans. Flambard’s property is seized, and he is soon deposed as Bishop of Durham. Henry requires all his vassals/tenants to swear an oath to defend the kingdom against Robert until the end of the year, and their own vassals to swear to them in turn – so any rebels can be forfeited. The invasion of England by Robert in 1088 looks like being repeated, except that this time Robert arguably has legality on his side as William II’s legal heir and he has equally large support. He is able to land his army in Hampshire in July with the aid of the late king’s arrested chancellor Ranulf Flambard, while Henry is waiting with his army at Pevensey. As in 1088, the great lords have the choice of backing either brother with

Chronology: 1066–1154  63 a substantial faction favouring Robert, and the latter’s Norman vassals, e.g. Robert de Bellême (Lord of Arundel, i.e. close to the invasion site), are at risk of having their overseas lands confiscated if they back Henry so Robert wins more backing. 20 July. Robert lands probably on or close to Portsmouth harbour, and has c. 200 ships (ASC) so a smaller force than the 1066 invasion. He heads initially for Winchester where Queen Matilda is in residence, encouraged to fight by Robert of Bellême and William (II) of Warenne (Orderic), but swerves away – allegedly out of chivalry to avoid alarming her. Anselm preaches the duty of loyalty to the anointed king to Henry’s men to strengthen their morale and they march west quickly. Neither brother has enough troops or trusted supporters to risk a battle as they confront each other in the Meon valley to the E, with Robert possibly camped at Warnford (Durham Mss. Caligula A viii). Wace (1150s) says that Robert had decided to head for London but was blocked. A truce is negotiated. Wace says that Robert of Bellême and his nephew William of Mortain, the contenders’ cousin and Lord of Cornwall, are among the negotiators (for Duke Robert?) and that Robert FitzHamon, Lord of Glamorgan, negotiates for Henry. Possibly also Flambard takes a role, to urge Robert towards a treaty that will restore his own property rather than risking a battle. The resultant Treaty of Alton (ratified by the brothers and their leading men at Winchester 2 August) leaves the ‘status quo’ in place, with Duke Robert accepting Henry as King of England but becoming his heir as he had been to William II. Henry pays Robert 3000 ‘marks’ per annum and abandons his own Norman lands except Domfront. But neither trusts the other, their more ‘hard-line’ supporters are still plotting, and the treaty is only a pause; Robert of Bellême takes a leading role in the next plan to make Duke Robert the king of England with a ‘bolthole’ in Bellême on the Continent to flee to if needed. Having taken advantage of the chaos of the unexpected succession crisis in 1100 to build a new castle on the middle Severn below Shrewsbury at Bridgnorth without royal permission, Robert faces a royal offensive; Orderic says that the cautious Henry spends the period from the July 1101 truce to spring 1102 building up evidence of his flouting the law and setting spies to watch his every move. 27 July. Death of Earl Hugh ‘Lupus’ of Chester (born c. 1047), Lord of the northern Welsh Marches and close ally of Henry; he is succeeded by his under-age son Richard (born c. 1094), which means that Henry becomes his guardian as overlord and holds the lordship during his minority. September. Henry and Robert confirm and celebrate their agreement with an assembly of magnates at Windsor Castle, supported by visiting papal legates. At the council, Robert backs Henry in ordering Anselm

64  Chronology: 1066–1154 to allow the usual lay investiture of and homage to lay lords by clergy and not prosecute those who do so, or leave the kingdom. The papal letters arrive with legates, backing Anselm’s stand and offering to recognise Henry’s claim to the throne over Robert’s if he will agree to the papal rulings – too late for this to influence Henry. Anselm refuses to compromise with Henry and withdraws from court to Canterbury. In October Henry writes to invite him back and negotiate a settlement, suggesting that they can blackmail the Pope into giving way by a combined royal/ Church embassy to Rome with threats that Henry will break links with Rome, stop paying its taxes (‘Peter’s Pence’) and exile Anselm unless he can invest clerics. In continuing tension over loyalties, William (II) of Warenne, Lord of Lewes and Reigate, has his lands confiscated by the nervous Henry. 1102

(January or February?) Birth of Henry and Matilda’s daughter Matilda, later Holy Roman Empress/Countess of Anjou; the queen was pregnant before the July 1101 invasion. Anselm objects to Pope Pachal sending a full-status legate (Archbishop Guy of Vienne) with authority over the English Church to England as he has this right as Archbishop of Canterbury and it usurps his rights; a papal letter (15 April) confirms to him that no lay investiture or homage can be allowed. The new Archbishop Gerard of York (en route to collect ‘pallium’), Bishop Robert of Lichfield (seeking permission to move his see to the larger town of Coventry) and Bishop Herbert Losinga of Norwich (aiming for confirmation of his see moving there from Thetford) lead the English embassy to Rome. The bishops gain their requests, but Paschal will not budge on investiture and writes to Henry that his Lent synod at the Lateran has reaffirmed the ban. He allows Anselm the legatine right for England, but for his lifetime only not permanently for his office. The papal position on homage to lay lords is less clear, and the bishops claim that the Pope verbally allowed lay investiture to Henry as a personal gesture as long as he behaves respectably as a Christian prince but will not put it in writing. Anselm does not believe this and they have no proof, but Henry orders him to do homage which he refuses. Anselm sends another mission to Rome to get clarification and will not punish any clerics invested by lay lords until he hears the result. Foundation of new cathedral priory at Coventry to complement the move of the Lichfield bishopric there. Foundation of priory at Cranborne, Dorset (former C10th Saxon abbey). Henry appoints his new chancellor, chaplain from his days of insecurity and political sidelining in the 1090s, and chief ‘trusty’ Roger as Bishop of Salisbury.

Chronology: 1066–1154  65 The usual assembly of leading nobles at the royal court for a feast (probably Easter at Winchester) sees the king confront Robert of Bellême with a list of 45 charges of defying the law in England and Normandy, and he gives his victim time to prepare a reply which Robert uses to collect his horse and followers and flee the court back to the Marches. Nobody rallies to the unpopular and arrogant noble as the royal army marches on his territory but his brothers Roger ‘the Poitevin’, a major lord between the Rivers Lune and Mersey in Lancashire and lord by marriage of La Marche (Poitou), and Arnulf the Lord of Pembroke and Ceredigion/ Cardigan. 19 May. Death in Palestine (at Battle of Ramleh) of Henry’s sister Adela’s husband, Count Stephen of Blois and Chartres – allegedly sent back to the Holy Land to redeem himself by his wife after he returned home in 1098 on ‘deserting’ the besieged First Crusade at Antioch and was accused of cowardice. He is succeeded by his eldest son Theobald IV (born c. 1090); his second or third son Stephen (born c. 1094) will succeed Henry I in England. The other family holding, the County of Champagne, is in the hands of their cousin Hugh (since 1093; abd. 1125). May/Pentecost. Royal court at Windsor. The exact course of the resultant campaign is unclear as accounts differ, but it is over before the king attended a Church council with Archbishop Anselm in September. Florence of Worcester says that he first besieges Arundel Castle, head of the Montgomery holdings in Sussex and the most dangerous of their strongholds as the duke could sail from Normandy to relieve it, while Robert and his allies attack eastwards from the Marches into Staffordshire. Then the king sends troops off to recover Tickhill in Derbyshire and himself leaves the Arundel siege to head for Bridgnorth; he also sends gifts to Robert’s Welsh allies who recognise that the rebel cause is hopeless and defect. The king then takes both Bridgnorth and Shrewsbury within 30 days. The ASC just refers to the royal sieges of firstly Arundel and then Bridgnorth; William of Malmesbury has Henry attack and take Bridgnorth first (Shrewsbury then surrendering) before tackling Robert himself at Arundel. Orderic says that Henry summoned the army of all England – that is, a ‘feudal’ levy of all his vassals, great and small, plus the ancient AngloSaxon system of county levies, the ‘fyrd’ – for a first campaign, the threemonth siege of Arundel during which he left the latter for a period to take Tickhill. He then sends messages to Duke Robert to remind him of the Treaty of Alton, i.e. not to invade, and summons the army again for a second, autumn campaign (i.e. after the harvest) to take Bridgnorth which surrenders after three weeks. Robert’s Staffordshire vassal William Pantulf defects and persuades Robert’s Welsh allies to do likewise and come to help the king’s army; they appear to have included Iorweth ap Bleddyn of Powys who enters

66  Chronology: 1066–1154 Henry’s service in 1102. As Henry attacks Shrewsbury and breaches the walls Robert, commanding the town’s castle, hastens to negotiate his surrender. (Orderic came from Shropshire and is likeliest to have known the full story.) The castle is handed over to the king by Henry’s clerical loyalist Ralph d’Escurès, Abbot of Séez and later Archbishop of Canterbury, probably his mediator with Robert. In all accounts, Henry then banishes Robert from England for life and confiscates all his lands there; the same applies to his brothers Arnulf and Roger. The fall of the House of Montgomery leaves Henry determined to avoid building up any more ‘over-mighty subjects’ who he cannot trust in the Marches, and the earldom of Shrewsbury is kept vacant. The ‘caput’ (headquarters and chief comital residence) of the earldom at Old Montgomery Castle (‘Hen Domen’ in Welsh) goes (in 1105) to one of the king’s ubiquitous ‘new men’, Baldwin ‘de Boulers’ – actually from Boelare in Flanders, son of local baron Stephen de Boelare – who marries secondly Sibyl, the king’s niece. On this lower social level other new lords established as Henry’s vassals in the former Montgomery lands include Alan FitzFlaald (a Breton), ancestor of the Fitzalans, at Oswestry and the L’Estrange dynasty (related to the L’Estranges of Hunstanton in Norfolk) at Knockin. The sheriffdom of Shropshire is assimilated into the normal county structure of England with full legal powers, taking over the previous role of the Earls of Montgomery as Lords of Shrewsbury. The first holder of the enhanced office is the cleric Richard of Belmeis, later Bishop of London. Similarly, the disgrace and exile of Arnulf leaves a gap in the precarious new ‘colony’ in Pembrokeshire, and if the isolated new castle at Cardigan has not already been abandoned after its sacking in the 1094 local rebellion it is now; it has to be rebuilt by its next owner in 1110. Arnulf of Pembroke loses his lands and apparently flees to Ireland as local annals say that Muirchertach turned on and tried to arrest him to placate Henry but he fled overseas. He survives in exile for several more decades, while his Munster princess wife is remarried to a more useful local ally by her father. Arnulf joins his brother Robert of Bellême in Normandy; his Pembrokeshire deputy Gerald of Windsor holds onto Pembroke Castle but is suspected by the king. The castellanship and lordship (not earldom) of Pembroke is initially awarded by Henry I (c. 1102) to his own follower Saher, but he proves unable to secure its safety (probably as he is lacking local connections in a fiercely clannish region). Hywel ap Goronwy ap Cadwgan, manages to secure the lordship of Ystrad Twyi and Cydweli (SE Deheubarth) from Henry by royal grant. August? Death of Osbern FitzOsbern, Bishop of Exeter (since 1072); the see is kept vacant.

Chronology: 1066–1154  67 Late September, Michaelmas and after. Great council of the English Church at Westminster, the first since the 1070s; presided over by Anselm and by Gerard of York. It coincides with a separate royal council at the nearby palace. Reformist canons are issued to bring the Church in line with papal rulings and Continental practice; simony, sodomy, indiscipline, etc. are condemned and clerical celibacy is enforced. 29 September. Nomination to the see of Hereford of Reinhelm, chaplain to Queen Matilda. Nomination of Roger le Poer as the new Bishop of Old Sarum/Salisbury (in office until d. December 1139). Robert of Bellême goes to war against Duke Robert who is for once attempting to restrain his local vendettas. His brother Arnulf, at odds with him over not being given any of their brother Hugh’s inheritance in 1098, remains loyal to the duke and takes the family castle of Almanesches from Robert, but the latter proceeds to storm it and torture or mutilate the new ducal garrison as a gesture of defiance. Henry(?) confiscates the Tower of London’s constable William de Mandeville’s most valuable manors in E Anglia as punishment for his carelessness in letting Flambard escape in 1101; they go to Eudo the royal butler. WALES Cadwgan of Powys’ younger brother Maredudd is handed over to the English king as a hostage and imprisoned – possibly removed from Powys deliberately by his jealous relatives. 1103

ISLE OF MAN/ORKNEY After King Magnus of Norway’s death while campaigning in Ulster as an ally of the Ua Briain dynasty, a period of confusion proceeds in his Man and Hebridean dominions; his under-age son Sigurd, their ruler, goes home to Norway, and Laghman regains the throne of the Isle of Man briefly. The jarldom of Orkney goes to Sigurd’s local regent, Haakon Paulsson. The Manxmen subsequently seek a new governor from the most powerful king in eastern Ireland, Muirchertach Ua Briain, who sends out Donald McTeige/Tadhg. He proves to be a tyrant and is expelled after three years, returning to Ireland. ENGLAND/NORMANDY Early 1103. A papal letter confirms that Paschal did not give any verbal waiver on investiture to the three bishops who visited him in 1101 and orders them to be excommunicated for lying and Archbishop Gerard of York to give full obedience as subordinate to the archbishopric of

68  Chronology: 1066–1154 Canterbury, ending his claims to equal status. Anselm refuses to consecrate the new Bishop William Giffard of Winchester as invested, and one of the other new – invested – bishops (Reinhelm of Hereford) refuses to be consecrated by Gerard as Henry suggests doing, as Anselm will not consecrate him (or consecrate Roger of Salisbury). Henry expels Giffard and Reinhelm from England for defying him. 12 January. Death of William of Breteuil, major Norman landowner and heir of the FitzOsbern line; his illegitimate son Eustace claims his lands and fights over them with William’s Breton nephews, William de Gael and Reginald of Grancey. As a Henrican loyalist who fought in the 1102 war vs Robert of Bellême, Eustace is backed by Henry who gives him his illegitimate daughter Juliana as his wife, while de Gael’s death leaves Reginald leading the rival side and bringing in Count William of Évreux, Ralph de Tosni (cousin of the Marcher Cliffords) and Ascelin Goel of Ivry. Reginald resorts to atrocities as the war ravages the Évreux region, but loses support and flees to Burgundy; Ascelin Goel holds out and robs and kidnaps at will, but is eventually forced to give in. A general settlement is in favour of Henry, who now has another daughter (Matilda) married off to the contenders’ neighbour Count Rotrou of Perche. March. Henry and Anselm negotiate at Canterbury and Anselm avoids having to excommunicate the three ‘lying’ bishops as ordered by the Pope, by officially not opening the Pope’s letter ordering this. Henry suggests he goes to Rome to negotiate a waiver for him from the investiture ban, aided by the royal envoy, clerk William Warelwast, and he leaves for Rome. Henry dispossesses Robert’s nephew (and his own cousin) William, Count of Mortain and Lord of Pevensey and of Cornwall, too; the Count has been demanding his late uncle Bishop Odo’s earldom of Kent and when refused he left England to link up with Duke Robert in a huff and was forfeited. William of Mortain and Robert of Bellême now ally to become Duke Robert’s chief councillors, but later in 1104 Henry invades Normandy in force – his army including the other major Marcher warlords, the new and under-age Earl Richard of Chester and Robert FitzHamon of Glamorgan. Normandy is slipping into anarchy under the slack and careless rule of Duke Robert after his more capable new wife Sibyl of Conversano died, and possibly the abrasiveness of and robberies by Robert of Bellême (who Orderic says all England was glad to be rid of) adds to the disaster as more of the duke’s vassals desert him for Henry after the 1103 Breteuil inheritance war. Arnulf (formerly of Pembroke) turns on his brother Robert of Bellême for keeping all the family lands for himself and takes his stronghold of Almanesches, then hands it to the duke; his brother burns down the Almanesches nunnery in revenge before retaking

Chronology: 1066–1154  69 the castle and mutilating the garrison. The Counts of Perche and Évreux make war on Robert of Bellême to no avail, and when the duke finally intervenes his army is routed by Bellême and his late wife’s brother William is captured. He has to sue for peace and let Bellême officially have the lands he has stolen, including Argentan and the town of Séez. Robert visits England unannounced to press for the return of his ally William (II) de Warenne’s earldom of Surrey and probably to sound out his own support locally; Henry furiously threatens to arrest him but agrees to return the earldom and receives Robert cordially. However, the ducal ally William of Mortain has his confiscated ‘rape’/castle of Pevensey in E Sussex, a possible invasion site, handed over to Henry’s ally Gilbert of Laigle. Pope Paschal refuses to budge on investiture when he meets Anselm and Warelwast; they leave Rome empty-handed and Anselm is at Lyons en route back at Christmas. Following the death of the veteran first Norman Bishop of Exeter/Devon, Osbern FitzOsbern the brother of William I’s senior lieutenant William FitzOsbern, in August, Warelwast is given the archdeacony of Exeter and is probably the king’s choice as next bishop (not confirmed until 1107). 25 December. Royal court at Windsor. 1104

(1103/4) Foundation of Thetford Priory, Norfolk (Cluniac obedience), by Lewes Priory; later placed directly under Lewes’ founder, Cluny Abbey. Anselm decides to stay in Lyons as an exile rather than struggle with his conscience over obeying the Pope or the king; William Warelwast returns to Henry alone. The king writes to Anselm to no avail asking him to stand by him as his ex-superior Lanfranc stood by William I. Henry confiscates the archiepiscopal revenues as Anselm is not carrying out his duties, but returns half of them on Matilda’s request. The two men, however, correspond courteously with mutual respect. August. After a treaty of friendship and alliance between Duke Robert and Robert of Bellême causes dismay and enmity among the Norman baronage, Henry crosses to Normandy to visit his lands at Domfront and gathers allies. Robert of Meulan and Henry’s sons-in-law Rotrou of Perche and Eustace of Breteuil, join Henry; some defecting nobles do homage to Henry, and the outnumbered duke is forced to surrender and accept this. He has to attend a formal judicial commission investigating complaints of his misrule and even to personally ceremonially transfer the homage of William of Évreux to Henry (Orderic). He keeps nominal control of his duchy, but he is now effectively neutralised and humiliated. November. Anselm sends an envoy to Pope Paschal asking for help in resolving his stand-off with Henry who will not give way on investiture; in reply (letter of 23 December to Henry) the Pope orders him to send a

70  Chronology: 1066–1154 suitable reply on the issue to the Lent 1105 synod in Rome or face military trouble and religious sanction. 1105

March. As Henry prepares his army for another invasion of Normandy at Romsey during Lent, Paschal sends him another threatening letter for sending nobody to the Lent synod. On 23 March he excommunicates Henry’s adviser Robert of Meulan and those English bishops who have accepted and received lay investiture. A dispute between Duke Robert’s men and Henry’s new local governor around Bayeux, his loyalist Marcher henchman Robert FitzHamon (a local by origin), leads to the latter being attacked and kidnapped by two of the duke’s captains and imprisoned at Bayeux. The indignant Henry returns with an army to land at Barfleur in the Cotentin and overrun most of the duchy. He is joined by Count Helias of Maine, Geoffrey the son of Count Fulk of Anjou and Bishop Serlo of Séez, a victim of local depredations by his unwanted neighbour Robert of Bellême – who uses Bellême’s crimes to play up the argument in his Easter sermon to Henry’s court at Carentan (9 April) that the duke’s rule is resulting in chaos and tyranny and alleges that even his servants and harlots steal from the drunken and ridiculed duke. Henry duly promises to the congregation to restore the order of the good old days under his father. Duke Robert meets King Philip and Count Robert II of Flanders to ask them for help but is turned down. Henry marches on Bayeux demanding that FitzHamon be returned. Commander Gunter of Aunay, the latter’s kidnapper, does so but refuses to surrender. Henry storms the city and sets it afire, and the cathedral is burnt down as the Maine and Angevin troops run riot; the resultant carnage induces the equally obstreperous citizens of Caen to surrender their city and Duke Robert has to flee. The attack by Henry on Falaise, reputed birthplace of Henry’s and the duke’s late father King William, follows, but in the storming FitzHamon is struck on the head by a lance or stone, knocked unconscious and apparently rendered an invalid for the final two years of his life, leaving his lordship of Glamorgan leaderless. The attempt to take Falaise fails and Henry surprisingly withdraws to the coast, allegedly running short of money but more probably perturbed by the danger of his current dispute with Anselm and the Pope leading to his excommunication (his recent atrocities makes this more likely due to Church anger) and resultant possible desertions. The papal letter announcing the excommunications presumably reaches him around the time of the Falaise battle. Anselm comes to confront and personally excommunicate Henry, not waiting for the Pope to do so; he is delayed by a request to visit Henry’s ‘ill’ sister Adela at Blois, and when he tells her of his intentions she writes

Chronology: 1066–1154  71 quickly to warn Henry. The king invites Anselm to meet him at L’Aigle (21 July) where they agree a settlement. Henry will relinquish the right to investitures but keep the requirement that clerics do homage for their lay possessions. Anselm does not announce the agreement or return to England until he has papal approval, but Henry, returning to England (August) broadcasts the settlement and the Archbishop’s agreement and tries to induce Anselm to return at once to show their amity. December. William Warelwast for Henry and Baldwin of Tournai for Anselm go to Rome to seek the Pope’s agreement; meanwhile Robert of Bellême visits Henry’s Christmas court as ambassador for Duke Robert in a failed mission to fend off an attack, and may offer to betray him instead. IRELAND The (second) cousins, Kings Donnchad mac Murchad and Conchobar mac Mael Sechnaill, of W Midhe (acc. 1094) are overthrown by Donnchad’s first cousin Muirchertach mac Domnhall. 1106 ENGLAND/NORMANDY Early. Duke Robert briefly visits England to meet Henry; no agreement is reached. 23 March. A papal letter is issued to the English envoys backing the Laigle agreement; they take it back to Henry and Anselm. After Henry’s settlement with Anselm he returns to attack Normandy, delaying his sailing from May as he wants Anselm back in England first; Anselm is ill at Bec Abbey, so Henry sails later than planned without waiting any longer (July) and on 15 August he arrives at Bec to meet Anselm for a public reconciliation. Henry then takes the fortified Abbey of St-Pierre-sur-Dives, capturing Reginald de Warenne who has been hiding there plotting an ambush. His siege of William of Mortain’s castle of Tinchebrai in September brings the latter’s uncle Robert of Bellême, whose lands are in the area of S Normandy still under Duke Robert’s control, with the duke to the rescue. On 28 September the ducal relief force is routed by Henry at the Battle of Tinchebrai. The king’s lieutenants in the battle are William of Évreux, Robert of Meulan and William de Warenne whose captive brother Reginald is now freed. Henry’s English infantry plays a decisive role against the Norman ducal cavalry, an ironic reversal of Hastings 40 years earlier. Most of the Norman barons and their neighbours, Counts Alan of Brittany and Helias of Maine, fight for Henry, and a charge by the duke’s knights fails to break the mainly infantry English line after which a dismounted melee develops. After about an hour, Counts Alan and Helias lead a flank attack on the duke’s army, and Robert of Bellême, commanding the rearguard, is the first to flee; Duke Robert is captured and agrees

72  Chronology: 1066–1154 to hand over all his remaining territory to Henry and publicly abdicate in front of his leading magnates at Rouen. Duke Robert is then imprisoned for life and is later deported to Cardiff Castle; his small son by Sibyl, William, is disinherited (for the moment) but his nickname of ‘Clito’ (‘Throne-Worthy’, a translation of ‘Atheling’) implies that he could still gain his uncle’s realms. Also captured are William of Mortain, who is imprisoned in the Tower of London, and Edgar Atheling who is freed and drops out of history until a mention of him still being alive in 1125. Robert of Bellême flees to Count Helias of Maine and tries to interest him in a plot against Henry, but Helias persuades him to give up and negotiate his pardon instead; he is restored to his lands in Normandy but kept under surveillance. WALES Hywel ap Gorony of Ystrad Tywi/Cydweli (SE Deheubarth) is brought down by his Anglo-Norman neighbours of Rhyd-y-gors Castle. They hire one of his vassals to lure him to his house and then attack it at night, and Hywel is captured and beheaded; his lands are then seized. (Approx. date) Henry restores Gerald of Windsor, who he evidently decides to trust as he has local experience, as Lord of Pembroke. The latter goes on to govern his precarious and isolated lordship successfully, balancing off Norman and Welsh lords against each other and importing Flemings to settle in Pembrokeshire in return for military service. The creation of what becomes known as ‘Little England Beyond Wales’, with English patterns of landholding and parishes, dates to this early part of the C12th. Gerald also becomes the new husband of Rhys ap Tewdr’s daughter Nest, who has fallen into Norman hands after her father’s death and was probably deported to England as ‘spoils of war’ or a hostage for her family’s co-operation after the 1094 campaign. She becomes one of King Henry’s many mistresses and bears him a son, Henry (d. 1158). She and Gerald produce a large and famous family, from whom the Fitzgerald dynasties in Ireland (Earls of Kildare and Desmond) are descended. Gower is awarded to Henry de Beaumont, now Earl of Warwick (1106), who with his twin brother Robert, Count of Meulan and now Earl of Leicester (d. 1118), is one of the king’s closest advisers and is the son of the Norman Lord Roger of Beaumont (d. 1094) and heiress Adeline of Meulan. Cydweli/Kidwelly goes to the king’s chief minister Bishop Roger of Salisbury (1106?), and later to Maurice de Londres (i.e. ‘of London’), already Lord of Ogwr in Morganwwg/Glamorgan as a trusted henchman of Robert FitzHamon. St Mary’s Priory, Cardiff, is founded as the subordinate house of its founder, Tewkesbury Abbey – the favoured religious house of Cardiff’s lord, Robert FitzHamon.

Chronology: 1066–1154  73 IRELAND King Muirchertach of W Midhe (Ui Niall, Clan Colman line), acc. 1105, is overthrown by his brother Murchad. His cousin and predecessor, ex-King Donnchad, is killed in a war with Munster. Murchad will reign until 1153, unusually long for this feuding dynasty. King Domnhall mac Ruaidhri of Connacht (acc. 1102) is deposed by his ambitious brother, Toirrdelbach (born 1088?), who will rule until 1156 and become ‘High King’ in 1151. 1107 ENGLAND/NORMANDY/SCOTLAND Henry holds councils to restore order and good government to Normandy: Falaise (January) and Lisieux (March). He returns to England for Easter (13 April). Henry appoints his protégé Prince David of Scotland, younger brother of his wife Queen Matilda, as his governor of Cumbria, based at Carlisle. This is presumably also intended to provide his own loyalist with a strong position in S Scotland, as with William II putting David’s brother Edgar in Strathclyde in 1094, and according to Scots sources is against the wishes of David’s brother King Alexander who initially does not recognise it. David later wins him round and may have some overall viceroyal powers for Alexander S of the Firth of Forth, where he will set up his main residence and a new Anglo-Norman style castle at Roxburgh. 1 August. Religious council opens at Westminster to confirm the state/ Church settlement reached at L’Aigle in 1106. Once the settlement has been ratified the new bishops appointed to fill vacant sees can be consecrated. SCOTLAND 8 August. Death of King Edgar, son of Malcolm III, after an unimpressive reign of just under ten years; probably in his early 30s. Succeeded by his next and more dynamic brother Alexander, who is slightly younger. ENGLAND Sunday 11 August. Consecrations at Westminster by Anselm and his assistants: the king’s senior minister Roger (d. 11 December 1139) is consecrated as Bishop of Salisbury, the queen’s chaplain Reinhelm (d. 27/8 October 1115) of Hereford, William Giffard (d. 25 January 1129) of Winchester, Urban (d. 1133/4) of Llandaff, and royal clerk/diplomat William Warelwast (d. September 1137) of Exeter where he is already archdeacon. Giffard was nominated by the king as far back as his accession and Roger in 1103, and Warelwast has been in control of Exeter since 1103; the long exile of Anselm has held up consecrations. Ernulf

74  Chronology: 1066–1154 prior of Canterbury becomes Abbot of Peterborough and Ralph of Bec, prior of Caen, becomes Abbot of Battle as part of the advancement of ‘reformist’ connections of Bec and Canterbury Abbeys, to join Gilbert Crispin of Bec the Abbot (c. 1085–1118) of Westminster. WALES August. Urban enters a role as the first Anglo-Norman Bishop of Llandaff (i.e. Gwent/Glamorgan); he rebuilds Llandaff Cathedral and sets up a dubiously ‘historical’ campaign promoting the see’s role as heir to the defunct archbishopric of Caerleon in dominating the Welsh Church. The intention is to usurp the authority of the Welsh-run bishopric of St Davids in Deheubarth, and a tussle with that see’s backers follows; Urban also sets up a cult of local St Dyfrig (Dubricius, early C6th) as the ‘first Bishop of Llandaff’ and later repatriates his remains from Bardsey Island to be venerated at the cathedral. Death of Robert FitzHamon, Lord of Glamorgan, two years after a serious head injury in a clash at Bayeux; he is succeeded by his daughter Mabel, who as an under-age tenant-in-chief is the ward of King Henry – who governs the lordship. She is later married off to his eldest illegitimate son, Robert of Gloucester (born c. 1090). ENGLAND 26 September. Death of Maurice, Bishop of London (since December 1085). Wymondham Priory, Norfolk, is founded by St Albans Abbey. 1108

7 March. Death of Bishop Gundulf of Rochester, architect of the town’s castle and cathedral. May. Death of Archbishop Gerard of York. 24 May. Nomination of new Bishop Richard de Belmeis, a prominent royal clerk/civil servant, in London. June. Ralph d’Escurès is nominated as Bishop of Rochester (transferred to Canterbury in 1114). WALES Maredudd, brother of Cadwgan of Powys, escapes from English captivity and returns home. ORKNEY Jarl Haakon’s cousin (St) Magnus, son of Haakon’s father Paul’s brother Erlend, is sent packing when he turns up requesting a divison of the lands between them. He secures an equal division of Orkney by appeal to

Chronology: 1066–1154  75 Haakon’s ex-fosterling and ally King Sigurd’s brother and co-ruler King Eystein – Sigurd is currently away from Norway on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. The cousins are uneasy allies for a few years, though the Orkneyinga Saga says that assorted troublemakers endeavour to set them at odds. FRANCE 29 July. Death of King Philip, aged 56; he is succeeded by his more vigorous son (and effective deputy since 1106), Louis VI ‘the Fat’ (born 1 December 1081). Autumn. There is more meddling on the Norman frontier by the resentful Robert of Bellême, in alliance with new King Louis VI of France who demands that Henry do homage to him for Normandy and the return of the fortresses of Bray-et-Lu and Gisors in the Vexin (the latter built by Robert of Bellême for William II in 1097) which he agreed to cede to William in 1098. Henry brings an army back to Normandy to fend off a threat of invasion and Robert flees to Louis’ court. 1109

Early 1109. Military confrontation between Henry and Louis on the Norman frontier. They meet on opposite sides of the River Epte in the spring and negotiate, but neither will give way; Henry keeps the castles and does not do homage, but hostages are exchanged for a truce. 14 April. Death of Count Fulk IV ‘Rechin’ of Anjou (born 1043, acc. 1068), long-term rival of the Norman dynasts; his elder son and co-ruler Geoffrey IV has been fatally wounded at the siege of Cande (19 May 1106) so his younger son Fulk (V), born 1089/90, succeeds. 21 April. Death of Archbishop Anselm of Canterbury, probably in his mid-70s, after a failed final attempt to make Archbishop Thomas of York do homage and admit that Canterbury is the senior see in England; there is no immediate choice of a successor as the king uses the see’s revenues. 29 May/2 June. Henry and his court return to England from Normandy. 13 June. Royal council at Westminster during the Whitsun court there; it receives an embassy from the new (1106) Holy Roman Emperor, Henry V, with a formal request for the hand of Henry and Matilda’s 7-year-old daughter Matilda for him, probably following an initial ‘sounding-out’ in 1108. This is granted and oaths to carry it out are exchanged with the dowry to be 10,000 ‘marks’ on the girl’s marriage and Imperial coronation; it is a measure of the king’s rising international prestige. The huge dowry requires raising a special new tax, and is presumably intended to fund the emperor’s planned 1110 expedition to Italy. June. Consecration of the new Archbishop Thomas (II) of York. 17 October. Royal council at Nottingham ratifies the creation of a new bishopric at Ely.

76  Chronology: 1066–1154 WALES Cadwgan of Powys loses control of adjacent Ceredigion amid rising chaos in Powys, spearheaded by his own feuding sons (led by the brigand-like Owain) and the disinherited sons of his brother Rhiryd. Owain abducts the heiress Nest, daughter of Rhys ap Tewdr of Deheubarth (k. 1093) and wife of Gerald, castellan of Pembroke Castle, after attacking her husband in an isolated inland castle, probably Cilgerran but possibly Carew. (The grandparents of the late C12th and early C13th historian. Giraldus ‘Cambrensis’.) The accounts of the attack differ, and it is unlikely that Owain just happens to be visiting for a nearby ‘eisteddfod’ and hears of his kinswoman’s beauty so he either calls in to see her or decides on abduction on the spur of the moment. Whether or not he arrives as a ‘guest’ of Gerald’s and then seizes the castle at night or attacks it by surprise from outside, he has enough men to gain control of it and makes his way to Nest’s bedchamber. Gerald is driven to hide or flee, traditionally through a sewer, and Owain seizes and removes Nest to his hideout in the distant hills of Eglwyseg around Llangollen at the far end of Powys – the story that he raped her in front of her children before kidnapping her may just be scandalous gossip. Nest may have been her kidnapper’s accomplice and she is able to take along her children. Nest’s willing part in the abduction owes more to modern writers than to contemporary evidence. Owain is urged by his alarmed father Cadwgan to hand Nest back as the Anglo-Norman authorities in nearby Shropshire, led by Richard de Belmeis (Bishop of London) as royal steward of Shrewsbury, aid the outraged Gerald in making war on Powys and hire Owain’s cousins and enemies, the sons of Rhiryd ap Bleddyn, to raise a Welsh army and attack him. Nest’s children are sent back to their father, and she is recovered by or goes back to Gerald some time later. Owain has to flee to Ireland and seek help from his old friend ‘High King’ Muirchertach, Henry insists as he gives Cadwgan a royal grant of Ceredigion that he must have no dealings with his son Owain. The latter eventually returns home months later to live as a virtual ‘robber baron’ outside the law or the control of his father or the king, temporarily in alliance with his cousin Madoc ap Rhiryd (as in a failed invasion of Meirionydd in 1110) but usually at odds with him as well. 17 October. Nomination of the royal chaplain Hervey, Bishop of Bangor since 1092, as the first Bishop of Ely (d. 30 August 1131). The see is kept vacant as the English archiepiscopal authorities are defied in their right to nominate a successor by Gruffydd of Gwynedd. 1110

February. Princess Matilda and her escort set out for Germany; on 10 April she meets Emperor Henry V at Utrecht in the Low Countries and the betrothal is celebrated there.

Chronology: 1066–1154  77 Death of Count Helias of Maine, Henry’s ally; his daughter and heiress Eremburga brings the county to her husband Count Fulk V of Anjou, who is hostile to Henry, and tension results. WALES Henry, despairing of Cadwgan’s usefulness as a strong vassal as Madoc ap Rhiryd and others are out of control, removes him from his remaining lands in Powys. He restores Cadwgan’s arrested brother Iorweth in the vain hope that he can restore order, but the latter is defied by his nephews led by Madoc ap Rhiryd. The lordship of Ceredigion, vacant since Arnulf of Pembroke’s exile in 1102/3, is given to Henry’s new nominee, Gilbert Fitz Richard de Clare, controlling Rhyd-y-Gors in the lower Tywi valley since 1104. Gilbert is the son of Richard de Clare of Tonbridge Castle in Kent, founder of the family’s fortunes, and nephew of Baldwin de Meules, Lord of Okehampton and sheriff of Devon – it may have been his cousin Baldwin’s son William’s success in setting up a lordship in the Tywi Estuary on the S coast that lured him to Ceredigion. His family were with Henry when Henry’s brother King William was killed in the New Forest in August 1100. Gilbert soon founds castles in Ceredigion at Llanbadarn and Castell Gwallter. Around now Henry also gives other new local frontier lordships to his own men. The district of ‘Cemais’ (NE Pembrokeshire) goes to dynastic founder Robert Fitz Martin, and ‘Cantref Bychan’ to Richard Fitz Pons (d. 1138?), probably married to Maud de Tosni, the daughter of previous Lord Ralph de Tosni of Clifford Castle in the middle Wye valley and sister of current Lord Ralph (II) de Tosni (d. 1126), also Lord of Conches in Normandy. ENGLAND/GERMANY 25 July. Coronation of Matilda as ‘Queen of the Romans’ (i.e. empressin-waiting, with her Imperial title to follow Henry’s coronation in Rome) in Mainz; until the marriage at her majority, Matilda lives in Mainz being tutored by Archbishop Bruno. SCOTLAND Approximate date of Henry marrying off his illegitimate daughter Sibyl to King Alexander; they have no children. 1111 ENGLAND/WALES Henry fails to have his potential challenger, ex-Duke Robert’s young son William ‘Clito’, kidnapped from his guardian Helias of Maine by a ‘swoop’ on Saint-Saëns Castle; William’s local partisans hurry him to

78  Chronology: 1066–1154 safety in time. Helias joins the boy in exile in France and takes him to Flanders, but Count Robert does not offer anything more than sanctuary. Robert of Bellême(?) offers help to the ‘Clito’, or at least so Henry fears. Robert of Meulan, as a SE Norman border lord subject to raids from Louis VI’s partisans in the Vexin, raids and loots Paris in the king’s absence, raising tensions between him and Henry. Count Theobald of Blois (born c. 1090), son of Henry’s sister Adela, deserts Louis to ally with Henry. Iorweth of Powys is killed by Madoc ap Rhiryd. Cadwgan is restored by Henry, only to be murdered by Madoc as well, at Welshpool a few months later. Henry I divides Powys between Cadwgan’s unreliable but charismatic son Owain, who is at feud with the Normans and the Flemish settlers in Pembrokeshire, and the murderous Madoc. 1112

Henry exiles Count William of Évreux, his wife Heloise and ex-Robert partisan William Crispin from Normandy. Revolt against Louis VI’s strong rule of his refractory barons in the Isle de France, joined by Theobald of Blois and an army from Normandy; defeated by the king. Death of Count Alan III ‘Fergeant’ of Brittany (born c. 1060?, acc. 1084), son-in-law of King William I; he is succeeded by his son by second marriage, Conan III. November. Robert of Bellême turns up at Henry’s court as ambassador from his new master Louis VI; when his attitude is typically defiant Henry arrests him and throws him in prison for life, refusing Louis’ requests for his release. He is later deported to Wareham Castle in Dorset where he dies c. 1132, but his son William Talvas is allowed to inherit his mother’s county of Ponthieu.

1113

2 February. Henry and his court spend Candlemas at the Norman Abbey of St Evroul, home of the chronicler Orderic Vitalis. Late February. Henry betrothes his son and heir William to Matilda, daughter of Count Fulk V of Anjou, at a ‘summit’ near Alençon, and so lures the latter away from alliance with Louis VI; he also marries off his own illegitimate daughter Maud to Count Conan III of Brittany, the first move in the strengthening of the Anglo-Norman-Breton dynastic link that will be completed by Henry II in the 1150s. Henry agrees to Fulk’s request to pardon and restore Count William of Évreux, Amaury de Montfort, and William Crispin; Fulk does homage to Henry for Maine. End of March. Louis VI agrees to meet Henry now that he has lost Angevin support; they meet at Ormeteau-Ferre near Gisors and swear peace and friendship. Henry is granted the homages of Maine, Bellême

Chronology: 1066–1154  79 and Brittany and refuses to release Robert of Bellême. The castle of Bellême holds out for the brigand’s son William Talvas, who is absent in his wife’s county of Ponthieu, but Henry with Angevin help storms and burns it. Henry also secures Louis’ agreement to his sister Adela’s younger son Stephen of Blois (born c. 1094?) becoming Count of Mortain, the great Norman barony once held by William I’s half-brother Count Robert whose pro-‘Curthose’ son William is now dispossessed and in Henry’s prisons, and engages Stephen’s sister Matilda to the main N Welsh Marches lord Earl Richard of Chester. July. Henry returns to England. Henry marries his governor of Cumbria, Prince David the heir to Scotland, to his distant relative Matilda/Maud, daughter of the late rebel Earl Waltheof (ex. 1076) and his father’s niece Judith; she is the widow of Simon de Senlis, Earl of Northampton, so that earldom and Matilda’s earldom of Huntingdon are put in David’s hands until her children (by Simon and later by David) are adult. 24 August. Birth of Count Fulk V of Anjou’s elder son by his first wife Ermengarde of Maine, Geoffrey ‘Plantagenet’ – later Henry I’s son-in-law. Foundation of Bromholm Priory, Norfolk (Cluniac obedience), by Castle Acre Priory. 1114

7 January. Marriage of Henry’s daughter Matilda to Emperor Henry V at Worms Cathedral. 19/24 February. Death of Archbishop Thomas (II) of York, from overeating. 26 April. Nomination of Ralph d’Escures, Bishop of Rochester and former Abbot of Séez, as Archbishop of Canterbury, after a five-year vacancy; Henry’s initial suggestion of his Italian doctor Faritius, Abbot of Abingdon, is opposed by the magnates. Ralph is succeeded at Rochester by Ernulf (d. March 1124). ISLE OF MAN Emergence of the ex-ruler Laghman’s now adult younger brother Olaf ‘the Red’ as Lord of the Isle of Man in 1113/14, his rule lasting for around 40 years. He is a man of peace, unlike most of his warlike family. Olaf’s Norse nickname is ‘Kleining’, ‘the Dwarf’, a reference to his stature; the Manx chronicle calls him a mild-mannered and pious ruler whose only vice is the domestic one of kings, i.e. presumably having mistresses. He marries the daughter (Auffrica) of his powerful neighbour to the NE, Fergus Lord (or King) of Galloway. Her mother Elizabeth is the illegitimate daughter of King Henry I of England, who is now probably using both his son-in-law Fergus of Galloway and his viceroy

80  Chronology: 1066–1154 of Cumbria, the future King David of Scotland, to act as his agents in extending his power northwards. WALES Owain ap Cadwgan of Powys puts paid to one major threat from within his family by deposing and blinding his equally ruthless cousin Madoc ap Rhiryd (1113/14), but his rise to full control of Powys brings in the king to reduce this threat to royal authority. Henry invades Wales with a large army, and the Welsh chronicles say it was believed he intended to conquer all Wales. He requires his vassal and ally King Alexander of Scotland to bring along an army too – with the Scots having experience of guerrilla war in the hills so they can deal with the Welsh. Henry invades central Wales (Powys) from the east while Alexander joins the young Earl Richard of Chester to invade Gwynedd from the NE and Gilbert FitzRichard de Clare of Cardigan/Ceredigion invades SW Wales from his lands with troops from Devon. The Welsh retreat and there is no major fighting. Alexander offers to mediate as Gruffydd of Gwynedd and Owain of Powys retreat into the remote hills and cannot be caught; Henry agrees provided that they do homage and they do this. Gruffydd has his lands confirmed in return for renewed vassalage. Owain surrenders too, and Henry ‘invites’/deports him to Normandy to serve in his army, replacing him with his more reliable brother Maredudd as governor of Powys. 15 August. Nomination of Thurstan of Bayeux as Archbishop of York. Ralph of Canterbury refuses to consecrate him until he does homage and accepts Canterbury as supreme see in England. September. Henry crosses to Normandy, and later holds his Christmas court at Rouen. IRELAND Deposition during illness of King Muirchertach ‘Mor’ of Munster (acc. 1086), aged 66; he is succeeded by his younger brother Diamait, who he had deposed as co-ruler within a few months of their joint accession. Some months later when Muirchertach has recovered he seizes his throne back (Annals of Tigernach). 1115 ENGLAND/NORMANDY Early 1115. Henry has his Norman magnates swear allegiance to his son William as their next duke, then sends an embassy with an offer of cash to Louis VI to obtain recognition of this; Louis is talked out of it by Count William of Nevers. Also hostile to Henry is Count Baldwin VII of

Chronology: 1066–1154  81 Flanders, who in 1114 or 1115 takes up the cause of William ‘Clito’ and starts raiding the border. July. Henry returns to England, after tension with the new papal legate Cuno who has been sent to N France with a complaining letter from Pope Paschal about the neglect of papal rights over the Norman Church by Henry, delivered by legate Anselm, Cardinal of St Sabas (the late archbishop’s nephew) who is bringing the ‘pallium’ to England for Archbishop Ralph. Cuno has suspended the Bishops of Normandy for not turning up to his legatine council at Châlons-sur-Marne. The king insists he is only following established tradition accepted by past Popes. WALES Henry feels confident enough of Owain ap Cadwgan’s reformed character to restore him as a stronger ruler than his brother Maredudd. The king needs a local deputy who can appeal to and control the local Welsh, and does not have enough resources to impose an Anglo-Norman ruler and risk a major revolt. ENGLAND September. Henry holds council at Westminster to consider the papal complaints and the dispute between the two English archbishops over Canterbury’s primacy; he sends a delaying mission to Rome to hold up threatened sanctions, headed by Bishop William Warelwast of Exeter. September. Consecration of Bernard as the first English nominee as Bishop of St Davids, succeeding Wilfrid. 26 December. Consecration of Geoffrey de Clive, royal chaplain, as the new Bishop of Hereford (d. February 1119). WALES The queen’s chancellor Bernard becomes Bishop of St Davids, the see of Dyfed/Deheubarth, and starts a literary ‘fightback’ against the claims of Urban of Llandaff for primacy in Wales for the latter’s see. Bernard (in office until 1148) plays up the ancient nature of the see of ‘Dewi Sant’ as the ‘archbishopric of Wales’, as allegedly transferred from Caerleon in the C6th. ENGLAND 25 December. Royal court at St Albans, for the consecration of the new abbey church. Meanwhile Archbishop Thurstan of York proposes to go to Rome for the consecration as Ralph of Canterbury refuses to do this, and argues that as a provincial metropolitan he has only the Pope as his

82  Chronology: 1066–1154 superior; Paschal will back this line, but Henry backs Ralph and does not let Thurstan leave England. 26 December. Royal chaplain Geoffrey de Clive is consecrated as Bishop of Hereford (d. February 1119), succeeding Reinhelm. IRELAND Brief rule of Mael Sechlainn mac Domnhall as co-king of W Midhe (Ua Niall dynasty, Clan Colman line) with his brother Muchad, who acc. in 1106; later Murchad deposes and kills him (Annals of Tigernach). 1116 ENGLAND Pope Paschal sends Anselm to England as his legate and special ‘apostolic vicar’, but Henry refuses him entry so he stays in Normandy; Henry sends Archbishop Ralph to Rome to negotiate with the Pope, but the latter has fled from a German invasion to Benevento and Ralph is too ill to go there. Pope Paschal does confirm the established rights of Canterbury over York, but fails to say what exactly these are. 19 March. Henry holds council at Old Sarum/Salisbury and the magnates do homage to his son William as his heir; he insists that Thurstan do homage to Ralph or face his extreme displeasure. Thurstan has just seen papal letters backing his stand en route to the council and these lead to him holding out and even technically resigning his see in a confrontation with the shocked Henry (though he goes back on this later, doubting it is legal without papal approval, and stays with the court with his own clergy still recognising him as archbishop). WALES Owain ap Cadwgan of Powys agrees to help the king put down a revolt in Deheubarth led by Gruffydd, son of the late King Rhys ap Tewdr (k. 1093), who is leading what is described by English sources as an unruly army of young troublemakers. Gruffydd goes to Gwynedd to seek aid from his namesake Gruffydd ap Cynan, despite the latter having tried to hand him over to Henry I when he visited his court for help a few years earlier (he was warned in time and fled to sanctuary at Aberdaron Priory). Gruffydd ap Cynan gives Gruffydd ap Rhys his daughter Gwenllian as his second wife. The rebel prince’s SW Wales rival Owain ap Cadwgan attacks him, but is ambushed and killed by a force of Pembrokeshire Flemings led by his ex-mistress Nest’s vengeful husband Gerald. The revival of an independent SW Wales principality in inland Cantref Mawr by Gruffydd and his followers, later extending into the lowlands, ends Powys’ hopes of controlling this region. The English hold onto the coast.

Chronology: 1066–1154  83 Owain ap Cadwgan’s surviving uncle Maredudd, steward of Powys for Henry in 1114–15, succeeds as the senior among the remaining sons of Bleddyn. He rules as senior to Madoc and Morgan, his brother Cadwgan’s other sons. ENGLAND April. Henry returns to Normandy for a border confrontation with raids by the French king, who is now backing William ‘Clito’. He takes St-Clair-sur-Epte on the French side of the River Epte, and Louis retaliates by taking Gasny on the Norman side; Henry builds two castles to blockade Gasny, so Louis summons Angevin’s and Flanders’ help for raids. IRELAND King Muirchertach ‘Mor’ of Munster abdicates to go on pilgrimage and allows his younger brother (and 1114 temporary deposer) Diarmait to have his throne again. ORKNEY The truce between the rival Jarls Haakon and Magnus breaks down at Easter (1116?), and Haakon treacherously brings more men than Magnus – with weapons – to a supposedly peaceful meeting on the island of Egilsay. He turns up with eight shiploads not the promised two. Magnus allegedly urges his alarmed followers not to resist and give an excuse for unnecessary bloodshed as they arrive to find Haakon’s men landing, and Haakon’s men duly seize and imprison Magnus. When Haakon arrives Magnus asks to be sent into exile so he can go to Jerusalem or, failing that, be blinded to save Haakon from committing mortal sin by killing him. Haakon refuses and orders his execution, but only a lowly cook will do the deed (16 April 1116/17/18). Already loved for his sense of justice, Magnus becomes the local saint after his murder with a cult based at the Orkney cathedral of Kirkwall, built on the site of where he was buried by the wishes of his mother Thora a decade or two later. The new cathedral of Orkney is built at the site in the late 1120s–30s by Haakon’s heirs as a ‘national’ shrine as requested by popular demand. The date of Magnus’ death is unclear, due to misleading evidence in the Orkneyinga Saga; this puts it at seven years after his accession (i.e. 1115?) but the date of Easter in that year means that the time between the festival and the day of the killing makes a later year more probable. Haakon (d. 1126) reforms into a more just ruler later according to the Saga, and even makes a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

84  Chronology: 1066–1154 1117

Either in this year or 1118, Count Baldwin of Flanders raids to the walls of Rouen in Henry’s residence there, challenges him to come out and fight, and when he refuses steals his deer from the nearby park; Louis also plunders to the Rouen vicinity.

1118

18 April. Death of Count William of Évreux. His lands pass to his anti-Henrican nephew Amaury of Montfort, an ally of Louis VI against Henry in 1116, which stimulates Louis to increase pressure on Normandy. Backed by the local Bishop Audoin, brother to Archbishop Thurstan of York, Henry refuses him admittance to Évreux and garrisons the town and castle. 1 May. Death of Queen Matilda at Westminster, probably aged around 38–42. She is buried at one of her many co-foundations, Holy Trinity Church, Aldgate, London, and is famed for her charity and generosity to the Church’s social projects. 5 June. Death of Robert de Beaumont, first Earl of Leicester and (via his mother) Count of Meulan; he is succeeded by his sons by Isabel of Vermandois, i.e. Robert (1104–68) as Earl of Leicester and Waleran (1104–66) as Count of Meulan. Isabel, daughter of the French king’s late Crusader brother Hugh of Vermandois, remarries, to William de Warenne second Earl of Surrey. Robert Earl of Leicester soon marries Amicia, the grand-daughter of the 1075 rebel Ralph ‘le Guader’. Summer. Revolt against Henry on the S Norman frontier by baron Robert Girioe, who holds the castle of Saint Céneri against him and invites in Count Fulk of Anjou to help. Border skirmishes between the two rulers follow, and also further trouble on the French border stirred up by Louis after the death of regional ‘strongman’ Robert of Meulan. La Motte Gautier in Bellême surrenders to an Angevin attack (1 August) before Henry can relieve it; Henry gives his nephew and ally Count Theobald of Blois the S Norman towns of Alençon and Séez in return for defending them, and Theobald passes them on to his brother Stephen (already by this date Henry’s new Count of Mortain). September. Henry’s enemy Baldwin of Flanders is badly wounded in a skirmish and abandons his campaign, decreasing pressure on Henry. 7 October. Henry’s castellan of Évreux treacherously admits rebel Amaury of Montfort and his men to the castle during a royal council at Rouen, and they drive Bishop Audoin out of his see; they hold out against the king. December. Disaster for Henry as Count Fulk of Anjou successfully attacks Alençon; its lord Stephen and his brother Theobald, the king’s nephews, bring Henry to the rescue but their split force is defeated piecemeal by Fulk as it tries to enter the town; Fulk keeps Alençon.

Chronology: 1066–1154  85 IRELAND Death of King Diarmait of Munster; his elder brother Muirchertach, who abdicated in 1116 to go on pilgrimage, resumes this throne and also being ‘High King’ despite being aged 70. 1119 ENGLAND February. Dispute between Henry and his son-in-law Eustace of Breteuil, who tries to blackmail him into handing over the town/castle of Ivry which he claims; he is apparently put up to it by Amaury of Montfort. Henry arranges a ‘deal’ between Eustace and the castle’s commander Ralph Harnec whereby Ralph gives Eustace his son as a hostage in return for Eustace’s daughters by Juliana, the king’s daughter. The boy is apparently blinded by Eustace, so the infuriated Harnec insists that Henry give him the girls (the king’s granddaughters) who he blinds in revenge; the girls’ parents revolt, and Juliana holds out in the castle of Breteuil as the town surrenders to Henry. She then tries to shoot her father with a crossbow as he arrives and he forces her to surrender and evicts her; the lordship goes to a Breton cousin, Ralph of Gael (Orderic’s account of the markedly violent family revenge feud). IRELAND 10 March. Death of ‘High King’ and king of Munster Muircherdach ‘Mor’, aged 70 or 71; he is succeeded in Munster by two of his late brother Diarmait’s sons, Toirrdelbach (full king of Munster 1142, d. 1167) and Conchobar (d. 1142). ENGLAND/NORMANDY Henry fails to lure the Norman rebel leader Amaury of Montfort in to surrender with an offer of the county lordship and town of Évreux if he admits a royal garrison to the castle there, and Louis continues to pillage the Vexin border from Les Andelys. In May, Henry’s envoys lure Count Fulk of Anjou into abandoning the rebels in return for his daughter Matilda marrying Henry’s son and heir William. Fulk agrees to hand over Maine and Alençon as Matilda’s dowry. 17 June. Death of Baldwin of Flanders of injuries, at the Abbey of St Bertin; he is succeeded by his pacific son Charles ‘the Good’ (d. 1127) who resumes peace with Henry. WALES Henry appoints his protégé at court, Brian FitzCount (illegitimate son of the late Count Alan of Brittany) as the new Lord of Abergavenny, on the Gwent/Herefordshire border. Gilbert FitzRichard de Clare, Lord of

86  Chronology: 1066–1154 Ceredigion/Cardigan, has his brother Walter appointed as Lord of lower Gwent, on Brian’s S border. ENGLAND/FRANCE June. Prince/‘Atheling’ William of England and Matilda of Anjou marry at Lisieux, in the presence of Henry and Fulk. At Fulk’s request, Henry returns Alençon, Almanesches and other ex-Bellême towns to William Talvas, son of Robert of Bellême. 22 July. Death of Bishop Herbert Losinga of Norwich; the see is vacant until 1121. August. Henry makes a successful and bloody progress through rebel lands, which he burns, as far as Évreux where with Bishop Audoin’s permission he starts fires to smoke out the rebels and the town falls and burns down (cathedral included). He besieges Amaury’s garrison, including two half-brothers of Louis VI (Philip and Floris), in the castle and Louis marches to the rescue; Amaury has fled to join the refugee rebels Eustace and Juliana at Pacy. 20 August. Louis’ relief army attacks Henry’s army at Brémule in an unusually large-scale battle for the border wars, intercepting them accidentally en route to nearby Noyon-sur-Andelle. The battle sees Henry nearly killed in the melee by veteran rebel William Crispin who strikes him on the head but he is saved by his helmet; his tactic of dismounting many of his men for an infantry ‘stand’ against Louis’ charge works as the French break through the Anglo-Norman cavalry and come up against an unexpected infantry ‘wall’. The French king is routed and flees, along with his protégé William ‘Clito’, and both men lose their horses which Henry chivalrously returns later. The French royal standard is also taken, but apparently only three knights (Orderic) and a few other men are killed; Henry takes 140 prisoners. Louis surprises and tries to storm Breteuil at the purging of Amaury de Montfort, but its commander Ralf de Gael drives him off; he abandons the campaign and instead uses the forthcoming papal visit to France by new Pope Calixtus II (Frenchman Guy, Archbishop of Vienne) to try to win Church backing. 21 October. Louis addresses the papal Church council of Rheims (begins 18 October) and complains of Henry’s alleged misbehaviour and breaches of treaties; the Norman bishops, including Audoin of Évreux with his story of Amaury’s misbehaviour, are shouted down by the French ones. The Pope calls on both sides to implement a truce and to lessen casualties via the ‘Truce of God’ (no fighting at all several days a week). Facing no more armed support from Louis for the moment, Amaury negotiates a truce as Henry besieges him in Breteuil, and does homage in

Chronology: 1066–1154  87 return for keeping it. Henry meets his nephew William ‘Clito’ under truce and refuses to release the latter’s father Robert ‘Curthose’, but offers William lands in return for submission and fealty; this is refused and William leaves for exile again. Henry meets Pope Calixtus near Évreux and persuades him that despite what Louis said he was right to depose Duke Robert as the latter was incompetent and was harming his subjects who wanted to be rid of him. Henry is annoyed that at the Rheims council Archbishop Thurstan accepted consecration from the Pope despite saying earlier he would refuse it. Thurstan is not allowed back into England, but works to calm Henry down by negotiating a successful peace with Louis VI. 1120

March. Before leaving for Italy the Pope grants Thurstan and his successors full exemption from any obedience to the see of Canterbury and threatens an interdict on England if Henry does not allow him to return home. Thurstan meanwhile visits Henry’s sister Countess Adela of Blois and wins her support, and he (using Adela to approach Henry on suitable peace terms) and Cardinal Cuno (who meets Louis VI) conduct peace negotiations. WALES April. David ‘the Scot’ is chosen as Bishop of Bangor by the ruler of Gwynedd, Gruffydd ap Cynan; he is not recognised by the archbishopric of Canterbury, self-proclaimed superior of the see, who were not consulted over the election. ENGLAND/FRANCE After Easter, 18 April. Anglo-French peace is agreed. The ‘status quo’ in Normandy is approved and Henry’s son William will do homage to Louis VI for it so Henry does not have to do so; also Thurstan is allowed to come home and is exempted from doing homage to the see of Canterbury. The treaty is ratified by a personal meeting between Henry and Louis on the frontier, probably around June. Henry’s son William, probably aged 17, accompanies his father to the peace conference with Louis VI of France. (It is possible but uncertain that he was technically now co-ruler of the duchy and also ‘rex designatus’ of England.) The royal party then leaves Normandy for England after a council at Barfleur on 21 November. 25 November. The ship in which William is returning to England, the famous White Ship, loaded with junior members of the Anglo-Norman aristocracy, runs aground on rocks off the harbour of Barfleur shortly after setting sail – due to a drunk captain and crew trying to overtake the king’s own ship, according to Orderic Vitalis. (OV says the captain

88  Chronology: 1066–1154 asked Henry to sail in the ship, saying his father had navigated William I on the Mora to England in 1066, but the king handed the offer on to his son.) Henry himself had refused to sail in her but had commended his son to the captain’s care. The prince had foolishly encouraged both crew and passengers to open some casks of wine according to Orderic – who presumably received the story via the only survivor, a Rouen butcher. The state of the drunken crew (and passengers) and the unsafe number of people crowded aboard allegedly causes some wiser young nobles, crucially including Henry’s sister Adela’s son the future king Stephen, to disembark before the ship leaves the harbour. The captain tries to overtake Henry’s ship at the passengers’ suggestion, but hits rocks in his carelessness (Orderic). Also drowned in the disaster are Henry’s younger illegitimate son Richard, recently given Breteuil, and Earl Richard of Chester (born c. 1094), the king’s ex-ward and husband of Stephen’s sister Matilda who is also killed; the earldom passes to his father’s sister Margaret’s son by Ranulf de Briquessin (Lord of the Bessart), Ranulf ‘le Meschin’ (1070–January 1129). Since the 1090s Ranulf has been one of the main lords in Cumbria and chief defender of the NW English frontier; he is married to Lucy daughter of Turold, heiress of lands in Lincs (Spalding) and Westmorland (Appleby) – which brings the earldom of Chester into a role of influence in Lincs too. The courtiers initially dare not tell Henry, but Count Theobald sends a boy to do so a day later and he collapses – legendarily refusing ever to smile again. Henry and Count Theobald are at Brampton (Oxfordshire) for Christmas. Foundation of St Bees Priory, Cumberland, by St Mary’s Abbey, Yorks. Foundation of Monkton Farleigh Abbey (Cluniac obedience), near Bath, by Lewes Priory; the formal deeds are completed in 1123. 1121

6 January. At the Epiphany royal council in London, Henry announces that he will remarry, to Adeliza the daughter of Duke Godfrey ‘the Bearded’ of Lower Lorraine/Louvain. The marriage is hurried so he can get a replacement heir quickly, though it may have been planned before the disaster. Adeliza is received a few weeks after the marriage announcement by the king’s envoys at Dover and (29 January) they marry at Windsor. No pregnancy follows. 31 January. Archbishop Thurstan returns to England as agreed by Henry; he is received by Henry and Adeliza at Windsor and heads for York, avoiding meeting Archbishop Ralph. Easter. Court at Berkeley, Gloucs.

Chronology: 1066–1154  89 29 May. Henry and Adeliza are crowned together at Pentcost in London by Ralph. WALES The death of Earl Richard of Chester leads to rebel Welsh lords of NE Powys led by the current senior ruler, Maredudd ap Bleddyn, and two of his nephews raiding his lands (probably the upper Dee valley) and sacking two castles; Henry decides on retaliation. Henry invades Powys (June); Maredudd ap Bleddyn flees and takes refuge in Gwynedd with Gruffydd ap Cynan. His nephews, the surviving sons of Cadwgan, lead a successful guerrilla war in the forests with one ambush seeing the king nearly killed as an arrow strikes his mailcoat. Henry opens negotiations, and the rulers of Powys are permitted to retain their lands as his vassals in return for homage and 10,000 cattle as tribute. ENGLAND 18 June. Formal foundation date of Henry’s new abbey at Reading, a personal project comparable to his father’s at Battle and commemorating his son; he will be buried there. It is occupied by monks from Cluny, the most prestigious ‘reformed’ Benedictine monastery in W Europe, and has the lands of some former Anglo-Saxon monasteries granted to it. (or possibly earlier) Henry marries off his ward Mabel, daughter of Robert FitzHamon (d. 1107) and Lady of Glamorgan, to his own eldest illegitimate son Robert (born c. 1090); the latter becomes Lord of Glamorgan and Earl of Gloucester, dominating SE Wales. 1122

Whitsun. Court at Windsor. October. Death of Archbishop Ralph of Canterbury. IRELAND Brief reign in Munster of previous co-rulers Toirrdelbach and Conchobar’s brother Tadhg, of a year or less; he is then overthrown but they keep their hereditary province of Thomond.

1123

January. Death of Bishop Robert Bloet of Lincoln, a senior royal adviser and ally of Bishop Roger of Salisbury, of a stroke while riding with the king in his new hunting park at Woodstock near Oxford. 2 February. Council (lay and church) at Gloucester to elect a new Archbishop of Canterbury, coinciding with the Lateran council in Rome. The meeting is split over its choice, with the Canterbury monks (as the primary electors, the archbishop being their immediate superior) and most of the lay magnates favouring the idea of a monk being chosen while

90  Chronology: 1066–1154 Bishop Roger of Salisbury and most of the bishops preferring a secular clerk; Henry backs the bishops as the winner will have a major political/ national role, but the monks hold out for two days against his proposal that they elect from a short-list drawn up by the bishops. The latter’s choice is eventually approved – secular clerk William of Corbeil, prior of the Augustinian house of St Osyth (Essex). Thurstan will consecrate him, but then William insists that this is only acceptable if Thurstan also does homage and thus admits Canterbury has authority over York; he refuses so William is consecrated by Bishop Richard of London and his see’s suffragans. Late March. The archbishops head for the (end of the) Lateran council in Rome, but once there Pope Calixtus queries the legality of the mechanism of William’s election, the place and performers of his consecration, and if he as a canon can head a monastery. Thurstan however supports him, with letters from King Henry and Emperor Henry V, and Calixtus gives way. The Canterbury delegates raise the issue of York’s subordination, but their ‘ancient papal documents’ proving it are dismissed as forgeries and Calixtus says he will send a legate to England to hold an enquiry and give the final verdict – which William accepts. Bishop Roger’s nephew and ally Alexander is chosen as the new Bishop of Lincoln. Henry fails to return his late son’s widow Matilda’s dowry with her to Anjou, and offers Count Fulk rich gifts to desist; Fulk refuses and demands certain strategic castles in Maine that Henry recovered in the 1120 agreements (probably part of the lands of Mayenne in N Maine, never part of Anjou, and possibly also Alençon in Normandy) as ‘part of the dowry’ though they were probably regained by Henry separately. Henry refuses and a new war breaks out, this time involving yet another revolt by Amaury of Montfort at Évreux. He is backed by Anjou, and he may be behind the subsequent successful offer of Fulk’s younger daughter Sibyl to William ‘Clito’. They marry and Fulk hands over Maine to William as his vassal; Waleran Count of Meulan, son of the late Count and Earl of Leicester (Robert, d. 1118) and brother of the current Earl Robert, abandons his family’s close ties to Henry and joins Amaury in revolt along with his three brothers-in-law. April. Henry sends his son Earl Robert of Gloucester to the Cotentin and Ranulf ‘le Meschin’, the new Earl of Chester, to Évreux near the dissidents’ area to lead the defence. June. Henry arrives in Normandy to strengthen his castles and raise troops; open revolt follows by Amaury, Waleran and their allies (September) along with attacks from Maine by William ‘Clito’. Henry summons Waleran’s suspect brother-in-law Hugh de Montfort of Montfort-surRisle to court and demands he hand that castle over, and Hugh pretends to agree but as he approaches the castle gallops off ahead of his Henrican

Chronology: 1066–1154  91 escort to raise the alarm, then joins Waleran at Brionne. Henry attacks Montfort-sur-Risle which Hugh’s wife Adlena (née de Beaumont, daughter of the late Robert of Meulan/Leicester) is defending, takes it after a month, and offers her and Hugh easy terms but Hugh refuses. Henry storms and burns Brionne but its castle holds out; he besieges Waleran’s Pont-Audemer (October–December) where some of Louis VI’s knights aid the seven-week defence. He constructs a siege tower, and once it is overhanging the battlements and raining missiles inside the garrison surrenders. The town is looted by Henry’s Breton mercenaries, and after it is occupied by him Waleran attacks it in turn. 1124

January–February. Bad winter weather and famine adds to popular hardship, which is partly blamed on an epidemic of ‘coin-clipping’ by dishonest royal moneyers who are stealing part of the king’s bullion and not casting it into coins properly. Henry orders an investigation with all moneyers who are found guilty to be blinded and castrated – which is approved by the public (ASC). The rebels, led by Amaury, Waleran and Hugh, succeed in sneaking their men through the forest of Brotonne unnoticed to attack Henry’s besiegers of Vatteville, one of the surviving Beaumont rebel castles; Henry’s besiegers’ own fortress is taken. Ranulf of Chester, in command at Évreux, uses local experts to lay an ambush in the woods for the rebels (26 March) and captures Waleran and other leaders; Hugh is taken but Amaury persuades his captor to let him go. Three of the rebel commanders are blinded for betraying or deserting Henry after earlier pardon, and Vatteville is taken but Waleran’s HQ of Beaumont Castle and Brionne hold out for some weeks. Beaumont surrenders; Brionne is either stormed (Robert of Torigny, local at Bec from 1128 but not a witness) or surrenders (Orderic and Bec monks who visited the siege). The latter says the siege followed the death of their Abbot William, which was on 16 April. SCOTLAND 23 April. Death of King Alexander I, aged around 48; he has no children by Henry’s daughter Sibyl. He is succeeded by his Anglophile brother David (born c. 1084), who has ruled as ‘princeps Cumbrensis’ from 1107 until he assumes the throne. He has tried out most of his pioneering ‘Continental’ (or Anglo-Norman) reforms in that region before following this up in ‘Alba’ north of the Forth. The partly Anglian population and close trade links with England may have been crucial in this. His first ‘modern’, Anglo-Norman-style monastic foundation is at Selkirk on the Borders (1113) and his first two incorporated trading ‘burghs’ (towns) are at Roxburgh, his main residence and a pioneering Norman-style castle, and Berwick-upon-Tweed. He introduces Anglo-Norman ‘feudal’

92  Chronology: 1066–1154 lordship to his lands, after 1124 in Scotland, with men given land by legal grant, confirmed by charters, in return for service in a hierarchy of command; this replaces the usual Scots inalienable inheritance and secures the king’s grip on his ‘tenants-in-chief’ (and theirs over their own subordinates). Among David’s first feudal lords are the famous families of de Brus (Bruce) of Annandale, Stewart (founded by Walter FitzAlan, son of the Breton Alan Fitz Flaald) which was granted the ‘Strathgryfe’ lordship around Renfrew, and de Morville of Cunningham; most of the founders are sons of Anglo-Norman barons in England. He also ‘Normanises’ the Church with men and procedures from south of the Border, reviving the bishopric of Glasgow in the manner of an Anglo-Norman bishopric. Once David becomes King of Scots he extends his reforms to his new kingdom, and also creates the first network of royal sheriffs (shirereeves, an Anglo-Saxon office) across the nation as the king’s local representatives in the new counties which replaced semi-autonomous local lordships. He also creates the ‘justiciarship’ at the head of the Anglicised royal administration and legal system. A few weeks after David’s accession he is attacked by rebels led by his late brother Alexander’s illegitimate son, Malcolm; he defeats the latter in two battles (Orderic Vitalis). This may represent ‘anti-Norman’ resistance to David as an Anglicised prince who was brought up at William II’s court and governed Cumbria for Henry I. ENGLAND/NORMANDY The capture of the rebel leaders Waleran and Hugh leads to the rebellion collapsing; Henry sends envoys to Rome to have the Sibyl of Anjou/ William ‘Clito’ marriage annulled as they are cousins so within the prohibited degree of relationship, which Pope Calixtus grants (26 August). The Pope then sends a legate, John of Crema, to England and requires Henry to accept his authority over England and his holding a Church council and investigations there, but Henry holds him up in Normandy and when Calixtus dies (13 December) John has to wait for confirmation of his rank from his successor. 1125

25 March. Election of Queen Adelaide’s chancellor Simon as Bishop of Worcester to succeed Theulf, royal chaplain (in office December 1113 to d. 20 October 1123). 29 March. Legate John is in Canterbury to celebrate Easter. May. Death of Emperor Henry V; Henry I’s daughter Matilda is widowed, with no children. Either before or after this event, Henry I marries off his nephew ­Stephen, third (?) son of his sister Adela of Blois and Count of

Chronology: 1066–1154  93 Mortain, to Matilda, heiress of Count Eustace III of Boulogne by Henry’s late wife Matilda’s sister Mary. This may imply that Stephen is considered as a possible heir, and that this is superseded by the king’s daughter becoming available to rule England. 8 September. Legatine council meets at Westminster, and enforces the latest papal reformist canons. Clerical marriage is particularly condemned. John then makes a tour of inspection in England, and investigates the veteran ‘political bishop’ and ex-chancellor Ranulf Flambard of Durham for fornication and other crimes. Allegedly Ranulf receives him lavishly and has him ‘compromised’ in his bedchamber with Ranulf’s niece in front of witnesses including himself, to persuade John to leave him alone – William of Malmesbury agrees that John was found with a prostitute and shown up. John arranges a compromise between Canterbury and York – the latter will have authority over the bishoprics of Chester, Bangor and St Asaph and will verbally but not in writing profess obedience to Canterbury. Archbishop Thurstan refuses to consecrate the new Bishop John of Glasgow (Scotland) unless he does homage to him and thus admits York’s control over his see, which John and his sovereign King David refuse; David sends John to the Pope to be consecrated instead. WALES (Approx. date) Death of Bernard of Neufmarché, first Norman lord of the ‘Three Castles’, the upper Monnow and Golden Valleys on the SW Herefordshire border, and the lands of ex-kingdom of Brycheiniog aka ‘Brecon’; he is succeeded by his daughter Sibyl and her husband Miles FitzWalter, the long-term sheriff of Gloucestershire – a marriage arranged by King Henry c. 1115–20 to secure the lordship for his ally Miles. SCOTLAND Approximate date of the re-foundation of the former (early C5th?) monastery and church at Whithorn in Galloway, by the region’s current Scots-Scandinavian warlord Fergus – the first ‘unifier’ of the region and a probable equivalent of the slightly later Somerled in Argyll/the Hebrides. Fergus is married, probably before this, to an illegitimate daughter of King Henry – logically as a move by Henry to keep him as a potential ally vs Scotland. IRELAND First of two invasions of W Midhe (Ui Niall dynasty, Clan Colman line) by ‘High King’ Ruaidhri’s son Toirrdelbach to depose King Murchad (acc. 1106) and replace him with a client ruler, his son Domnhall; the latter is deposed by his father once the invaders leave.

94  Chronology: 1066–1154 1126 ENGLAND/NORMANDY Easter. Henry holds court in Normandy. Empress Matilda returns to her father allegedly unwillingly; he decides to nominate her as his heir as he has no sign of children by Adeliza of Louvain. 3 July. Death of Henry’s older sister Cecilia, abbess of their parents’ foundation of the Holy Trinity nunnery, Caen; aged probably a little over 60. 11 September. Henry and his court return to England, including Matilda and the captive rebel Waleran of Meulan; there are long and detailed discussions about the succession according to William of Malmesbury, probably over the acceptability of Matilda as heir to England – and her presumed remarriage – and the rival claims of the king’s nephews Stephen (by now married to the heiress of Boulogne), Theobald of Blois and William ‘Clito’. King David of Scotland, Count Conan of Brittany and Count Rotrou of Perche arrive at court for talks – and are probably asked to back Matilda now and as queen. Henry appoints his youngest nephew in the Blois family, Adela’s son and Theobald and Stephen’s brother, Henry (born c. 1096 or c. 1100) as Abbot of Glastonbury, the richest and most venerable abbey in England and a major landholder in SW England. 25 December. Christmas court at Windsor. Probable date of Henry moving his brother Robert ‘Curthose’ from his chief minister Bishop Roger of Salisbury’s castle at Devizes to Robert of Gloucester’s castle at Bristol – possibly considered safer from a rescue attempt? Allegedly Henry is advised by Matilda, backed up by her future 1130s allies Robert of Gloucester and Brian FitzCount (Conan’s halfbrother), Lord of Wallingford Castle. Are Bishop Roger and his nephew Bishop Alexander of Lincoln seen as pro-‘Clito’? ORKNEY Death of Jarl Haakon of Orkney, son of Jarl Paul I; he is succeeded by his sons Paul II ‘the Silent’ and Harald I ‘Smooth-Talker’. The latter is his illegitimate son by the daughter of a Caithness noble and mostly resides on the mainland. Harald is also an ally of King David of Scots, who has recognised him as Earl of Caithness – a wary move back into Northern politics by the Scots dynasty. The brothers’ relations during their co-rule in 1126–31 are always strained, and are soured by Harald’s men (led by Sigurd ‘Snap-Deacon’, another protégé of King David and currently involved with the jarls’ widowed sister Frakok) murdering Paul’s ex-­ fosterer Thorkell Summerledson, a close kinsman and ally of Haakon’s late cousin St Magnus, which nearly leads to civil war. Their alarmed nobles manage to patch up a truce and Sigurd is sent back to Scotland.

Chronology: 1066–1154  95 IRELAND Death of King Enna mac Donnchadh of Leinster (acc. 1117); he is succeeded temporarily by invading challenger King Toirrdelbach of Connacht, but the end of the latter’s campaign sees the emergence of Enna’s younger brother Diarmait as king. He will reign until 1171 and admit the Anglo-Normans in 1169, causing the end of independent Ireland. 1127 ENGLAND/NORMANDY 1 January. Court oath-taking ceremony to swear allegiance to Matilda at Westminster, which some do unwillingly. First to swear is Archbishop William of Canterbury, followed by the bishops; first lay magnate to swear is Matilda’s late mother’s brother, King David of Scotland (as Earl of Huntingdon in England by marriage), then Henry’s eldest bastard Robert Earl of Gloucester. January. In retaliation for Henry’s choice, Louis VI marries off his wife’s half-sister Jeanne of Montferrat to William ‘Clito’ and promises him aid to gain the English throne. 2 March. Assassination in the church of St Donatian at Bruges of the childless Count Charles ‘the Good’ of Flanders. There is no obvious heir, so civil war threatens; Louis marches to Arras as the overlord of Flanders to suppress civil disturbances and choose a new count. He makes William ‘Clito’ count instead of assorted relatives of the Flemish comital dynasty, and the new ruler wins over most of the urban burgesses with generosity. Easter. Henry is at Woodstock, his new hunting lodge palace outside Oxford, where he holds talks over the threat posed by William ‘Clito’ in Flanders. He bans the export of English wool to Flanders to damage the economy and pressurise the locals and subsidises Clito’s rivals to the Flemish succession to attack him. Henry holds a council at London (‘Rogation Days’ after Easter, according to Roger of Hoveden) and plans to marry Matilda off to his threatening Southern rival Count Fulk V of Anjou’s son and heir Geoffrey ‘Plantagenet’ (born 1113) to ally their domains and end the Normandy/ Anjou wars. This is reportedly opposed both by some Norman barons, who fear Angevin power and Angevin incomers gaining office once Geoffrey is co-ruler of Henry’s lands, and by Matilda who thinks a mere count as a husband below her social dignity as an empress. Henry goes ahead and the marriage is agreed. On 22 May Matilda and her party, led by her half-brother Robert and Brian FitzCount, cross to Normandy; Henry follows on the 26 August. August. Invasion of Flanders by its neighbour, Henry’s nephew Count Stephen of Boulogne; Clito defeats him and a three-year truce is agreed. But the lack of experience Clito has with handling urban burghers soon

96  Chronology: 1066–1154 stirs up discontent, and by autumn there is a revolt brewing in major towns led by Bruges – in favour of late Count Robert I’s grandson, Count Theobald/Thierry of Alsace, who promises the towns more privileges. Autumn. Formal betrothal of Matilda and Geoffrey. Foundation of Furness Abbey, Cumbria (Cistercian). IRELAND Second invasion of W Midhe and deposition of ruling King Murchad (acc. 1106) by army sent by ‘High King’ Ruaidhri; the latter installs Murchad’s son Domnhall but he is deposed once the invaders have left. Murchad, however, cannot stop a breakaway revolt in eastern Midhe by his kinsman Diarmait Ua Mael Sechlainn (son of the Midhe King Conchobar, d. 1105) who stays in power there until 1130. 1128 ENGLAND January. Gilbert is elected to succeed Richard de Belmeis (d. 16 January 1127) as Bishop of London. Foundation of Woburn Abbey, Bedfordshire (Cistercian). FRANCE Visit to Anjou by Hugh of Payens, founder of the Templar Order in the Holy Land; this probably involves the offer of the hand of King Baldwin II of Jerusalem’s eldest daughter and heiress to the widower Count Fulk V. As a result it is agreed that Fulk will go out to Palestine as co-heir to the kingdom and leave Anjou to his son Geoffrey ‘Plantagenet’ (born 1113). April. Louis VI marches into Flanders to help William ‘Clito’ in response to a request, but cannot put the widespread rebellions down. He leaves for home, probably after Henry I invades S from Normandy and reaches Épernon on the road to Chartres. The castle there is owned by Henry’s ex-foe Amaury de Montfort, who invites him in as part of his revenge on Louis VI for sacking Amaury’s close friend Stephen of Garlande, the disliked new French royal seneschal and chancellor, at the behest of Queen Adelaide (whose sister is married to William ‘Clito’). Geoffrey arrives in Normandy and (10 June) is ceremonially knighted by Henry at Rouen. 17 June. Geoffrey and Matilda marry at Le Mans Cathedral, with Bishop Guy of Le Mans conducting the ceremony and Henry present. Thierry of Alsace, Duke of Lorraine (1115) and son of the late Count Robert of Flanders’ daughter Gertrude, invades Flanders with local

Chronology: 1066–1154  97 support to claim the county; civil war with William ‘Clito’ follows. William is mortally wounded while besieging Thierry’s castle of Aalst (midJuly?) and dies on 28 July, aged probably 25. He is buried at the Abbey of St Bertin. He receives generous literary eulogies, but his death ends the threat posed by Louis VI to Henry’s direct line as Robert ‘Curthose’ now has no heirs; Henry honours a written request from the late prince to pardon and receive back his followers. Thierry rules Flanders until his death in 1168. ENGLAND 5 September. Death of William II’s former chief minister Ranulf Flambard, the extortionate and flamboyant Bishop of Durham; Henry keeps the see vacant for five years, taking its revenues, in a manner reminiscent of his late brother. Foundation of Waverley Abbey, Farnham, Surrey (Cistercian). SCOTLAND Foundation of Holyrood Abbey outside Edinburgh by King David; set up to contain a relic of the True Cross (i.e. the ‘Holy Rood’) allegedly acquired abroad by the king’s late mother (St) Margaret or her mother Agatha. The foundation legend has it that David was attacked on the site, the royal hunting park of Arthur’s Seat, by a stag and had a vision of the Holy Rood driving the stag back. 1129

January. Death of Ranulf ‘le Meschin’ (born 1070?), Earl of Chester since 1120 and also by paternal descent lord of part of Cumberland; he is succeeded by his son by Lucy, heiress of the Lincs Lord/sheriff Turold – Ranulf ‘de Gernon’ (born 1099), who will later in the 1130s marry the daughter of King Henry’s son Earl Robert of Gloucester. January. Church council of Troyes in Champagne, hosted by its Count Theobald (son of Stephen of Blois the Crusader and Princess Adela of England). Hugh of Payens, ‘Grand Master’ of the Templars, attends to seek official Church recognition and support for the Templar Order, which is forthcoming. Foundation of Oseney Abbey, Oxford, as house of the Augustinian canons – a priory until 1154, thence abbey. 25 January. Death of Bishop William Giffard of Winchester. May. Count Fulk of Anjou V, father of Geoffrey ‘Plantagenet’ to whom he has handed his domains a few months earlier, arrives at Jerusalem with King Baldwin II’s ambassadors William of Bures and Guy of Brisebarrel in late May. He marries King Baldwin’s eldest daughter Melissende and becomes his heir to kingdom with her; they succeed him in 1131.

98  Chronology: 1066–1154 Louis VI concludes peace with Henry, who (in July) returns to England. 4 October. The king’s nephew Henry of Blois, Abbot of Glastonbury, is also made Bishop of Winchester, one of the richest sees in England, to add to his power and wealth. Trouble between Geoffrey ‘Plantagenet’ and Matilda leads to the latter returning to Normandy, but Geoffrey does not soon request her to return. Christmas. Henry holds court at Winchester. IRELAND The would-be moderniser (St) Malachy, aka Mael Maedoc Ua Margair, is elected as Archbishop of Armagh and starts to open the Irish Church to up-to-date European practices and to increase its connection to Rome; he seeks a papal legateship for him to act in bringing in current Italian Church canon laws. 1130 SCOTLAND David I’s rebel nephew Malcolm invades again with a Gaelic Northern army supplied by the current Earl (ex-‘Mormaer’) of Moray, Angus, principal lord in the North and probably a descendant of the old royal house of Moray as grandson to Lulach and nephew(?) to Maelsnechtai (d. 1078). This is probably during David’s absence in England, where the king attends an important treason trial at Woodstock in Oxfordshire as one of Henry’s main vassals, and logically utilises criticism of David’s lack of interest in the North. Malcolm and Angus are defeated and the latter killed in a major battle on 16 April at Stracathro near Brechin, where around 4000 rebels and 1000 of the king’s troops fall; the royal commander is an Englishman, David’s constable Edward Fitz Siward. By 1135 Malcolm is a royal prisoner at Roxburgh Castle; Moray is overrun by the royal army after this battle and a new earl is appointed, probably David’s nephew William FitzDuncan (d. 1147). (Approx. date) A lordship is carved out of the Viking settlements in the area at around this date by Somerled, son of ‘Thane’ Gillebride of Argyll, the first to use the title of ‘Lord of the Isles’. His name in the then current Norse means ‘summer voyager’, i.e. a seasonal seaborne campaigner who would farm in the winter and go off trading and plundering in the summer or else in the spring and autumn in between do the sowing and harvest. In the Gaelic used at the time the name is ‘Somhair-lidh’, the latter part meaning ‘champion’ – later admirers opposed to Norwegian cultural influence on the medieval Hebrides have claimed that this was his actual contemporary name. The dynastic origins of Somerled of Argyll are unclear, and recent DNA studies of his MacDonald descendants show his patrilinear line as having been Norse, not ‘Celtic’ or Irish – though his Irish-named father may well

Chronology: 1066–1154  99 have had an Irish mother or grandmother and was supposed to be from Fermanagh. Somerled is probably a ‘new man’ and self-made warlord in an era of dislocation and turbulence; he attracts warriors as a successful leader not from his ancestry. His father Gillebride, a name meaning ‘servant of St Brigit’ in Gaelic, is supposed to come from the ancient line of the kings of Airghialla/Oriel in northern Ireland. Approximate date of the death of King David’s wife Matilda of Huntingdon, daughter of Earl Waltheof (ex. 1076) and of Judith the niece of King William I; probably a decade older than her husband and so aged a little under 50. She leaves one son, Henry, who is to inherit the earldom of Huntingdon which David holds for the moment; her late first husband Simon de St Liz’s earldom of Northampton is now taken by their son Simon. King David is at Henry’s court for much of the year, possibly as an ally in planning for Matilda’s succession. ENGLAND Early August. Church council at London to confirm the canon law ban on clergy taking wives. September. Henry sails from Portsmouth to Normandy, with the newly chosen Archbishop Hugh of Rouen who is abbot of the king’s favourite foundation, Reading Abbey. Foundation of Neath Abbey, Glamorgan (Cistercian). ORKNEY Ragnald (born as ‘Kali’), ex-merchant son of the late Jarl St Magnus’ sister by a Norwegian farmer, raised in Norway, has had the luck to make friends with the future king of Norway, King Sigurd’s bastard halfbrother Gillechrist/Harald (ruled 1130–6), on a trading visit to Grimsby in England. Kali has been invested with his late uncle’s jarldom of Orkney (only nominally as current Jarls Paul and Harald do not admit him there) in 1129, and on King Sigurd’s death in 1130 he backs Harald for the Norwegian throne against Sigurd’s son Magnus IV. They successfully demand a half-share in the kingdom for Harald, which Magnus has to concede to avoid civil war. In return Harald backs Kali, aka Ragnald or Rognvald, as Jarl of Orkney and he plans an attack on his cousins there. 1131 ENGLAND/NORMANDY January. Henry meets the exiled Pope Innocent II, driven out of Rome by his rival Anacletus and seeking help in France, at Chartres, the capital of Henry’s nephew Count Theobald of Blois.

100  Chronology: 1066–1154 May. Henry hosts a papal visit to Rouen. He returns to England by sea a few weeks later, with storms at sea reputedly causing him to vow to remit the ‘Danegeld’ tax for seven years and go on pilgrimage to the shrine of St/King Edmund at Bury St Edmunds if he reaches land safely (John of Worcester). The abbot of the latter (since 1121) is Archbishop Anselm’s nephew Anselm, a former royal diplomat. Robert de Bethune, prior of the monastery founded by the late Queen Matilda of England at Llanthony in the ‘wilderness’ in the Black Mountains of SW Herefordshire, is appointed Bishop of Hereford. Foundation of the first monastic house of a new order of canons, the ‘Gilbertines’, at Sempringham by (St) Gilbert (d. 1188?), as its prior. August. Henry and his daughter Matilda return to England. 8 September. Royal council at Northampton, following a request from Geoffrey Plantagenet for the return of his wife Matilda which is granted. The latter has a second oath of allegiance as successor taken to her before she leaves England. 25 December. Royal court at Dunstable. Foundation of St Martin’s Priory, Dover (Augustinian) by Christ Church Abbey, Canterbury. Foundation of Tintern Abbey, on the lower Wye upstream from Chepstow, as Cistercian house. ORKNEY Jarl Harald, also Earl of Caithness in Scotland, plots to depose his halfbrother and co-ruler Paul II, and is accidentally(?) poisoned at his house at Orphir at Christmas by putting on a poison-dipped shirt intended as a ‘present’ for his brother, allegedly prepared by his mother Helga, the late Jarl Haakon’s mistress, and sister Frakok. Paul is left as sole ruler and deports his stepmother and half-sister to the mainland where Frakok’s full brother Jarl Otter/Othere rules at Thurso, i.e. in Caithness. 1132 ENGLAND/WALES Easter. Royal court at Woodstock; then on to Westminster where a royal council adjudicates in the long-running dispute over precedence between the bishoprics of Llandaff and St Davids in Wales. Maredudd ap Bleddyn of Powys wins a clash with Gruffydd ap Cynan of Gwynedd in the vale of Llangollen. He dies later that year, probably in his early–mid 60s; he is succeeded by his son Madoc (d. 1160), whose reign is seen as a ‘golden age’ for Powys and is praised by his entourage of bards.

Chronology: 1066–1154  101 Fountains Abbey, Yorks, is founded as a major Cistercian house – placed in the remote upland ‘wilderness’ to keep its monks away from temptation, and develops as a leading sheep-farming centre and local provider of employment and social care in regenerating an area devastated by William I in 1070. Rievalux Abbey (Cistercian) is also founded nearby. Foundation of Quarr Abbey, Isle of Wight (Cistercian). 1133

5 March. Birth of King Henry’s daughter Matilda’s eldest son by Geoffrey Plantagenet, Henry (later King Henry II), at Chinon Castle in Anjou. He is baptised at Le Mans Cathedral on the eve of Easter. Easter. Henry holds court in Oxford. Henry creates the new bishopric of Carlisle, as a new subordinate see to York and so boosting Archbishop Thurstan’s regional power without taking a see away from obedience to Canterbury; this is agreed with Carlisle/Cumbria’s ex-governor, King David of Scots. Adelulf prior of Nostell (Yorks), the royal confessor, fills the see. Royal chancellor Geoffrey Rufus is made Bishop of Durham (nominated 28 May) to end a fiveyear vacancy; the royal treasurer (1126?) Nigel, nephew of Bishop Roger of Salisbury, is made Bishop of Ely (nominated 28 May). August. Henry sails to Normandy (for the last time), accompanied by portents of an eclipse of the sun and earthquake which are made much of once he dies during this visit.

1134

3 February. Death at Cardiff Castle of Robert ‘Curthose’, deposed Duke of Normandy; he was probably born 1052/3 as he was old enough to be knighted in 1066, and so was over 80 and the oldest surviving male of the Anglo-Norman medieval royal families. May. Birth of Matilda and Geoffrey’s second son Geoffrey (at Rouen?), after which Matilda is seriously ill; she chooses to be buried at Rouen not in Anjou (information in Robert of Torigny). August. Death of Bishop Gilbert of London; the see is vacant until 1141.

1135

Suspicion and estrangement between Henry and Geoffrey, possibly over the extent of the latter’s designated role as co-ruler or not once Matilda succeeds. Geoffrey may also ask Henry to do homage to Anjou for border castles until he restores them; assorted Norman barons are probably resisting any idea of an Angevin co-ruler in their duchy. Henry is also refusing to hand over border castles which were part of Matilda’s dowry to Anjou. Robert of Bellême’s son William Talvas (Lord of Ponthieu) refuses summonses to court and ends up (in September) fleeing to Anjou. Late November. Henry arrives at Lyons-le-Forêt to hunt; he has a sudden illness, according to Henry of Huntingdon a ‘surfeit of lampreys’ (fish).

102  Chronology: 1066–1154 1 December. Death of Henry at Lyons-le-Forêt, aged probably 67. The event is attended by his son Robert of Gloucester and Earl Robert of Leicester, (his brother) Count Waleran of Meulan, Earl William (II of Warenne/Surrey, and Count Rotrou of Perche. They then summon the Archbishop of Rouen. Matilda, crucially, is away in Anjou (as pregnant again?). The pro-Stephen Gesta Stephani says that Henry released his vassals from the oath they had taken to Matilda as heir as ‘illegal as involuntary’, but only the royal steward Hugh Bigod (according to John of Salisbury) supports this improbable claim. 2 December. The cortège makes its way to Rouen en route to a temporary burial at Caen until the tomb arranged by the king at Reading Abbey is ready. Meanwhile, a messenger has reached the king’s nephew Stephen in his wife’s county of Boulogne and he decides to seize the throne, being nearer to England than Matilda and benefiting from anti-Matilda (as a woman and allegedly as too domineering) and anti-Angevin elite sentiment. REIGN OF KING STEPHEN: 1135–54 Stephen crosses to England and rides to London (c. 8 December) where according to his propagandist Gesta Stephani he is warmly received by the citizens with a public welcome; he is ‘elected’ as king by a meeting of the principal citizens and he promises to pacify the kingdom. He then goes on to Winchester, seat of the exchequer and treasury, where treasurer William de Pont de l’Arche hands over the keys and another public ‘election’ apparently occurs. Bishop Roger of Salisbury, as chancellor, and Stephen’s brother Bishop Henry of Winchester lead the way in recognising his coup, and in return he makes a written charter promise of Church elections being free from secular interference, no simony or other illegal practices in Church affairs, and guarantees of the Church’s possessions. In Normandy, Stephen’s elder brother Count Theobald of Blois arrives at Rouen as the lords meet at La Neubourg, and apparently canvasses for his own election as king, not knowing what Stephen is up to; the lords back him. Saturday 21 December. As Theobald arrives at Lisieux to meet Robert of Gloucester, a messenger from London arrives to tell him that Stephen has been elected king in England. Sunday 22 December. Stephen is crowned king at Westminster Abbey by Archbishop William of Canterbury, and formally promises to uphold the liberties and laws as existing under King Henry. He issues a charter confirming the rights and liberties and promising to restore extra areas of forest seized to add to the royal forests under Henry I, with a letter wrongly claiming that Henry I recommended him as heir on his deathbed. The falsehood is also promoted by one of the royal stewards, Hugh

Chronology: 1066–1154  103 Bigod who was with Henry at the time, and is accepted by his colleagues, William Martel and Robert FitzRichard de Clare of Dunmow (Essex), and by royal constable (since c. 1127) Robert de Vere, founder of the de Vere dynasty and as lord by marriage of Haughley, Suffolk, a neighbour of Stephen who holds Eye. Stephen is accepted as king across England. Mid or late December. On hearing of Henry’s death and probably before any notification that his niece Matilda has been cheated of the throne, King David of Scots invades to occupy Carlisle and, in NE England, Norham, Wark, Alnwick and Newcastle Castles – a clear ‘land grab’ to move the border southwards and pressurise whoever is now sovereign. In Normandy, Matilda invades from Anjou with Geoffrey’s support and seizes Argentan, Domfront and Séez. Juhel of Mayenne, ally of Geoffrey, is to hold some border Maine/Anjou castles he claims for her cause. Foundations of Buildwas (Shropshire), Byland (Yorks) and Swineshead (Lincs) Abbeys, as Cistercian houses. (1135 or slightly earlier) Death of Gerald, Lord of Pembroke and its castle; his widow Princess Nest of Deheubarth, former mistress of King Henry, is persuaded by her adult sons by Gerald (led by William of Caer Yw/Carew Castle and Maurice) to remarry to Stephen, castellan of Cardigan Castle which commands the precarious NE border lordship of Cardigan/Ceredigion, to secure that domain’s safety. They subsequently have a son, Robert FitzStephen, who is to join his half-brothers in Ireland in the 1170s. ORKNEY/NORWAY King Harald seizes sole rule of Norway by arresting and blinding co-ruler Magnus. With his ally in full power, exiled Orkney claimant Ragnald/ Kali (nephew of Jarl/St Magnus) sends to his cousin Jarl Paul to demand Magnus’ half of the jarldom on pain of invasion backed by Norway, while also sending for help to his kinswoman Frakok in Caithness who agrees to attack Paul if needed. Paul refuses to concede any land despite this double threat. 1136 WALES/ENGLAND Outbreak of revolt in SE Deheubarth on the news of the king’s death, led not by its rightful Lord Gruffydd ap Rhys of Cantref Mawr but by the minor Lord Hywel ap Maredudd who brings in reinforcements from Brycheiniog/Brecon (lordship of Brian FitzCount) to aid the locals as they attack the Anglicised lordship of Gower, ruled by the late king’s intimates the Beaumonts (Earls of Warwick). On New Year’s Day in 1136 the Welsh rout their enemies at the Battle of Lywchr/Loughor on Loughor common, killing around 500 of them, and regain parts of Gower but cannot tackle the strong-walled local castles at Oystermouth and

104  Chronology: 1066–1154 Swansea. Despite the risk of revolt speading to his territory the ambitious Richard FitzGilbert, Lord of Pembroke, leaves his lands to journey to the new king’s court before Easter 1136, acting there as one of his negotiators with the king’s threatening neighbour King David of Scots (see below). Richard FitzGilbert proceeds to ask for more Welsh lands but is turned down. 5 January. Funeral of Henry I at Reading Abbey, attended by his successor and the elite. Stephen marches north with a large army and (on 5 February) reaches Durham; however, he reaches agreement with David rather than fighting, and gives David’s son Henry the earldoms of Northumberland and Huntingdon plus the lordship of Doncaster in return for his allegiance. Henry does homage (for the latter two only?) and David returns Alnwick, Newcastle, etc. but keeps Carlisle. In effect the border is shifted south. Roger le Poer, probably a relative of Bishop Roger of Salisbury, becomes chancellor. Stephen holds court at York and for Easter (22 March) at London. At the London gathering Henry of Huntingdon has precedence as the premier earl in England, followed by Earl Ranulf ‘de Gernon’ as Earl of Chester, and with danger for the future Ranulf resents Henry’s position and presumably also his gaining Ranulf’s old family lordship of Carlisle which R’s father used to govern. The vacant see of Bath is filled (Robert of Lewes) but the Abbot of Bury St Edmunds is blocked from gaining the see of London. Robert of Gloucester ignores summons to the Easter court at London, according to sympathetic sources out of honourable dilemma as he has sworn allegiance to Matilda as the rightful heir in 1127 (as did the now perjured Stephen); eventually he comes to court and pays allegiance, possibly only in return for a promise of being kept on in the full honours given by Henry I (both details in William of Malmesbury, Historia Novella). The royal court moves to Oxford (later April), where Robert of Gloucester and his ally Brian FitzCount of nearby Wallingford appear in witness lists, and hears confirmation from Rome that Pope Innocent accepts Stephen’s accession; Stephen issues a charter of liberties for the Church at Oxford. A false rumour of Stephen’s death (‘Rogation time’, according to Henry of Huntingdon) leads to Hugh Bigod in Norfolk seizing Norwich Castle, and Stephen may have to travel there to deal with him and show that he is alive; he then prepares to cross to Normandy (Pentecost, 10 May) where the S border towns are still held by pro-Matilda rebels with Angevin help, but is distracted by news of revolt in Devon. Spring. Gruffydd ap Rhys of Cantref Mawr, rightful heir to the partly occupied kingdom of Deheubarth, leads a large-scale Welsh revolt across the region following Henry I’s death.

Chronology: 1066–1154  105 One of the great lords of SW England set up as a loyal ‘new man’ by his patron Henry I, Baldwin de Redvers (Lord of Plympton in Devon, Christchurch in Hants and the Isle of Wight), proceeds to demand the hereditary sheriffdom of Devon and castellanship of the county town, Exeter, which would give him long-term control of this county. This is more normal as a grant of favour to a much-needed regional commander on a dangerous frontier – one not reliably loyal noble dominating a region long-term is to the detriment of the king. This ‘forcible devolution’ and abrogation of royal powers to replace sheriffs and castellans at will is normal in northern France, but the weak reign of Stephen is to see an effort by unscrupulous local lords to achieve it in England too – creating semi-autonomous lordships like those of the Marches all over England. If thwarted a claimant can auction off his services to the king’s rival Empress Matilda (or vice versa if he was claiming these rights from her) and acquire the grants from them. Stephen resists and as Baldwin of Redvers revolts and occupies Exeter Castle he besieges him in the walled ex-Roman city of Exeter. Richard FitzGilbert (hereditary Lord of Tonbridge in Kent as well as Lord of Cardigan) and his Clare kin bring troops to his army. The main rival to de Redvers for prominence in Devon is their cousin Richard FitzBaldwin, son of the late Baldwin of Meules, brother of the late Lord William of Rhyd-y-Gors near Carmarthen and Lord of Okehampton. The rebels are blockaded in Exeter and starved out, but Stephen grants them guarantees of their lives and property in return for a quick surrender – and is blamed as it was argued that if he had waited the defenders would soon have been desperate enough to surrender accepting confiscation of their lands and exile or even a few exemplary executions. The effect is to encourage others to defy the ‘weak’ king. Richard FitzGilbert sets off back for Deheubarth with his men but is ambushed and killed en route (15 April?) near Abergavenny by Morgan and Iorweth ap Owain of Caerleon (hereditary lords of this and heirs to the defunct kingdom of Glamorgan). Richard is buried at his ancestral Tonbridge not in Wales; his son Gilbert de Clare (d. 1151/3) inherits Tonbridge and the family lands in Hertfordshire (and is soon made Earl of Hertford by Stephen, concentrating his interests on controlling that county) while Richard’s younger brother Gilbert clings on to what lands he can salvage in SW Wales. These are mostly in Pembrokeshire, which has a stronger Anglo-Norman and Flemish settler presence, and he relocates there and duly acquires the revived earldom of Pembroke (c. 1139/40) at an unspecified date early in the civil war from the embattled king. Revolt in Ceredigion and across Deheubarth now follows, while King Stephen sends Richard de Clare’s younger brother Baldwin and Robert FitzHarold of Ewias Harold in SW Herefordshire with troops to rescue the remote ‘colony’ in Pembrokeshire. The inefficient Baldwin halts at Brecon and apparently gives himself up to gluttony, but Robert reaches

106  Chronology: 1066–1154 and rescues Carmarthen from attack. Gruffydd ap Cynan has left for Gwynedd to seek aid. While he is seeking aid from his father-in-law Gruffydd ap Cynan his wife Gwenllian is killed (along with two sons, Morgan and Maelgwyn) as she attacks William de Londres, Lord of Cydweli and Ogwr, at Cydweli/Kidwelly Castle. Her memorable leadership of her husband’s army and heroic death are remembered for centuries in local lore and the site of the clash was named ‘Maes (Field of) Gwenllian’. In the far West a major Anglo-Norman-Fleming force under the local surviving ‘strongman’ Robert FitzMartin of Cemaes and his Herefordshire reinforcements under Robert FitzHarold is routed by the two Gruffydds with a combined army of Deheubarth rebels and Gwynedd reinforcements at Crug Mawr near Cardigan in October. The two leaders escape alive, but most of their men are killed (John of Worcester for campaign). Most of the principality of Ceredigion except Cardigan itself is now lost to the Welsh – only to be subsequently fought over by princes of Deheubarth and Gwynedd. Richard FitzGilbert’s widow Alice, sister of Ranulf ‘de Gernon’ the new Earl (1129) of Chester, and her garrison manage to hold out at Cardigan Castle until Miles, sheriff of Gloucester, brings a relief force all the way from the Severn and forces the attackers to pull back. Miles, the third generation of hereditary sheriffs of Gloucester (an administrator not a major landed peer), and his close ally Payn FitzJohn (lord of Ludlow) are now the leaders of the royal ‘fightback’. They are described subsequently as the rulers of the lands between the Severn and the sea under King Henry by the well-connected Marcher/Welsh historian Giraldus Cambrensis. Payn is a fomer ‘trusty’ and personal intimate of Henry I and sheriff of Herefordshire and Shrops; he is probably married to the niece of the disgraced 1095 rebel Roger de Lacey, Lord of Weobley, Ewias Lacey and Ludlow, and has been granted most of Roger’s lands by his patron Henry I. 22 July. Birth of Matilda’s and Geoffrey’s third son William, at their annexed Norman castle of Argentan. September. Backed with troops by Duke William of Aquitaine, Count Geoffrey of Vendome and William Talvas of Bellême/Ponthieu, Geoffrey invades Normandy and takes Carrouges; he captures Henry Earl of Warwick’s son Robert at the castle of Asnebec and reaches Lisieux, but has to retreat as Waleran of Meulan brings his pro-Stephen army in from E Normandy and retires S. October. Matilda helps her husband at the unsuccessful siege of Le Sap, Normandy. 21 November. Death of William of Corbeil, Archbishop of Canterbury. Christmas. Stephen holds court at Dunstable. Foundation of Buckfast Abbey, Devon (Cistercian).

Chronology: 1066–1154  107 SCOTLAND Foundation of Melrose Abbey by King David, who is usually resident at nearby Roxburgh Castle, as one of his Lothian religious projects. ORKNEY Jarl Paul II faces attack by forces raised by his half-sister Frakok across the Pentland Firth. He is deposed by his cousin Ragnald/Kali, who is lent aid by his friend King Harald of Norway and lands on Shetland to demand his rights; Paul, based on the Mainland of Orkney, resists. Their kinswoman Frakok and her son Oliver/Olvir now invade Mainland from Caithness with 12 ships to aid Ragnald, but are intercepted by Paul and his fleet and fought off. The year’s campaign ends with Ragnald in possession of Shetland and Paul unable to drive him out but holding the Orkneys, and he returns home to his father’s farm in Agdir, Norway, and wins more support from King Harald. 1137 WALES/ENGLAND Early 1137. Death of Gruffydd ap Rhys ap Tewdr, ruler of Cantref Mawr since 1116 and since 1136 of more of rebel Deheubarth too, probably aged around 50; he is succeeded by his eldest son by his first marriage Anarawd, who is assisted by his brothers Cadell and Maredudd. Anarawd kills the Pembrokeshire Flemings’ commander, Letard, in battle and secures his lands from them. March. Stephen sails to Normandy, landing at la Hogue, and is at Rouen for Easter (11 April) which is apparently the day that Earl Robert of Gloucester crosses to Normandy to join him. At Évreux Stephen agrees to pay his brother Theobald of Blois 2000 ‘marks’ per annum, apparently a ‘fief’ to buy out his claim to Normandy and England. In May he meets King Louis VI of France’s son and co-ruler Louis (VII) on the frontier in the company of Theobald, and secures his recognition as king and duke, reaffirming Henry I’s treaty with France, and at the meeting Stephen’s eldest son Eustace (born c. 1128) does homage to Louis for Normandy. Louis then leaves with Theobald for Poitou to marry his fiancée Eleanor (born 1122/4), who recently succeeded her father Duke William X (d. 9 April 1137) as ruling Duchess of Aquitaine. This match (in Poitiers, July) will gain Louis, more religious and less forceful than his father, the resources of Aquitaine and turn him into a major ally or threat to the Anglo-Norman and Angevin states. Geoffrey of Anjou invades S Normandy with a larger than expected army and strikes north towards Caen, but Stephen’s hired Flemish mercenary army under their commander William of Ypres holds him back and there are no major defections as Geoffrey had hoped; Stephen stays around Rouen but apparently is short of local support too. Stephen then heads

108  Chronology: 1066–1154 S to Évreux and wins the support of neighbour Count Rotrou of Perche (Henry I’s son-in-law), but then his army breaks into discord with apparent Norman antagonism towards the Flemings and their commander. 1 August. Death of King Louis VI of France, aged 56 (born December 1081); he is succeeded by his son and co-ruler (since his coronation in 1131) Louis VII, who is aged 16 or 17. WALES The inland E Deheubarth rebels manage to hold out in the remoter countryside by avoiding direct battle, and Payn FitzJohn is killed in an ambush on 10 July while pursuing some of them. Carmarthen is recaptured for Deheubarth by new ruler Anarawd ap Gruffydd, and Anglo-Norman control of the districts of Emlyn and Cemaes to the N and NW, south of the Teifi, is endangered. The death of Payn FitzJohn may well have seen some of his estates return to the dispossessed de Laceys, possibly including Weobley, now that Henry I who distrusted them is dead; Ludlow and probably Ewias Lacey go to a minor Breton lord loyal to Stephen, Joce de Dinan (i.e. of Dinant), who has no local connections. The building of the extant castle is to be ascribed to Joce in the C13th Romance of Fulk FitzWarine, and the adjoining part of the town, the original centre of the ‘borough’, is to be named ‘Dinham’ so he may have established that too during Stephen’s reign. Death of Gruffydd ap Cynan, ruler of Gwynedd since 1094 and of parts of the kingdom on and off since 1075; he is probably aged around 80. He is succeeded by his son Owain Gwynedd (born c. 1100). ORKNEY Ragnald’s second invasion from Norway to depose his cousin Paul II has greater success than the 1136 attack, as he lands on Westray at a time when easterly currents prevent Earl Paul on Hrossey/Rousay from sailing to intercept him and the locals rally to him there. He may also have been helped by a promise to build a magnificent new church on the Orkneys to his late uncle, the popular late Jarl (St) Magnus, victimised by Paul’s father. The Church under Bishop William mediate a truce, with the two men likely to share the jarldom. But Ragnald secures sole rule by surprise and luck, when one of his kin, the exiled landowner Sweyn Asleifson, unexpectedly returns to Orkney to aid him. The ferocious Sweyn, a roving warlord who the Orkneyinga Saga says maintains a hall-full of 80 warriors as his warband, is in trouble with Paul over a typically ‘Viking’ blood-feud murder episode following a drunken killing at Christmas 1136 and has fled abroad. Sweyn now sails back to Orkney and opportunistically kidnaps Paul while the jarl is hunting otters on Rousay early

Chronology: 1066–1154  109 one morning after hearing that he has very few guards with him, then sends him off as a prisoner to his ally, Paul’s sister Countess Margaret of Atholl, at her home in central Scotland. (Margaret’s husband Earl Maddad is the nephew of the late King Malcolm III of Scots and first cousin of King David, and possibly David as well as Frakok is involved with the Atholl/Sweyn plot to attack and remove Paul.) ENGLAND/NORMANDY Earl Robert of Gloucester quarrels with Stephen and comes under suspicion. His participation in the Norman campaign sees him at odds with royal favourites such as the mercenary commander William of Ypres; apparently the latter tries to ambush him (William of Malmesbury) and the Archbishop of Rouen has to mediate between him and his enemies. His ‘conscience’ at breaking his oath to Matilda is cited by sympathisers as his main reason for revolt, but he may have feared being deprived of his lands and decided to strike first. December. Stephen crosses back to England and (24 December) besieges rebel-held Bedford. 1138

January or early February. Stephen faces invasion from King David of Scotland who is now demanding control of all Northumberland, as part of his late wife’s father Waltheof’s earldom of Northumbria. Stephen marches north, and en route makes an unsuccessful diversion to the siege of Bedford Castle whose castellan Simon de Beauchamp has recently died (1137) with his daughter engaged to the royal trusty Hugh, younger brother of Robert Earl of Leicester and Waleran of Meulan, so Stephen wants Hugh to control the castle and be Earl of Bedford. Simon’s nephews Miles and Payn resist this and claim he desired them to succeed to the lands, and Miles has seized the castle; Stephen fails to take it but after(?) he leaves with his army his brother Bishop Henry of Winchester wins the Beauchamps round by promising the lands and castle to them. Stephen reaches the River Tyne as the outnumbered King David retreats N from Corbridge to his favourite residence and large new castle of Roxburgh. The Scots king apparently plans an ambush, but Stephen just ravages lands then returns S in a hurry after rumours concerning a plot by Eustace Fitzjohn, Lord of Malton (Yorks) and Bamburgh Castle; the latter, a potential threat to Stephen’s route home, is duly demanded by and handed to the king (beginning of Lent). Easter. Royal court at Northampton; Waleran of Meulan and William of Ypres are sent to Normandy after a new invasion and ravaging by Geoffrey. The crucial event in the outbreak of a full dynastic civil war – Earl Robert of Gloucester’s decision to renounce his fealty to Stephen and claim that

110  Chronology: 1066–1154 his oath to Matilda in 1126 takes precedence and the king has broken all his 1136 promises to Robert (account of William of Malmesbury). This is announced by his messengers to Stephen in late spring, during or at the end of a minor rebellion in Herefordshire that is not so much a dynastic challenge to the new king (no mention of transferring fealty to Matilda by the rebels) as an example of a ‘trial of strength’ with the king by disgruntled lords. By implying that Stephen’s accession has been a fraud Robert strikes at the heart of his government. This is ‘spun’ as the act of a man of honour who could not live with his conscience any longer. The contemporary sources make it clear that Stephen’s easy terms for the 1136 rebels at Exeter have encouraged this sort of defiance, and at the same time rebel Welsh are holding out in Deheubarth and Stephen lacks a trustable regional ‘strongman’ to fight there since Payn FitzJohn was killed by them in July 1137. Stephen cannot really trust Earl Robert’s local ally the hereditary sheriff Miles of Gloucester (d. 1143), who has now inherited Brecon too through his marriage to Sibyl de Neufmarché, daughter of Bernard. Around now Miles also starts to call himself Earl of Hereford, and it is likely that he has forced Stephen to grant him this title to secure his loyalty. The king heads from his Easter court at Northampton to Gloucester to supervise a counter-attack in Deheubarth himself, only to face revolt in Herefordshire. Part of Stephen’s initial 1135/6 offers of concessions to the potential rebel Miles of Gloucester (now in attendance on him at that town) have included arranging the marriage of Payn FitzJohn’s elder daughter and heiress Sibyl to Miles’ son and heir Roger, later second Earl of Hereford and Lord of Brecon. The agreement includes all the lands taken by Henry I from the rebel de Laceys and given to Payn, including Weobley, this cuts out Gilbert de Lacey’s claims. Angered by this, Gilbert (holder of the family’s Norman lands) and his cousin Geoffrey de Talbot revolt, and Geoffrey seizes the town of Hereford. Stephen now besieges Geoffrey in Hereford Castle, set in the SE corner of the town close to the cathedral, and celebrates Whitsun at the latter a few hundred yards away during the siege; after a few weeks the castle surrenders in return for the rebels being allowed to leave unmolested, as at Exeter in 1136. Geoffrey flees to his other stronghold of Weobley, but is driven out of that too and flees – ending up at Earl Robert’s Bristol Castle. The rebellion seemingly collapses, and Stephen heads back to Gloucester. The announcement by Robert’s emissaries during or at the end of the campaign implies inevitable war, but Stephen does not proceed to blockade Robert’s main SW England stronghold, Bristol Castle, that year. Instead he cautiously advances as far as Bath after the rebels at Bristol – now joined by the refugee Lacey and Talbot – have clashed with the local bishop’s garrison at the latter. Geoffrey Talbot is captured raiding Bath

Chronology: 1066–1154  111 by the bishop’s men but the rebels proceed to lure the bishop to a parley, kidnap him and force an exchange to Stephen’s fury. Stephen secures Bath with his army, but moves off into Somerset to take Earl Robert’s isolated castles of Castle Cary and Harptree. The king faces a serious problem in retaking Bristol, due to its size and its ability to be supplied from the sea up the River Avon. King David’s attempts to swallow up more of N England by armed assault involve a large and reportedly unruly army, including Islemen from the Hebrides led by the ‘King of the Isles’ Somerled mac Gillebride and more troops from Galloway. The army is accused of assorted atrocities on the local countrymen as it ravages Durham and Cleveland, and meanwhile David’s nephew William FitzDuncan of Egremont in Cumberland defects to David and plunders and burns Furness, including Furness Abbey (which was founded by Stephen). 10 June. William defeats an Anglo-Norman force at Clitheroe in the Ribble valley. On 11 June King David, besieging Norham Castle, Northumberland, after surrounding Wark Castle en route, issues letters of protection to local monasteries, e.g. Tynemouth Priory. Wark holds out; Norham surrenders and its lord, Bishop Geoffrey of Durham, is offered it back if he gives allegiance to David but refuses. Eustace FitzJohn hands over Alnwick and Malton to David. David’s army rouses patriotic local resistance and the local barons rally under Church leadership by Archbishop Thurstan and are joined by the Notts and Derbyshire militias under William Peverel and Robert de Ferrers. They intercept the invaders at Cowton Moor just S of the Tees near Northallerton, and (22 August) defeat them despite inferior numbers at the ‘Battle of the Standard’ (so-called from the English standards which are flown from a carriage). The Scots are inferior in weaponry, and the Galwegian infantry ‘front line’ and Prince Henry’s cavalry behind them both charge but are driven back as English archers decimate the Scots. The Scots retreat. Cardinal-bishop Alberic of Ostia, who has come to England to announce the end of the papal schism after the recent death of Pope Innocent’s challenger Anacletus, travels to David’s HQ at Carlisle with Bishops Aethelwold (of that city) and Robert of Hereford and negotiates a truce with David; negotiations with Stephen follow. Stephen takes swift and effective action in a second Marches revolt – the Middle Marches this time, where William Fitzalan of Oswestry (1105– 60), who has succeeded his father Alan FitzFlaald (a Breton nominee of Henry I as the main lord of NW Shropshire) in 1114, now joins the rebel cause. Brother of Walter FitzAlan the ‘High Steward’ of Scotland and married to Christiana FitzRobert of Caen who is possibly a niece of Earl Robert of Gloucester, he declares for the earl and Empress Matilda and seizes control of Shrewsbury; he is currently sheriff of Shropshire after Payn FitzJohn. The king is busy retaking Dudley Castle a short distance

112  Chronology: 1066–1154 away so he is able to intervene quickly; he marches on Shrewsbury and William flees with his family, leaving his uncle Arnulf de Hesdin in command of the castle. The town surrenders, but Arnulf refuses to do so and allegedly sends insulting messages to the king; the account of local Orderic Vitalis has it that the enraged Stephen then has the ditch around the ‘motte’ filled in and the main gate stormed. Arnulf and his garrison, around 93 men, are all hanged; the chronicler John of Worcester reports with shock that five men of high social rank were executed, which was virtually unheard of in contemporary warfare. This duly quells resistance, and leads to the surrender of rebel-held Dover Castle in Kent by Walkelin to the queen’s (largely mercenary) Flemish army shortly afterwards. Christmas. Royal court held at London, and major council with (11 December) a separate Church council headed by the legate Alberic which discusses who to appoint to the vacant see of Canterbury and to issue new reformist disciplinary canons on Continental lines. The election goes to Theobald, Abbot of Bec, despite the hopes of the ambitious Bishop Henry of Winchester who should have been presiding at the election meeting in his capacity as archdeacon but is away doing an ordination at St Paul’s Cathedral when the election is carried out (headed by Bishop Alexander of Lincoln, nephew of the powerful Bishop Roger of Salisbury). Autumn or winter. Death of William de Warenne, second Earl of Surrey and Lord of Reigate, aged around 50; he is succeeded by his son William (born c. 1119), third earl. 1139

8 January. Consecration of Archbishop Theobald at Canterbury. 18 January. The royal party and many nobles attend the consecration of the new abbey church at Godstow, just NW of Oxford; this is followed by a major council at Oxford. A few weeks later at London the king makes Miles of Gloucester’s protégé Gilbert Foliot Abbot of Gloucester; then the new archbishop heads a large clerical deputation to Rome for the Lateran council. At the latter (April), Matilda’s envoy Bishop Ulger of Angers puts forward a legal case to the clerics and Pope that Stephen is a usurper and should be deposed, arguing on the account of her hereditary right and the 1127 oath (testimony of Gilbert Foliot and John of Salisbury). Bishop Roger of Coventry, Archdeacon Arnulf of Séez, and late Archbishop William of Canterbury’s aide Lupellus argue for Stephen – and drag up the story that as the late Queen Matilda wore a nun’s veil at Wilton Abbey in the 1090s she was illegally married and the empress is a bastard. The Pope decides for Stephen. 9 April. Peace is agreed between Stephen and King David of Scots in negotiations at Durham headed by Stephen’s wife Matilda of Boulogne and David’s son Henry; Prince Henry does homage to the English king for Northumberland as its earl (local barons can do homage to him as

Chronology: 1066–1154  113 well as to Stephen), but in effect Scotland rules to the River Tyne. Henry now joins Stephen at his Easter court at Nottingham, and soon marries an English bride, Ada de Warenne (c. 1120–78), sister of Stephen’s loyalist Earl William de Warenne of Surrey. June. While Stephen is holding court at Worcester with his ultra-loyalist earls (including the town’s new earl, Waleran of Meulan, and the latter’s brother Robert Earl of Leicester plus Earl Robert of Warwick and Simon de St Liz, Earl of Northampton) and attending a ceremony in the cathedral, he is informed that Ludlow Castle is being held against him. The offender is possibly Gilbert de Lacey, in which case the latter has seized it from the loyalist Joce de Dinan. Possibly at the request of the technically still loyal Miles of Gloucester, Stephen leads his army there and succeeds in recovering the castle after a short siege. The episode is most famous for an incident where Stephen shows his bravery as a knight – and comes close to being killed, which would have aborted the civil war. The defenders let down an iron grappling hook from the west wall and entangle Earl Henry of Huntingdon, and the nearby Stephen leaps to his aid and succeeds in hacking through the iron before Henry can be hauled up into the castle and held hostage – exposing himself to fire from the walls for the vital moments. This episode is related by chronicler Henry of Huntingdon, and local chronicler John of Worcester hints that the earl was also at risk from his rival claimant to his earldom who was in Stephen’s army, namely Henry’s mother’s son by her first husband, Simon de St Liz, Earl of Northampton. After the castle has fallen, the king moves on to Oxford where he has to have a ‘showdown’ with his late uncle’s most powerful minister, the castle-hoarding cleric and treasurer Bishop Roger of Salisbury. This follows a brawl over lodgings between the entourages of Earl Alan of Richmond (a Breton lord dominating N Yorks) and of Roger. The latter and his nephews, Bishops Alexander of Lincoln and Nigel of Ely, are all suddenly arrested with their castles seized – though Nigel has time to flee to Devizes as he is lodged outside Oxford and hears of the plan and the king chases him to Devizes and blockades him into surrender. According to William of Malmesbury, powerful and jealous laymen, led by the brothers Waleran of Meulan and Robert of Leicester, want them brought down and their huge possessions restored to royal control or looted for their own benefit, and use the brawl as an excuse to work on the usually complaisant king. 25 August. Bishop Henry of Winchester protests at the arrest of three bishops and seizure of their possessions as an attack on the clergy at his first Church council in his new role as papal legate for England, at his episcopal city. The king sends his lawyers along, headed by Aubrey de Vere. Henry argues that the castles that have been confiscated were granted to clergymen and so are Church property and inviolable, but the king’s men argue that they were granted to the bishops in their capacity

114  Chronology: 1066–1154 as royal, i.e. secular, officials and that Henry has previously accepted this; Henry is dared to appeal to Rome and told that if he leaves the kingdom without permission he may not be allowed back, and the bishops give way and accept that property granted in return for secular service should be the king’s to demand back. 30 September. Empress Matilda lands from Normandy at her stepmother Adeliza of Louvain’s castle of Arundel in an invasion to claim the throne. The king may be in or near Dorset, where her ally Baldwin de Redvers has landed at Earl Robert’s town of Wareham a few weeks earlier. Earl Robert appears to have been with her with a small military force, but has left for Bristol before the king arrives. The castle – a large double ‘ward’, one to either side of a central tower on a ‘motte’, as at Windsor – is blockaded into offering terms and is not strongly defended, but Stephen allowes Matilda safe passage to her half-brother Robert at Bristol rather than requiring surrender. This is a political disaster of the first order – imprisoning a woman would have been to the detriment of his chivalric instincts and alienated more lords so he follows established custom (William of Malmesbury), and plausibly he is unwilling to continue the siege for another few weeks with the current revolt spreading. A separate revolt is now underway in the SW as the exiled Baldwin de Redvers (of Wight and Christchurch as well as Plympton) returns to his Devon lands. The author of the Gesta Stephani subsequently claims that Stephen’s brother Bishop Henry of Winchester advises Stephen to let Matilda leave unharmed and says it would be easier to tackle and capture Matilda and Earl Robert when they were together. The question must arise of whether the devious Henry is playing a double game – the longer the war the higher price both claimants would pay for his support. Henry had just intercepted Earl Robert, en route to Bristol, on his way to Arundel and let him travel on after a friendly discussion and kiss of peace – the Gesta Stephani hints at double dealing. Stephen marries off the empress’ stepmother Adeliza to the loyalist royal hereditary butler (‘pincerna’), William d’Albini or d’Aubigny, which founds the dynasty of d’Albini, Lords of Arundel into the C13th. It is unclear if this precedes or, more likely, follows the siege; it secures Arundel for his cause. Stephen fails to follow up his ‘success’ at Arundel by attacking Bristol. It has military logic as the town and castle of Bristol are strongly walled and have river access down the Avon to the Bristol Channel; a larger army is needed. Within weeks more major magnates – Miles of Gloucester, whose lands around that town could cut Bristol off from Earl Robert’s lands in Glamorgan, and Brian FitzCount of Wallingford – defect. Stephen besieges Wallingford, but soon moves off to attack Trowbridge whereupon Earl Robert relieves Wallingford by driving off the remaining

Chronology: 1066–1154  115 besiegers. From now on Matilda has major castles in the middle Thames and Wiltshire regions inhibiting any attack by Stephen on her base at Bristol. 7 November. Attack on and looting of Worcester by Miles of Gloucester’s men; the king arrives shortly afterwards to bolster the defences and goes on to Hereford, where Earl Miles has also seized the town and is besieging the castle, but halts at Leominster and retreats. 11 December. Death of the disgraced Bishop Roger of Salisbury. Christmas. Royal court at Salisbury. 1140

January. The king marches to Ely to seize the town and castle from Bishop Nigel, the late Roger of Salisbury’s nephew, who is accused of misrule, extortion and brigandage; he is forced to flee and his loot is recovered from his castle at Aldreth. 6 February. Death of Archbishop Thurstan of York, as a monk at Pontefract priory. The contenders for the see include prior Waldef of Kirkham, the son of the late Queen Maud of Scotland by her first husband Simon de St Liz but as King David’s stepson opposed by Stephen, and the king’s nephew Henry de Sully who Stephen backs but who refuses to resign his new Norman abbacy at Fécamp so the Pope bans him. The cathedral chapter at York choose their treasurer William, but his enemies allege that Earl William de Roumare ordered them to elect him so it is illegal secular interference and appeal to papacy; stalemate follows. February. Stephen secures Constance, the younger sister of Louis VII, as bride for his eldest son and heir Eustace, who is probably aged around 12; this cements the alliance of his family with the royal house of France against Anjou. 26 May. Stephen is at the Tower of London for Whitsun. This is followed by an expedition into East Anglia and holding court at Norwich, where the local ‘honours’ and power bases are rearranged. Maldon goes to Theobald of Blois, the earldom of Essex to the hereditary constable of the Tower, the ruthless and loot-hungry ‘brigand baron’ William de Mandeville, Eye in Suffolk to the mercenary commander William of Ypres, and Thetford to William de Warenne Earl of Surrey. At around this time Hugh Bigod, who loses control of Bungay Castle, is bought off with the earldom of East Anglia – as with the Beaumonts and Worcester, Stephen is buying support with ‘devolution’ of control of regions to his leading local supporters. The problem is that the latter can auction off their support to both Stephen and Matilda with increasingly audacious demands. The continuation of the civil war – now at a virtual equilibrium – depends on the failure of two rounds of peace talks which Bishop Henry takes

116  Chronology: 1066–1154 the lead in arranging. First he uses his authority as papal legate to call a meeting near or at Bath around Midsummer, with him, Archbishop Theobald of Canterbury, and Queen Matilda representing Stephen and Earl Robert the only high-ranking representative of Matilda. The timing may be linked to Earl Robert’s apparent move of his Bristol army to Bath to confront Stephen’s local army, some time before 15 August (Gloucester chronicler). This meeting fails. September. Bishop Henry proceeds to France to consult King Louis VII, his adviser Abbot Suger of St Denis, other leading churchmen and Stephen’s brother Count Theobald of Blois. He brings back a set of proposals, to which Empress Matilda agrees but which Stephen refuses (William of Malmesbury). The details are unknown, but the participation of the King of France – overlord of Normandy, Blois, Boulogne and Anjou – and people such as Theobald and the queen suggests that the family interests of both Stephen’s and the empress’ families in the long term were being considered. The Pope has backed Stephen’s election, coronation and right to the throne as all legal and it is very unlikely that he would ever have abdicated his Crown voluntarily; but the future of Normandy is another matter. It has been suggested that the eventual terms of settlement in 1153 give a clue to what was intended, with the empress’ son Henry (II), aged 7 in 1140, succeeding Stephen in England so that her claims of ‘right’ were upheld via her son (who would probably be adult by the time that Stephen, now in his late 40s, died). Normandy might well have been assigned to Stephen’s son Eustace, with the French king pleased to keep England and Normandy divided; Boulogne would go to Eustace’s younger brother and Anjou to the empress’ second son. Stephen seems to have preferred to gamble that he could use his advantage of having a majority of the English magnates on his side to wear the enemy down. The war continues. ORKNEY Ragnald/Kali (in power since 1137) voluntarily shares rule with ex-rulers Paul II’s and Harald’s under-age nephew Harald II, son of their sister Margaret and the Scottish ‘Mormaer’/Earl Maddad of Atholl so probably a nominee of the Scots King David I. The long-serving Bishop of Orkney, William, backs Harald’s claim successfully after the Scots envoy, Bishop John of Atholl, asks him to help press Harald’s case, and the jarldom is divided up into two equal portions. As Harald is only around 6 he does not exercise any power for another decade or so. ENGLAND Crisis erupts over the governorship of Lincoln Castle and domination of the county. Stephen has initially kept the ambitious William de Roumare, half-brother of Earl Ranulf ‘de Gernon’ of Chester, who needs a

Chronology: 1066–1154  117 reward as his loyal governor in rebel-affected Normandy in 1137, out of the earldom of his own ‘power base’ area of Lincolnshire (close to his half-brother Ranulf’s Cheshire lands) and placed him in Cambridge instead. But William protests that such a role needs appropriately large estates in the county, and most of William’s lands are in Lincs not Cambridgeshire. Stephen finally gives William the earldom of Lincs but without the county town’s castle. William tries to seize it by force and calls in Ranulf for help, as Ranulf has recently been made constable of the royal castle there and granted the tower once owned by his late mother Lucy FitzTurold (‘Lucy’s Tower’). The king has kept the main keep adjacent to this. The earldom of Chester and its N Wales Marcher vassals become embroiled in the civil war by defying Stephen. According to Orderic Vitalis, Ranulf and de Roumare proceed to infiltrate their men into Lincoln undetected. Ralph pays a ‘friendly’ call on the castle’s commander with his and William’s wives, which would normally be a sign of pacific intent, and while they are lulling the castellan into a false sense of security some of their men stroll in through the castle gate to ‘escort’ them as they leave. These men then snatch up crowbars as Ranulf and William emerge and assault the guards, driving them out of the gate. William then runs into the castle with reinforcements who hurry up from the nearby streets, and the castle is seized and claimed on his behalf. 1141 The king chooses to reply to this defiance with an armed expedition and reaches Lincoln some time during the 12 days of Christmas, causing Ranulf to retreat hastily to Chester and appeal to his fellow Marchers in Matilda’s faction for aid. Robert of Gloucester, his closest military lieutenant sheriff Miles of Gloucester (Earl of Hereford), and their other allies respond quickly with an expedition in turn, the army allegedly led by six earls which testifies to the amount of resistance that Stephen now faces. The rebel army is also joined by Owain of Gwynedd’s younger brother Prince Cadwaladr of Ceredigion, who takes Gwynedd troops to aid the Marcher forces, and by more Welsh lords from Powys – all presumably hoping to be on the winning side and preferring to help not annoy the most powerful Marcher earls. Stephen recognises William, treasurer of the York church, as the new archbishop there and gives him the see’s temporalities during his time at Lincoln. Stephen besieges the castle of Lincoln, and Robert brings a large army to the rescue including both landowners forfeited by the king who have nothing to lose (such as Baldwin de Redvers) and Welsh mercenaries led by King Madoc of Powys, Cadwaladr brother of Owain of Gwynedd, and Morgan of Owain of Caerleon. Numbers seem to have been around equal and the exact battle site is unclear, but it is possible that Stephen is over-confident and the ‘disinherited’ and the Welsh fight more ferociously than the royal knights are used to.

118  Chronology: 1066–1154 2 February, Candlemas. Battle of Lincoln. According to Henry of Huntingdon, Baldwin de Redvers commands the rebel centre with Ranulf and the Welsh on one wing and Earl Robert on the other. Stephen’s cavalry wing – led by six earls – leads the royal army with Stephen and the infantry behind, but proves deficient and is routed by Earl Robert’s charge. The more ‘professional’ royalist mercenary army under William of Ypres drives the poorer-armed Welsh back but is unable to save the day and once the royalist infantry is in disarray Ranulf charges them. They prudently withdraw, unmolested. Rather than entrusting himself to them the valiant but naïve Stephen carries on fighting on foot with a battleaxe until he is overwhelmed, and then refuses to surrender to a ‘commoner’ who overpowers him and insists on doing so to Earl Robert instead. Many of the Northern barons in Stephen’s army, e.g. Bernard de Balliol of Barnard Castle, Roger de Mowbray of Gainsborough, Richard de Courcy, William Peverel, Ingelram de Say and Ilbert de Lacey of Pontefract, are captured for ransom and the town of Lincoln is looted. 9 February. Robert takes the captive Stephen to Gloucester; he is presented to Matilda and then moved to strong and secure Bristol Castle, Robert’s HQ. Matilda now has military momentum on her side, and manages to secure the temporary allegiance of Bishop Henry – now legate – and the Church. She heads with her half-brothers, Earls Robert of Gloucester and Reginald of Cornwall, her courtiers, and her clerical allies Bishop Nigel of Ely (disgraced by Stephen in 1139), Bishop Bernard of St Davids, and Abbot Gilbert Foliot of Gloucester, from Gloucester (17 February) to Cirencester and (Monday 3 March) Winchester where Bishop Henry welcomes her – after a preliminary meeting at nearby Wherwell where he secures a charter of his full rights to the Glastonbury Abbey possessions. Henry calls a Church council to back Matilda, but Archbishop Theobald comes no nearer than Wilton Abbey and says he must be released from his oath to Stephen by that man before he will swear to Matilda; she sends him and other wavering bishops to Bristol where Stephen releases them from their oaths. Matilda heads to Oxford for Easter; Henry holds his Church council at Winchester (commencing 7 April) and tells the assembly that Stephen was only chosen as king, violating the elite’s oaths to support Matilda, due to a dangerous vacancy in December 1135 with Matilda far away – and he has since violated his coronation oath and promises to the Church. The clerics agree to back Matilda and reject a letter from the queen asking in strong terms for Stephen’s release, and the king’s remaining supporters are excommunicated. Matilda is granted the title of ‘Lady of the English’ and the royal treasure at Winchester. She confirms the grants of powerful regional earldoms and/ or county sheriffdoms to Miles of Gloucester (Hereford), Aubrey de Vere son of the royal chamberlain (Oxford), Geoffrey de Mandeville (Essex),

Chronology: 1066–1154  119 Baldwin de Redvers (Devon) and William de Beauchamp (Worcester, sheriffdom only); these are done at her council in Oxford, some before but most after her visit to London in June (below), and de Mandeville is especially extortionate as he holds the Tower, the key to London. She has to give hostages from among her own supporters to those lords whose allegiance is insecure, e.g. de Mandeville, and the reduction in royal power over these areas is a long-term if unavoidable problem. Matilda appoints Henry I’s former chief chancery clerk, Robert ‘de Sigillo’, to the bishopric of London which has been vacant since 1134 (death of Bishop Gilbert); it is an uncontroversial choice, but he refuses to swear allegiance to Stephen once S regains London so he is banned from court until c. 1147. Matilda’s award of the bishopric of Durham (Bishop Geoffrey Rufus died on 6 May) to King David’s candidate William Cumin/Comyn, the see’s chancellor, in defiance of the legate’s candidate (and thus the Pope) is an avoidable blunder. Her conduct on her arrival in London in June to negotiate the city’s adherence and start preparations for her coronation apparently rouse resentment. Meanwhile, William of Ypres and his army are devastating the south bank of the Thames as a warning to the Londoners and the queen is holding out in Kent. The Londoners are also annoyed at her lucrative grants to the greedy Tower constable, de Mandeville. On 24 June a sudden rising by the Londoners, announced by the ringing of the City church bells, drives the empress out of Westminster, allegedly causing her to flee leaving an immanent banquet (intended for a Midsummer crown-wearing ceremony?) uneaten. She retreats back to her base at Oxford, then goes on to Gloucester to consult with Miles of G who accompanies her back to Oxford; on their arrival, Matilda issues a charter confirming his earldom of Hereford (25 July). The offer of the Essex earldom is now confirmed by charter to de Mandeville, but he does not come to help Matilda. The East of England passes back into the hands of the queen’s army under William of Ypres who is soon aided by de Mandeville, but Matilda still has a strong position with new adherents like Earl Robert of Leicester. He has gone to Normandy to negotiate safety for his local lands as Geoffrey overruns them and moves to the empress’ side, as does his brother Waleran of Meulan (Worcs). Geoffrey’s concurrent triumph in S-central Normandy is a reason for lords with lands in both countries to come over to her to protect their position. Waleran de Beaumont, as Stephen’s choice as Earl of Worcester, has to accept his deposition in William de Beauchamp’s favour and back Matilda once the family’s Norman lands are under Angevin control. Matilda is unable to rely on Bishop Henry’s allegiance or secure his attendance on her so she fears defection; she refuses his requests that

120  Chronology: 1066–1154 Stephen’s son Eustace should be guaranteed his legal rights as heir to his mother’s lands or to let Stephen go free as an abdicated monk or pilgrim. She advances on Winchester in August with a substantial force including King David’s Scots and according to the Gesta Stephani the Earls of Gloucester, Devon (de Redvers), Cornwall (her half-brother Reginald, an illegitimate son of Henry I), Hereford (Miles of Gloucester), Dorset (William de Mohun, Lord of Dunster Castle in Somerset) and Warwick (Roger de Beaumont), plus Brian FitzCount of Wallingford and John the Marshal. Earl Ranulf of Chester is present but ineffective, and Geoffrey de Mandeville (Earl of Essex) has by now defected to the queen. She enters the royal castle at the top of the hill at the W end of Winchester with her army and summons Bishop Henry; he refuses to come and bolts from the city (probably for his castle at Farnham). Her besieging Henry’s defiant episcopal residence, Wolvesey Castle at the E end of Winchester beyond the cathedral and adjacent royal palace, leads to his retaliatory bombardment against her forces up the hill in the royal castle. Much of the town is set afire deliberately by Henry’s orders in the attack (2 August) and probably the royal palace rebuilt by William I is damaged too – with comment (e.g. John of Worcester) on the novelty of a cleric causing this sort of destruction. Bishop Henry meets and defects to the queen at Guildford; the queen’s troops come SW from London to assist Bishop Henry, and cut off Empress Matilda’s supply route with the capture of Andover and Wherwell. Facing defeat or being starved out by William of Ypres’ Fleming force after a seven-week stay in Winchester, Empress Matilda and the rest of the leadership have to flee NW towards Wiltshire. It is unclear how much the dramatic account of their escape in the biography of William Marshal, the son of John the Marshal and later Earl of Pembroke, is romanticised but this portrays a desperate gallop across the downs to the Test valley and then a straggling rearguard action around the river-crossing at Stockbridge as the queen’s troops catch up with the empress’ men and bar the causeway. The empress escapes up the hill westwards across Danebury Down while Earl Robert holds up the enemy. Valuable members of her leadership including Robert are captured (Robert by the Earl of Surrey) and King David narrowly escapes; Miles of Gloucester/Hereford and others are supposed to have had to don disguises to avoid capture. End of September. Matilda reaches Gloucester; Earl Robert is sent to secure Rochester Castle by the queen. The advantage now lies with the queen; she trades her hostages for Stephen, but the royalists’ request for the return of all lands taken since the Battle of Lincoln (i.e. those granted by/taken under an illegal usurper) fails as does Robert’s attempt to get a general exchange. Archbishop Theobald and Bishop Henry mediate. On 1 November, Stephen is allowed to leave Bristol for London and in return the queen and Eustace stay there as hostages until the royalists

Chronology: 1066–1154  121 have freed Earl Robert. The release of other ‘high-status’ Lincoln and Winchester/Stockbridge prisoners not yet freed then follows. Stephen is re-crowned at London and secures extra support from people Matilda has alienated, and the stalemate resumes. On 7 December Bishop Henry holds a special Church council at Westminster to cancel the decisions of his April council at Winchester, but from now on is shunned by the empress’ supporters as an opportunist and perjurer. Foundation of Forde Abbey, S Somerset (Cistercian). 1142

Early? Recapture by local Lord William Peverel of the ex-royal castle of Nottingham, in the hands of Earl Robert’s governor William Paynel since late(?) 1140. Otherwise there is a general semi-truce by both sides from Christmas to the end of Lent (William of Malmesbury). March. A Lent council is held by the empress at her current main residence of Devizes Castle, where the lords agree to send to Geoffrey of Anjou to come over from Normandy – also possibly the grantees of lands and titles in 1141 want him and his son Henry to confirm them in writing. Late March? Stephen travels up to York, possibly to consult or intimidate the devious and unreliable Earl Ranulf of Chester whose lands are virtually an autonomous principality; he is seriously ill around Easter and is rumoured to be dead. Once he is recovering, the queen and their eldest son Eustace leave for her lands of Boulogne. Geoffrey refuses to leave Normandy as the war there is far from over, and calls on the empress to send him an army to complete this task instead; Earl Robert is reluctant to lead it and in return for agreeing arranges assorted private agreements with powerful neighbours (e.g. Miles of Gloucester/Hereford) involving mutual guarantees of alliance and support and the exchange of hostages. He then proceeds to Wareham in Dorset (July?) to sail to Normandy. He summons Geoffrey to Caen, where the latter insists on receiving help to finish the war in Normandy before any expedition to England; they move on Stephen’s original lordship of Mortain and overrun it. They then turn to W Normandy and secure Avranches and Coutances; Cherbourg holds out into late 1142 but this campaign effectively secures Normandy for Geoffrey. Death of Bishop John of Séez of Rochester (in office since 1137); he is succeeded by Ascelin. Election under Matilda’s authority of Joscelin, a clerical official from Winchester and related to Earl Robert, as Bishop of Salisbury. Stephen takes Wareham, apparently poorly defended by Earl Robert’s men, to control his major SW England exit point for Normandy, and later takes Cirencester in the Cotswolds; he closes in on the empress who is now at Oxford. A siege of Oxford follows (September?).

122  Chronology: 1066–1154 October? Robert of Gloucester returns to England with 300–400 men and 52 ships, without Geoffrey but with his eldest son Henry, now aged 9; the latter is installed at Bristol Castle, possibly later living at St Augustine’s Abbey, and is educated in the city over the next two years with ‘Master Matthew’ as his tutor. December. The empress is running out of supplies in Oxford, where she is besieged in the castle as Stephen has regained the town. Robert tries to distract Stephen by attacking Wareham; Stephen refuses to leave Oxford and clearly intends to capture and hold Matilda this time. Oxford is isolated from her main areas of support in the SW and the Marches, so relief before her supplies run out is unlikely – and the snowy weather means that Oxford is not protected from attack on two sides by the usual winter flooding of the Thames and Cherwell rivers. Stephen can blockade Oxford Castle at leisure and bring up troops across the frozen rivers, while the roads are too snowed-up for a swift cavalry relief force sent by Earl Robert from Cirencester. Matilda famously escapes on foot across the frozen Thames in the snow, possibly being let down a rope from the keep (ASC) and/or walking to safety with four companions (William of Malmesbury). Once past the besiegers’ campfires unnoticed she meets horsemen waiting at Abingdon and rides to safety at Brian FitzCount’s castle at Wallingford, and the stalemate continues. The king’s failure on this occasion is apparently due to the cold; his guards at the outposts surrounding Oxford Castle fail to note a few shadowy figures in white cloaks (Henry of Huntingdon) slipping past in the snow (William of Malmesbury and Gesta Stephani for the graphic account). SCOTLAND Foundation of Dundennan Abbey and monastery in S Galloway by the region’s lord, Fergus (son-in-law of the late King Henry). IRELAND Death of co-King Conchobar of Thomond, sub-province of Munster (acc. 1118/19); his brother and co-ruler Toirrdelbach becomes full ruler of Munster (until dep. 1165/7). 1143 ENGLAND/NORMANDY Lent. Stephen is probably in London for Bishop Henry’s legatine Church council. Later in the spring he is in Lincs to rebuild the castle at Caistor and so assert his local power against William de Roumare and Ranulf of Chester, accompanied by Earl Gilbert (de Clare) of Hertford, his sister’s husband Gilbert de Gant Lord of Barton-on-Humber, Gilbert’s uncle Robert de Gant the chancellor, Earl Simon de St Liz of Northampton, and the notorious Geoffrey de Mandeville Earl of Essex.

Chronology: 1066–1154  123 7 March. Papal recognition of the election of William the York treasurer as its archbishop, provided that Dean William of St Barbe swears that the election was free from interference; a week or so later the latter is elected as Bishop of Durham and (20 June) he is consecrated as such by Bishop Henry of Winchester. Foundations of Boxley Abbey, Kent, and Abbey Cwm-Hir, Powys, as Cistercian houses; also (or 1142) foundation of a Cisterican abbey at Calder, Cumberland coast, by local magnate William FitzDuncan, Lord of Egremont and paternal cousin of the county’s overlord King David I of Scots. Stephen moves in on rebel-held Salisbury and sets up his base at nearby Wilton nunnery but on 1 July is routed (according to Gervase of Canterbury) or at least has to pull back in a hurry when Earl Robert arrives by surprise and attacks his army. The royal steward William Martel is captured by Robert and has to hand over his castle of Sherborne as part of the ransom. 24 September. Consecration of William the treasurer of York as archbishop by Henry of Winchester; meanwhile new Bishop William de St Barbe of Durham, pro-Stephen, is being kept out of Durham town by armed faction loyal to his defeated rival, William Cumin. After Michaelmas, i.e. 29 September. Stephen is finally confident enough to deal with the unreliable and ruthless Geoffrey de Mandeville, who he arrests at a council at St Albans and forces to hand over the Tower of London and all his other castles, e.g. Pleshy (Essex) and Walden. He is accused of arrogantly behaving as if he was the king and defying royal power, and also probably of plotting to defect to the empress again – though some accounts (Walden chronicle) say this was false and that his envious enemies worked on the king to ruin him. Once de Mandeville is released he withdraws to the Fens and notoriously goes on the rampage as a brigand, ravaging the royal cause’s lands locally. He takes the castles of Cambridge, Aldreth and Ely and loots Ely and (November?) Ramsey Abbeys, piling up loot and constructing illegal castles; the king moves in to build counter-fortifications as he hides in the inaccessible marshes. Stephen also blames Bishop Nigel of Ely for assisting him, and the latter faces charges of robbery and treason (possibly at the September Church council). He is later accused of trying to make his way to Devizes to see Matilda in revenge for his disgrace, which was aborted when the king’s men stole his horses and goods en route at Wareham, and ends up (December?) going to Rome with a letter from Abbot Gilbert Foliot of Gloucester. WALES Foundation of new Anglo-Norman see of St Asaph in NE Wales, which will owe allegiance to its backer Canterbury; the first bishop is, however, kept out of Gwynedd by its ruler Owain and is unable to secure his cathedral and its revenues.

124  Chronology: 1066–1154 Cadwaladr, brother and effective deputy of Owain Gwynedd of Gwynedd (and also ruler of Ceredigion for him), is probably manoeuvring for the succession after the death in battle of Owain’s eldest son Rhun in 1142. Now he murders his neighbour Anarawd of Deheubarth (acc. 1137), his brother Owain’s daughter Gwenllian’s stepson, who is about to marry off his sister to Owain. This murder was presumably intended to weaken the threat to him from a Deheubarth/Gwynedd alliance and to end the threat of Anarawd taking over Cadwaladr’s Ceredigion, to which both kingdoms have claims. As Anarawd is now Owain Gywnedd’s ally the latter could let Cadwaladr be overthrown – which would ease the chances of Owain’s growing brood of younger sons to inherit Gwynedd free from Cadwaladr interfering. Owain exiles Cadwaladr. He flees to Ireland and fights his way back into Ceredigion with an army of Irish mercenaries, and Owain has to accept his return to prevent a costly civil war. Anarawd’s next brother Cadell succeeds to Deheubarth. ENGLAND/WALES The S Marches ‘strongman’ of the empress’ regime with Earl Robert, Miles of Gloucester the new Earl of Hereford, dies in an accident, having had a bruising ‘trial of strength’ with the Bishop of Hereford, Robert de Bethune, in 1142–3 over his seizure of Church lands and goods to pay for his troops. (He is supposed to have claimed that he funded Matilda’s entire court in England by his own resources.) He has been excommunicated by the bishop, and shortly afterwards dies in a hunting accident when shot by a stray arrow on Christmas Eve. The monks of his ‘capital’ Gloucester’s Abbey and of the second Llanthony Priory at Hempstead then have a dispute over who was to have the honour of his burial on their property which Llanthony wins. The dispute with Bishop Bethune is sorted out by mediators. Miles’ eldest son the new Earl Roger (d. 1155) succeeds to his power and influence as Matilda’s reputedly richest supporter, but is a less forceful personality which adds to the sense of current military stalemate. After the death of pro-Stephen Pope Innocent (September), Bishop Henry goes to Rome to have his legateship continued by the new Pope Celestine II – who is more sympathetic to Matilda. 1144

January. With all of Normandy S of the Seine now in his hands, Geoffrey Plantagenet crosses the river to enter Rouen the ducal capital which surrenders; the royal garrison of the castle, led by William of Warenne Earl of Surrey and Waleran de Beaumont, holds out for three months. King Louis VII, Thierry Count of Flanders, and Count Rotrou of Perche (who dies weeks later) join him; after the surrender of the castle he is apparently recognised as Duke of Normandy. He may have to hand over Gisors and other disputed Vexin castles to Louis in return for his

Chronology: 1066–1154  125 recognition, which would explain why the terms of their agreement are unclear in the (embarrassed?) chroniclers’ accounts. Easter. Mysterious incident of the alleged murder of a Christian boy, ‘St’ Hugh of Norwich, in a ‘ritual’ in that city by Jews – as built up or invented by anti-Semitic locals in a ‘cult’ to excuse attacks on Jewish moneylenders by their debtors? Late summer. Death of Geoffrey de Mandeville during his vain siege of Stephen’s new castle at Burwell near his Fenland hideout, apparently hit on the head by a stone fired from the castle and collapsing; he is refused a Christian burial as an excommunicate. This marks the end of his brigand fiefdom, with Stephen back in control of all East Anglia. Local power as regional sheriff passes to the royal official Geoffrey de Lucy, based at a new castle at Ongar (Essex), de Mandeville’s son Geoffrey goes to Matilda at Devizes and is allowed to inherit his father’s legal estates by her, but for the moment Stephen refuses to agree to this. Stephen does not challenge the other local strongman Hugh Bigod, Lord of Bungay, Framlingham and Walton-on-the-Naze and a de Mandeville collaborator in 1143, as he is no military threat. 1145

Archbishop William of York heads to Rome belatedly to collect his ‘pallium’ after the death of Pope Lucius (15 February) ended the legal powers of a papal legatine mission that was bringing it to England for him. He finds the climate there hostile and the hard-line moralist (St) Bernard of Clervaux denouncing his irregular election; he is suspended from office and retires to join a relative in the the kingdom of Naples/Sicily. Nigel(?) Bishop of Ely, last of the ecclesiastical dynasty of Roger of Salisbury, reconciles with the king and is allowed to resume his bishopric.

1146

WALES Owain Gwynedd sends his eldest surviving illegitimate son Hywel (whose mother is Irish) to assist the new ruler of Deheubarth, his own brother Cadwaladr’s 1143 victim Anarawd’s brother Cadell, to besiege Carmarthen and retake Llansteffan Castle, down the W bank of the Teifi Estuary from that town (and Wiston in 1147). The campaign is also aided by Cadell’s younger brothers Maredudd and Rhys, the latter aged 14 on his first campaign. These two joint campaigns serve to reconcile the two kingdoms, implicitly at Cadwaladr’s expense, with Owain as the senior partner in the alliance – foreshadowing the policy of Llywelyn ap Iorweth two generations later. ENGLAND Early? Earl Ranulf of Chester, left undisturbed in his extensive N Welsh Marches domain by both sides since 1141 but of uncertain reliability, comes to an agreement with the king at his own request – which grants

126  Chronology: 1066–1154 him the disputed town and castle of Lincoln, so preserving his gains of 1141, plus extensive lands in both the NE and the NW. The latter includes the ‘honour’ of Lancaster from Mersey to Lune, previously held by Roger de Montgomery’s son Roger of Poitou in the 1080s–90s. In effect Ranulf is now said to be lord of a third of the kingdom and the ‘devolution’ of power to him in the Northern Marches now extends to Lancashire, Lincoln and his lands in the NE, but in return he is required to reside at court and accompany the king on campaign as his ex-ally Earl Robert of Gloucester had done in 1136–7. Ranulf aids the king at the blockade and surrender of Bedford Castle and attends the (12 May) installation of a new abbot at St Albans, i.e. Ralph Gubiun a protégé/relative of Simon de St Liz of Northampton. He helps the siege of Brian FitzCount’s crucial Thames valley rebel base at Wallingford this year, along with Earl of Oxford Aubrey de Vere (Stephen has confirmed this creation of earldom by Matilda), Richard de Lucy and Baldwin FitzGilbert de Clare; Stephen builds a notable siege castle opposite the stronghold but the latter holds out. After the failure at Wallingford, Ranulf tries to gain permission to return home as Owain Gwynedd of Gwynedd has taken advantage of his absence to take Mold in southern Flintshire, expelling his earldom’s chief steward Robert de Montealto, and is encroaching on the Dee valley. The earl is initially given permission to go, but instead at the royal court at Northampton on 29 August the king changes his mind and arrests him, charging him with crimes including illegally retaining royal property and probably alleging treason too. Ranulf protests his innocence and claims he had not been given notice of any investigation when he was summoned to court so he could not present his defence properly, and Stephen seizes back control of Lincoln and holds his Christmas court and feast there. This gain was presumably his main target, and Ranulf is later released; he remains of dubious loyalty to either faction. 15 September. Death of Stephen’s loyalist Earl Alan of Richmond (Yorks), aged c. 50, husband of heiress Bertha of Brittany (daughter of Duke Conan III) and Stephen’s nominee to control Cornwall as its earl – though in fact Matilda’s half-brother and earl, Reginald, has kept him out of the county. 18 October. Unsuccessful claimant (pro-Matilda) William Cumin formally withdraws his claim to the see of Durham after mediation by Archbishop William of York and the Bishop of Carlisle; he agrees to do penance for his violent defiance of elected Bishop William (who has had to withdraw to Lindisfarne) and seizure of Durham, and accepts him as bishop. 1147

Spring. Dedication of the new priory church at Lewes, led by the priory founder’s family the de Warennes; Archbishop Theobald performs the

Chronology: 1066–1154  127 ceremony, assisted by Bishop Henry of Winchester and by Bishop Ascelin of Rochester. The Second Crusade begins, called by Pope Eugenius after the fall of the county of Edessa in Syria to the Moslems; as volunteers assemble in Paris to meet the Pope and King Louis VII and his Queen Eleanor plan to lead the main NW Europe contingent, a large group of English knights joins in including Earl William de Warenne of Surrey, Count Waleran of Meulan, Hervey de Glanville of Suffolk, Walter FitzGilbert de Clare of Maldon (Essex), and Hugh Tirel son of the 1100 ‘regicide’ Walter Tirel. Bishop Roger of Chester and Bishop Arnold of Lisieux represent the Church. A large contingent of S coast sailors organise and man a fleet and are joined by others from Queen Matilda’s Boulogne; they sail to Portugal to take part in the capture of Lisbon en route to Palestine. In the event, William de Warenne dies in a Turkish ambush in the mountains of SW Anatolia en route with the French king’s army in late spring 1148, aged around 29, and as he has no son he is succeeded by his daughter (by Adela daughter of William Talvas of Bellême) Isabella (aged around 6) as Countess of Surrey; King Stephen as her guardian engages her to his second son William (born c. 1132), as probably arranged before the late earl left on Crusade. Bishop Roger will also die on the Crusade (Antioch). 29 May. Matilda’s and Geoffrey’s son Henry (II) is recorded as coming from England to a ceremony at the Abbey of Bec, Normandy; it is unknown how long he has been in England but probably not continuously from his 1142 residence at Bristol. This visit was likely the occasion of his recorded failed attempt with too few men to take Cricklade in the upper Thames valley, probably from his defected cousin Philip of Gloucester’s men. Foundation of Margam Abbey (Cistercian), west Glamorgan, by Earl Robert of Gloucester as Lord of Glamorgan. Foundation of Abbey Dore, SW Herefordshire (Cistercian). 24 July. Henry Murdac, Abbot of Fountains (Yorks), is elected as Archbishop of York to replace his deposed rival, William. 31 October. Death of Earl Robert of Gloucester, Matilda’s chief supporter in England, aged around 57; he is succeeded by his elder son by Mabel FitzHamon, William, as second earl. The honorary primacy in Matilda’s camp goes to William but he is ineffective. 1148

6 January. Death of Gilbert FitzRichard de Clare, Earl of Pembroke and lower Gwent (born c. 1100), strongman of Marcher power in SW Wales; he is succeeded by his son Richard de Clare, the famous ‘Strongbow’. Gilbert’s late brother Richard (k. 1136, qv) was the father of Gilbert de Clare the first Earl of Hertford (d. 1151/3), a royal loyalist.

128  Chronology: 1066–1154 February. Death of Stephen’s foe Bishop Alexander of Lincoln, nephew of Roger of Salisbury. On 14 March, Bishops Walter of Rochester and Nicholas of Llandaff are consecrated at Canterbury by Theobald in the presence of King Stephen. Theobald of Canterbury leads a large episcopal delegation to the papal Church council at Rheims, despite Stephen ordering him not to go. 16 April. Death of the popular and revered Bishop Roger of Hereford during the council; the Pope approves the choice of Abbot Gilbert Foliot of Gloucester, a leading Matilda supporter, as the new bishop and Foliot swears allegiance to Matilda as his sovereign despite Theobald and the papacy recognising Stephen as king. Theobald insists on consecrating Foliot as bishop in France (5 September, St Omer) rather than returning to do so in England as according to custom, and has to use French bishops as the invited English ones, led by Hilary of Chichester, refuse to take part as it is illegal. Infuriated by this and by Stephen’s appropriation of the Canterbury see’s revenues for secular purposes while he is abroad, Theobald demands that Stephen return the money; he refuses so Theobald gets the Pope to issue an interdict banning all church services in England (to come into effect on 12 September) and to excommunicate Stephen (Michaelmas). The unnecessary crisis has to be defused, and when Theobald returns quietly to East Anglia and joins Hugh Bigod at Framlingham Castle a settlement is arranged and the papal orders are cancelled. Foliot has to swear allegiance to Stephen as Theobald insists he is the legal king and that a bishop cannot cause a schism over questions of obedience to the one legal lord of a kingdom; Foliot’s distant kinsman Earl Roger of Hereford quarrels with him when Foliot swears allegiance to Stephen and threatens his lands. Empress Matilda returns to Normandy permanently, abandoning the struggle in England to her son Henry (now probably back in Normandy since 1144?). She is at Falaise that summer (charter 10 June), but eventually settles at Rouen. Death of Duke Conan III of Brittany (acc. 1112); he is succeeded by his daughter Bertha and her new second husband Count Eudes/Odo of Porhoet, a junior member of the ducal dynasty and rival of his cousins the earls of Richmond. They are effectively regents for Bertha’s son by her first husband Count Alan of Richmond – Conan (IV). They control Rennes but have a ‘stand-off’ with Eudes’ enemies, e.g. Count Hoel of Nantes in the SE. 11 November. Consecration, by Theobald showing he has returned to his duties as a loyal subject, of the first abbot (Clarembald prior of Bermondsey) of the new Kent Abbey of Faversham, Stephen’s favourite house where the king is to be buried. The Bishops of Bath, Exeter, Chichester and Worcester assist. The clerical party then moves on to London

Chronology: 1066–1154  129 for (14 November) the translation of the relics of St Erconwald, C7th Bishop of London, to a new shrine in St Paul’s Cathedral. 1149

Foundation of Jervaulx Abbey, Yorks, by the Cistercians – a monastery in the ‘wilderness’ to use monks for labour in creating livestock farms and to revive the local economy, as with nearby Fountains Abbey. 2 April, Easter. Henry returns to England, and goes to Devizes where his mother used to reside. He is joined by Earls William of Gloucester, Roger of Hereford, Reginald of Cornwall and Patrick of Salisbury. He claims to be the rightful heir to England after his mother and heads north with Earl Roger and an entourage of young knights, joined by the unreliable local warlord Earl Ranulf of Chester who accompanies him to or is waiting at Carlisle. 31 May, Whitsun. Henry is knighted at Carlisle by his uncle King David, along with Earl Roger of Hereford; he is received with honour and the king’s loyalty to his cause is confirmed, but he has to confirm David’s control of Cumberland and Northumberland in return. (He seizes them once he is king and David is dead.) Ranulf does homage to David and to Henry, abandoning Stephen again. Archbishop Henry Murdac of York attends the Carlisle court in retaliation for Stephen not aiding him to regain control of his city. Stephen heads to York, which is resisting Henry Murdac, who has been kept out of the city by Earl William of York and been forced to reside at Beverley. He and his son Eustace set up HQ at Beverley, and they are admitted to York and impose taxes. Ranulf joins the Scots/Angevin army via a rendezvous at Lancaster for an abortive attack on Stephen as the latter holds his Whitsun court at York in May, but it is unclear how far the expedition goes. The Gesta Stephani says that the three leaders get as far as the outskirts of York then pull back, and other versions have it that Ranulf never joined the attack (John of Hexham) or else soon went home to Chester. Henry soon heads back to Hereford, and has to travel to his main base at Bristol by side roads at night after Stephen sends Eustace to intercept him. Eustace misses Henry and devastates towns and estates across Wiltshire. Eustace is called off to his own East Anglian lands after an attack on them by Hugh Bigod. Summer? Henry campaigns in Devon but has to give up an attack on Barnstaple to head for Wilts, where Stephen and Eustace are ravaging around and isolating Devizes but Henry stops Eustace from taking it. Henry is advised by his leading supporters to go back to Normandy and collect a larger army, without which victory is impossible, and thus to divert Stephen from his damaging frontal attacks on them. Following Louis VII’s return from Crusade that autumn, Bishop Arnulf of Lisieux negotiates with him on Geoffrey’s and Matilda’s behalf to get him to recognise Henry as heir to Normandy.

130  Chronology: 1066–1154 WALES Madoc ap Maredudd of Powys, its greatest ruler for centuries according to reputation, grants part of his lands, the cantref of Cyfeiliog, to his nephew Owain (who is hence called ‘Owen Cyfeiliog’), who rules it until 1195. 1150 ENGLAND/NORMANDY Summer. Attack by Stephen on and ravaging around Worcester, where William de Beauchamp (Lord of Elmley Castle, Worcs) holds out for Matilda. Armed confrontation between Henry and Stephen’s son Eustace at Arques in Normandy; no fighting. 1151

25 January. Belated admission to and consecration of Archbishop Henry Murdac of York in his city, after agreement with the king’s son Eustace for military help vs the city’s earl William. In return, Murdac agrees to back Stephen’s plan to have Eustace crowned as king in his father’s lifetime (as per the French practice) to prevent Henry of Anjou taking over once Stephen is dead; Murdac then heads for Rome to get his ‘pallium’ and put Stephen’s proposal to the Pope. February/March. Death of Henry I’s widow Adeliza of Louvain, probably in her mid-50s; her husband William d’Albini (born c. 1105), Lord of Arundel Castle by marriage, first Earl of Arundel and founder of Castle Acre Priory in Norfolk, survives until 1176. Her son and heir is William d’Albini, second earl (c. 1139–96). WALES Eviction of Owain Gwynedd’s cousin Cadfael from his lands in Ceredigion by Owain’s eldest illegitimate son Hywel, probably as part of his building up his own power base as potential heir to his father against his half-brothers and his uncle Cadwaladr (who also has claims on this region). ORKNEY From 1151–5 Jarl Ragnald is absent with Bishop William of the Isles and many of his nobles on a prolonged voyage to the Mediterranean and the Holy Land. He leaves his cousin Thorbjorn, grandson of the murderous Princess Frakok (son of her daughter Gudrun by Thorstein ‘the Dribbler’), and great-nephew of Jarl Paul II, as effective chief minister to Harald. ENGLAND/NORMANDY Lent. Archbishop Theobald holds a council at Canterbury, as papal legate.

Chronology: 1066–1154  131 Summer. Second unsuccessful siege of Worcester by Stephen; his dubious ally Earl Robert of Leicester, however, succeeds in capturing its defender William de Beauchamp. Pope Eugenius and his court refuse to allow Eustace’s coronation, but as contrary to English tradition not due to him not being the heir as Stephen is reassured. August. Louis VII threatens Normandy and encamps his army near Mantes; Geoffrey ‘Plantagenet’ and his eldest son Henry march to confront him, and a ‘stand-off’ ends when Louis pulls back allegedly ill. This is followed by negotiations that end with Louis agreeing to recognise Henry as heir to Normandy, and Henry does homage but has to go to Paris (i.e. as a vassal) not do it on the frontier (as an equal) and he and Geoffrey confirm Louis’ holding of the Vexin. WALES Cadell of Deheubarth is injured in an ambush out hunting by his local foes, the Anglo-Norman garrison of Tenby/Dinbych Castle, and abdicates; he later recovers to go on pilgrimage to Rome in 1153 then becomes a monk; he is succeeded by his next brother Maredudd (d. 1155). ENGLAND/NORMANDY Henry plans to invade England and summons his army to a rendezvous at Lisieux, but is held up by Geoffrey falling ill. 14 September. Geoffrey dies at St-Germain-en-Laye, aged 38; Henry succeeds as Duke of Normandy and Count of Anjou and Maine, and his younger brother Geoffrey gets four castles. There is some later claim (William of Newburgh chronicle) that the elder Geoffrey intended his namesake to have Anjou once Henry had secured England but if so this was not carried out. IRELAND King Toirrdelbach of Connacht (acc. 1106) becomes ‘High King’ (until 1166). ENGLAND/NORMANDY 10 January. Death of Stephen’s elder brother, Count Theobald of Blois and Champagne; he is succeeded in Blois by his son Theobald (V) and in Champagne by son Henry (born 1127). Lent. Earl Reginald of Cornwall crosses to Normandy to urge Henry to come to England soon, and he agrees and summons a new rendezvous at Lisieux.

132  Chronology: 1066–1154 Easter. Stephen has oaths of loyalty taken to Eustace as his successor, upping the stakes in the ‘succession’ question. The archbishops and bishops are told to anoint Eustace as co-king, but refuse on papal orders; Theobald has to flee arrest and ends up in Flanders but is eventually allowed back. Henry is distracted by the (11 March) divorce of King Louis VII and his estranged wife Eleanor Duchess of Aquitaine, allegedly over their being within prohibited degrees of consanguinity; they have two daughters, Marie (born 1145) and Alix (born 1151). As Eleanor goes home to Poitou after the divorce Henry follows her there, aiming to get his hands on Aquitaine and Poitou and so decisively shift the balance of power in France away from the king to the Angevin dynasty. He has apparently only met Eleanor in summer 1151 and the length of his planning for this match is unclear (Robert of Torigny). This bold gamble succeeds, to Louis’ chagrin and lasting enmity. 3 May. Death of Queen Matilda, Countess of Boulogne, aged around 50; Eustace succeeds as Count of Boulogne. 18 May, Whitsun. Marriage at Poitiers of Henry, aged 19, and Eleanor, aged 28–30. SCOTLAND (or late 1151) King David pressurises the visting papal legate John Paparo to agree to the bishopric of St Andews becoming an archbishopric and so independent of York (and thus of English influence). King David’s only son Henry, Earl of Huntingdon and Cumberland/ Northumberland (married into the Anglo-Norman baronial house of Warenne), dies before him, on 12 July. David’s eldest grandson Malcolm (IV), born in 1141, replaces him as heir, but was likely to succeed underage so David has appointed Earl/‘Mormaer’ Duncan/Donnchad of Fife to become regent and sends them around Scotland on a tour to secure the nobles’ adherence. 1152

IRELAND King Toirrdelbach of Munster is deposed by his brother Tadhg, who has previously ruled in 1122–?3; however, the latter is soon deposed and blinded and he is restored (Annals of Tigernach). ENGLAND Matilda’s 1140s loyalist John ‘the Marshal’ (hereditary ‘Marshal’ of the royal court) is besieged in his Newbury Castle by King Stephen. His eldest son William, the future Earl of Pembroke and regent of England, has by this point fallen into the king’s hands as a hostage. As the castle holds

Chronology: 1066–1154  133 out the king has William paraded in front of the walls and threatens to throw him over them from a ‘trebuchet’, but John is not intimidated and the contemporary biography of his son (Histoire de Guillaume le Marechal) recounts that he jeers at the king that he is still virile enough to produce more sons and does not care what happens to this one. Rather than carrying out his threat, Stephen honourably backs down and ends up playing with William instead – but holds onto him as a hostage until his peace treaty with his challenger Henry (II) late in 1153. NORMANDY Summer. Henry has to delay his embarkation at Barfleur as Louis invades Normandy, helped by Henry’s estranged brother Geoffrey and by Louis’ and Eleanor’s daughter Marie’s fiancé Count Henry of Champagne, Stephen’s nephew; these enemies of Henry’s meet up at Beaumarchais to besiege it, and Geoffrey is sent into Anjou where he holds Chinon, Loudoun and Mirabeau (left to him by Geoffrey Plantagenet). This campaign keeps him from sailing to England in 1152. Henry avoids Louis’ large army and hastens past him into the Vexin to ravage it, forcing him to pull back; he destroys the castle of La Ferte whose lord Hugh de Gornay is defying him by refusing vassalage, then burns Brueboles and Norman rebel Richard de Aquila’s Bonneville. He then goes on to Anjou and forces the castles given by their father to his brother Geoffrey to surrender. After the final one, Montsoreau/Mont Sorel, with its largest rebel garrison surrenders (August) Geoffrey gives up and submits and Louis, ill, sues for peace. August–December. Henry and Eleanor go on a tour of Poitou and Aquitaine, but he has a mixed reception with fears of his centralising tendencies and intrusive Angevin/Norman barons seeking local posts. Death of the ‘historian’/literary fabulist Geoffrey of Monmouth, protégé of the late Earl Robert of Gloucester and since 1151/2 Bishop of St Asaph (titular as not allowed there by ruler Owain Gwynedd as an Englishman professing obedience to the see of Canterbury). December. Henry returns to Normandy to gather his invasion army for England and collect money from his mother Matilda at Rouen. IRELAND Papal legate John/Giovanni Paparo arrives from England to reorganise the structure of the local bishoprics, as asked for by the modernising Archbishop (St) Malachy of Armagh. He holds an all-island synod at Kells with Malachy and Archbishop Cadla Ua Dubthaig of Tuam backing him up, and the Irish Church is restructured. Armagh and Tuam are joined by Cashel and Dublin as archbishoprics, and the subordinate bishoprics in each of these four provinces are increased in number. The

134  Chronology: 1066–1154 bishopric of Kells is created in the province of Armagh, and Cloyne, Kilfenora, Roscrea, Ross and Scattery Island are created in Cashel. ISLE OF MAN John, monk of Séez, becomes second Bishop of the Isle of Man, succeeding the Furness abbey monk Wimund ‘of the Isles’. 1153 ENGLAND/NORMANDY 6 January, Epiphany. On or near this date Henry lands in SW England with a substantial army of c. 3000 men in 26 ships, and allegedly attends a church sermon prophesying his rule of England. He then proceeds to attack a royal castle set up in the grounds of Malmesbury Abbey, formerly owned by Bishop Roger of Salisbury, and Stephen marches to confront him. Henry is joined by Earls Roger of Hereford, Reginald of Cornwall, William of Gloucester and Patrick of Salisbury; castle commander Jordan is allowed to go to ask the king for help if he will surrender if none arrives, and due to stormy weather the arriving Stephen dares not fight with the snowy wind in his men’s faces. He pulls back, and the castle surrenders. The extreme weather delays any battle as both armies seek shelter from the rain and snow (Gervase of Canterbury and Henry of Huntingdon). Eleanor governs Anjou from Angers; her maternal uncle Raoul de la Faye is left in control of Aquitaine. Early April. Henry moves off from the confrontation in N Wilts to Stockbridge on the Hampshire River Test with a strong noble escort, and by arrangement meets Archbishop Theobald and the Bishops of Winchester, Bath, Chichester and Salisbury nearby to discuss possible peace terms under cover of a settlement to the ownership of the Malmesbury episcopal castle (which Henry gets to occupy for three years then prove his right to it or not). Meanwhile, the king’s army is suffering from war-weariness and apparent defections by magnates keen to protect their future with Henry if or when he wins, e.g. by Earl Robert of Leicester, so Stephen has to abandon plans to fight. Henry is based at Gloucester and then Bristol, and arranges written agreements with some nobles guaranteeing their local rights in their territories subject to due legal process confirming their holdings if the latter are under legal challenge, e.g. to Ranulf of Chester and Simon de St Liz. WALES Fall of St Clears, W of Carmarthen and crucial inland Anglo-Norman castle on the Pembroke–Carmarthen road, to Prince Maredudd of Deheubarth’s younger brother and heir Rhys.

Chronology: 1066–1154  135 SCOTLAND King David dies at Carlisle on 24 May, aged around 69, having firmly placed Scotland with a politically and culturally Western European orientation – following his father’s work as much as his mother’s. His eldest grandson Malcolm IV comes to the Scots throne at the age of 12, without any attempt to revolt by either the Gaelic lords of the North or his cousin William FitzDuncan’s family although the Orkneyinga Saga claims that there was popular support for William’s son, another William and also under-age, to rule instead. The ‘Mac Williams’ of Moray, probably also descended from FitzDuncan, do not rise although Malcolm is crowned at Sone with apparent haste, not waiting for his grandfather to be buried. His regent Donnchad dies within a year, and the new regime is threatened by the support of the rising new naval Hebridean power of the Gaelic-Viking warlord Jarl Somerled, first ‘Lord of the Isles’ and controller of the Hebrides and parts of Argyll and Lochaber. ISLE OF MAN King Olaf (acc. 1113)’s son by Auffrica of Galloway (daughter of Lord Fergus by a daughter of King Henry I), Godred ‘the Black’, is adult and is absent in Norway doing homage as the Isle of Man’s heir to King Inge when a fleet led by Olaf’s three disgruntled nephews, the sons of his brother Harald, arrives at Ramsey demanding that Olaf hand over half the kingdom to them. Olaf agrees to come to a parley with his nephews but is attacked and murdered by their leader, Ragnald, at this meeting on the feast of Sts Peter and Paul. Ragnald succeeds as king as the senior of the three brothers, but when they go on to ravage Galloway they are heavily defeated and within weeks Godred returns from Norway to overthrow them. Either one brother is killed and two blinded or all three are killed. Godred now revives his grandfather Godred ‘Crovan’s ambitions in Ireland and attacks Dublin within a year or so, driving out the forces of ‘High King’ (1150–66) Muirchertach McLochlainn, King of Ulster. He defeats an Ulster attack and is recognised as overlord of Dublin, but his large war tax demands probably alienate his own subjects. IRELAND Death of the long-ruling King Murchad (acc. 1106) of W Midhe (Ui Niall, Clan Colman line); his son and (1152) co-ruler Mael Sechlainn succeed him (until 1155). ENGLAND/NORMANDY Whitsun. During a Midlands progress where assorted royalist lords come to agreement with him and Robert de Ferrers’ garrison surrenders Tutbury (chief fortress of the Peak District), Henry is at Leicester by

136  Chronology: 1066–1154 invitation of Earl Robert. Henry arrives at Warwick shortly after the surrender of the (royalist-held) castle and death of the humiliated Earl Roger of Warwick, Robert of Leicester’s cousin. Chamberlain William Mauduit leaves Stephen in return for his holding of that office and of Portchester Castle, Hants, being guaranteed by Henry. July. Henry advances south to Wallingford, his mother’s ally Brian FitzCount’s stronghold, to help the defence by besieging Stephen’s siege castle of Crowmarsh nearby which controls the river bridge; the royal army arrives and the two sides confront each other across the River Thames but soon start talks. A truce is agreed. Henry and Stephen meet (traditionally riding out from opposite banks of the river into the water) and agree on the need for peace. Archbishop Theobald turns up after the meeting to hold separate discussions with the king and Duke Henry (the latter at Crowmarsh), apparently attended by his aide/clerk Thomas Becket (later archbishop) according to the latter’s reminiscences. Eustace departs from his father’s court as Stephen leaves the Thames valley for Ipswich, probably fearing he is to be disinherited of England in Henry’s favour to secure peace, and goes with his wife Constance of France to Cambridge; he sets up his base there and ravages the lands of the Abbey of Bury St Edmunds; his sudden death (16 or 17 August), aged probably 23–5, is taken as vengeance by the Saint (Henry of Huntingdon). He is buried at Faversham Abbey. Mid-August. Birth of Henry’s and Eleanor’s eldest son William at Angers, coinciding with Eustace’s death; taken as an omen for the future, though in fact the baby dies young in 1156. Stephen’s major supporter Simon de St Liz, stepson of King David of Scots, then dies too, and Henry besieges his castle at Stamford (by 31 August). He then takes Nottingham, while Stephen takes Hugh Bigod’s Ipswich Castle to stop him defecting. Theobald of Canterbury and Bishop Henry of Winchester lead the way in negotiating peace; the king recognises Henry as the Duke of Normandy and as his successor to England, and in return Henry does homage to him. Stephen’s younger son William is allowed to succeed to his mother’s Boulogne and to his wife’s de Warenne lands, but is excluded from England and does homage to Henry. 14 October. Death of Archbishop Henry Murdac of York; the new Pope Anastasius subsequently agrees to reinstate ex-Archbishop William (Fitzherbert) to end the controversy there. November. The treaty is confirmed and the oaths of homage are carried out at Winchester (6 November ceremony) as Stephen ceremonially receives Henry in the old capital. Stephen adopts Henry as his son. The two contenders then proceed to London where they issue charters confirming the agreements; Stephen’s son William also receives an extended ‘honour’ in Norfolk, extending the Warenne lands there and including

Chronology: 1066–1154  137 the castles/lands of Thetford, Norwich and Eye, and the E Sussex castle and lands of Pevensey. Henry gains a number of crucial strategic castles across England to hold until he succeeds, including the Tower of London and Windsor Castle, and all holders of ‘feudal’ estates as vassals of one or other rival for the throne are confirmed in their present possessions by both rivals. Stephen and Henry are to go on progress together to sort out disputes with regular holding of joint courts, and proceed to do this, with one meeting at Winchester (November). 16 December. Death of Earl Ranulf of Chester, aged 54. His controversial reputation is such that there are rumours that he had been poisoned, and his removal probably anticipates a showdown with his future sovereign, Henry FitzEmpress. Ranulf leaves his lands to his son by Earl Robert of Gloucester’s daughter Maud (d. 1189), Hugh ‘de Kevelioc’ (1147–81). The boy is a royal ward as is normal for the under-age son of a deceased royal tenant-in-chief, and so the Chester lands fall into the current king’s hands and go to Henry in October 1154. Henry apparently fails or refuses to confirm the grant of the earldom of Pembroke by Matilda, to the late Earl Gilbert (d. 1148), as being transferrable to his son and successor Richard, now probably aged around 20; the latter, the future conqueror of SE Ireland as ‘Strongbow’, is usually known as ‘de Striguil’ from his main SE Wales castle of Chepstow which he inherited via maternal relatives. ORKNEY Harald I’s son Erlend, who has secured Caithness by grant from the King of Scots as his earldom, invades Orkney by sea while Jarl Ragnald is en route home from the Holy Land, and ejects his co-ruler, the teenage Harald II (who still rules part of Caithness too). His coup sets Erlend up as a conduit of Scots royal power. It is agreed that Erlend will take over Ragnald’s half of the jarldom if the kings of Norway will confirm this to him, and he goes to Norway – where he proceeds to secure full rights to both Ragnald’s and Harald’s lands from Inge’s brother and co-ruler King Eystein II of Norway. He then returns to fight Harald, who has to flee to Norway in September. Erlend offers half of the jarldom to Ragnald when he returns a few months later in order to obtain his help against Harald II, but fails to deliver so they end up fighting. 1154 ENGLAND/NORMANDY January. Joint court at Oxford, where many leading nobles swear oaths to Henry. Another meeting is held at Dunstable. Lent (March). Joint court is held at Canterbury, along with a mysterious visit by Count Thierry of Flanders (whose wife is Henry’s aunt) for

138  Chronology: 1066–1154 unknown purposes – possibly supposed to bind him to back Henry’s accession and wean him from backing his disgruntled neighbour William of Boulogne, Stephen’s son. Apparently some of his entourage plot to murder Henry, and William (also present) may or may not be aware of this. William then breaks his leg in an accident on Barham Downs (Gervase of Canterbury). Afterwards Henry says goodbye to Stephen and sails from Dover to Normandy. 8 June. Death of the just-restored Archbishop of York, William, shortly after returning to his see; poisoning is rumoured due to his enemies. Stephen’s nephew Hugh of Le Puiset is made Bishop of Durham, and receives his ‘pallium’ in Rome with Archbishop William. Henry joins Eleanor and their son William at Rouen, where they hold court with his mother Matilda; he then goes to Aquitaine (May–June) to suppress a local rebellion. Meanwhile, Eleanor’s ex-husband Louis VII heads off to Compostela on pilgrimage, and arranges a new marital alliance with Castile en route. Stephen is in East Anglia and the E Midlands and meets Eustace’s widow Constance at Cambridge to confirm local grants to and by her; he then goes on to Lincs to besiege, take and destroy the illegal castle erected there by the Paynels (August). Stephen holds a council in London, and the York clerics meet to choose a new archbishop and elect Roger of Pont l’Évêque, Archdeacon of ­Canterbury, who is consecrated at Westminster (10 October). Roger is succeeded as archdeacon by Theobald’s clerk and adviser Thomas Becket, who until now has been a layman. Stephen goes to Dover for more discussions with Count Thierry of Flanders; after the count’s departure he suddenly falls ill and dies (25 ­October) at Dover priory, aged around 60. REIGN OF KING HENRY II: 1154–89 Henry completes his current siege of Torigny Castle in Normandy after hearing of Stephen’s death. On 7 December he and Eleanor cross to England from Barfleur. 19 December. Coronation of Henry II and Eleanor in Westminster Abbey by Archbishop Theobald. Richard de Lucy is kept on as justiciar from Stephen’s reign, but given Earl Robert of Leicester as a colleague; the chancellorship is given to Thomas Becket (born 1118/20), son of Norman incomer Gilbert Becket from Rouen, sheriff of London), recently made Archdeacon of Canterbury, at the recommendation of the latter’s patron Archbishop Theobald.

Chronology: 1066–1154  139

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140  Chronology: 1066–1154 on 1096–99 Crusade, book X on 1095–1101 ditto, book XI on 1102–17, book XII on 1118–1904 for book XII, on 1119–27. Outline Itinerary of King Henry I, ed. William Farrer (Oxford UP, Oxford, 1920). The Peterborough Chronicle, ed. Cecily Clarke, 2nd edition (Oxford UP, Oxford, 1970). Ralph of Coggeshall, Chronicon Anglicanum, ed. J Stevenson (Rolls Series, 1875). Ralph of Diceto, Radulfi de Diceto Decani Londoniensis Opera Historica, ed. W Stubbs, 2 vols (Rolls Series, 1876). Recueil des Actes de Louis VI, Roi de France (1108–1137), ed. Jean Dufour, 3 vols (Academy des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres, Paris, 1992–3). Regesta Regum Anglo-Normannorum, eds H W C Davis, H A Cronne, R J Whitwell, C Johnson (Oxford UP, Oxford, 1969): online at: https://archive.org/details/ regestaregumangl: 01 for reign of William II, 02 for Henry I and Stephen. Also as ed. David Bates (Oxford UP, Oxford, 1998). Richard of Devizes, Chronicon, ed. and tr. J Appleby (Thomas Nelson and Sons, London, 1963). Richard of Hexham, De gestis regis Stephanis, ed. R Howlett, in Chronicles and Memorials of the Reigns of Stephen, Henry II and Richard I, vol 2 (Longmans, London, 1885): online at: cco.cup.cam.ac.uk/ebook.jsf?bid=CBO9781139380683. Robert of Gloucester, The Metrical Chronicle of Robert of Gloucester, ed. W A Wright, 2 vols (Rolls Series, Longmans, London, 1887). Robert of Torigny, The Chronicle of Robert of Torigny, in Chronicles of the Reigns of Stephen, Henry II and Richard I, ed. R Howlett (Longmans, London, 1885). ——, Gesta Henrici et Ricardi, ed. W Stubbs, 2 vols (Rolls Series, 1867). Roger of Howden/Hoveden, Chronica, ed. W Stubbs, 4 vols (Rolls Series, Longmans, London, 1865–71); also Llanerch Press reprint (1994). Simeon of Durham, Opera (Works), ed. T Arnold (Rolls Society, 1882–5). The Chronicle of Walter of Guisborough, ed. H Rothwell (Camden Society Series, vol lxxxix, Royal Historical Society, London, 1957). William of Malmesbury, Gesta Regum, ed. and tr. R M Thompson and M Winterbottom, 2 vols (Oxford UP, Oxford, 1998). ——, Historia Novella, ed. E King, tr. K R Potter (Oxford, 1998). ——, Vita Wulfstani [i.e. Life of St Wulfstan of Worcester], ed. R R Darlington, Camden Society, 3rd series vol 40 (1928). The History of William Marshal, ed. A J Holden, S Gregory, D Crouch, 2 vols (AngloNorman Text Society, Oxford UP, Oxford, 2002). William of Malmesbury, Historia Rerum Anglicanum, ed. R Howlett, in Chronicles and Memorials of the Reigns of Stephen, Henry II and Richard I, vols 1–2 (Longmans, London, 1884–6). William of Newburgh, ed. R Howlett, in Chronicles and Memorials of the Reigns of Stephen, Henry II and Richard I, vols 1–2 (Longmans, London, 1884–6).

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Chronology: 1066–1154  141 ——, ‘William the Conqueror’s Wider Western European World: The Henry Loyn Memorial Lecture’, in HSJ, vol xv (2006 for 2004) pp. 73–87. ——, The Normans and Empire (Oxford University Press, 2013). ——, William the Conqueror (Yale University Press, 2018). John S Beckerman, ‘Succession in Normandy 1087 and England 1066: The Role of Testamentary Custom’, in Speculum, vol 47 (1972) pp. 258–60. Jim Bradbury, ‘Battles in England and Normandy, 1066–1154’, in Anglo-Norman Studies, vol 6 (1983–4) pp. 1–12. ——, The Battle of Hastings (Sutton and Stroud, 1998). Martin Brett, The English Church Under Henry I (Oxford University Press, 1975). Shirley Ann Brown, ‘The Bayeux Tapestry: Why Eustace, Odo and William?’, in AngloNorman Studies, vol 12 (1989) pp. 7–28. Boussard, Le Comte d’Anjou sous Henri Plantagenet et ses Fils (1151–1204) (Edouard Champion, Paris, 1938). James Campbell, ‘The Significance of the Anglo-Norman State in the Administrative History of Western Europe’, in Campbell, Essays in Anglo-Saxon History (Hambledon Press, London, 1986). Marjorie Chibnall, The World of Orderic Vitalis (Oxford University Press, 1984). ——, Anglo-Norman England, 1066–1166 (Basil Blackwell, Oxford, 1987). ——, The Empress Matilda: Queen Consort, Queen Mother and Lady of the English (Oxford University Press, 1991). H E J Cowdrey, Lanfranc: Scholar, Monk and Archbishop (Oxford University Press, 2003). D Crouch, The Beaumont Twins: The Roots and Branches of Power in the Twelfth Century (Cambridge University Press, 1986). ——, William Marshal (Longmans, London, 1990). ——, The Reign of Stephen, 1135–1154 (Longmans, London, 2000). ——, The Normans: The History of a Dynasty (Palgrave Macmillan, 2002). Paul Dalton, Conquest, Anarchy and Lordship: Yorkshire 1066–1154 (Cambridge University Press, 1994). H C Darby, Domesday Book Studies (Cambridge University Press, 1987). ——, Domesday England (Cambridge University Press, 2012). R R Davies, The Age of Conquest: Wales 1063–1415 (Oxford University Press, 1987). R H C Davis, King Stephen 1135–1154, 3rd edition (Longmans, London, 1990). David C Douglas, The Norman Conquest and British Historians (Jackson and Sons, Glasgow, 1946). ——, William the Conqueror (University of California Press, 1964). ——, The Norman Achievement, 1050–1100 (University of California Press, 1969). ——, The Norman Fate, 1100–1154 (Eyre Methuen, London, 1976). A A M Duncan, The Kingship of Scots, 842–1292: Succession and Independence (Edinburgh University Press, 2002). Robin Fleming, Kings and Lords in Conquest England (Cambridge University Press, 1991). Edward Freeman, The History of the Norman Conquest of England, 6 vols (Oxford University Press, 1867–79). V H Galbraith, ‘Girard the Chancellor’, in E H R, vol 46 (1931) pp. 77–79. Margaret Gibson, Lanfranc of Bec (Oxford University Press, 1978). Brian Golding, ‘Robert of Mortain’, in Anglo-Norman Studies, vol 13 (1990–1) pp. 119–44. Judith Green, ‘The Sheriffs of William the Conqueror’, in Anglo-Norman Studies, vol 5 (1982–3) pp. 129–45.

142  Chronology: 1066–1154 ——, The Government of England Under Henry I (Cambridge University Press, 1986). ——, English Sheriffs to 1154 (HMSO, London, 1990). ——, The Aristocracy of Norman England (Cambridge University Press, 1997). ——, Henry I: King of England, Duke of Normandy (Cambridge University Press, 2006). Duncan Grinnell-Williams, The Killing of William Rufus (David and Charles, Newton Abbot, 1968). Mark Hagger, William I: King and Conqueror (Palgrave Macmillan, 2012). C W Hollister, Monarchy, Magnates and Institutions in the Anglo-Norman World (Longmans, London, 1986). ——, Henry I (Yale University Press, 2001). Peter Hunter Blair, ‘Some Observations on the Historia Regum Attributed to Symeon of Durham’, in Celt and Saxon: Studies in the Early English Border, ed. Nora Chadwick (Cambridge University Press, 1963). W E Kapelle, The Norman Conquest of the North: The Region and Its Transformation 1000–1135 (University of N Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, 1979). Edward Kealey, Roger of Salisbury: Viceroy of England (Berkeley, 1972). Edmund King, King Stephen (Yale University Press, 2011). David Knowles, The Monastic Order in England 940–1216, 2nd edition (Cambridge University Press, 1963). John Lloyd, The Welsh Chronicles (British Academy Publics, London, 1928). Kimberly LoPrete, Adela of Blois: Countess and Lord (c.1067–1137) (Four Courts Press, Dublin, 2007). J F Mason, William I and the Sussex Rapes (Vintage, London, 1966). H Mayr-Harting and R I Moore (ed.) Anniversary Essays in Medieval History Presented to RHC Davis (Hambledon Continuum, London, 1985). Frank McLynn, Lionhear and Lackland: King Richard, King John and the Wars of Conquest (Vintage, London 2006). Edward Miller, The Abbey and Bishopric of Ely (Cambridge, 1951). Lynn Nelson, The Normans in South Wales 1070–1171 (University of Texas Press, Austin, 1966). The New Dictionary of National Biography, ed. Colin Mathew (Oxford University Press, 2002). Charlotte Newman, The Anglo-Norman Nobility in the Reign of Henry I: The Second Generation (University of Pennsylvania Press, 1988). J H Le Patourel, The Norman Empire (Oxford University Press, 1976). J H Round, Feudal England (Swan Sonneschein and Co, London, 1909). William Skene, Celtic Scotland, 3 vols (Douglas, Edinburgh, 1886). R W Southern, St Anselm and His Biographer (Cambridge University Press, 1966).

Articles Nick Arnold, ‘The Defeat of the Sons of Harold in 1069’, in Report of the Transactions of the Devonshire Association for the Advancement of Science, vol cxlvi (2014) pp. 33–56. David Bates, ‘The Character and Career of Odo, Bishop of Bayeux’, in Speculum, vol 50 (1975) pp. 1–20. ——, ‘Normandy and England after 1066’, in English Historical Review, vol 104 (1989) pp. 851–880. S. Beckerman, ‘Succession in Normandy 1087 and in England 1066: The Role of Thomas Callahan, ‘The Making of a Monster: The Historical Image of William Rufus’’, in Journal of Medieval History, vol 7 (1981) pp. 175–85.

Chronology: 1066–1154  143 Marjorie Chibnall, ‘The Empress Matilda and Church Reform’, in Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, 5th series, vol xxxviii (1988) pp. 107–30. H Cronne, ‘Ranulf de Gernons, Earl of Chester 1129–1153’, in TRHS, 4th series, vol 20 (1937) pp. 103–24. R R Davies, ‘Henry I in Wales’, in Studies in Medieval History Presented to R H C Davis, ed. H Mayr-Harting (Hambledon Press, London 1985) pp. 133–47. H W C Davis, ‘A Contemporary Account of the Battle of Tinchebrai’, in E H R, vol 24 (1909) pp. 728–32. ——, ‘Henry of Blois and Brian FizCount’, in E H R, vol 25 (1910) pp. 297–303. R H C Davis, ‘Geoffrey de Mandeville Reconsidered’, in E H R, vol 79 (1964) pp. 299–307. ——, ‘William of Jumièges, Robert Curthose and the Norman Succession’, in E H R, vol xcv (1980) pp. 597–606. Barbara English, ‘William the Conqueror and the Anglo-Norman Succession’, in Historical Research, vol xxxiv (1991) pp. 221–36. Hugh Farmer, ‘William of Malmesbury’s Life and Works’, in Journal of Ecclesiastical History, vol 13 (1962) pp. 39–64. Valerie Flint, ‘The Date of the Chronicle of “Florence” of Worcester’, in Revue benedictine, vol 86 (1976) pp. 115–19. John Gillingham, ‘The Introduction of Knight Service into England’, in Anglo-Norman Studies, vol 5 (1982) pp. 23–7. John Hayward, ‘Hereward the Outlaw’, in Journal of Medieval History, vol 14 (1988) pp. 293–304. C W Hollister, ‘The Anglo-Norman Civil War 1101’, in E H R, vol lxxxviii (1973) pp. 315–34. ——, ‘The Anglo-Norman Succession Debate of 1126’, in Journal of Medieval History, vol 1 (1975) pp. 19–39. ——, ‘The Magnates of Stephen’s Reign: Reluctant Anarchists’, in Haskins Society Journal, vol 5 (1993) pp. 77–87. C W Hollister, ‘The Strange Death of William Rufus’, in Speculum, vol xlviii (1975) pp. 673–83. J C Holt, ‘The End of the Anglo-Norman Realm’, in Proceedings of the British Academy, vol lxi (1975) pp. 223–65. Nicholas Hooper, ‘Edgar Atheling: Anglo-Saxon Prince, Rebel and Crusader’, in AngloSaxon England, vol 14 (1985) pp. 197–214. Benjamin Hudson, ‘William the Conqueror and Ireland’, in Irish Historical Studies, vol xxix (1994–5) pp. 145–58. Edward Kealey, ‘Anglo-Norman Policy and the Public Welfare’, in Albion, vol 10 pt 4 (1978) pp. 341–51. Edward Kealey and J Le Patourel, ‘The Norman Succession 996–1135’, in English Historical Review, vol 86 (1971) pp. 225–50. K Leyser, ‘The Anglo-Norman Succession 1120–1125’, in Anglo-Norman Studies, vol xiii (1990) pp. 225–42. Emma Mason, ‘William Rufus: Myth and Reality’, in Journal of Medieval History, vol iii (1977) pp. 1–20. ——, ‘William Rufus and the Historians’, in Medieval History, vol i (1991) pp. 6–22. J S Matthews, ‘William the Conqueror’s Campaign in Cheshire in 1069–70: Ravaging and Resistance in the North-West’, in Northern History, vol xl (2003) pp. 53–70. S Reynolds, ‘Eadric Silvaticus and the English Resistance’, in BIHR, vol 54 (1981) pp. 102–5.

144  Chronology: 1066–1154 David Roffe, ‘Hereward “The Wake” and the Barony of Bourne: A Reassessment of a Fenland Legend’, in Lincolnshire History and Archeology, vol 29 (1994) pp. 7–10. H M Thomas, ‘The Gesta Herwardi: The English and Their Conqueror’, in Anglo-Norman Studies, vol 21 (1998) pp. 213–22. Kathleen Thompson, ‘Orderic Vitalis and Robert of Bellême: A Reassessment and Examination of the Twelfth Century Anglo-Norman Magnate as Chronicled by the Norman Monastic’, in Journal of Medieval History, vol 20 (1994) pp. 133–41. Rodney Thomson, William of Malmesbury (Boydell and Brewer, 1987).

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Chronology: 1155–1217

1155 ENGLAND/NORMANDY/AQUITAINE Henry orders all the illegal castles erected in Stephen’s reign to be demolished within a time limit, and sends Stephen’s expensive and unruly Flemish mercenaries home. All castles legally owned by the Crown are to be returned by their current occupants. A new coinage is arranged and taxes are to be collected properly and fully, and the king sets an example of vigorous and tireless governance – and frequent travel across his realm(s). January. Henry marches north to confront William of Aumale, Earl of York, for refusing to return illegally held castles; the earl surrenders at York and has his illegal castles seized, led by Scarborough. He is stripped of his earldom. Monday 28 February. Birth at Bermondsey Abbey, SE of London, of Henry’s and Eleanor’s second but eldest surviving son Henry, the ‘Young King’, who succeeds his deceased brother William as heir in 1156; he is baptised by Richard de Belmeis, Bishop of London. April. At Wallingford, Henry and Eleanor have oaths taken to their sons – William as ‘Count of Poitiers’ (i.e. heir to Poitou/Aquitaine) and next king of England and the younger Henry as heir to Anjou; they also swear to accept the younger Henry as heir if his brother dies. June? Eleanor is in residence in London as Henry tours the kingdom and then hunts with his chancellor Becket in the New Forest; the royal family then reunite at Winchester. Earl Roger of Hereford, son of Miles of Gloucester (d. 1143), is among the few nobles who are daring enough to refuse a summons to court and object to handing over disputed lands, but is reduced to submission by a royal campaign, probably in 1155. He dies later in the year, probably aged in his early 30s, and Henry cancels the grant of the earldom made to Miles by his mother in 1141. Roger’s younger brother Miles is not allowed to inherit the earldom, but as he is loyal he keeps the hereditary sheriffdoms of Gloucester and Herefordshire for the moment – to

146  Chronology: 1155–1217 1157/8 (Gloucs) and 1158/9 (Herefordshire). He dies on Crusade early in the 1160s. Hugh Mortimer, Lord of Cleobury and Wigmore in the central Welsh Marches, is ordered to return the royal castle at Bridgnorth and refuses; Henry marches against him and his castles are besieged and forced to surrender. He gives in and is required to submit at a royal assembly of magnates at Bridgnorth on 7 July. William Peverel, leading magnate of the Peak District (Derbs) flees the country as Henry heads for York, apparently fearing indictment over stories that he poisoned his regional rival Earl Ranulf of Chester in 1153. Henry seizes his lands. Later Bishop Henry of Winchester leaves for a visit to Cluny without permission as is legally required, and Henry consequently occupies and demolishes his castles. 29 September. Royal council at Winchester to discuss the planned invasion of Ireland, to which Henry has been granted rights as king by Pope Adrian IV (the Englishman Nicholas Breakspear from St Albans); Henry speaks of granting it to his youngest brother William but the invasion is opposed by his mother Matilda who arrives from Normandy to complain that it is an uncivilised land with no knights or castles and conquering it is a waste of time. The plan is put on hold on reports that Henry’s other brother Geoffrey is plotting again. ORKNEY The new Jarl Erlend offers half of the jarldom to the longer-established Ragnald, nephew of St Magnus, when he returns from the Holy Land in order to obtain his help against co-ruler Harald II (established in Caithness by the Scots royal dynasty in 1139), but fails to deliver. Harald now returns from Norway to invade Orkney; Ragnald considers changing sides to help him, and when Ragnald goes south to Sutherland to marry off his daughter to one of Harald’s supporters Harald makes haste to nearby Thurso to accept Ragnald’s invitation to a meeting. Ragnald and Harald II agree to share the jarldom and evict Erlend, and either in later 1155 or 1156 cross the Pentland Firth to Ronaldsway to make war on Erlend. HEBRIDES As brother-in-law of King Godred II of Man, Somerled ‘of the Isles’ (i.e. Hebrides) uses his wife’s support against her brother, the autocratic Godred, in that kingdom to make a claim on it on their sons’ behalf as revolt breaks out, led by a chieftain called Thorfinn. The latter takes Somerled’s son Dugald – the grandson of Godred’s father King Olaf (assass. 1153), so a rival heir to the Manx dominions – around the Hebrides taking pledges of allegiance, but Godred is tipped off and collects his fleet. Somerled attacks first, daringly in mid-winter.

Chronology: 1155–1217  147 WALES Death of Maredudd ap Gruffydd of Deheubarth, ruler since his injured brother Cadell’s abdication in 1151; he is succeeded by his younger brother Rhys (d. 1197), aged 23, last and most successful of the sons of Gruffydd ap Rhys ap Tewdr. 1156

ISLE OF MAN 5–6 January. Somerled fights a major naval battle off the Isle of Man with Godred, allegedly involving hundreds of ships and a severe defeat for Godred (who has possibly lost valuable men recently in invading Dublin). Godred buys him off by ceding the southern Hebrides to him and his son Dugald. Godred holds onto Skye and the Outer Hebrides. ENGLAND/NORMANDY/AQUITAINE 10 January. Henry crosses to Normandy, intent on confronting Louis VII and weaning him away from any aid to his unreliable brother Geoffrey, now in revolt again in Anjou, in detaching Anjou or more from his lands. Justiciar Richard de Lucy is regent of England. 5 February. Henry meets Louis on their Vexin frontier and does homage to him for Normandy, Anjou and Aquitaine – his rule of the latter has until now not been recognised by Louis, who by accepting homage backs away from trying to depose him. Henry then meets Geoffrey at Rouen, but the latter is clearly not satisfied with his three castles in Anjou or stopped by being warned off plotting. April/June. Death of Henry’s and Eleanor’s eldest son William at Wallingford; he is buried at Reading Abbey. June. Birth at Windsor of Henry’s and Eleanor’s eldest daughter Matilda, later (1168) to marry Duke Henry ‘the Lion’ of Saxoy; she is baptised by Archbishop Theobald at the church of Holy Trinity, Aldgate, London. Summer. After Geoffrey fortifies his castles (Chinon, Mirebeau and Loudun) Henry marches into Anjou to besiege them; Geoffrey is required to surrender all of them or else keep just Loudun, and is granted an annuity instead – not enough to make him a threat. Autumn. Henry is joined by Eleanor (Saumur in Anjou, 29 August) for a joint progress through Aquitaine, where Henry is accepted by the barons as co-ruler by right of marriage. The citizens of Nantes in SE Brittany, on the lower Loire, eject their Count Hoel and appeal to Henry for help; he offers them Geoffrey as their new count. September. Probably as arranged by Henry, his vassal Earl Conan of Richmond (Yorks) arrives in Brittany and deposes his stepfather, Count

148  Chronology: 1155–1217 Eudo, by taking his HQ at Rennes; he assumes power as Duke Conan IV of Brittany, by inheritance via his mother Bertha (who is sidelined and dies in 1163) from her father Duke Conan III (d. 1148). He is an ally to Geoffrey of Nantes, but their relationship is unstable. ORKNEY Erlend has initial success in the war with Ragnald and Harald II, with a surprise attack on Harald’s base on 24 October which drives him into flight. Ragnald is away from the fleet on a private visit to his home at Orphir, and Erlend’s men go in pursuit and turn up at the house where he is spending the night. His host sends them off on a ‘wild goose chase’ and alerts Ragnald, who makes his escape and duly gets back to his troops safely. On 21 December Ragnald’s men kill Erlend by a sudden swoop on his camp while his main commander Sweyn Asleifsson is away, finding him and his men lying drunk around their beached warships and butchering them. Ragnald and Harald share Orkney. AQUITAINE 25 December. Henry and Eleanor hold court at Bordeaux. WALES Rhys ap Gruffydd builds a new English-style castle at Aberdovey/Aberdyfi to protect his newly acquired Ceredigion lands from attack by his local rivals, the Cliffords and the de Clares of Pembroke. 1157 ENGLAND Henry and Eleanor return from the Continent, Eleanor first (February) and Henry a month or two later. Whitsun. Royal crown-wearing ceremony at the Abbey of Bury St Edmunds; a campaign in N Wales is planned against Owain Gwynedd. SCOTLAND Malcolm IV, still in his mid-teens, has been threatened by his powerful neighbour Somerled ‘of the Isles’ with the latter’s sponsorship of a pretender, ‘Malcolm’ who marries his sister – either King Alexander I’s illegitimate son Malcolm, rebel in 1124, or else the obscure Malcolm ‘MacHeth’. Malcolm MacHeth is pardoned and is probably given the earldom of Ross, i.e. the lands N of the Great Glen. This would suggest that he is related to the later rebel ‘Mormaer’ of Moray in 1130, Angus, and so to King Lulach (killed 1058) of the Moray line and represents the rival branch of the royal family connected to King Kenneth III (k. 1005).

Chronology: 1155–1217  149 ENGLAND/NORMANDY/AQUITAINE/SCOTLAND There is tension in Norfolk between local landed dynast Hugh Bigod, Lord of Framlingham and granted the effective rights of an earl in Norfolk under Stephen (and the title of earl by Matilda, which Henry confirmed 1155?) but not the county town or its castle in Norwich, and his local rival, Stephen’s son Count William of Boulogne who holds Norwich plus the Suffolk lordship of Eye. They are contending for control of Norwich and both are implicitly ‘over-mighty subjects’ with excessive power and dubious loyalty; Henry uses the major council at Bury St Edmunds (19 May, Whitsun) to order them to hand over all their castles, which they do. Henry also has the castles of Earl Geoffrey (de Mandeville) of Essex (d. 1166), son of the 1140s brigand earl, demolished this year – to demilitarise a region of threat to the monarchy in the 1140s? Cumberland and Northumberland are under Malcolm IV’s next younger brother and heir William as earl as of 1152/3, but Henry has transferred Cumbria to Malcolm himself as his vassal by 1157. They are now forcibly reoccupied by Henry who summons Malcolm to his court in May and makes him accept this, by threat of attack (William of Newburgh). Though noted for his martial enthusiasm by contemporaries, Malcolm’s nickname ‘The Maiden’ (he remains unmarried) was interpreted in later centuries as implying effeminacy or feebleness and his surrender may cause anger among his nobles. He has to do homage to Henry for Cumberland and for the earldom of Huntingdon (inherited by his father Henry from his mother Queen Matilda). Henry launches a major invasion of Gwynedd to bring Owain Gwynedd, son of Gruffydd ap Cynan (d. 1137), under English control and reconquer as much land as possible after recent losses in Flintshire and the Dee valley since the death of Earl Ranulf of Chester in December 1153. On 17 July the major barons of England attend a royal summons to Northampton and agree to bring troops to aid Henry for the war, and a march by a huge English army (a third of all the ‘knight service’ owed by Henry’s English vassals) proceeds from Chester across the Dee and along the Flintshire coast while a fleet moves offshore to lend assistance if needed. The intention is to overwhelm the Welsh by weight of numbers, and the fleet then moves on to seize Anglesey – probably to prevent Owain retreating there as the king reaches the Menai Strait. But the landing is repulsed, and inland the invasion sees Henry’s main army, joined by his vassal Madoc ap Maredudd of Powys who prudently puts his own realm’s safety above ‘ethnic solidarity’, ambushed in the forests near Hawarden. The English cannot see the number of attackers and panic, the royal standard-bearer throws down his banner and runs away which would have signified to observers that this was an official signal for retreat, and the threat of a disaster is only averted as the king arrives after fighting his way out of a nearby ambush. He orders his men to cut down the trees and create a secure road before advancing further, and

150  Chronology: 1155–1217 the Welsh are unable to attack at close quarters again. Owain is outnumberd and has to sue for peace and surrender hostages; the disputed eastern ‘cantref’ of ‘Tegeingl’, i.e. most of Flintshire to the Clywd valley, is returned to England along with Oswestry and Whittington Castles in NW Shropshire. Henry constructs new castles at Basingwerk and Rhuddlan to protect his gains. Cadwaladr, brother of Owain Gwynedd of Gwynedd, has been in exile since Owain drove him out in 1152 – to safeguard the succession for his own sons, led by his eldest bastard Hywel who has been annexing some of Cadwaldr’s old lands in Ceredigion for himself. Henry forces Owain to take Cadwaladr back, implicitly to hopefully destabilise the threatening Gwynedd. Madoc ap Maredudd of Powys assists Henry’s invasion of Gwynedd and receives the ‘cantref’ of Ial, taken from him by Gwynedd in 1150, back as a reward. His younger brother Iorweth also participates in the invasion, and receives lands at Sutton in Shropshire as thanks for his services as an interpreter; Madoc does not give him any lands in Powys (to preserve its resources intact for his own sons in the succession) so he moves there permanently. The mid-1150s also see the Welsh reconquest of the district of Maelienydd near Radnor, along with at least part of ‘Rhwng Gwy a Hafren’ (Radnorshire), by Cadwallon ap Madoc, great-grandson of his dynasty’s founder Elystan Glodrydd (fl. 1010). Rhys ap Gruffydd of Deheubarth is forced to submit as Henry follows up his semi-successful invasion of Gwynedd with a threat to use his large and now experienced army to invade his lands too. Like the prudent King Malcolm IV of Scots earlier this year, he obeys a summons to the royal court, and accepts his reduction to being prince of inland ‘Cantref Mawr’. Ceredigion is restored to its de Clare lords to confirm the legality of William II’s and Henry I’s grants – Earl Gilbert of Pembroke, who had had to make do with ruling Pembroke alone from the 1136 revolt, has died in 1148 so his son by Elizabeth de Beaumont, Richard FitzGilbert (the famous ‘Strongbow’, later conqueror of Ireland), has inherited Ceredigion/Cardigan with its castle to add to his estates. ‘Cantref Bychan’ to the SE now goes to Walter Clifford (c. 1113–90), Lord of Clifford Castle on the Wye near Hay and son and heir to Henry I’s grantee of the ‘cantref’, Richard FitzPons. Married to Margaret de Tosni the heiress of Clifford, he is in due course to achieve the extra useful bonus of his daughter, the legendary ‘Fair Rosamund’ (d. 1176), as mistress to Henry II in the late 1160s. Walter Clifford of ‘Cantref Bychan’, his lands confirmed by Henry, invades Rhys’ lands of ‘Cantref Mawr’ to try to add them to his domains. Rhys drives him out and proceeds to retake Llandovery and Ceredigion.

Chronology: 1155–1217  151 SPAIN 21 August. Death of Aquitaine’s neighbour Alfondo VII of Léon and Castile (acc. March 1126), aged 52; he is succeeded by his sons Sancho (III), aged 23, in Castile and Ferdinand (II), aged 20, in Léon. ENGLAND/FRANCE 8 September. Birth at Beaumont Palace, Oxford (between St Giles’ and later Worcester College), of Henry’s and Eleanor’s third but second surviving son Richard, later King Richard I – designated to succeed Eleanor in Aquitaine and Poitou. 25 December. After a royal progress through N England to oversee the transfer of the lands taken from King Malcolm IV, Henry joins Eleanor for Christmas court at Lincoln. 1158

January. Henry visits the annexed Scots border castles and then moves south to Blyth (Notts) and Nottingham Castle to join Eleanor; they then head SW to Worcester for the Easter ceremony of dedication of crowns at the shrine of St Wulfstan. Henry and Eleanor are in Shropshire and Gloucs; then head north to recently regained Carlisle. A ‘summit’ is held between Henry and Malcolm IV at Carlisle, when Malcolm appears to have been refused his requested dubbing as a knight by his neighbour and overlord. July. Death of Henry’s brother Geoffrey, Count of Nantes, at that town, aged 24. This leaves Henry, who is informed at Winchester, without a ‘proxy’ to keep an eye on Brittany; Henry decides to confront the potentially unreliable Duke Conan IV, who is also Earl of Richmond (Yorks). 14 August. Henry returns to Normandy intent on dealing with the loss of the Vexin to Louis VII which he and his father had to concede in 1151; his chancellor Thomas Becket leads a splendidly equipped embassy to Paris to negotiate its return with a large entourage (his biography by William FitzStephen) and successfully invites Louis to a border ‘summit’. The two kings meet and agree to Henry’s idea that Louis’ daughter by his second wife Constance of Castile, Margaret, will marry Henry’s eldest surviving son the ‘Young King’ (who is also Louis’ stepson) and the Vexin will be her dowry. Margaret will be brought up at Henry’s court and if his eldest son dies she will marry his next son Richard. SPAIN 31 August. Death of the new King Sancho III of Castile, aged 23/4; he is succeeded by his son Alfonso VIII, aged 2, under regency.

152  Chronology: 1155–1217 ENGLAND/FRANCE Louis agrees that Henry can deal with Brittany as his ‘seneschal’, i.e. senior ‘feudal’ army commander, as a way to avoid the embarrassment and potential political threat of allowing him as Duke of Normandy to interfere in a separate fief of the kingdom of France. Henry threatens Conan IV with invasion by an assembly of the Norman nobility called to Avranches for Michaelmas (29 September) if he does not do homage and accept him arranging the dispute between him and his stepfather Eudo over the dukedom; Conan turns up at the assembly as ordered, submits, and is recognised as Duke of Brittany and hands over Nantes to Henry. HEBRIDES/ISLE OF MAN In Godred of Man’s absence in Norway(?) while seeking military help, Somerled lands on the Isle of Man and takes it over; his foe has to retire into exile and goes off to complain to the King of Norway who does not intervene. Thenceforth Somerled rules most if not all of the southern Hebrides, S of Skye, down to the Isle of Man and the Irish Sea. He creates the most powerful fleet in the Northern seas and is accepted as ‘king’ of the Gaelic Isles (‘Ri Innse Gall’) by the Scots and Norse sovereigns. His son by Ragnhild of Man, Dugald, rules as ‘king’ of the southern Hebrides (including Godred’s former islands). ORKNEY Harald II becomes sole ruler when Ragnald is murdered in a private blood feud by his banished cousin Thorbjorn in August. Harald refuses Thorbjorn’s appeal to accept that the killing has done him a service but lets the killer go – to be cut down later by Ragnald’s men. Harald is left as sole ruler. He has the longest rule in any Scottish realm, as earl from 1139 to 1206 and sole ruler from 1158. WALES Henry has Deheubarth invaded to force Rhys ap Gruffydd to return Llandovery and Ceredigion to English control. Earl William of Gloucester, the king’s cousin (son of Robert of Gloucester, d. 1147) and Lord of Glamorgan, is kidnapped at night from Cardiff Castle by his discomfited Welsh neighbour Ifor ‘Bach’ (‘the Little’) of Senghenydd (the valleys N of Cardiff). William has seized some of Ifor’s lands on dubious legal excuses and refused him justice, so Ifor and his men scale the castle walls at night and carry off the earl and his wife and children to be held hostage in the remote upland forests until he returns the lands – which he does.

Chronology: 1155–1217  153 ENGLAND/NORMANDY/AQUITAINE September. Henry visits Paris with less pomp than Becket’s embassy, to collect his future daughter-in-law, Louis’ daughter Margaret. 23 September. Birth of Henry and Eleanor’s fourth but third surviving son, Geoffrey – designated to marry Constance, the daughter and heiress of Conan IV of Brittany, and succeed to Brittany as a vassal of the kingdom of England/dukedom of Normandy. November. Louis VI visits Normandy. In December Louis successfully mediates between Henry and his predecessor Stephen’s nephew Count Theobald of Blois. 25 December. Henry and Eleanor hold court at Cherbourg. 29 December. Eleanor returns to Southampton, to collect a consignment of gold from the treasury in Winchester which she then escorts to Normandy before returning to England again. 1159

Confrontation between Henry and Louis over control of the county of Toulouse, a former (Carolingian) part of the duchy/kingdom of Aquitaine so possibly owing homage to Eleanor which Henry now exploits as her husband. Toulouse is a former rival of Eleanor’s ancestors for control of Aquitaine and there is long-term hostility between them; and Count Raymond V has replied to Eleanor’s gaining the Angevin/Norman alliance in 1152 by marrying (1154) Louis VII’s sister Constance, widow of King Stephen’s son Eustace. Their son and heir Raymond (born 1156) is thus Louis’ nephew. Henry has allied in recent years to Raymond V’s local rival with whom he is at war, Count Raymond Berengar of Barcelona, and promised to marry his son Richard to RB’s daughter and heiress so that Richard will inherit Barcelona as well as Aquitaine; Raymond V is required to do homage to Henry, refuses and fails to negotiate either, and so Henry summons the feudal host of Aquitaine to Poitiers for midsummer 1159 ready to invade. He brings English and Norman troops, and his vassal (as Earl of Huntingdon) King Malcolm IV brings an army too as requested – possibly hoping for knighthood. Henry requires mostly money of his lower-ranking English subjects not troops so as not to overburden his subjects for a distant and costly journey (Robert of Torigny) and only requires the barons to turn up in person, borrows from the Jews too, and with this hires mercenaries. He takes 45 ships to Normandy, and Raymond Berengar of Barcelona and Raymond V’s Languedoc/lower Rhône neighbour Raymond Trenceval of Béziers and Carcassone also come to the war. The army invades NE Toulouse to take the disputed hilly border region of Quercy and captures Cahors while Raymond Trenceval invades the

154  Chronology: 1155–1217 E region to stir up revolt; in early July Henry closes in on Toulouse but Louis VII arrives demanding to mediate as the rival rulers’ legal overlord. Henry reassures Louis of his goodwill and vice versa, but Louis ends up leaving unexpectedly and proceeds to Toulouse where Raymond V receives him. Attacking the city will now mean that Henry is attacking his overlord, so Henry takes some nearby castles and devastates the countryside instead to put pressure on them. Late September. Henry puts garrisons in his conquered region of Quercy and withdraws; the final skirmishes of the war or an outbreak of sickness in the army see the death (11 October) of his predecessor Stephen’s son William, Count of Boulogne and lord of much of E Anglia, aged 25(?), which means that his sister Mary (Abbess of Romsey since 1155) becomes his heiress. Henry confiscates the ‘honour’ of Eye, Suffolk and other lands that are held of him personally not by inheritance, and so regains control of the 1140s holdings of King Stephen in E Anglia – and refuses to return local Framlingham Castle to regional warlord Hugh Bigod for some years. Mary subsequently ‘illegally’ leaves her convent (1160) and marries fortune-hunter Matthew, Count of Flanders, who thus gains his neighbour Boulogne via her. Henry returns to Normandy to find that in his absence Louis’ brothers Bishop Hugh of Beauvais and Count Robert of Dreux have responded to a diversionary Norman raid by attacking Normandy; he ravages the bishop’s lands and forces Robert’s ally the Count of Évreux (part of the disputed Vexin) to do homage and hand over crucial border castles which neutralises him. A truce is arranged until May 1160. WALES Rhys ap Gruffydd of Deheubarth attacks Carmarthen while Henry is overseas campaigning in southern France against the duchy of Toulouse. The king’s half-uncle Earl Reginald of Cornwall, bastard of Henry I, lands with an army from Devon to relieve it and then unsuccessfully invades Rhys’ inland lands of ‘Cantref Mawr’ with the Earls of Gloucester and Pembroke and the ever-hopeful claimant Cadwaladr of Gwynedd, Owain Gwynedd’s brother and former ruler of Ceredigion in the 1140s. SCOTLAND The death of Bishop Robert of St Andrews leads to a mission to the new Pope Alexander III to have the see raised to an archbishopric, i.e. free from the jurisdictional claims of its neighbouring archdiocese at York. The Pope refuses, but grants the bishopric to one of the envoys – Bishop William of Moray. Preferring to name his own man, King Malcolm refuses to recognise him and makes Abbot Arnold of Kelso bishop instead.

Chronology: 1155–1217  155 1160 ENGLAND/NORMANDY/AQUITAINE Henry agrees to return the Évreux castles as Louis wants in return for continued peace, provided that Louis confirms all the lands and rights that his grandfather Fulk V held to him. The Évreux lands of its count, the Archbishop of Rouen, and the Earl of Leicester are to be held in fief to Henry, but the rest of the Vexin will go to Henry’s son the ‘Young King’ when he marries Louis’ daughter Margaret and in the meantime its castles will be held by the neutral Knights Templar. Raymond V gets a one-year truce. Henry’s vassal Duke Conan IV of Brittany is married off to an English candidate – Margaret of Huntingdon (born 1145, d. 1201), sister of King William I of Scots and daughter of the late Earl Henry of Huntingdon (d. 1152) and Ada de Warenne. This brings him into the Plantagenet family’s circle of Anglo-Norman nobles. WALES Powys is divided up on the death of Madoc ap Maredudd (ruler since 1132) at Lent 1160; his eldest son and probable heir Llywelyn is killed within weeks. His other sons Gruffydd ‘Maelor’ (d. 1191), Owain ‘Fychan’ and the illegitimate Owain ‘Brogyntyn’ (so-called from his English estate at Pockington) take the North – Ial, Maelor Cymraeg, Maelor Sysneag, Mochnant Is Rhaeder and Cynllaith, centred at Dinas Bran. His nephew Owain ‘Cyfeiliog’ (abd. 1195) takes the South (centred on the ‘cantrefs’ of Mochnant Uwch Rhaeder, Caereinion and Cyfeiliog, with annexed Arwystli. (He has been granted Cyfeiliog by Madoc in 1149 and recently founded the Abbey of Strata Marcella on his lands.) The ‘cantrefs’ of Penllyn and Edeirnion are later detached from the North by their more powerful neighbours of Gwynedd, while the South loses Mechain to a cadet branch. SCOTLAND Attempt to depose Malcolm IV, by a formidable coalition of six earls/‘mormaers’ led by Earl Ferchar of Strathearn. (This is recorded by the English chronicler Roger of Hoveden not any Scots source, and the other participants are not named.) This rebellion sees a move by Southern Highlands-based Ferchar and his allies to attack Malcolm on his return from an expedition to help his ally King Henry II of England in his war with Toulouse – where Malcolm, who holds lands as Earl of Huntingdon in England and so has to do homage to King Henry to keep them, has acted as a loyal vassal to Henry and received knighthood from him. It is plausible that Malcolm IV’s ‘Anglicised’ love of knightly chivalry as well as his doing homage to the King of England infuriates his nationalist-minded great lords as a ‘betrayal’ and he is seen as too close to Henry and uninterested in the Gaelic part of his realm. (The Scots kings

156  Chronology: 1155–1217 now usually live at Roxburgh Castle on the Borders, in the far South.) Malcolm is besieged at Perth by the coalition, but manages to fight off his attackers – probably as they have no siege engines to tackle the walls and he has plenty of supplies – and forces their submission, apparently on easy terms which are kept. This rebellion may well indicate a ‘Gaelic vs Anglicised’ fault line among his senior lords, as it is not recorded as being in the dynastic cause of his rivals the MacHeths. The massive SW Scots lordship of ‘Lord’ Fergus of Galloway, still ‘Gaelic’ in its cultural orientation and inheritance laws in the early–mid C12th like the Highlands, is next on Malcom’s list for reducing to obedience. It has a degree of Scandinavian settlement, and is similar to its neighbour Somerled’s autonomous realm in that an impressive ‘centralised’ lordship has emerged in this period, based on a dynasty of obscure Gaelic/ Scandinavian origins. (Fergus has founded a new Cistercian monastery and abbey at Dundrennan.) Fergus is more vulnerable than Somerled as his territories are all on the mainland. He is overwhelmed by the King of Scots’ army in a series of three campaigns (a sign of royal persistence) in 1160, and is forced to abdicate and become a monk at Holyrood Abbey outside Edinburgh, i.e. under royal control to prevent him changing his mind and rebelling again. Galloway is divided between his two sons, the elder but illegitimate (by Catholic canon law) Gille Brigde and the legitimate Uhtred, to weaken it. WALES Rhys ap Gruffydd of Deheubarth attacks and captures Llandovery during Henry’s absence abroad, restoring his position in S Ceredigion in defiance of Henry’s attempts to restore it to the English and get him to accept this. This leads to another royal campaign being planned. FRANCE/ENGLAND/NORMANDY/AQUITAINE September. Henry summons Eleanor to Normandy, and tells her to bring their eldest son Henry so the latter can pay homage to Louis VII for Normandy and thus have his heirship formally recognised. The ceremony takes place at the Norman border. 4 October. Death in childbirth of Louis VII’s wife Constance of Castile, aged 19, giving birth to a second daughter Alix; Louis now has four daughters but no son, and within a month remarries to Adela, the daughter of Henry’s predecessor Stephen’s nephew Count Theobald of Blois who is a rival of the Angevins. 2 November. Henry retaliates by marrying his ward Margaret of France, Louis’ daughter, to the ‘Young King’ though this is premature as they are both under-age; to make this legal he secures support from two visiting cardinals who are seeking aid for Pope Alexander III vs his

Chronology: 1155–1217  157 German-backed challenger in Italy; this means he can now demand the handover of the Vexin sooner than Louis expected, and the Templars duly hand the castles to him. Infuriated, Theobald threatens war and strengthens his great River Loire castle of Chaumont. Before he can act, Henry attacks by surprise and takes it. Chancellor Thomas Becket acquires a reputation for ruthlessness and zeal for Henry’s cause by his harsh security measures as governor of conquered Quercy in SE Aquitaine, his first experience of secular lordship rule. 25 December. Henry and Eleanor’s court at Le Mans. IRELAND Death in battle of King Muirchertach (of Moylinny), ruler of the kingdom of Ailech in Ulster and cousin of ‘High King’ Muirchertach mac Niall, killed by the Mac Lochlainn dynasty of Connacht; he is succeeded by his son Aed ‘Lazy-Arsed Youth’ (k. 1177). Donnchad/Duncan mac Niall, head of the ‘Clan Colman’ branch of the Ui Niall dynasty in West Midhe and king of Midhe since 1155 (with interruptions due to rebellions), is killed in battle by his rival Murchad Ua Findallain. 1161 ENGLAND/FRANCE Spring. Henry and Louis muster armies and patrol the Norman/Vexin/ Isle de France borders. 18 April. Death of Archbishop Theobald of Canterbury. Henry surprises the elite by choosing his chancellor Thomas Becket as his candidate for the see, to secure a supposedly loyal as well as ruthless operator in charge of the English Church. According to Becket’s biographer Herbert of Bosham, Becket himself warns Henry that as archbishop he will be obliged to put the Church’s rights first so that will end their friendship. Probably Henry misjudges Becket’s flexibility and assumes he will prefer to co-operate like Theobald has done than to stand firm on points of principle. Becket’s election is officially without interference, but his unofficial ‘nomination’ by Henry arguably breaks Pope Adrian IV’s 1156 ruling banning such secular pressure so Becket may feel he needs to show that he is the Church’s man not the king’s (W L Warren’s theory), or else (Z N Brooke) he is seeking to play the ‘role’ of a defender of the Church as he has previously played that of the king’s man. Later his episcopal enemies will claim that they opposed his election and Bishop Gilbert Foliot of Hereford will say that royal minister Richard de Lucy told them that any who opposed Becket’s election would face royal anger, but no open objections by bishops are known at the time. In fact, the prior of

158  Chronology: 1155–1217 the Canterbury monastery consulted senior monks and then called in de Lucy for advice before the formal election; Herbert of Bosham and Becket’s loyal servant Edward Grim confirm that some of the monks were not happy as Becket was a priest not a professed monk like recent predecessors. Allegedly Becket prudently hurries to the monastic canons at Merton Priory to be professed as a monk after his election (according to Grim) to win them round. Once elected, Becket refuses to compromise on minor issues and so discomfits Henry; he resigns the chancellorship once he has received the papal ‘pallium’ as he ‘cannot serve two masters’ to Henry’s surprise, disrupting the king’s plans, and requires Roger de Clare, Earl of Hertford, to do homage to him for the family barony/castle of Tonbridge as held from the archbishopric without going respectfully to the royal law courts to claim this right. He starts his bold use of excommunications to intimidate his challengers by doing this to the lord of the Kent manor of Eynsford for naming a new parish priest without asking his permission, which Henry correctly protests violates custom that tenants-in-chief of the Crown are not excommunicated without royal permission. 12 June. Birth of Duke Conan IV of Brittany and Margaret of Huntingdon’s daughter Constance, heiress to Brittany – and soon intended by Conan’s superior King Henry as wife to his third surviving son Geoffrey who will take over Brittany. Summer. Henry is in Aquitaine; his one-week siege of the castle of Castillon-sur-Agen is successful. Confrontation between Henry and Becket begins over the king’s proposal that criminous clerics, who include minor priests of semi-secular lifestyle and criminal habits, should be liable to appear in secular not just Church courts; it is alleged that the Church courts are too lenient, at least by hearsay, and some serious crimes have been tried in secular courts in the past, but Becket chooses to treat this as a secular assault on the liberties of the Church and refuses to accept it. 13 September/October. Birth at Domfront, Normandy, of Henry’s and Eleanor’s third daughter, Eleanor, later to marry King Alfonso VIII of Castile. 1162 January. Henry returns to England after an absence of over four years, and is allegedly told that over 300 clerics have escaped secular justice for murder and others for other serious crimes so far in his reign. July. Henry takes control of the vital E Brittany castle of Dol on the death of its lord John, rather than leaving it with his heiress’ unreliable guardian Ralph of Fougères.

Chronology: 1155–1217  159 IRELAND Synod of Clyne; election of (St) Laurence O’Toole, aka Lorcan Ua Tuathal (born 1126), the abbot of the prestigious Leinster Abbey of Glendalough in the Wicklow Mts, as Archbishop of Dublin. He is usefully the brotherin-law of ‘High King’ and King of Leinster Diarmait mac Murchada, and is the first Gaelic rather than Scandinavian-Irish prelate of Dublin – he is from a branch (later the ‘O’Tooles’) of the Ua Dunlainge kindred of the Leinster royal family. 1163

25 January. Henry, Eleanor and their daughter arrive back in England at Southampton after a delay of a month or so due to adverse winds; they are greeted by a delegation led by Archbishop Becket, who some say (e.g. Herbert of Bosham) the king looks at suspiciously. 26 January. The royal party sets out for London, and Henry and Becket hold discussions on horseback en route. WALES Early spring. Henry invades Deheubarth, and pursues Rhys ap Gruffydd into the hilly fastnesses of Pencader in Ceredigion. The king storms his rebellious vassals’ defences, and Rhys surrenders and is deported to England. He is released after doing homage to Henry at Woodstock that summer, at a special council where Henry summons all his major mainland ‘Celtic’ vassals – Rhys, Owain of Gwynedd, five of the other leading men of Wales (unnamed) and King Malcolm of Scots – to do homage and so secure his rights as their overlord. He is forced to abandon his pretensions to a princely title and accept vassalage – hence his usual title, ‘the Lord Rhys’. ENGLAND/WALES In July Owain Gwynedd has to journey to Woodstock near Oxford to do homage to his new overlord Henry at the major assembly of the king’s ‘Celtic’ vassals within the British mainland mentioned above. It represents the king’s tidy-minded formalisation of his new ‘system’ whereby he is the overlord of a network of – hopefully obedient – vassals in Britain as he is an overlord in France in the role of Duke of Normandy and Duke ‘de iuxoris’ of Aquitaine in France. SCOTLAND Malcolm IV, aged 22, is seriously ill at Doncaster during his visit to Henry’s court at Woodstock to pay homage. Given the nickname ‘Canmore’, ‘Big Head’, which may originally have referred to him rather than to Malcolm III as more usually supposed, he may have had Bright’s disease.

160  Chronology: 1155–1217 There is another revolt against Malcolm during his absence in England when he is lying ill at Doncaster, involving the men of Moray. He is required when he returns home to leave his youngest brother David behind as a hostage for his good behaviour; David is to stay in England until 1175 and to become thoroughly Anglicised in his choice of residence and baronial friendships. On Malcolm’s return he reportedly ravages Moray and deports large numbers of its inhabitants, probably increasing Anglicisation and royal control. ENGLAND/NORMANDY/AQUITAINE July. Archbishop Becket objects to Henry’s proposal at a council at Woodstock that in future the annual tax (‘aid’) due to the county sheriffs should be paid direct to the exchequer. 1 October. The royal council at Westminster discusses the problem of the ‘criminous clerks’, and the king listens to the bishops’ opinions and then apparently (Herbert of Bosham) demands that in serious cases once the ecclesiastical courts have issued a sentence on the accused they be handed over to secular courts for additional, more severe justice that will better put them and others off future offending. Becket replies that the clergy should not be subject to any secular authority as they are an entirely separate ‘estate’ – and the references to additional secular punishment in records only mean degradation from clerical rank after conviction; God does not judge one crime twice (Herbert of Bosham). Henry asks the bishops if they are prepared to deny the past rights of English tradition for secular punishment; they consult Becket and reply that they will obey tradition, ‘saving their order’. Henry denies the legitimacy of this, claims it is wordplay and a conspiracy against him, and storms out of the meeting. October. Formal and grand ceremonial translation of the bones of King (and hopefully soon St) Edward the Confessor to a new shrine at Westminster Abbey; designed by the abbey authorities to boost pilgrim trade and by the king to build up the holy reputation and prestige of his dynasty to rival Louis VII’s shrine of St Denis near Paris. Henry summons Becket to him at Northampton and meets him privately in a field outside the town to appeal to his sense of gratitude to the king who has raised him from nothing; Becket is unmoved as he respects the king but must serve the overlord of both of them (i.e. God) and repeats his qualification that he serves him ‘saving my order’. Henry seeks to win the bishops round individually, and Archbishop Roger of York (former close aide of and archdeacon to Archbishop Theobald), Bishop Gilbert Foliot of Hereford (trained as a Cluniac monk at Cluny), and Bishop Hilary of Chichester (a senior canon lawyer), none of them with a background of preferring secular to Church authority,

Chronology: 1155–1217  161 defect to back his arguments over ‘criminous clerks’; both sides send envoys to the papacy for a ruling. Bishop Hilary pleads with Becket to be cautious, and Pope Alexander (now at Sens in France) sends the Abbot of L’Aumone to remind him that internal Church dissension can easily spread and damage their order. The abbot and his ‘ex-pat’ English clerical scholar companion Robert of Melun assure Becket that Henry has no intention of requiring him to do something contrary to his order, just to respect the king’s rights/dignity, and Becket agrees to accompany their mission to visit the king at Woodstock. He tells Henry that he will observe the established customs, which may lull the king into a false belief that he will compromise. 1164

January. The royal council meets at the royal hunting lodge of Clarendon E of Salisbury for decision on the ‘criminous clerks’ dispute. The list of past legal precedents and thus the established customs of the realm on secular trials for clerics are drawn up in a formal document, the ‘Constitutions of Clarendon’, and the bishops are required to sign up to this individually – rather than just promise to observe the customs in good faith without specific detail. Becket may well have expected to get away with such a vague declaration and to have been deceived by the king on what was expected at Clarendon, and refuses to sign up; this provokes an outburst of rage by the king. After three days – with the bishops backing Becket up loyally, as Foliot later recalls – a delegation of secular councillors arrives at the bishops’ lodging to confront them and demand submission (as they say is required of all the king’s other subjects) with threats and shaking fists, and Becket suddenly agrees to what the king demands. The ‘Constitutions’ are duly approved – including the past custom that it is illegal for a cleric to leave England for Rome without royal approval, which Becket will shortly breach. Also, no interdict may be issued on barons’ lands without royal approval, which Becket will breach (fatally) in December 1170. Becket repents of his surrender as he leaves Clarendon, dons the clothing of a penitent sinner and stops performing the Mass; meanwhile Henry sends details of the clergy’s submission to the Pope, probably not detailing the ‘Constitutions’ but just asking him to confirm that the past customs of England should be legally upheld – which the Pope refuses, Becket having sent documentary ‘proof’ that in the past the special privileges of the English clergy for judicial independence were accepted by the kings. Henry also seeks legatine authority for Archbishop Roger so he can legally counter any measures by Becket, but the papal grant of this right is too small-scale to be of any use. The king threatens to drive Becket from the country, but refuses him permission to leave for Rome (twice). March. Bishop Gilbert Foliot of Hereford is translated to London to succeed Richard de Belmeis (d. May 1162); he is replaced by Robert of

162  Chronology: 1155–1217 Melun, prior of Llanthony Abbey (who dies February 1167). The new Bishop of Worcester is elected (and consecrated 23 August) – Roger, brother of the king’s cousin Earl William of Gloucester, who will be bishop until his death in August 1179. SCOTLAND/ISLE OF MAN The royal ‘taming’ of Galloway in 1160 may have reactivated Somerled’s antagonism to the king – is he next on the list for coercion? – or else his invasion of Scotland follows news of Malcolm’s deteriorating health connected to his illness in 1163. Somerled may have aimed at the throne for his MacHeth protégés, as C17th historian George Buchanan reckons, and the Chronicle of Fordun has it that greedy Scots nobles encourage King Malcolm to confront Somerled in the hopes of obtaining his confiscated lands. A long-running dispute with the king’s new Renfrewshire ‘strongmen’ the Stewarts, a branch of the Anglo-Norman family of Fitzalan from Shropshire installed by King David as hereditary ‘High Stewards’ of Scotland and lords in Renfrew/Clydeside, over the ownership of Bute is more likely as an immediate cause. Other new Anglo-Norman lords in the region threatening the Gaelic lordship of the isles include the de Morevilles in Cunningham. The Stewarts, as lords of the nearest section of the Clyde coast opposite the Firth of Clyde islands, are probably intended by the king to try to wrest control of these from the ‘Lord of the Isles’. The hostile Glaswegian Carmen de Morte Sumerledi and the chronicles say that Somerled takes a huge fleet of 160 ships (some from as far afield as Dublin, i.e. Scandinavian mercenaries) up the Clyde to invade Renfrew, the centre of the Stewart estates. The sources differ as to whether the landing took place near Renfrew or Greenock, but the lower Clyde is evidently the target. Killing, looting and burning follow, causing the people of nearby Glasgow to flee, until Somerled is killed at or near Renfrew – possibly at ‘The Knock’ between Renfrew and Paisley, where the traveller Thomas Pennant was shown a memorial stone at the site in 1772. The violent death of Somerled halts the attack, and is ascribed by Glasgow Church traditions to the intervention of the local saint, their founding Bishop Kentigern (late C6th). One version of the killing, recorded by MacDonald historians in the C17th, has it that he is murdered by Scots envoys sent by King Malcolm – Somerled’s nephew Malcolm MacNeill – during a parley in his camp by the Clyde. But the contemporary Irish sources, e.g. the Annals of Tigernach, and the Glaswegian Carmen de Morte Sumerledi say that he was killed in battle, probably against Walter Fitz Alan (Stewart)’s royal army – possibly stabbed in the leg and then beheaded. Somerled’s demoralised sons then embark their men and return home; the contemporary sources have Somerled being buried on Iona but later ones prefer his or his son’s Abbey of Saddell in Kintyre (probably founded in the 1160s).

Chronology: 1155–1217  163 Godred regains the Isle of Man later in 1164 (and lives until 1187), but the rest of Somerled’s kingdom is divided among his sons – Dugald of Lorne, Ragnald of Kintyre and Angus of Islay, the two former of whom are ancestors of the pre-eminent Hebridean lines of ‘MacDougall’ and ‘MacDonald’ (called after Ragnald’s son). The title of ‘Lord of the Isles’ is shared at first by Ragnald, the most powerful of Somerled’s sons due to his inheritance of the family’s fleet, and Dugald, and thence passes down their descendants; a charter describes Ragnald as ‘king of the Isles and lord of Argyll and Kintyre’. ENGLAND/WALES As the St Davids chronicle notes, ‘all the Welsh of Gwynedd, Deheubarth, and Powys with one accord cast off the Norman yoke’ in summer  – presumably co-ordinated by Owain Gwynedd of Gwynedd, Gruffydd ‘Maelor’ and Owain ‘Cyfeiliog’ of S Powys, and Rhys ap Gruffydd of Deheubarth to reduce the chances of Henry being able to take them one by one. Rhys ap Gruffydd retakes most of Ceredigion in an invasion after the local English authorities refuse to do justice for the killing of his nephew and captain of the ‘teulu’ (household) troops, his late elder brother’s son Einion ap Anarawd, by the de Clares. Only Cardigan Castle holds out. Autumn. Becket fails to appear in a royal court or send a high-status deputy when he is summoned over a legal appeal to Henry for justice by the royal Marshal of the Court, John FitzGilbert. This involves a dispute over John FitzGilbert’s ignored attempt to get justice in the archbishop’s court in a rival claim over land in the archiepiscopal manor of Pagham (Sussex); Becket may not realise or care that it is a legal ‘test case’ that could be intended to trap him into law-breaking, and is summoned for contempt of court. Henry summons a baronial council to Northampton in October and there orders his barons to provide infantry not knights – more use in hill country – for his army in a 1165 campaign, hiring overseas mercenaries and a Dublin Norse/Irish fleet too. At the Northampton council, Becket is condemned ‘in absentia’ for contempt of court by a royal tribunal (not having claimed either sickness or urgent business as an excuse for not turning up) and sentenced to have all his secular possessions confiscated; the bishops are asked to announce the sentence and refuse but eventually the king’s relative Bishop Henry of Winchester (King Stephen’s brother) does it. 12 October. Accused of various malpractices and embezzlement as chancellor to pile on the pressure and having been ill, Becket obeys summons to the royal council at Northampton Castle and proceeds there in state; he refuses to enter the council chamber and sits in a

164  Chronology: 1155–1217 downstairs room while mediating bishops and barons go to and fro between him and Henry upstairs. It is revealed that Becket has now forbidden the bishops to judge him for embezzlement on pain of suspension from office and appealed to Rome against his conviction for contempt of court, both of which breach the ‘Constitutions of Clarendon’ which they and he signed. Henry demands that the bishops join the barons for judging the embezzlement case; Becket will not let them do so. Eventually the bishops ask Henry to let them off the case if they will appeal to Rome for Becket’s deposition for perjury and forcing them to infringe their oaths of loyalty to the king; he agrees. The council informs Becket of the decision, but he refuses to accept their right to try him. Becket asks Henry for permission to go to Rome, but (night 12–13 October) leaves without hearing the reply; he heads to France and the bishops persuade Henry not to confiscate his secular possessions yet, pending papal decision on the disputed right of the secular court to judge the archbishop in his capacity as a past chancellor. The king’s delegation, led by Archbishop Roger and Earl William d’Albini of Arundel, arrives in Rome to defend the ‘Constitutions’ and the embezzlement case; Becket is also there, and the Pope prefers to accept Becket’s interpretation of the legal facts and refuses his offer to resign his archbishopric and gesture of handing over his official ring to him. Henry seizes the personal possessions, lands and revenues of Becket’s family and staff on dubious legal grounds; reputedly 400 people are ruined and this is duly reported to the Pope who adds their unjust punishment to his reasons for backing Becket. 25 December. Royal court at Marlborough, Wilts. 1165 ENGLAND/FRANCE/WALES Marriage of Isabella (born c. 1142), Countess of Surrey and the heiress of the de Warenne dynasty of Surrey/Reigate Castle, widow of King Stephen’s son William (d. 1159), to the king’s half-brother Hamelin Plantagenet (bastard son of Geoffrey Plantagenet of Anjou); this secures the de Warenne lands and castles for the Angevins. February. Henry leaves Eleanor in England, based at Winchester, and goes to Normandy to put pressure on the Pope and Becket by meeting envoys from the Pope’s foe Emperor Frederick ‘Barbarossa’ (led by the Archbishop of Cologne who is also Frederick’s chancellor, an illustration for him of the ‘archbishop as royal minister’ plan working elsewhere in Europe) and from Duke Henry ‘the Lion’ of Saxony. It is arranged that the latter will marry the king’s daughter Matilda, and a match is proposed between her sister Eleanor and Frederick’s younger son Frederick.

Chronology: 1155–1217  165 Spring. Henry meets King Louis at the border castle of Gisors in the Vexin; he then receives Count Matthew of Flanders, husband of his predecessor Stephen’s daughter and heiress Mary of Boulogne, at Rouen. Maher, a younger son of the late Miles of Gloucester (d. 1143) and brother of Earl Roger of Hereford (d. 1155), Lord of Abergavenny and the main warlord of the SE Welsh Marches since c. 1160, dies around now (within a year or so of the royal ‘Council of Clarendon’ in 1164). His lordships pass to his brother William, who like him appears to have been unmarried. The Archbishop of Cologne visits the royal children at Westminster fo Emperor Frederick, to report on the proposed brides. On 1 May, Eleanor takes her children Richard and Matilda to Rouen to stay with Henry, then he and they return to England for his forthcoming Welsh campaign and she goes on to Poitiers to govern Anjou and watch out for attacks by Louis’ allies. WALES Gwynedd is the main target of Henry’s planned invasion of Wales, as the largest and most senior of the ‘rebel’ states, if also the hardest to crack given its mountains. In July a massive overland march into Gwynedd commences, from Shrewsbury not Chester and aiming along the main trade route used by the hill country farmers to the markets in Shropshire. Rhys ap Gruffydd of Deheubarth regains most of the parts of inland Deheubarth still held by the English when Henry is unable to suppress his next revolt due to the priority of the king’s campaign in Gwynedd. He retakes Cardigan Castle which he then rebuilds as his principal residence. He also takes over patronage of local Strata Florida Abbey, which becomes his family’s burial place. The threatened rulers of Powys and Deheubarth rally around Owain’s leadership at the valley junction of Corwen as Henry’s huge army approaches; even Rhys ap Gruffydd of Deheubarth, Owain’s nephew and his dynasty’s rival over Ceredigion, comes to aid him despite the risk of attack by the de Clares in the rear. As in 1157, Henry’s men have to cut down the trees and undergrowth en route to diminish the risk of ambush, this time along the Berwyn Mountains, and the troops flounder in heavy rain on the normally dry upland moors due to torrential rain. The English army cannot reach Corwen, and Henry runs out of supplies and has to retreat; 22 Welsh hostages are hung in retaliation. After Henry has to retreat Rhys remains unchallenged in his added territory, but the king blinds his hostage son Maredudd in revenge.

166  Chronology: 1155–1217 ENGLAND/FRANCE Henry(?) visits his senior commander Walter de Clifford’s castle at Clifford near Hay-on-Wye and meets his later mistress Rosamund, Walter’s daughter, who he is supposed to have been involved with in her youth and for some years before she died in 1176. 22 August. Birth of Louis VII’s son by Adela of Blois/Champagne, Philip; later King Philip II. This secures the direct male line of the ‘Capetians’ in France so the kingdom will not have to go to one of Louis’ younger brothers. October. Birth of Henry’s and Eleanor’s youngest daughter Joan at Angers; she is later to marry King William II of Sicily (1177) and then Count Raymond VI of Toulouse (1196). SCOTLAND Malcolm IV dies on 9 December, aged 24. His brother and successor William ‘the Lion’ (born 1143; called this by later writers, from his banner not due to personal qualities) is even more ‘Europeanised’ and less interested in Gaelic Scotland than his predecessor; he has been on the Toulouse expedition in 1159, is known for his knightly prowess, and seems to have been highly concerned to have his confiscated earldom of Northumberland within England returned. By contrast his early reign sees minimal action to assert his power within Scotland. He is often referred to in contemporary Anglo-French chronicles as ‘de Warenne’, i.e. as one of his mother’s rather than his father’s family – is this how he sees himself? ENGLAND 25 December. Henry is at Oxford; Eleanor is in Anjou. 1166 ENGLAND/WALES Early 1166. Henry confirms the ‘Constitutions of Clarendon’ at a council held at Woodstock near Oxford – where he is supposed (on no contemporary evidence) to have built a garden ‘bower’ for Rosamund de Clifford. Owain Gwynedd, aided by his brother Cadwaladr, regains Basingwerk and Rhuddlan. His leadership of the Welsh princes is acknowledged by the English after this stalemated campaign, as legal documents refer to him as ‘Prince of the Welsh’, senior to the other princes of Powys and Deheubarth; Henry hopes that grudging toleration of his pretensions will induce him to control his fellow princes. Owain and Cadwaladr, assisted by Rhys ap Gruffydd of Deheubarth, also take the castle of Caereinion from Owain ‘Cyfeiliog’ of southern Powys and hand it to

Chronology: 1155–1217  167 their ally Owain ‘the Little’ of Walwern, but it is later retaken by their victim with Marcher help. William Lord of Abergavenny, last of the sons of Miles of Gloucester, dies in a fire at the castle of Bronllys; the vast estates of the Gloucester/Hereford/Brecon family are divided up among the brothers’ sisters as co-heiresses. The eldest sister, Margaret (1122/3–97), has married Humphrey (II) de Bohun (d. 1164/5), son and successor of Humphrey (I) de Bohun the hereditary lord of Trowbridge, Wiltshire. Founder of Monkton Farleigh Priory near Bath, Humphrey (II) has recently died so Margaret’s part of the inheritance passes on to their son, Humphrey (III), who was born around 1144; the latter is to marry around 1173 Earl Henry of Huntingdon’s daughter Margaret of Huntingdon (1145–1201), sister of King William of Scots and widow of Count Conan IV of Brittany. Humphrey (III) de Bohun, in attendance on the king as Constable (i.e. head of the armed forces) like his maternal grandfather Miles and also Lord of Caldicot Castle (inherited from his mother’s brothers) and of Trowbridge, will be one of the king’s close advisers until his death in 1181. Miles’ daughter Margaret has two younger sisters who also inherit part of the family lordship – Bertha, born around 1130, and Lucy (who marries a Fitzherbert of Winchester and does not pass on any major Marcher lands). Bertha has married in 1150 William de Braose/Briouze (1112– 92), son of Philip de Braose, third Lord of Bramber in west Sussex, and of the heiress Aenor of Totnes and Barnstaple in Devon. Her portion of the family estates (including the lordships of Radnor and Builth) duly passes in 1166 to the de Braoses, who now enter Marcher politics and wars as among the first rank of its lords. Her mother Sibyl de Neufmarché (daughter and heiress of Bernard de N)’s death in 1165 has already passed Sibyl’s Hay Castle on the border of Herefordshire and Brecon, guarding the main road up the Wye valley to Brecon and Builth and on to Deheubarth, to Bertha and William and in 1174 the king will finally confirm that the lordships of Brecon and Abergavenny pass to them too. Their elder son William de Braose (c. 1152–1211) is married in the mid–late 1160s to Maud de St Valéry (later the famous ‘Lady of Hay’ who rebuilds Hay-on-Wye Castle), heiress of her father Bernard de St Valéry of Hinton Waldrist in Berkshire. March. Henry proceeds via Southampton to Normandy. Easter. The Pope confirms Becket’s legateship; he sends three letters to Henry, each more confrontational and threatening, requiring submission to accepting the freedom of clerics from secular law courts. Whit Sunday. At the cathedral of Vézelay near his sanctuary of Pontigny in central France, Becket excommunicates Henry’s principal advisers Richard de Lucy and Joscelin de Balliol for drawing up the ‘Constitutions of Clarendon’ and other royal servants for taking or robbing his

168  Chronology: 1155–1217 possessions and consorting with schismatics, and so shows his refusal to compromise. The king retaliates by threatening to confiscate the possessions of Pontigny in England if the abbey does not send Becket packing. The Pope, now back in Rome after patching up the settlement with Emperor Frederick, bans Becket from taking further action and appoints cardinals to mediate. ENGLAND/FRANCE July. Henry is in Normandy to deal with another major plot by his turbulent Breton border vassal Ralph of Fougères; the king attacks, takes and destroys Fougères Castle to checkmate Ralph. He evidently blames the weak rule of Duke Conan IV of Brittany for the endemic local disorder, as he goes on to march on Rennes and depose Conan, his vassal, for incompetence. Conan is replaced by his 5-year-old daughter Constance under the regency of her mother Margaret (sister of King William of Scots and his English lord brother, Earl David of Huntingdon) and Henry’s nominees. Constance is now engaged to Henry’s younger son Geoffrey, who will duly take over Brittany as his vassal and fit it into what has been (wrongly) called the ‘Angevin empire’ as a sub-state of the ‘England-Normandy Anjou’ complex. Henry allows deposed Duke Conan to keep his hereditary county of Guincamp; the king takes homage from the Breton nobility at Thouars. IRELAND/WALES/ENGLAND Death of ‘High King’ (since 1156) Muirchertach Mac Lochlainn, one of the ‘Mac Lochlainn’ branch of the Ui Niall dynasty branch in Tir Connaill in Ulster and king of Ulster since 1136 except in 1143–5. He is abandoned by his vassals after treacherously seizing and blinding his Ulster rival Eochaid, King of the Ulaid, and is attacked as he flees and murdered. His sons, led by Niall, claim his ancestral Tir Eoghain (Tyrone) in a war against local rival Aedh ‘an Macaoimh Toinleasg’, aka ‘Lazy-Arsed Youth’ (supposed to be so nicknamed by Muirchertach for failing to stand up for him). The chain of events leading to the English invasion of Ireland commences with the overthrow of the latest militarily successful provincial king to be considered a threat by his overlord. King Diarmait mac Murchada of Leinster, in his mid-50s and ruler since he succeeded his brother Enna in 1126, is tackled by the new ‘High King’, Ruaidhri Ua Conchobair (aka ‘Rory O’Connor’), King of Connacht since 1156. Ruaidhri uses ancient local resistance to the pretensions of the Ua Niall dynasties, centred in Midhe and ‘Tir Eoghain’/Tyrone (Ulster), to dominate Ulster after Muirchertach Mac Lochlainn, head of one of the two rival Ua Niall lines (the Cenel Eoghain of ‘Tir Eoghain’) and ‘High King’ too in 1156–66, is overthrown and killed by his mutinous vassals.

Chronology: 1155–1217  169 This feud puts King Ruaidhri of Connacht in charge of the ‘High Kingship’, but his power base is in western Ireland and his rule in the east is precarious. He targets his most dangerous local foe, Diarmait king of Leinster, and later in 1166 backs an invasion of Leinster by a coalition of local kings jealous of the latter – led by Tighernain Ua Ruairc (aka ‘O’Rourke’), king of the Midhe sub-province of Breifne and in an ongoing feud with Diarmait who abducted his wife Debforguill 14 years before. Tighernain’s army expels Diarmait from Leinster, and he flees overseas to seek help from Henry II who he eventually tracks down in distant Aquitaine. The English king takes the opportunity to make Diarmait do homage to him, thus extending his overlordship of an ever-expanding coalition of sub-rulers from Britain to Ireland, and allows him to recruit an army of mercenaries to get his kingdom back. The involvement of an English ruler in Ireland is virtually unprecedented. ENGLAND/SCOTLAND/NORMANDY/FRANCE Some time in this year according to Becket’s biographer John of Salisbury, King William of Scots’ alleged double-dealing with Louis VII of France is said to enrage Henry so much while he is at Caen that he has a fit of rage and abuses one of his courtiers for speaking up for the king. He then tears off his clothes and rolls on the floor biting the ‘carpet’ of rushes – a forerunner of his similar reaction to Becket at Christmas in 1170. Henry is furious that the papal envoys want him to compromise and will not let him have Becket sacked, and walks out of their meeting. November. Louis VII offers Becket sanctuary at Sens to ease the pressure on Pontigny Abbey from Henry, implying official French backing for him and by extension using the Franco-papal link to pressurise Henry to give way to Becket’s demands. He also sends aid to local Breton enemies of the king, who are rallying against Constance’s regency under her late grandmother Bertha’s second husband Count Eudes of Porhoët (who Henry ousted in 1156). The infuriated king offers alliances and money to Louis’ father-in-law Count Theobald of Blois, Duke Henry of Saxony (who is to get his daughter Margaret as a wife) and Emperor Frederick ‘Barbarossa’ to secure German pressure on the Pope, and Marquis William of Montferrat in N Italy. 24 December. Birth of Henry’s and Eleanor’s youngest son and last child, John, later king, at Beaumont Palace, Oxford. Given the fact that Eleanor was between 42 and 44, it is speculated that the baby was unexpected and possibly unwanted and that this may have affected John’s difficult relations with his parents and siblings. More provably, within the next few years Eleanor seems to have spent more time in Aquitaine and less with Henry which may reflect their deteriorating relationship instead of being just a mutually agreed strategic decision.

170  Chronology: 1155–1217 1167 ENGLAND/WALES/IRELAND Exiled King Diarmait of Leinster searches for Marcher allies to reconquer his kingdom, with Henry II’s permission. The de Clare Earls of Pembroke are the logical choice, with their estates just across the Irish Sea from Leinster and a history of trade between the ports of the two regions – and of raiding and occasionally settlement in Dyfed/Deheubarth by Vikings from Waterford and Dublin. The reconquest of Ceredigion by Owain Gwynedd’s younger brother Cadwaladr and his men, and their unsuccessful rivals the sons of Rhys ap Tewdr of Deheubarth, in the 1140s has blocked expansion by the earldom in that direction. Rhys ap Gruffydd of Deheubarth, a currently acceptable vassal of King Henry’s, now controls Cardigan/Ceredigion while Cadwaladr is concentrating on the forthcoming succession to his elder brother Owain’s Gwynedd. The current Earl ‘de iure’ of Pembroke as of 1166–7 is Richard de Clare (born c. 1130), nicknamed ‘Strongbow’ like his father Gilbert (who d. 1148) – but his title does not seem to have been accepted by the king as it is not used in documents and he is usually known as ‘the Lord of Striguil’, that is, Chepstow Castle in Gwent. His demands of his new ally Diarmait show that he intends to gain enough resources in a subdued Leinster to make himself so powerful that he is indispensable to the king. When Diarmait visits Pembroke, probably in winter 1167–8, Richard secures an invitation to help regain his throne but insists on receiving his daughter Aoife (born 1145) in marriage. This also explicitly makes Richard the heir to and next king ‘de iure uxoris’ of Leinster – thus disinheriting Diarmait’s sons, of whom even if only Diarmait’s marriage to Aoife’s mother was counted as legal she still has a full brother, Conchobar, alive so he is the rightful heir under both Anglo-Norman and Irish law. (He was currently a hostage of the ‘High King’ at Tara and was soon to be executed in revenge for the invasion, but was alive at this point.) By Irish law and tradition, Conchobar’s half-brother Domnhall also has a legal claim to be heir, and after him the succession of brothers and then cousins is preferred; Richard’s claim to the throne is thus a bold and totally unlawful move. Richard carefully waits to secure King Henry’s agreement to him going before he sails to Ireland himself in 1170. ‘High King’ Ruaidhri is distracted by the succession war in Tir Eoghain in Ulster, and intervenes to split it between rivals Niall (son of the late ‘High King’ Muirchertach) and Aedh ‘an Macaoimh Toinleasg’; the latter takes over fully by 1170 but is driven out again by Niall’s Mac Lochlainn family c. 1174. Rhys ap Gruffydd of Deheubarth aids Owain Gwynedd to take Rhuddlan from the English.

Chronology: 1155–1217  171 ENGLAND/NORMANDY February/March. Louis insists that the collection of funds for the Holy Land in all of France should be done directly via him by his own agents, and refuses to let Henry’s agents do this in his lands. This exacerbates AngloFrench tension, heightened by the Becket confrontation and the plots of the Counts of La Marche and Angoulême to break away from the Eleanor/ Henry regime in Aquitaine and do homage direct to Louis – which Louis is believed to be encouraging. Henry heads into Aquitaine and (at Lent) meets its neighbour Raymond V of Toulouse at Grandmont to secure his goodwill. April. The young Count of the Auvergne has been ousted by his proLouis uncle, and Henry invades the Auvergne and ravages his lands. Louis invades the Vexin to distract Henry, and Henry returns to Normandy demanding satisfaction and sacks Louis’ arsenal at Chaumont, luring the French troops to fight his attack on the side of the town away from the river while other troops swim across the river, sneak into the town and set the arsenal afire. Louis sacks Andelys on the River Seine in retaliation, and (Stephen of Rouen) Henry is said to have been advised by his mother Matilda, who is anxious for a settlement to secure the smooth payment of the funds due for Jerusalem, and Count Matthew of Flanders to let Louis burn it to put the king in a better frame of mind for a settlement. August? Henry leaves Louis alone and goes on to Brittany to deal with rebels stirred up by Louis, led by Eudes of Porhoët and his son-in-law the Count of Léon who is surprised to have his remote lands ravaged. 10 September. Death of Matilda at Rouen, aged 65. This brings Henry back to Normandy for the funeral, and negotiations open with Louis during the truce. 29 November – 5 December. Papal mediators in the Becket case come to Henry’s court at Argentan, and he puts across his case so convincingly that reports of envoys’ good reaction to Henry’s proposals alarm Becket that he will be abandoned by the papacy. 1168

25 December. Henry and Eleanor hold court at Argentan, Normandy. January. Henry attacks the rebel Aquitaine Count Hugh VIII of Lusignan (d. 1171?)’s lands. Henry and Eleanor’s daughter Matilda (aged 11) is escorted to Dover by her mother, who is leaving for a prolonged visit to Aquitaine, and thence heads across Europe to be (1 February) married to Duke Henry ‘the Lion’ of Saxony (aged 35). Henry leaves Aquitaine for Normandy; Eleanor remains in her lands and probably sends her youngest children John and Joan to be brought up at Fontevraud Abbey.

172  Chronology: 1155–1217 17 March. The second memorable appearance of the future ‘greatest knight in Christendom’ and 1216–19 regent of England, William Marshal (born 1145), son of Matilda’s stalwart John the Marshal Lord of Newbury, as described in his biography. He is present as a young knight as his uncle and patron, Earl Patrick of Salisbury, a leading general to King Henry, is escorting Eleanor across her southern French dominions near sacked Lusignan Castle. An attempt is made to attack (and probably to kidnap) her by one of her vassals, Guy of Lusignan, aged c. 18, a younger son of the Count of L, with his elder brother Geoffrey. The hot-headed Guy is later to go out to the Kingdom of Jerusalem to marry its heiress Sibylla, sister of the ‘Leper King’ Baldwin IV (d. 1185), succeed her son by her first husband as King ‘de iure uxoris’ in 1186, and thanks to his strategic ineptitude lose the Battle of Hattin, most of his army and the True Cross to Saladin in 1187. The fall of Jerusalem and the Third Crusade follow as a result of his spectacular incompetence. Guy starts his career by a bungled attack on Eleanor, and although he fails to capture her as Earl Patrick hands her a fast horse and directs her to a safe nearby castle, William Marshal and others of her bodyguard are injured and captured protecting her as she escapes. Earl Patrick is killed, stabbed in the back (probably by mistake as he would have been worth far more as a hostage). After the incident the attackers claim that they have been the ones ambushed, but once Eleanor has ransomed him William helps to disprove this with his testimony and says his uncle the earl was stabbed in the back while unarmed. After his ransoming William is increasingly prominent as a favourite of Eleanor and her eldest son the ‘Young King’, to whom King Henry will appoint him as tutor in chivalric warfare c. 1170, though still landless and poor, and it is possible that his close relationship with the queen and the incident of his capture in protecting her contributed to the story of the adulterous Queen Guinevere and her rescuer and lover Sir Lancelot in the contemporary story of Le Chevalier de la Charette (The Knight of the Cart) by the great Arthurian poet Chrétien de Troyes. Eleanor settles at Poitiers for the next four years; her failure to return to Henry at all is speculated on as a deliberate snub and sign of the deterioration of their marriage, following contemporary chronicler Richard of Devizes, and may be linked to Henry’s affair with the Lord of Clifford Castle’s daughter, Rosamund de Clifford. April. Unsuccessful ‘summit’ between Henry and Louis on their frontier at Pacy. May–June. Henry ravages rebel lands in Brittany. July. Henry and Louis meet again at La Ferté Bernard. Rebel emissaries from Aquitaine attend the meeting and offer Louis their homage if he stands by them; envoys are also there from Owain Gwynedd in Wales and from King William of Scotland.

Chronology: 1155–1217  173 Late summer. Henry ravages Louis’ border lands beyond NE Normandy and is said to have burnt 40 villages owing allegiance to his ally the Count of Ponthieu; Louis attacks Chenebrun but has to retreat and as he does so his army is mauled by the Anglo-Norman pursuit. Henry attacks the border county of Perche; Louis eventually agrees to a new peace conference. WALES Rhys ap Gruffydd of Deheubarth marches into the upper Wye valley to demolish Builth Castle and so discomfit the de Braoses, lords of Radnor. 1169

January. Henry/Louis peace conference at Montmirail in Maine; they reach a provisional agreement on Becket being restored to Canterbury in return for him withdrawing his denunciation of the ‘Constitutions of Clarendon’, but after initially promising to submit himself to Henry’s decisions and asking for his mercy he changes his mind and points out that as a clergyman he cannot accept any secular rulings as binding on him. As the Angevin dynasty’s technical overlord, Louis confirms that the ‘Young King’ will inherit Normandy, Maine and Anjou with England, his next brother Richard will inherit Aquitaine, and Geoffrey will inherit Brittany (and hold it from the dukedom of Normandy not directly from France); Richard is to marry Louis’ younger daughter by his second marriage, Alix, and the ‘Young King’ does homage to him as heir to Normandy for Brittany. Henry heads for Brittany to further punish and expropriate assorted rebels, and storms and confiscates Eudes of Porhoët’s castles; Becket persuades King Louis that this shows that he is right to have refused Henry’s terms as it shows that the king cannot be trusted. Henry goes on to punish and expropriate assorted rebels in Aquitaine led by the Counts of Angoulême and La Marche, and constructs a huge ditch on the Vexin border to hold up future French raids. May. Henry’s son Geoffrey receives the homage of the barons of Brittany as part of his father’s ending resistance to his regime. 30 May. Death of the veteran Bishop Nigel of Ely (in office since 1133 and treasurer of England in 1154–?8), nephew of Henry I’s chief minister Bishop Roger of Salisbury; the see will not be filled until 1173 (Geoffrey Ridel). ENGLAND/WALES/IRELAND In spring 1169 Richard de Clare of Pembroke prepares an expedition to assist Diarmait, and on 1 May an advance force of 30 knights, 60 infantrymen and 100 archers lands at Bannow Bay near Wexford, commanded

174  Chronology: 1155–1217 by Richard’s vassal Robert FitzStephen, the son of Princess Nest of Deheubarth by her second marriage, to Stephen the 1130s constable of Cardigan Castle. Robert is castellan there in succession to his father, and also has experience of the king’s invasion of Gwynedd in 1157 where he commanded the unsuccessful landing on Anglesey. He is accompanied by his half-sister Angharad’s son by Gerald de Barri, William de Barri, the brother of the cleric and historian Giraldus Cambrensis. The following day a smaller second force lands nearby, and they join up with around 500 men led by Diarmait to march on Wexford. Wexford’s Scandinavian citizens repulse the first attack and kill 18 attackers but surrender the next day (possibly at the intercession of two visiting bishops). Wexford is then occupied and swears allegiance to Diarmait as King of Leinster, and the town and the nearby land around Barrow Bay is given as a fief to FitzStephen and his half-brother Maurice FitzGerald, the Lord of Llansteffan Castle on the lower Tywi below Carmarthen. Based at Ferns, FitzStephen then assists Diarmait in an attack on the western Leinster border kingdom of Osraige (Ossory) around three weeks later, followed by a series of border campaigns against the northern Leinster sub-kingdoms who still back the ‘High King’ Ruaidhri of Connacht; he also marches on Tara in an apparent attempt to depose and evict Ruaidhri but the latter holds out and is persuaded by Diarmait’s enemy Tighernain Ua Ruairc, King of Breifne, to execute his hostages including the attacker’s son Conchobar. Probably Diarmait hoped that his advance would cause the sub-kings he attacked to abandon the politically weak Connacht ‘High King’ as the latter had managed to win his throne in 1166 by a similar rash of defections from his Ua Niall predecessor Muirchertach; if so he failed. The mercenaries (a common practice of Irish kings seeking reliable foreign support) have a better military weapon than most of their kind in recent Irish history (cavalry), but for once want more than their employer bargained for. Ruaidhri invades Leinster, but cannot prevail against the better-armed, mailcoated Anglo-Normans and their archers and cavalry and an indecisive war ends with the Church mediating negotiations at Ferns. The subsequent treaty sees Ruaidhri accepting Diarmait’s restoration as king of Leinster and the latter resuming homage to him; this normally would have ended the war but it leaves the main Anglo-Norman expedition still in preparation out of the equation and Richard de Clare determines to press on with this. July. Death of Becket’s critic Bishop Hilary of Chichester (in office since 1147); the see will not be filled until October 1174 (John of Greenford). December. Henry and Becket are brought to a face-to-face meeting at Montmartre outside Paris by papal mediators; allegedly the talks are cordial until Henry refuses to give Becket the kiss of peace, saying that he has taken an oath not to do this, and Becket walks out.

Chronology: 1155–1217  175 25 December. Henry joins his son Geoffrey and daughter-in-law Duchess Constance at Nantes in Brittany for Christmas court – said to be the inspiration for King Arthur’s court in Chrétien de Troyes’ Erec et Enide. 1170 IRELAND Having secured Henry’s agreement to him going, in spring 1170 Richard de Clare sends Maurice FitzGerald with the next ‘wave’ of invaders to Leinster to back up the small force with which FitzStephen is holding his new fief around Wexford. An advance force of around 100 men (mostly Welsh archers and with only ten knights according to Giraldus Cambrensis) lands at and fortifies a peninsula at Baginburn Head, on the SE Irish coast near the formerly Viking (and still largely ethnically Scandinavian) port town of Waterford in early May. They are led by Raymond ‘le Gros’ (‘the Fat’) FitzGerald, son of William FitzGerald the Lord of Carew in Pembrokeshire (son of Gerald of Windsor and Princess Nest of Deheubarth) and thus cousin of Giraldus Cambrensis. A much larger force of Leinster and Waterford Scandinavian troops attacks them, but cannot storm the defences and is routed – traditionally by the Normans/ Welsh rounding up a nearby local herd of cattle and driving them into the attackers to cause confusion. The invaders then move on quickly to take Waterford, and Maurice arrives to join them with his troops. Diarmait takes the Anglo-Normans on to attack the currently independent port of Dublin further up the East coast, the main base of Viking settlement in Ireland since the mid-C9th and at times a subordinate vassal of Leinster. Dublin surrenders and is occupied by the Anglo-Normans, and Diarmait sends Robert FitzStephen to aid his own son-in-law the Ua Briain king of Thomond (NW Munster) which was on the frontier with Connacht and could thus threaten the ‘High King’ Ruaidhri in his own home kingdom. Henry II gives Richard de Clare of Pembroke permission to lead the expedition to restore exiled King Diarmait, some time in early 1170. It would appear unlikely that Richard had told Henry that he intended to be named as Diarmait’s heir, or so leading modern historians such as W L Warren believe. It flies in the face of all that Henry had achieved since 1154 to have one of his barons (and one whose main lands were not easy to attack in the event of a revolt) install himself as a king in Ireland, giving the de Clares massive resources to use against him if they so minded and putting Richard on an eminence above all his other Marcher barons. Richard probably ‘double-crossed’ the king; the resulting personal expedition by Henry to Ireland in 1171 was his reponse to the threat that Richard would become too powerful. Contemporary historian William of Newburgh says that Henry felt compelled to go due to the effrontery of Richard in being so successful despite his disapproval.

176  Chronology: 1155–1217 WALES Owain Gwynedd (acc. 1137) dies on 28 April, aged around 70; his power and reputation are unparalleled for a post-1063 ruler of Wales but his achievement (like that of Rhys ap Gruffydd of Deheubarth later) is hampered by his lack of a sole, unchallenged heir. The division of Gwynedd between his younger brother Cadwaladr and Owain’s large family on his death leads to a bout of inter-family strife. Owain has at least two sons by his first wife, Gwladys, the eldest being Iorweth ‘Flatnose’, who is married to the daughter of Madoc ap Maredudd (d. 1160) of Powys, and two more by his own cousin, Cristin, daughter of Goronwy ap Owain (a marriage which the Church regards as illegal), plus assorted bastards who also have rights to lands under Welsh law. Owain’s eldest, illegitimate son the warrior and poet Hywel is exiled by his half-brothers Dafydd and Rhodri (the sons of Cristin), collects an army from Ireland to invade and is killed by them in an ambush at Pentreath in Anglesey, allegedly at the instigation of their mother Cristin. Maelgwyn, one of Owain’s illegitimate sons, receives the heartland of the kingdom, Anglesey, while Dafydd receives the East (River Conwy to River Dee, centred on Clywd) and Rhodri receives Lleyn and probably soon expels Iorweth from Arfon as it is not universally accepted that Iorweth ever ruled a principality. ENGLAND/FRANCE June. Henry summons his eldest son and heir Henry the ‘Young King’ from his mother’s court at Caen to England for the coronation. 14 June. The ‘Young King’ is crowned at Westminster Abbey, aged 25. This is the first coronation of an heir as co-king in his father’s lifetime in England and follows French practice, and Archbishop Roger of York performs the ceremony. Becket is infuriated that it has taken place without him and regards it as illegal, though in fact Archbishop Ealdred of York had crowned the prince’s ancestor William I in 1066. King William of Scots and his brother and heir Earl David of Huntingdon (who Henry then knights at Pentecost) are in attendance so Scotland is shown legally backing the new arrangement. Allegedly the ‘Young King’ brags about and shows off his new royal rank at his coronation banquet, where Henry II serves him with a course and he boasts that few princes are served by kings to the discomfort of the guests, and subsequently he and his entourage are reported to be belittling Henry II and demanding that he cede full rule of some lands to his co-ruler. William Marshal takes charge of his household for the (older) king. Pope Alexander, presumably irritated that Henry has stopped him from using the ‘Young King’s coronation as a means of inducing him to invite

Chronology: 1155–1217  177 Becket back to perform it, agrees with the latter that it is illegal and says he can suspend the bishops who took part and impose an interdict on Engand too if he so desires. 22 July. Meeting of Henry II and Becket near Fréteval, as offered successfully by Henry to his archbishop – who Louis is urging to reach a settlement. Henry says that Becket can come home and re-crown the ‘Young King’, which is accepted, his property is to be returned, and the issue of the ‘Constitutions of Clarendon’ is not raised. IRELAND Richard de Clare arrives in person in Leinster, and is married to Diarmait’s daughter Aoife as promised on 29 August. ENGLAND/NORMANDY 10 August. Henry is seriously ill at Domfront, and makes his will; he is not recovered until late September. He writes to Becket apologising that he cannot meet him at Rouen for a joint return to England as planned, with a threat of new aid by Louis to a current breakaway plot in Auvergne revealed to him by local allies who have asked for his help. Late November. After the death of Archbishop Peter of Bourges in Berry, Henry claims that the see’s temporalities belong to the Dukes of Aquitaine during a vacancy and goes there to seize them; Louis marches to intervene and blocks his road to Bourges and they negotiate a truce; Henry returns to Normandy. 1 December. Becket is escorted back to Dover by sea by the royal adviser John of Oxford, Dean of Salisbury, who is thus able to stop the sheriff of Kent, Gervase of Cornhill, and his posse from abusing or attacking the archbishop who has previously flouted the sheriff’s local authority. The ‘Young King’ refuses to welcome Becket at Windsor; staying in Kent, Becket swiftly announces his recent (drawn up in France) excommunication of Archbishop Roger of York and the Bishops of London and Salisbury for crowning the prince. The three seek his absolution, and he promises it to the bishops but says Roger must go to the Pope; they cross the Channel to Normandy to complain to Henry. 25 December. Henry is at Bures for Christmas; he hears that Becket has broken his promises not to undertake new measures against his foes in England and is issuing excommunications and famously has an outburst of violent rage and demands vengeance on him for his treasonous deceit (Herbert of Bosham, William FitzStephen, and Edward Grim all agree on this scenario). Whether he actually issues the words ‘Who will rid me of this turbulent priest?’ is doubtful and that precise terminology is not in contemporary records. He may rebuke his courtiers that nobody has

178  Chronology: 1155–1217 the loyalty and nerve to rid him of such a traitorous troublemaker and this duly inspires four knights, led by Reginald FitzUrse, to act. Given the choreography of what happened, the original intentions of the four were more probably armed intimidation than murder. The knights proceed via separate routes (specifically to evade pursuit, which shows that Henry was told they had left and tried to recall them) to Saltwood Castle in Kent, home of Ranulf de Broc who was in the sheriff’s party in the confrontation at Dover with Becket; they go on to Canterbury. 29 December. The four knights arrive at the archbishop’s residence during dinner and join his servants and entourage in his hall, and afterwards Becket sees and speaks to them. FitzUrse demands that he revoke the excommunications, and apparently accuses him of trying to deny the ‘Young King’ his crown; hot words are exchanged and the archbishop is told to accompany them to the king and/or to leave for exile but stands firm; the knights shout to the attendants to abandon or arrest their master, then leave to put on their mailcoats and collect their weapons, and Becket is escorted into the cathedral for the next service (Vespers, i.e. near dusk) by his men who probably fear further violence and want him to be more safe on consecrated ground. The armed knights march into the cathedral, where according to Grim the archbishop has refused a request from the monks to lock the doors, and after initial hesitation at the enormity of their deed they close in on the archbishop by the altar and most of his men run. A further exchange of insults follows and Becket refuses to flee or to end the excommunications, probably embracing martyrdom (as the way to achieve victory for his cause and make himself renowned?); he is hit on the head and hacked to death at the altar in a messy showdown, and the murderers leave while the aghast attendants pray by their master’s body. 1171 ENGLAND/NORMANDY/AQUITAINE Becket’s murder sends shockwaves across Christendom; Henry dons sackcloth and ashes like a Biblical sinner to show his repentance for his rash words (Arnold of Lisieux) and in a six-week ‘retreat’ from business admits his fault in accidentally causing the murder to the summoned Archbishop of Rouen. He sends a delegation to the Pope at Tusculum to swear that he neither ordered nor wanted it but he will submit to whatever the Pope orders; when they are finally received after a week’s delay (Tuesday 25 March) they announce that Henry will abide by any decision that the Pope makes. The latter excommunicates the murderers and all who gave them aid or have received them, and confirms the Archbishop of Sens’ recent interdict on Henry’s Continental domains and Becket’s sentences on the three bishops; he prohibits Henry from entering a church and sends legates to investigate his repentance.

Chronology: 1155–1217  179 The murderers allegedly ‘hole up’ at Knaresborough Castle in Yorks and later leave the kingdom for exile; one of them Hugh de Morville, ends up in the Holy Land. IRELAND On Diarmait’s death at Ferns at the beginning of May 1171 his son-in-law Richard de Clare claims the succession to Leinster, and seeks to enforce it with his troops; the late king’s younger son Domnhall is sidelined and the Anglo-Normans secure control. Richard and his Anglo-Norman allies now start taking over Irish lands as they had done in Wales – and they appear as much of a threat to King Henry as did the Welsh lords. The king is already in serious political difficulties, as his failed attempt to reconcile with the fulminating exiled Archbishop Becket has just ended in murder and with Christendom horrified and the threat of a papal excommunication Henry needs both to buy time and to distance himself from any papal mission arriving to investigate or punish him. ENGLAND/ITALY/SPAIN At some point in 1171 Henry receives Abbot Benedict of Chiusa, envoy from sonless Count Humber of Maurienne (Savoy), who proposes a marriage alliance using his eldest daughter and co-heir Alice; Henry offers the hand of his youngest son John, presumably as the latter has no substantial inheritance lined up in the Anglo-Angevin-Aquitaine dominions, and talks go on for some months over what John will inherit. Henry is being snubbed by Emperor Frederick over the match for his daughter Eleanor, so he offers her successfully to Alfonso VIII of Castile instead to safeguard the S frontier of Aquitaine. IRELAND At some point in 1171, Dublin is attacked by the ageing Orkney warlord Sweyn Asleifson, former ‘power broker’ and adviser to Jarl Thorbjorn in the 1140s–50s and a renowned ‘summer voyager’ (i.e. piratical plunderer part-time, farmer part-time). He is apparently bored with farm life and seeks Jarl Harald II’s approval for a final raiding voyage, but when he turns up at Dublin the citizens spot him and dig hidden pits outside the gates. Sweyn, probably in his 60s, falls in one as he leads a charge on the gates and is killed; his discomfited men retreat to their ships. This is seen as the final ‘Viking’ raid of the era. ENGLAND An expedition to Wales and Ireland in spring 1171 is a godsend to Henry, putting him out of the reach of the arrival of angry papal officials. He raises an army and marches into Pembrokeshire to confront his own

180  Chronology: 1155–1217 lords, and goes on to campaign in Ireland and remind his over-mighty vassals of his watchfulness and supremacy. Evicting the adventurers might bring revolt from disappointed men in retaliation, especially as Henry has allowed the expedition to go ahead, and it is a general unofficial ‘rule’ of contemporary society that gains of land made by the sword should be kept even if the conqueror’s overlord has not specifically allowed the expedition. The king needs to reassert his supremacy and make sure that all conquests in Ireland are to be made by his authority – as Richard de Clare is now a king Henry can get round this by becoming his superior, i.e. ‘High King’. Rhys ap Gruffydd persuades Henry, en route for Ireland, to join him in besieging Caerleon Castle, held against him by the princes of the dynasty of the former kingdom of Morgannwg who now hold upper Gwent and currently held by Iorweth who has evicted his brother Morgan from it. Iorweth has to retreat inland to Machen. Richard de Clare faces a mass-scale local Irish revolt as he assumes the kingship of Leinster, with an attack launched from Desmond in southern Munster on Waterford to the S while a Scandinavian/Irish fleet under Ascall attacks Dublin by sea. Both are driven off and Ascall is killed in a sortie from the city by the Anglo-Norman commander at Dublin, Miles de Cogan. ‘High King’ Ruaidhri then launches a larger attack by land at the head of a coalition of kings from across southern Irelend, including his ferocious subordinate Toirrdelbach of Breifne, Murchadh Ua Cerbhall the king of Ossory/Osraige in eastern Munster, and Domnhall Ua Briain the king of Munster. The danger of the Anglo-Normans dominating the Irish Sea on both coasts brings King Godfrey of the Isle of Man (reigned 1153–7, 1164–87), who has his own ambitions to rule in Dublin as his ancestors had once done, to assist them with a fleet. Dublin is blockaded for two months or so, though the attackers keep out of reach of the superior Anglo-Norman weaponry and avoid battle in an attempt to starve them out. Richard de Clare reportedly offers to do homage to Ruaidhri as his overlord if the invaders can keep all that they have gained, which would have put him in the normal position of a king of Leinster regarding the ‘High King’ but infuriated Henry, but is told that he will only be given the ports of Dublin, Waterford and Wexford – the former independent Viking kingdoms on the periphery of the state. He refuses, and the siege goes on until the lack of Irish military discipline compared to the expert Anglo-Normans proves their undoing. The invaders attack the Irish camp up the Liffey at Castleknock by surprise and catch the enemy, short of guards, bathing in the river or at their meals. Hundreds are allegedly killed and the attackers secure enough supplies to hold out for much longer, and after this the disheartened Irish withdraw. Meanwhile a similar blockade of the smaller Anglo-Norman force in less defensible Wexford under Robert FitzStephen causes them to pull out to a stronger

Chronology: 1155–1217  181 position at Carrick, but they are surrounded there too and starved out, unable to bring the enemy to a winnable battle, until they have to negotiate. FitzStephen is taken as a hostage for the invaders leaving the area, and after the news of the defeat at Dublin reaches the Irish they burn Wexford and withdraw inland, taking FitzStephen as a hostage. The town is then reoccupied by the invaders. With King Henry now in Pembroke with around 500 mounted knights and several thousand infantrymen Richard de Clare hastens back to Pembrokeshire as Henry prepares to embark. He offers Henry his submission and homage and formally surrenders his gains to him on the understanding that they will be granted back to him as a fief, and Henry accepts this compromise. Henry crosses to Ireland (leaves Milford Haven 16 October), his expedition taking along a large siege train which indicates his intention to take major towns and castles in person and ‘show the flag’ to both Anglo-Norman and ‘native’ landholders. Henry lands at Waterford in October, and marches on to Dublin. There is no overt resistance to him, but he proceeds to occupy Dublin, the major trading port and centre of the former independent Scandinavian kingdom, and turn it into an autonomous city free from the control of Leinster or any other lordships, with its own administration subject to him. Dublin will be the administrative and military headquarters of English royal power in Ireland for the next 750 years, and Henry acquires control of the other major ports of Waterford and Wexford too with their own royal officials and garrisons. As de Clare now has control of Leinster, Henry proceedes to set up a new Anglo-Norman ruler – only ‘lord’, not ‘king’ – to rule the adjoining kingdom of Midhe and keep him in check. This policy of ‘divide and rule’ sees a rival, central Marches baron, Hugh de Lacey (c. 1130–86) from Herefordshire, appointed as Lord of Midhe/‘Meath’ to keep an eye on the de Clares in Leinster. Hugh is the son and successor of Gilbert de Lacey of Ewias Lacey, the rightful Lord of Ludlow Castle, who has recovered this from Stephen’s nominee Joce de Dinan some time around 1150; Hugh took over his father’s lands when the latter became Templar knight around 1158 and his elder brother Robert died. First married to Rohaise of Monmouth, he has two sons – Walter (1172?–1241), who will inherit Ludlow and also Hugh’s new main castle in Midhe at Trim in 1186, and Hugh (c. 1175–1242) who will later become Earl of Ulster. Walter is later married off to one of the daughters of the controversial William de Braose (d. 1211), Lord of Brecon, and his equally formidable wife Maud of St Valéry (murdered by King John in 1210). As a widower, Hugh will marry ‘High King’ Ruaidhri’s daughter Rose as his second wife in their uneasy accommodation of the mid-1170s. Most of the junior Irish sub-kings who rule the mini-states of central and eastern Ireland, on the next political ‘level’ down from the provincial

182  Chronology: 1155–1217 kingdoms, prudently give in on Henry’s 1171–2 expedition rather than have their lands ravaged – reportedly 15 of them submit to Henry on his expedition and are confirmed in their lands as his vassals, creating the same sort of structure of sub-vassals owing fealty to senior lords and them owing fealty to the king as in England. ‘High King’ Ruaidhri Ua Conchobair holds aloof. ENGLAND/NORMANDY August. Death of King Stephen’s younger brother Henry, the ‘political cleric’ and high-living Bishop of Winchester (since 1129) and Abbot of Glastonbury (since 1126), aged around 71–5. December. The papal legates reach Normandy; probably news of this leads to Henry’s return from Ireland. 1172 IRELAND ‘High King’ Ruaidhri comes to an agreement with Henry’s Midhe deputy, warlord Hugh de Lacey, and probably promises to swear loyalty to Henry as his ally (Irish understanding)/do homage to him as his superior (Engish understanding) as this will be enforced by Henry when they meet in 1175. Early 1172. An Irish Church synod is held at Cashel to confirm the Church’s backing for the new order in Ireland and regularise/update canon law in line with English and European practices; led by Archbishops Lorcan/Laurence Ua Tuathal of Dublin and Cadla Ua Dubthaig of Tuam. The synod may see a formal ruling (or unofficial agreement that pro-English ecclesiastical writers later interpreted as official ruling?) that in future Church practices and laws will follow those in England, but this is unclear. WALES March. Death of co-ruler Cadwaladr of Gwynedd, younger brother of the late King Owain Gwynedd (d. 1170) and rival of his feuding nephews; the latter divide up his lands, with Dafydd as the most powerful. 17 April. Henry lands back from Ireland in SW Wales. Easter Monday. Rhys ap Gruffydd of Deheubarth meets Henry again on his way home from Ireland in 1172 at Laugharne, and is excused the horses still due as part of his rent for his lands. Under the eventual accommodation which Rhys reaches with Henry during this meeting he rules his lands as formally as an English ‘justiciar’ or legal representative. He is practically independent and claims the title of ‘Prince of South Wales’ though he never regains most of the coast. Securing control of Ceredigion from the de Clares, he manages to remove virtually all the inland English

Chronology: 1155–1217  183 lords such as the Cliffords of ‘Cantref Bychan’ and the FitzGeralds of Emlyn. Rebuilding Cardigan Castle as his principal residence in the English style (a practice of adapting the enemy’s defensive strengths copied by the Gwynedd princes at Dolwyddelan) and funding Strata Florida Abbey, he also holds a prestigious ‘eisteddfod’ at Cardigan Castle at Christmas 1176 to reinforce his role as the Welsh leader in the South and uses literary propaganda, e.g. by his bard Gwynfardd Brycheiniog, to promote the cult of his kingdom’s most famous religious figure ‘Dewi Sant’ as the patron saint of Wales, boosting Deheubarth’s prestige in the process. Arguably he, rather than any princes of the divided Gwynedd or Powys, is the pre-eminent figure in ‘native’ Wales from c. 1170 until his death in 1197. ENGLAND/NORMANDY/AQUITAINE Henry arrives from England in Normandy and proceeds to the Abbey of Savigny where (17 May) talks with the papal legates proceed. A reported initial royal threat to walk out is not carried out and a settlement is reached swiftly; (Sunday 21 May) a public ceremony of reconciliation at Avranches Cathedral follows, and Henry swears that he neither ordered nor wanted the murder but admits that his wrath caused it. He is to maintain 200 knights for a year with the Templars in the Holy Land, go out there for three years as a Crusader unless his service is postponed or moved to Spain by the Pope (it is in practice waived time after time due to various excuses), the church of Canterbury will be restored to the situation a year before the quarrel with Becket (i.e. royal confiscations restored), and Henry will abandon any customs prejudicial to the Church introduced in his reign and require no more from the bishops – which also entails the withdrawal of their oaths to the now illegal ‘Constitutions of Clarendon’ and a promise of no similar coercion again. Henry is to do penance. Henry is then ceremonially absolved at the door of Avranches Cathedral and let in by the clerics. 11 June. Henry’s second surviving son Richard, aged 14, is invested as Duke of Aquitaine in the cathedral of St Martial, Limoges. He is to rule Poitou and Aquitaine from now on and learn how to control his turbulent vassals, aided by Eleanor – who thus continues to reside away from her husband, possibly partially a result of his affair with Rosamund Clifford given her subsequent attempt a year later to depose him. Henry requires the ‘Young King’ to join him on a visit to Auvergne to meet Count Humbert of Maurienne and arrange the marriage for Prince John. Henry tells the count that John is to inherit the castles of Chinon, Loudun and Mirabeau in Anjou (i.e. his late brother Geoffrey’s inheritance in 1151) but the ‘Young King’, as their future lord, refuses to surrender his control of them and is ordered to do so; he has to witness the subsequent treaty but this may start him on the road to rebellion.

184  Chronology: 1155–1217 27 August. Re-coronation of the ‘Young King’ at Winchester Cathedral, by the Bishop of Évreux with the Bishops of London and Salisbury still under a papal ban as per Becket’s wishes; the ‘Young King’s wife Margaret of France is also crowned this time, unlike in 1170. Henry is still in France. 27 September. With the Pope having confirmed the king’s absolution for Becket’s murder in a papal bull, this is announced and Henry is formally and publicly absolved again. IRELAND Henry’s departure from Waterford back to England in April sees Hugh de Lacey put in charge of Dublin as its commander and probably also justiciar, i.e. supreme legal official, of Ireland. Hugh rather than the distrusted Richard de Clare (‘Strongbow’), ruler of Leinster, is the king’s representative in and effective ‘first viceroy’ of Ireland, and as such he builds Trim Castle as his headquarters and leads an expedition west across Midhe to deal with the claims of his rival as its lord, Tighernain Ua Ruairc, who is resisting by force of arms. A truce sees them meeting for discussions on the Hill of Ward, but the ‘peace summit’ goes wrong and ends up with someone throwing a lance at Hugh, killing an interpreter, and the Anglo-Normans attacking and beheading Tighernain. His head is then taken off as a trophy and put up on the gate of Dublin, the normal fate for traitors – it is possible that the alleged ‘unprovoked attack’ on the Anglo-Normans was the ‘cover-up’ for a targeted killing of their most dangerous local foe. ENGLAND/NORMANDY/ANJOU/AQUITAINE November. Louis VII invites his daughter and son-in-law the ‘Young King’ to Paris for a meeting; before he leaves Normandy the ‘Young King’ requests his father to hand over (part of?) his inheritance and this is refused, so in Paris he complains to Louis and the two of them probably draw up plans for his rebellion. The suspicious Henry orders his son home to Normandy for Christmas, but instead the ‘Young King’ boycotts his father’s court and invites all the knights in Normandy called William to join him for a grand chivalric feast. 25 December. Henry, Eleanor and Richard are at Chinon, Anjou. 1173 WALES Co-ruler Maelgwyn of Gwynedd, Lord of Anglesey and eldest surviving illegitimate son of Owain Gwynedd (d. 1170), is expelled by his half-brothers Dafydd of E Gwynedd and Rhodri of Arfon. The same may occur to their oldest surviving brother Iorweth ‘Flatnose’ of Arfon, though the latter may never have ruled any lands (due to physical infirmity?)

Chronology: 1155–1217  185 despite some obsevers, e.g. the clerical historian Giraldus Cambrensis, calling him Owain’s only legitimate son. The Church regards Owain’s marriage to Cristin illegal and the offspring of this, Dafydd and Rhodri, ineligible for the throne, as the pair are cousins. The identification of an obscure younger and landless illegitimate son of Llywelyn who was disinherited by his brothers in the early 1170s civil wars, Madoc, with the supposed founder of a ‘Welsh colony’ in the South-Eastern US is C16th; no contemporary records refer to him. The first, mid-C16th account only calls him a ‘voyager’ who left Wales, not naming his destination, and a contemporary later ‘Triad’ refers to him as one of three voyagers who sailed off to unknown places with his followers. It was the Elizabethan ‘magus’ Dr John Dee who furthered the ‘Welsh colony’ theory to give legal grounds for Elizabethan claims to America. The conflict now stabilises with the rule of Owain’s sons by Cristin, Dafydd in East and Rhodri in West Gwynedd, the River Conwy dividing their lands. Dafydd marries Emma de Laval, half-sister of Henry II and full sister of Hamelin Plantagenet. Iorweth of Gwent returns in July to retake his family’s principal fortress, Caerleon, from Rhys ap Gruffydd’s Deheubarth garrison. ENGLAND/NORMANDY/AQUITAINE/SCOTLAND Plot against Henry by his wife and three elder surviving sons, who at least plan to take part of his dominions and possibly to depose him too; Eleanor is accused by some observers (Gervase of Canterbury, William of Newburgh, Ralph of Diceto) of being behind it. 21 February. Pope Alexander canonises St Thomas Becket, whose shrine in Canterbury Cathedral (now being rebuilt after a fire) is already becoming popular. 21–28 February. Royal ‘summit’ at Limoges involving Henry, Eleanor, the ‘Young King’, Richard, Kings Alfonso II of Aragon and Sancho of Navarre, and Count Raymond V of Toulouse. Count Humbert of Maurienne attends and his daughter Alice’s engagement to Prince John is celebrated; she is handed over to Henry along with the custody of four castles, and John is to be heir to Maurienne. Raymond does homage to Henry to snub King Louis, and this probably annoys the Aquitaine barons (and Eleanor and Richard?) who think he should do homage to Richard too; the ‘Young King’ repeats his refusal to hand over the three castles in Anjou due for John and says his father has no right to dispose of them without his permission, and brings up his father’s failure to agree to hand over part of his inheritance again. Henry refuses, and his son warns that it is Louis’ wish as overlord and the barons agree too.

186  Chronology: 1155–1217 Henry leaves Eleanor and Richard in control at Poitiers as he heads N, but has his castles strengthened in fear of an outbreak; he requires the ‘Young King’ to accompany him, but (5–6 March) during their overnight stay for Henry’s birthday at his birthplace, Chinon Castle, the ‘Young King’ sneaks out overnight and rides off to start a rebellion. Henry chases off after him to Argentan, but (8 March) the ‘Young King’ crosses the French frontier to safety and rides to join Louis and raise an army. Henry sends a delegation of bishops to the ‘Young King’ at Paris to order him home, and he refuses and Louis says Henry is now deposed in the ‘Young King’s favour so they tell the king that war is immanent; the ‘Young King’ apparently rides secretly to Poitou to meet Eleanor, Richard and Geoffrey (Ralph of Diceto) and/or Eleanor sends her younger semi-adult sons to Paris to join the ‘Young King’ (Roger of Hoveden). Louis holds a great council of his vassals at Paris to raise support for the rebellion, and they pledge support to the ‘Young King’ who promises not to make peace without their consent. Henry hears of his sons’ defection and gets Archbishop Rotrou of Rouen to write to Eleanor asking her to intercede with them to obey their father and lord and threatening excommunication if she does not; she ignores this and is soon captured en route to join her sons (dressed as a man in some stories) and sent as a prisoner to Henry in Normandy. Count Philip of Flanders joins the ‘Young King’ in return for the earldom of Kent and castles of Dover and Rochester, and his brother Count Matthew of Boulogne (married to King Stephen’s daughter Mary) does so in return for his wife’s late father’s county of Mortain and the barony of Hay; the Count of Blois also joins in in return for Amboise and jurisdiction in Touraine. King William of Scots pledges support in return for ‘his’ seized earldom of Northumberland to the Tyne, now as part of Scotland. In England the rebels are joined by Hugh Bigod of East Anglia (presumably over Henry curtailing his influence there and not giving him William of Boulogne’s lands in 1159), the new (1168) third Earl Robert of Leicester who has succeeded his father Henry’s loyalist second earl, Earl Hugh of Chester, who has had to put up with an extortionate royal wardship after succeeding as a boy, and William de Ferrers, Earl of Derby. Henry’s old foe Ralph de Fougères leads a group of E Breton rebels to aid Geoffrey in attacking Normandy; there is a substantial rebel faction in Maine, but there are fewer rebels in Anjou. More nobles are feared to be sympathetic to the rebels but do not actually rise, and the chroniclers’ claims that Henry was deserted by many of his friends (William of Newburgh says few barons were not under suspicion of being willing to defect) are short on names. In practical terms, this means that if Henry is seen to be losing he could face a rush of desertions by ‘fence-sitters’. April. Henry’s chancellor (since Becket’s resignation in 1162) Geoffrey Ridel is nominated as the new Bishop of Ely; he is in office until his

Chronology: 1155–1217  187 death in August 1189. Reginald FitzJoscelin (d. 26 December 1191) is nominated as Bishop of Bath and Wells, the see having been kept vacant since Bishop Robert died in August 1166. Robert Foliot, relative of earlier Bishop of Hereford Gilbert Foliot, now Bishop of London (and connected to the dynasty of Miles of Gloucester, d. 1143) and previously Abbot of Gloucester in 1139–48, is elected as the new Bishop of Hereford. Richard of Ilchester, senior royal clerk and baron of the exchequer who clashed with Becket as he was involved with the ‘Constitutions of Clarendon’ and was excommunicated as he was a royal envoy to Emperor Frederick against him in 1166, is nominated to the see of Winchester (vacant since August 1171). Ralph de Warneville succeeds Geoffrey Ridel as chancellor (until 1181/2). May. The ‘Young King’ and Richard invade Normandy from Paris to besiege Pacy, near the Eure, and Gournay; Louis is joined by Earl Robert of Leicester and William de Tancarville from England, and he and Geoffrey invade the S-central Vexin (S of the Seine) and then reach Verneuil in SE Normandy. Philip of Flanders and Matthew of Boulogne (29 June) take Aumale in the NE; they then attack Arques and while attacking Driencourt near Aumale (late July) Matthew is fatally shot by a crossbow and Philip goes off to Boulogne to secure it. Meanwhile Earl Hugh of Chester has made his way to E Brittany to join the rebels there as his ancestors had local lands which he has inherited. 3 June. Election of Richard, prior of St Martins Priory in Dover (since 1157) as the new Archbishop of Canterbury (vacant since 29 December 1170). The priory is a dependency of Christ Church monastery, Canterbury, where he was previously a monk and in December 1170 took charge of Becket’s burial, but some of the monks at Canterbury oppose him and elect their own prior, Odo, instead. Richard is accused of buying the post and being illegitimate and the rivals end up going to Rome to appeal to the Pope for a ruling. Late July. Richard de Lucy, as royal lieutenant in the Midlands, takes the main rebel centre of Leicester and besieges its castle; he is called north before he can deal with Hugh Bigod, as King William of Scots raids over the NE border. William of Scots is a poor general and his 1173 invasion peters out with unsuccessful attacks on Warkworth Castle, Alnwick Castle, Newcastle and Prudhoe, after which he moves west to attack Carlisle. He has to give up and return to Roxburgh as Henry has sent loyal troops north, and Henry’s senior adviser and ‘justiciar’ Ranulf de Glanville sacks Berwick in reprisal; a truce is arranged until March 1174. August. Henry ends his initial defensive stand in central Normandy and heads to the SE frontier; he takes rebel Breteuil near Verneuil, then (9 August) arrives outside Verneuil on the third day of a three-day truce

188  Chronology: 1155–1217 asked for by the garrison of the town’s ‘great burgh’ (one of three fortified districts) ahead of surrendering if no help arrives. Louis withdraws after setting fire to the town, and Henry chases him back to the Vexin frontier and massacres the royal rearguard in the dusk. He then retakes Damville and sends mercenaries W to intercept the Breton rebels. These retreat hastily to fortified Dol, and Henry hurries from Rouen to attack the latter and takes it by surprise. As his troops arrive the rebels surrender the castle to avoid bloodshed, and Earl Hugh of Chester and Ralph of Fougères are taken prisoner; the rebellion collapses. The ‘Young King’s ally Earl Robert of Leicester (d. 1190) and his private army escape from the rout of Louis’ army, and he refuses to seek terms and (mid–late September) sails to Suffolk to join Hugh Bigod at Framlingham Castle. Their combined force has some breathing space as Richard de Lucy is in the NE confronting the Scots and they take the king’s castle at Haughley, Suffolk, but when de Lucy returns they face a superior army with specialist archers. 25 September. An abortive truce meeting is arranged between Henry, his rebel sons and Louis at the traditional Norman/French meeting place at the ancient elm of Gisors; Henry offers his sons regular revenues but not lands and they accept Louis’ advice to refuse. September. A revolt breaks out in Angoulême in Poitou against Henry’s local officials and castellans, led by its count, following a serious revolt in Maine and a smaller one in Anjou. Henry moves into Touraine (E Anjou, closest to help from Blois) and retakes Haye, Preuilly and Champigny; he marches N to Vendome on the NE frontier of Anjou to help its loyalist count, who has been driven out by his rebel sons and who Henry restores by force. The rebel force in E Anglia is four(?) times the size of the royal army but (early October) is defeated by the more disciplined royalists under Richard de Lucy at Fornham near Bury St Edmunds. Earl Robert of Leicester’s fleeing Flemish mercenaries are ambushed by the locals in nearby bogs, and Robert and his wife Petronilla (also on horseback on the battlefield) are captured and sent off to Falaise in Normandy as prisoners. 1174

January. Failure of surprise Franco-rebel attack NW from the Isle de France across the Vexin’s SE border and Bellême to take the strategic town of Séez. Given the next moves, Louis probably sends to King William of Scots asking him for a major invasion to lure Henry back to England. April. The Pope decides that the election of Richard of Dover at Canterbury was valid and consecrates him at Anagni; he returns to take up his see.

Chronology: 1155–1217  189 In spring King William returns to attack Northumberland with reportedly up to 80,000 men (probably an exaggeration), fails to take Prudhoe again, and splits his army into three sections to head north and attack Alnwick Castle (royalist Percy family). His brother Earl David of Huntingdon heads S to rescue the besieged rebels in Leicester Castle. The Midlands royalists try to lure him out of Leicester by attacking his own lands at Huntingdon, which Henry apparently promises to his rival claimant Simon de St Liz (see below), but the rebels then aid Northampton and take the major royal stronghold of Nottingham Castle. Henry leaves Normandy for Maine (May), and sets up his base at Ancenis. Roger de Mowbray and other locals aid the invaders in N England, and their forces take Appleby and Burgh in Cumbria. Meanwhile, Roger de Mowbray heads S to aid the Midlands rebels, but is caught and blockaded by King Henry’s bastard son Geoffrey Plantagenet at the Isle of Axholme, S of the Humber; short of water, he slips out to join the Leicester rebels but is caught en route by vigilant peasants. Geoffrey captures Axholme and then de Mowbray’s castle at Malzeard, and blockades his stronghold of Thirsk in Yorks. The rebels send to Count Philip of Flanders for help and he swears to come within 15 days of 24 June; his advance force lands in E Anglia and helps Hugh Bigod to take Norwich Castle. The royal council send Richard of Ilchester to ask the king to hurry home and he embarks at Barfleur (7 July), his fleet of 40 ships surviving strong winds to reach Southampton that day. His party includes both his younger children John and Joan, his ward Alix of France, and his disgraced and captive wife Eleanor who on arrival is sent off to either Winchester Castle or Old Sarum Castle under guard. Also in the party is the ‘Young King’s arrested wife Margaret, who has to wait for her husband’s capture, and Henry’s half-sister Emma de Lanval who will shortly be married off to the King’s Gwynedd ally, Prince Dafydd. 12 June. Henry arrives at Canterbury; he kneels before and does penance at the shrine of St Thomas Becket, which some sources say includes being flogged by the monks, after a sermon by Bishop Gilbert Folliot assuring the public that the king had not wanted Becket to be killed, and then (13 June) leaves for London. The news of King William’s capture at Alnwick (below) supposedly arrives just after the public penitence and can be duly ‘spun’ to show that the saint has forgiven the king. Once Henry has left Normandy, King Louis is emboldened to head directly for Rouen with his main army. Earl Duncan of Fife’s contingent is absent from King William’s army at Alnwick, sacking Warkworth Castle, when Ranulf de Glanville brings 400 knights north from Newcastle in a hasty overnight ride to relieve Alnwick on 12–13 or 13–14 June. Caught unawares, King William is ambushed and captured in thick fog by Glanville’s men on the 13th or

190  Chronology: 1155–1217 14th in a field outside Alnwick Castle; his men flee and he is taken off to Newcastle with his feet tied beneath his horse’s belly like a common captive. William is deported to Falaise in Normandy as a prisoner and Henry can concentrate his troops against his sons and Louis. Henry heads N to Huntingdon and then Northampton, both of which surrender; the English rebellion collapses. Rhys ap Gruffydd of Deheubarth aids Henry against the king’s rebel sons and takes his army to Tutbury Castle (Derbyshire) to besiege rebels, helping to contain the Peak District rebellion; the Earl of Huntingdon (King William of Scotland’s brother David) and Earl Robert of Leicester’s men to the SE link up with the Bigods in East Anglia. Rhys sends a thousand men to aid the king in Normandy. 8 August. Henry sails back to Barfleur to find Louis sitting in vain outside Rouen and the W gates still open to supplies. As he approaches Louis promises the citizens a truce for the feast day of St Lawrence (10 August) but promptly breaks it in a plan for a desperate rush for the walls while the citizens are holding a tournament outside. His men are spotted lining up in their camp ready to attack from the city towers and the citizens man the walls, frustrating the attack. Henry arrives with his advance guard (11 August), and his men then emerge to attack a French baggage train bringing supplies. Louis gives in and retreats. Henry heads into Anjou where Richard is now attacking; a truce is called and (29 September) Richard comes to see his father and falls at his feet begging forgiveness. The ‘Young King’ also signifies that he wants peace, and the Anglo-French negotiations at Montlouis reach agreement (30 September); the ‘status quo’ before the revolt is restored and Henry and the ‘Young King’ promise no action against those who fought for their opponents. The ‘Young King’ accepts that Henry can provide for John out of his future lands of England, Normandy and Anjou but receives two Norman castles and a regular royal income to sustain his court of £15,000 per annum – Henry gives the ‘Young King’ two castles in Normandy, Richard two castles in Poitou and half its revenues, and Geoffrey half the revenues of Brittany. Eleanor is not released and remains under arrest in guarded castles, but from 1183 resumes appearances at court; the Earls of Chester and Leicester remain prisoners until January 1177 and have their revenues confiscated; Hugh Bigod (d. 1177) eventually has his fines, old and recent, remitted. SCOTLAND King William of Scots has to buy his freedom and become Henry’s vassal – definitively as King of Scots not just as an English earl – in the Treaty of Falaise (December). He is thus fitted into the neat administrative framework of the so-called ‘Angevin Empire’, as one of the ‘second-ranking’ tier of subordinate rulers to the Royal House of England, Normandy and

Chronology: 1155–1217  191 Anjou – with the princes of Wales and kings of Ireland. He also has to hand over the main castles of southern Scotland – Edinburgh, Stirling, Roxburgh, Jedburgh and Berwick – to English garrisons. Henry confiscates his earldom of Huntingdon, which is handed to David I’s stepson Simon de St Liz’s son Simon (III) de St Liz but is returned to William’s brother David, also involved in the rebellion but pardoned, when Simon dies. William’s reputation as a ruler has duly suffered from his evident inferiority to his neighbour as a statesman as well as a warrior and his willingness to be used as a tool of the 1173–4 rebels just to recover Northumberland. 1175

King William returns to Scotland humiliated in February to face rebellion. Disaster follows in the crucial border principality of Galloway. His ally Uhtred the co-ruler (acc. 1160) is attacked, blinded and castrated (to make him ineligible to rule), and later murdered by his half-brother and co-ruler Gillebride’s men, and Gillebride then offers to transfer his allegiance to Henry. Henry’s envoys to Galloway (including the chronicler Roger Hoveden) are so disgusted at their discovery of the way that Henry’s ally Uhtred was dealt with that when they report it to Henry he rejects Gillebride’s offer. William’s humiliation continues for the rest of Henry’s reign, as he is kept under strict ties of vassalage; in June he does homage to Henry at York to confirm the terms of the Treaty of Falaise, explicitly for Scotland; and once this precedent has been set the English kings keep returning to enforce it. King William’s sub-ruler of the lands of Argyll and Lorne, Somerled’s son Dugald (founder of the ‘MacDougall’ dynasty of Lorne) who is probably the eldest of Somerled’s three surviving sons, accompanies him to York to do homage for his lands to Henry II. This reflects an extension of Henry’s interest in Scots sub-rulers (as a means of keeping William in check if needed); Dugald, known as ‘king of the Isles’ in medieval Scots sources and probably owning some of the Inner Hebrides and/or the overlord of his younger brothers Ragnald (of Skye and Lewis/Harris) and Angus (of Islay), brings his son and heir Donnchadh/Duncan to do homage too and they visit the shrine of St Cuthbert at Durham en route. WALES Iorweth of Gwent is deprived of Caerleon again by the king in 1175 after his ruthless son Hywel blinded and castrated his uncle Owain Pen-Carn in a presumed fight over the succession, but regains it later by coming to terms with the main SW Wales dynast and royal ‘justiciar’, Rhys ap Gruffydd of Deheubarth – probably due to his daughter Nest’s affair with that ruler. In 1175 Rhys ap Gruffydd of Deheubarth leads a group of his South Welsh vassals (of Senghenydd, Breichiniog upland Gwent, Elfael,

192  Chronology: 1155–1217 Gwerthynion/Builth and Afan) to the royal court at Gloucester to do homage (29 June), thus acting as the royal lynchpin for the restored hierarchical order of ‘feudal’ vassalship in South Wales and guaranteeing his junior allies’ loyalty. He is joined by Cadwallon the local hereditary Lord of Radnor, who has recently recovered lands there from the de Braoses and will inherit his brother’s lands of Elfael in 1176, and Henry recognises Cadwallon as his vassal. Also on the mission to do homage with Rhys, presumably by his request, is his neighbour Morgan of Caerleon, head of the old Morgannwg royal house and Lord of upper Gwent, who has his lands confirmed by the king in return for vassalage: Rhys promotes his usefulness to Henry as his S Wales intermediary with the Welsh lords. IRELAND In the Treaty of Windsor in 1175, made by his representative the Archbishop of Tuam, ‘High King’ Ruaidhri finally submits to become Henry’s loyal vassal – without abdicating his title or making it subordinate to the King of England, more as a matter of personal obligation to a more senior colleague. Raudhri owes him fealty and pays a sum (in cowhides not money as it was easier to acquire in the rural Irish economy) for his kingdom as a vassal would, but in return can call on the king’s men in Dublin for help if he needed it. The implication is that Henry is following a pattern set in the Marches with the greater Welsh lords who are allowed to keep the peace and maintain their existing authority in their extant lands over their own vassals provided that they pay homage to Henry – who does not have the time or resources to occupy their lands himself. Like Rhys ap Gruffydd of Deheubarth, Ruaidhri is to survive on a parallel ‘plane’ of junior semi-autonomy to the great Anglo-Norman lords, and could even be used against the latter should they prove traitors. But Ruaidhri (or the political and military structure that sustains him) is too weak for this sort of role, as minor wars and feuds among the local kings of non-occupied Ireland continue and he proves unable to secure the peace within and obedience of the warring sub-kings of Munster, to Henry’s irritation. ENGLAND/NORMANDY/ANJOU/AQUITAINE (Gervase of Canterbury) Henry considers having his marriage to Eleanor annulled, which could be possible due to consanguinity, and may consider marrying his ward and Richard’s fiancée, Alix of France – thus keeping the Vexin for himself. According to Giraldus Cambrensis, Eleanor is offered the role of Abbess of Fontevraud, the abbey which contains the Angevin family mausoleum and a major recipient of her and Henry’s generosity, but refuses.

Chronology: 1155–1217  193 1 November. Papal legate Cardinal Pierleone of Sant’ Angelo is in England at a council in Winchester, allegedly just to discuss conflict over the independence of the see of York as Archbishop Richard of Canterbury tries to resume an attempt to make York subordinate; it is believed that the legate also discusses the Henry/Eleanor divorce with the king. Contemporary chroniclers claim that Henry has an open liaison with his son Richard’s fiancée Alix of France, probably around now and out of confidence that he can marry her – thus annoying Richard. 1176

Spring. Lacking resources to tackle his refractory barons easily and facing the hostility of the well-resourced dynasty of Angoulême under Count William, Richard goes to a family council at Winchester for extra help and persuades his father to order the ‘Young King’ to postpone his pilgrimage to St James of Compostela and bring toops to aid Richard instead. The council also presumably discusses the possibility of Henry enduing his marriage, and Eleanor sends a letter to the Archbishop of Rouen (April) appealing against any enforcement of becoming a nun. Richard receives money to hire a large body of professional mercenaries. In his absence, Vulgrin Taillefer, eldest son of the Count of Angoulême, has invaded Poitou and threatened Poitiers but been driven off by Bishop John of Poitiers and Richard’s lieutenant Theobald Chabot in battle at Barbezieux. Richard returns and chases the rebels across the Limousin, defeating them near Bouteville. IRELAND Richard de Clare, ‘Strongbow’, Earl of Pembroke and ‘king’ of Leinster as King Henry’s vassal, dies naturally, on 20 April, aged c. 46, and is succeeded by his under-age son, Gilbert, as Earl of Pembroke but not as the king of Leinster; the King of England is to be the only ruler of the Anglo-Normans with royal rank. Henry now takes command of the earldom and its Irish lands as feudal overlord to Gilbert who becomes a royal ward. ENGLAND/NORMANDY/ANJOU/AQUITAINE August. Henry’s and Eleanor’s youngest daughter Joan leaves England for Sicily to marry the 21-year-old King William II (acc. 1166), who has English ministers, after the success of negotiations with a Sicilian embassy; she is escorted by John of Oxford, Bishop of Norwich. Richard’s sieges of the Count of Limoges’ castle of Aixe and of Limoges itself are successful. The Angoulême dynasty’s Châteauneuf on the Charente is captured in a fortnight and Moulinef in ten days; then Richard besieges Angoulême where Count William and his son Vulgrin surrender after six days. William submits to Richard as his overlord, and he and the

194  Chronology: 1155–1217 other prisoners are sent to Winchester to sue for mercy before the king (21 September). 28 September. Betrothal of Prince John to Isabella, daughter of Earl William of Gloucester, after abandonment of his engagement to the heiress of Maurienne in Savoy – given the S Wales lands of the earldom, probably as part of repositioning him as intended lord of Ireland and thus ovelord of assorted Marcher neighbours of the Gloucester earldom with lands there. IRELAND/WALES September (Expugnatio Hibernica) or 1177 (Annales Cambriae)? Death of Maurice FitzGerald, leading Marcher baron (as Lord of Llansteffan near Carmarthen) and Ireland settler (as Lord of Maynooth, Kildare), aged around 70; he is succeeded by his three sons, the founders of the ‘Geraldine’ lines – Gerald, Lord of Offaly (married to Offaly’s heiress Eva de Bermingham) and ancestor of the FitzGeralds of Kildare, Thomas ‘Fitzmaurice’, later to be first Lord of Desmond in SW Munster and ancestor of its earls, and William, Lord of Naas and son-in-law of the late ‘Strongbow’, Earl Richard of Pembroke. ENGLAND/FRANCE Death of William d’Albini or D’Aubigny, first Earl of Arundel, hereditary chief butler of England, Lord of Arundel since 1139, and widower of Henry I’s widow Adeliza of Louvain, aged c. 70; he is succeeded by his and Adeliza’s son William, second earl (d. 1196) (or early 1177?). The death of the crucial E Poitou/Berry border lord Ralph de Deols, Lord of Châteauroux, leads to his heiress being taken off to French royal lands in Berry to stop Henry securing her as his ward – as he claims he is due as the lordship’s overlord. This is taken as hostile meddling by Louis VII and so emphasises the need for a definitive statement of rights and borders there. Death as a nun(?) at Godstow nunnery near Oxford, where she is buried, of Henry’s long-term mistress Rosamund de Clifford, aka ‘Fair Rosamund’. Later legend (from the C14th French Chronicle of London) has it that Henry built an extensive ‘bower’ and a maze for her at his nearby Woodstock manor and she was poisoned by the vengeful Queen Eleanor, but there is no proof of either story. (Eleanor is recorded in documents as being resident in Winchester this autumn.) 25 December. Henry is at Nottingham Castle. 1177 SICILY 13 February. Marriage of Henry’s and Eleanor’s daughter Joan, aged 11/12, to the decade-older King William II of Sicily (d. 1189); crucially, they have no children which leads to a succession crisis.

Chronology: 1155–1217  195 ENGLAND/FRANCE Spring 1177. Henry decides on a showdown with Louis. In June he sends an embassy to Paris demanding fulfilment of the promises made earlier that when Louis’ daughter Margaret married the ‘Young King’ she would get all the Vexin as dowry and when her sister Alix married Richard she would get Bourges (Berry) and its dependencies. He also summons his English barons to an assembly to provide their men for a war in Normandy, possibly as a negotiating tactic not as a serious intention, and the threat duly leads to a papal mediation mission urging compromise on both sides in order to provide joint force for a new Crusade against the rising threat of Saladin (who has united Syria and Egypt under his rule) to the Kingdom of Jerusalem. June. Birth and death of the ‘Young King’ and Margaret of France’s son William; King Henry, at Woodstock, is informed of this and of the papal court’s refusal to let him divorce Eleanor and insistence that he marry off his intended next wife Alix of France to her fiancé Richard unless he wants an interdict. September. Anglo-French ‘summit’ on the border at Ivry, arranged by a papal mission; a joint Crusade is to be arranged and the two sides are to submit the questions of who has the right to homage of lords in Berry and Auvergne to arbitration. A mutual friendship between the kings is asserted. WALES Rhys ap Gruffydd of Deheubarth attends the royal court at Oxford and is granted part of Meirionydd as a counter-weight to the currently loyal but implicitly ‘revanchist’ dynasty of Gwynedd to his north. Gwynedd is currently distracted by wars among Owain Gwynedd’s sons, with the more pro-English Dafydd (King Henry’s brother-in-law) further away from this region in the NE; the local princes of that dynasty, the sons of Cynan ap Owain in Meirionydd, are still defying the king so bringing Rhys into the region puts them under pressure. They attack his lands in reprisal, and Rhys proceeds to marry a daughter to their uncle and rival Rhodri, Lord of Arfon and Lleyn, to ally with the latter against them. Rhys makes a move on his dynasty’s pre-1090s lands in the far east of Deheubarth, now under Anglo-Norman baronial control with the de Braoses ruling the Builth region with the upper Wye; he rebuilds Rhaeadr Castle in the upper Wye valley to boost his power there and threaten them. IRELAND Henry resorts to dividing the kingdom of Munster, split up by feuding territorial hereditary princes (called ‘kings’; by Irish custom) and local lords, among his own nominees, implicitly juggling one against the other

196  Chronology: 1155–1217 to prevent the emergence of one over-mighty Anglo-Norman lord such as ‘Strongbow’. Hugh de Lacey returns to Midhe as governor of Ireland again, and supervises the attack on Munster that year which Henry decides on – presumably under pressure by land-hungry barons backed by Hugh to ‘let them off the leash’ but also in irritation at the continuing clashes between Anglo-Normans and Irish which ‘High King’ Ruaidhri is unable or unwilling to control. John de Courcy, a minor Somerset lord intent on building up his own principality to rival Richard de Clare and Hugh Lacey, has already invaded southern Ulster without royal permission and taken Downpatrick earlier in 1177 but has been repulsed by the local kings. Henry grants the 1169 commander Robert FitzStephen, ransomed from his 1172 captors the McCarthys in Munster and with useful local knowledge of the region from his time as a hostage, and his half-sister Gwladys de Barri’s son Miles Cogan (1171–2 commander in Dublin) Munster from Lismore to the sea, with the exception of the lucrative port town of Cork which is reserved to the king. The invasion of Munster follows, and the land is divided up among various ‘feudal’ fiefs; but the western and north-western areas in particular hold out with the rugged terrain helping guerrillas, and the new regime is precarious and often has its isolated castles under siege. Assassination of the ex-king of Tir Eoghain in Ulster (ruled 1167/70–4) and ancestor of the later Ui Niall kings of Ulster, Aedh ‘an Macaoimh Toinleasg’ (‘Lazy-Arsed Youth’), by his successful replacement, Mael Sechlainn the head of the ‘Mac Lochlainn’ branch of the Ui Niall. ENGLAND/IRELAND/NORMANDY/ANJOU/AQUITAINE Henry proclaims his youngest son John as lord of Ireland; for the moment Hugh de Lacey, Lord of Midhe, stays in control as justiciar. Henry uses the army which he has summoned in England for a ‘show of strength’ in E Poitou. He takes disputed Châteauroux and occupies the lands and castles of the late Lord Ralph de Deols; the latter’s heiress is handed over to him as her feudal guardian as he demands. He then pays the childless Count Adalbert of La Marche to sell his lands to him, which gives Henry control of a crucial border region dominating access to Poitou, Berry, the Limousin and Auvergne. This alarms autonomist local barons. September. Henry’s daughter Eleanor leaves Aquitaine en route for Castile to marry King Alfonso VIII, at Burgos. Richard campaigns in Gascony to bring ducal power right down to the SW frontier of Aquitaine; he forces refractory barons, such as the viscount of Dax (handed over as Richard approaches by loyalist citizens)

Chronology: 1155–1217  197 and the Count of Bigorre, to submit and accept strict vassalage. The Basques and the border Navarrese are forced to submit and promise to stop robbing pilgrims en route to Compostela. November. Henry and Louis meet at Graçay to hear results of the Auvergne and Berry arbitration. The panel of 12 announces that the homage of lords in Auvergne, except the bishopric of Clermont, has always belonged to the Dukes of Aquitaine so Henry has the rights to it; Louis demands a further enquiry to which Henry agrees, but the results are unclear. December. Richard’s siege of the refractory autonomist Lord Geoffrey de Roncon (vassal of the Counts of Angoulême)’s castle of Pons on the Charente; the castle holds out for longer than expected. WALES Climax of the SE Wales feud between William de Braose, Lord of Brecon (d. 1179), and Seissyl ap Dyfnwal, Lord of ‘Gwent Uwch Coed’ (‘above the wood’, i.e. north of the ‘Wentwood’ forested ridge that stretches across mid-Gwent) and resident at Castell Arnallt (aka ‘Castle Arnold’ to the English) at modern Llanover near Abergavenny. The lordship of the latter was held early that century by Hamelin de Ballen, and Seissyl may have been the son of Hamelin’s daughter Joyce and so had a claim on the lands (at least by Welsh law) that had been circumvented when the husband of Hamelin’s niece, the Norman/Breton Lord Brian FitzCount, inherited Abergavenny instead. William de Braose (d. 1179), Lord of Brecon and Radnor, and his son William (c. 1150–1211) are foes of Seissyl. The younger William invites Seissyl and his elder son Geoffrey, along with a number of neighbouring Welsh landowners, to a supposedly peaceful banquet at Abergavenny Castle at Christmas 1177 to discuss better relations and resolving disputes and then slaughters them. Some of the murderers then ride swiftly to Seissyl’s home at Castell Arallt to kill his younger son Cadwaladr too, wiping out the dynasty, and the de Braoses confiscate its lands and those of its murdered neighbours. The episode leaves a stain on the family reputation of de Braose, but despite evident concern at the royal court at this blatant episode the elder de Braose merely loses some official positions and grants of estates. The younger de Braose is usually assumed to be the main culprit; no compensation is offered to the victims’ families, though the adjacent Welsh dynasts of Caerleon do carry out a degree of ‘vigilante justice’ by burning Abergavenny and wrecking de Braose-held Dingestow Castle in 1182. 1178 ENGLAND/FRANCE Early. Louis VII confirms in writing to his barons that he has promised his protection to all the lands held by his ‘brother’ Henry, implying no help for potential rebels in the latter’s lands in future.

198  Chronology: 1155–1217 Easter. Richard leaves the siege of Pons to deal with other castles in the Angoulême region, and destroys Richemont, Genzac, Marcillac, Gourville and Auville. Instead of resuming the attack on Pons (May) he turns on its lord Geoffrey de Roncon’s main stronghold of Taillebourg, on a crag and seemingly impregnable; he camps close to the walls, luring the confident citizens out to attack him, and when they are routed his men force their way through the gates as they flee. The town falls and two days later the castle surrenders too, which is regarded as an impressive blow to long-held local autonomy from the Dukes of Aquitaine by contemporaries. Geoffrey surrenders Pons and his ally Vulgrin of Angoulême surrenders Angoulême town and the nearby castle of Monsignac. The fallen castles are destroyed and once the region is quiet Richard reports to his father Henry in England; Count William of Angoulême and many others have to go out to the Holy Land (where William soon dies) leaving Richard in regional control. July. Henry returns to England. 15 July. Henry knights his third surviving son Geoffrey, lord by marriage of Brittany, at Woodstock. 1179 ENGLAND February. The ‘Young King’ visits his father’s court in England for the first time in three years, having apparently (Ralph of Diceto) spent most of that time in France visiting tournaments and carousing with his friend Count Philip of Flanders (who now ‘dumps’ him to become friendly with the heir to France, Philip, who is expected to be king soon). He is ordered to go to Berry and take over the lands of the recently deceased warlord Ralph de Deols, as Louis VII has accepted Henry’s right to them as regional overlord. The ‘Young King’ is slow to arrive; Henry has to head there with troops himself to enforce his rights and blames his son. In Brittany, Geoffrey campaigns successfully to overawe the autonomist brigand baron Guiomar, viscount of Léon in the distant NW; he is persuaded to submit, abdicate his lands and go on Crusade and Geoffrey divides up his territory among his sons and partly for himself (e.g. Morlaix). August. Serious illness of Louis’ only son and heir Philip just before his coronation as co-king which is due on his 14th birthday; the boy’s recovery is ascribed to St Thomas Becket, who allegedly advises Louis in a dream to go to England and visit his shrine which he duly does. Louis and Henry also meet for five days; Louis leaves for France (26 August). 1 November. Delayed coronation of Philip as co-ruler of France; Louis is too ill to attend after a stroke on his return journey from Canterbury, but

Chronology: 1155–1217  199 the ‘Young King’ attends and carries the crown. Louis’ illness sees Count Philip of Flanders demanding his hereditary rights to be senior adviser to his inexperienced son and being resisted by Philip’s mother, Adela of Blois, and her brother Count Theobald. Philip of Flanders (a long-time ally of the ‘Young King’, usually hostile to Henry II) succeeds in getting his namesake to accept his alliance and marry his own niece, Isabella of Hainault. A judicial reform ‘Grand Assize’ is issued in England. The first strict Carthusian ‘charterhouse’ monastery is established in England in emulation of the Grand Charterhouse at Chartreux, as promised by Henry as penance for the Becket murder. It is set up at Witham in Somerset with the monks arriving at some date before this but proper endowment and building work only commencing now. This is done thanks to the enthusiasm and organisation of the prior who is now appointed, (St) Hugh of Avalon (in Dauphiné), born c. 1140, a leading promoter of the strict Christian life – and of Church freedom from secular rule. He duly acquires a foundation charter in 1182 from the king. WALES Assassination of Cadwallon, hereditary Welsh Lord of Radnor (‘Between Wye and Severn’), who has been driving out the local settlers and has secured the king’s agreement to his lordship with vassalage; he is murdered and his lands seized by his predatory Anglo-Norman neighbours, the Mortimers of Wigmore – Hugh, third Lord of Wigmore (c. 1116–81) and his son and heir Roger. 1180 ENGLAND/NORMANDY/ANJOU/AQUITAINE Early 1180. Ranulf de Glanville, the senior civil servant and constable of Old Sarum/Salisbury Castle and so custodian of Queen Eleanor, is appointed as justiciar to succeed Richard de Lucy. At around this time the ‘Young King’ sacks and orders away his longterm ‘tutor’ in chivalry, trusted adviser and head of his household, the renowned young knight William Marshal, after the latter’s enemies among the prince’s courtiers allege falsely that he is having an affair with the ‘Young King’s wife Margaret; this arguably deprives the impressionable ‘Young King’ of a crucial voice of reason at his dissolute and boast-ridden court. April. The ‘Young King’ visits England to warn his father that Philip will not be so amenable a king as Louis VII has been; Henry decides to meet and assert influence over Philip and follows his son to Normandy. The king celebrates Easter at Le Mans. In June he meets Philip at Gisors and they renew the 1177 treaty.

200  Chronology: 1155–1217 10 August. Baldwin, Abbot of Ford (Somerset) and future Archbishop of Canterbury, becomes Bishop of Worcester after Roger of Gloucester (until December 1184). 18 September. Death of Louis VII, aged 59 or 60. Accession of King Philip II, later called ‘Augustus’ from his role in increasing (‘augere’) the lands of his royal domain, who is equally unmartial and seemingly inferior as a commander or leader to Henry II and his sons but will prove their equal in craft and political manoeuvring. For the moment in the early 1180s, he is known as friendly to his sister’s fiancé Richard (who the chroniclers say shared a bed with him, which had no sexual connotations in that era), on good terms with his other sister’s husband the ‘Young King’ and cautious about confronting King Henry. SCOTLAND A papal legate, Alexius, comes to hold a Church council at Holyrood concerning the dispute over who is to be the bishop of St Andrews but backs the cathedral chapter’s candidate John against the royal choice. William refuses to accept it and sends John into exile, for which the Pope places Scotland under an interdict which prevents the clergy from carrying out any functions. The image of a ‘nationalist’ king defying the papacy is presumably useful in restoring William’s prestige after the 1174 disaster at Alnwick, the Pope’s wrath being less dangerous than King Henry’s. The interdict is lifted by the next Pope, Lucius III, in 1182 and Hugh keeps St Andrews while John is moved to the bishopric of Dunkeld. IRELAND 14 November. Death of the first Gaelic Archbishop of Dublin (and the first under English rule) Lorcan/Laurence Ua Tuathal, later canonised; he is succeeded by an Englishman, John Cumin/Comyn, a former monk of Evesham Abbey, Worcs, and chaplain to King Henry who arranges his election. The latter occurs at Evesham some time in 1181 but Cumin then heads to Rome not Ireland. 1181 ENGLAND 29 June. Death of the ex-rebel Count Vulgrin of Angoulême, humbled foe of Richard in Aquitaine. Richard claims wardship of his daughter and heiress plus guardianship of the county for her, but by local custom Vulgrin’s brothers William and Aymer should have control instead; they resist. Richard invades to seize the girl and drive out her uncles, who flee to their half-brother viscount Aimery of Limoges and plot revenge; centraliser Richard is regarded as a tyrant flouting tradition by restive barons, and Bertrand de Born, knightly ‘troubadour’ from the Limousin with popular following among the elite, stirs up resentment. A plot follows but most lords seem to have stayed out of it despite grumbles.

Chronology: 1155–1217  201 Death of Earl Hugh ‘de Kevelioc’ of Chester, principal lord of the N Welsh Marches, on 30 June at Leek in Staffordshire, aged 34. He was married to Beatrice de Montfort, daughter of Count Simon (d. by 1188) who owned the family’s hereditary lordship at Montfort l’Amaury around 30 miles west of Paris near the Norman frontier, in 1169. Her mother was the daughter of the 1173–4 rebel third Earl of Leicester and his formidable wife Petronilla, who rode into battle in the rebellion with her husband, and this connection may have helped to draw Hugh into that rebellion. (This connection made Hugh brother-in-law of the future leader of the ‘Albigensian Crusade’, Simon de Montfort the father of the eponymous 1260s English reformer.) Hugh is succeeded by his only son, Ranulf ‘de Blondeville’, aged 11 and so a royal ward. July. Marriage of Henry’s son Geoffrey to his long-term fiancée Constance of Brittany, after which he fully enters into control of that dukedom. He relies on the notorious ex-rebel Ralph of Fougères. Meanwhile Henry appoints his most trusted son, the bastard Geoffrey Plantagenet, as chancellor and as the latter is ordered by a papal mission to take up (by consecration) or resign his nomination as Bishop of Lincoln he resigns, saying he prefers the secular life; Henry makes him Archdeacon of Rouen and treasurer of York Minster. November. Death of Archbishop Roger of York, who had been in office since 1154; Henry will keep the see vacant for the rest of his reign and use the revenues. SCOTLAND The latest challenger to the current dynasty from the line of Malcolm III’s eldest son Duncan (k. 1094), Donald MacWilliam, seizes control of the earldom of Ross and defies the king. Possibly involved with a plot in 1179 and claiming Ross as the heir of William FitzDuncan (his father?) who had been earl in the 1130s, he cannot be removed by the royal army and holds on to Inverness until his death in 1187. 1182 ENGLAND 22 February. Henry draws up his will, at his adviser Richard of Ilchester’s manor of Waltham in S Hants. March. Henry sails to Normandy. IRELAND/ITALY 21 March. Consecration of the first English Archbishop of Dublin, John Cumin/Comyn, in Velletri by the Pope. He returns to his ex-  employer King Henry in England and does not arrive in Ireland until 1185.

202  Chronology: 1155–1217 ENGLAND Friendly ‘summit’ in N France between Kings Henry II, the ‘Young King’, Philip of France and William of Scotland. April. Henry visits Richard as he besieges rebel castles in the Limousin and summons the ‘Young King’ to join him, though the latter is in no hurry and is criticised for arriving only when the rebels are already negotiating surrender; en route he receives a warm welcome from the citizens of Limoges and they present him with a banner, which may imply that he has been courting local popularity with a view to trying to oust Richard (or has links to the anti-Richard rebels) given what he is to do to undermine Richard in 1183. Early July. Aimery of Limoges submits to Richard’s attack, and promises not to help his half-brothers in Angoulême; his brother Elias surrenders Périgueux to the royal army. IRELAND A major revolt in Desmond (southern Munster) leads to governor Miles de Cogan being killed and his demoralised colleague Robert FitzStephen having to call in new warriors with a promise of fiefs, among whom are his half-sister Angharad’s eldest son by William de Barri, Philip (c. 1140–1200) who was to found the extensive ‘Barry’ dynasty in Ireland. Philip’s brother Robert was already in the invading army as of 1169–70; now he and his recruits come to help FitzStephen, and Philip and his cousin Raymond ‘le Gros’ FitzGerald make sure to secure their claim as the childless FitzStephen’s heir to the three ‘cantreds’ of ‘Olethan’ (i.e. the Irish tribal kingdom of ‘Ui Liathain’), Muschirion Durnegan (‘Musk Donegan’, later known as ‘Orrery’ and ‘Kilmore’), and ‘Killyde’ (Killede) from their current lord, his cousin Ralph FitzStephen. Philip sets up a new lordship and long-lasting lordship there, and is temporarily accompanied by his brother Giraldus Cambrensis the cleric and chronicler. The attempt by Philip de Braose, uncle of the current family head and Lord of Brecon William de Braose (d. 1211), to secure control of the NW Munster sub-kingdom of Thomond, homeland of the Ua Briains, after a royal grant of it in 1172 is a disaster and he appears to have lost his nerve in the face of major local resistance c. 1182 and fled back east, never cementing control there. The new Anglo-Norman lords in Munster eventually have to make do with seven of the 21 lordships of the kingdom, bunched together near Cork, and allow the native dynasts to continue to hold the others in a precarious documented division of the kingdom. FitzStephen appears to have left his Munster domain after the 1182 rebellion and his handover of his lands to his nephews and returned east; he may have died in 1183. The new ‘strongman’ of Munster, with his initial lands centred on the seized sub-kingdom of Thomond

Chronology: 1155–1217  203 in the North, is to be Theobald Butler, hereditary ‘Chief Butler’ of England after his father and brother of the royal administrator (and later Archbishop of Canterbury) Hubert Walter, who not coincidentally was the nephew of the king’s ‘justiciar’ Ranulf de Glanville. He secures a post on the expedition that accompanied Prince John to Ireland in April 1185 and there acquires the lands of Thomond, founding the Butler dynasties, later Earls of Desmond and Kildare. (Approx. date) The new lord of Ireland, the king’s youngest son John (born December 1166), unprovided for in the division of his father’s lands and so nicknamed ‘Lackland’, is not to be sent to Ireland until 1185 and so in the early 1180s Hugh de Lacy continues in command as ‘justiciar’ and Lord of Midhe. He is soon recalled for his unlicensed second marriage to ‘High King’ Ruaidhri’s daughter Rose, and is able to return to Ireland later as just Lord of Midhe. ENGLAND/NORMANDY/ANJOU/AQUITAINE Autumn. Row between Henry and the ‘Young King’, who is demanding full control of Normandy or another of his future dominions which his father denies; he goes to King Philip’s court with an implicit threat of a repeat of the 1173–4 rebellion, and Henry lures him to desist and return with a promise of £100 per day – but no territory. 25 December. Henry holds court at Caen in Normandy after postponing his planned return to England due to his eldest son’s recent threats; the ‘Young King’, Richard and Geoffrey are all there. The king’s daughter Matilda arrives with her exiled husband Duke Henry of Saxony, defeated rival of Emperor Frederick, en route to Compostela on pilgrimage. 1183

Henry takes his older sons on to Le Mans, Angers and Mirabeau on his next tour into Anjou; the continuing dispute over Henry’s acquisition of the county of La Marche (1177) has recently led to a rival claimant, Count Geoffrey of Lusignan (former would-be abductor of Queen Eleanor and foe of Richard), infiltrating it to establish effective control ‘on the ground’, defying Richard and inspiring other defiance, and Henry discovers or is voluntarily told by the culprit at Le Mans that the ‘Young King’ has pledged himself to various barons in Aquitaine. This is implicitly a move by the ‘Young King’ against Richard, and the ‘Young King’ claims that Richard is encroaching on the Anjou-Poitou border by fortifying Clervaux Castle within (his not Richard’s inheritance) Anjou. Henry gets Richard to hand that castle to his father. 1 January. The ‘Young King’ takes an oath to his loyalty to the king and peaceful intentions at Le Mans, and Henry now asks Richard and Geoffrey to take oaths to the ‘Young King’ as his heir to the ruler of England, Normandy, Maine and Anjou – i.e. as the next head of the family ‘federation’. Either Richard refuses as he is the ‘Young King’s equal not

204  Chronology: 1155–1217 vassal and changes his mind to find the ‘Young King’ refusing to receive the oath (Roger of Hoveden) or Richard refuses to swear on the Gospels as this would imply a submissive role to his brother and says that if the ‘Young King’ has a right to headship of the power bloc by male inheritance then he has a similar right to his mother’s Aquitaine too and would end up making that his brother’s vassal which is against Aquitaine custom, i.e. what he has sworn to his own barons to defend (Ralph of Diceto). Richard walks out of court and heads off to fortify his castles; the ‘Young King’ asks the king to make peace between Richard and his rebellious barons on the basis of the ‘status quo’ in 1182 and Henry agrees to this or whatever terms his law court adjudicates (Roger of Hoveden). However, once the ‘Young King’ has sent his wife off to her brother in Paris for safety he heads into Aquitaine to try to stir up revolt against Richard and joins Geoffrey to head for Limoges to win over its ex-rebel Lord Aimery, with one claim (Ralph of Diceto) that Henry has earlier told him to bring Richard to heel so this is not war against Henry too but it still implies the latter by stopping the peace attempts. The citizens of Limoges put up temporary earth ramparts with demolished buildings to reinforce them (suspicious Richard has pulled their walls down after earlier defiance) as the ‘Young King’ approaches, and negotiate to buy time while they prepare. The ‘Young King’ successfully calls on Geoffrey for help, with Geoffrey probably resenting his father’s continued involvement in Breton affairs, and this desertion of the king with no clear cause adds to the Breton ruler’s poor reputation as unscrupulously stirring discontent (agreed by Giraldus Cambrensis, who knows the royal family, and Roger of Hoveden) – Richard says that earlier Henry had told Geoffrey to organise an Aquitaine baronial meeting at Mirabeau to head off trouble and he persuaded or bullied them into boycotting it. Henry has leading suspects in England who might aid the ‘Young King’ rounded up, including the third Earl of Leicester and the SE Wales Marcher Lord William, Earl of Gloucester (son of Henry’s uncle Robert of Gloucester who d. 1147). But there is no rising outside Aquitaine and only a restricted one there, more a general confusion, brigandage and lapse of order as Richard and the ‘Young King’s rival bands of mercenaries plunder. The king hurries into N Aquitaine to besiege rebel-held Limoges without waiting for his army, and he and his escort are mistakenly shot at by the citizens from walls as they approach and have to retreat; later the army arrives and the king starts a siege. Richard speeds across the province putting down local resistance and murdering or mutilating his captives more than the norm for the era to scare others from joining in (Roger of Hoveden). The king’s mercenaries tip the balance as they arrive and (1 March) he and Richard sit down to besiege Limoges; Geoffrey urges the ‘Young

Chronology: 1155–1217  205 King’, inside the town, to call on experienced William Marshal for help as the one man able to save their cause – tribute to his reputation even as a young man. The ‘Young King’ loots the shrine of St Martial in besieged Limoges and goes off to help the Taillefer brothers in Angoulême attack Richard’s local castles, but when he returns to Limoges he is refused admittance and stoned from the walls by the citizens. However, the town holds out and (early May) Henry, short of supplies, moves off. Aided by troops sent by Raymond V of Tolouse and Duke Hugh of Burgundy, a ‘Capetian’ prince, the younger Henry ravages aimlessly across S Aquitaine and avoids direct confrontation with his father’s troops who are now joined by King Alfonso of Aragon; he takes the castle of Aixe but catches dysentery, plunders the holy shrine of Rocamadour which leads to subsequent claims of divine vengeance on him, collapses and (11 June) dies suddenly at Martel, aged 28. The news is brought to the king at the siege of Limoges, and (24 June) viscount Aimery surrenders the town; the ‘Young King’s allies return home, Geoffrey retreats to Brittany and the rebellion collapses. Geoffrey comes to Angers to meet and surrender to his father (3 July), who is en route to the ‘Young King’s funeral at Rouen. Richard harshly punishes the rebels and makes examples of some of them. Henry plans to keep the planned ‘federation’ of the Angevin dominions going, but now with Richard in the ‘Young King’s place ruling England, Normandy, Maine and Anjou and being the legal overlord of Geoffrey in Brittany and John in Aquitaine. 25 September, Michaelmas. Henry requires Richard to hand over Aquitaine to John, now 16, who will do homage for it, but Richard asks for a few days to consider this and slips away from his father’s court to ride swiftly back to Aquitaine. Once there he refuses to hand over Aquitaine to anyone and says they will have to fight him for it, and Henry negotiates but as this has no effect reputedly suggests that John should raise an army and invade and take Aquitaine; if he does say this, he offers no help. WALES 29 November. Death of the king’s cousin William, Earl of Gloucester and son of Empress Matilda’s half-brother Earl Robert; he is succeeded in his exensive lands, including Glamorgan, by his daughter Isabella who is a royal ward with her marriage in the gift of the king. ENGLAND/NORMANDY/ANJOU/AQUITAINE 6 December. Henry meets King Philip at the border at Gisors; the latter agrees to him keeping the Vexin, which as dowry of Philip’s sister Margaret when she married the ‘Young King’ should now be returned, provided

206  Chronology: 1155–1217 he pays her off and hands it to whichever of his sons marries her sister, his ward Alix. 1184

Disastrous fire at Glastonbury Abbey, the allegedly oldest monastery in England and by the C12th believed in literary myth to be founded in the C1st AD by Christ’s friend Joseph of Arimathea; this leads to a major fundraising campaign by the monastery to pay for the rebuilding and the promotion of the alleged ‘King Arthur connection’. Henry arbitrates successfully between King Philip and his discontented ex-mentor Count Philip of Flanders. 16 February. Death of Archbishop Richard of Canterbury after a tenyear episcopate. Henry returns to England as a revolt is feared in SW Wales; John goes to Brittany and gets Geoffrey to join him in an invasion of Poitou (August) but this is little more than a major raid to amass loot; afterwards negotiations between the king and his rival sons resume. WALES Rhys ap Gruffydd of Deheubarth, anxious to avoid an invasion by Henry, journeys to Worcester to sort out Anglo-Welsh tension on the border, after the local Welsh lords in Gwent have murdered Ranulf le Poer, sheriff of Herefordshire, in a long-running feud which Henry’s ‘justiciar’ Ranulf de Glanville has to deal with. Glanville later makes a reciprocal visit to Deheubarth to deal with disputes between Rhys and the people of Herefordshire and Cheshire (a sign of the extent of Rhys’ reach) in 1186. ENGLAND 18 November. Death shortly after resignation of Bishop Joscelin of Salisbury/Old Sarum; the see is kept vacant until 1189. 30 November – Early December. Major royal council at Westminster; Henry brings his surviving sons together and peace is agreed for the moment. No terms are specified, and the resulting move by Henry to send John to Ireland as its lord in 1185 shows that Richard successfully refuses to give up Aquitaine; Henry has brought Eleanor to the council to tell her to transfer Aquitaine to John but she refuses. The question of who is to succeed to England/Normandy/Anjou is not settled either, and Richard returns to Aquitaine after Christmas with his exact future realms unclear. 2/16 December. Election of Bishop Baldwin of Worcester, ex-Abbot of Ford (Somerset) as the new Archbishop of Canterbury; he is succeeded (May 1186) by William of Northall.

Chronology: 1155–1217  207 1185

29 January. An embassy from the embattled Kingdom of Jerusalem, led by Patriarch Heraclius, arrives at the royal court at Reading to make a formal offer of the crown of the kingdom to Henry and deliver the banner of the kingdom and the keys of the city of Jerusalem and of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to him. His father’s father Count Fulk of Anjou (abd. 1129) had ruled Jerusalem with his second wife Melissende, queen regnant, in 1131–43, and their capable adult sons Baldwin III (d. 1162) and Amaury (d. 1174) have been succeeded by the latter’s equally determined but seriously sick son Baldwin IV, ‘the Leper King’. Baldwin is now dying and only has two sisters, Sibylla (married secondly to Henry’s and Richard’s Aquitaine foe Guy of Lusignan) and Isabella, plus Sibylla’s infant son by her first marriage, Baldwin V. Henry is invited to take the throne and summons all his feudal tenants-in-chief, including King William of Scotland and his brother Earl David of Huntingdon, to a council to discuss the offer. 10 March. The council meets at the English HQ of the Knights Hospitaller at Clerkenwell outside London to discuss the offer of the throne of Jerusalem to Henry. In a week’s discussions the lords recommend the king not to go as he has taken a coronation oath to protect and do justice for his people, and Henry is advised to set up a new Crusade with King Philip instead; he agrees to do this and assorted knights take the Cross. The delegation leaves with some money and the promise of more. SCOTLAND Death of Gillebride, Lord of Galloway; his sons, led by Donald/Donnchad who was a former English court hostage and protégé of King Henry, are deposed by their uncle Lochlann/Roland (d. 1200) who King Henry complains to King William about and threatens to depose by force. IRELAND Gilbert, teenage Earl of Pembroke and Lord of Leinster under royal tutelage as Henry’s ward, dies some time in 1185 and is succeeded by his adult sister Isabel de Clare, Countess of Pembroke, who becomes the territories’ heiress. March. Henry knights John and sends him with an army to Ireland as its lord – and with the intention of making him its king once he secures the necessary papal permission to raise Ireland to be a kingdom for his dynasty, plus a crown. On 24 April John sails from Milford Haven, with 300 knights and a group of royal chancery clerks to run the administration – and the historian Giraldus Cambrensis who gives an overall impression of the expedition as a failure. The inexperienced 18-year-old John fails to achieve the intended task of impressing and winning the loyalty of both the new Anglo-Norman

208  Chronology: 1155–1217 settlers (who are wary of royal control of their semi-autonomous lordships) and the old Gaelic regional lords (whose language and culture are alien to him and his aides). His progress across the country from Waterford NW into Tipperary and thence NE via Meath to Dublin is erratic and achieves little, though he does build new castles and receive the allegiance of settlers and Gaelic lords. His mercenaries are neglected and are defeated in an ambush by disgruntled and ignored Gaelic chiefs, then desert, and John allegedly makes rude comments to his courtiers about the uncouth appearances of the local Irish lords who are summoned to his progress to do homage. He and his friends are said to have pulled their beards in scorn at their first encounter, as played up by the witnessing Anglo-Welsh clerical historian Giraldus Cambrensis. He also accuses Hugh de Lacey, Lord of Meath/Midhe and a potential mentor or challenger, of undermining him and tries to have him recalled. As soon as practicable he returns to England (December) and Henry appoints John de Courcy, Lord of Ulster, to take over in Dublin. John Cumin/Comyn, Archbishop of Dublin (elected in 1181) and former royal chaplain, arrives in Ireland with John’s expedition; he settles in Dublin and there starts the building of St Patrick’s Cathedral (c. 1190) as a new rival to the established Christ Church Cathedral of the old Scandinavian town. ENGLAND/NORMANDY/ANJOU/AQUITAINE Henry sends Geoffrey into Normandy with an army to act on his behalf, which may imply that he is thinking of giving it (and England?) to him; the resultant frontier war between Geoffrey and Richard suggests that Richard now tries to claim Anjou and/or Normandy by force in defiance of his father. When Henry brings his army across the Channel to Normandy a war between him and Richard is expected (Roger of Hoveden). Henry has Eleanor brought to Normandy from her confinement at Old Sarum/Salisbury and orders Richard to hand over Aquitaine to her, its legal duchess, or she will invade it and depose him; Richard hastens to his father to submit rather than face mass-desertions and some sort of agreement is patched up. November. Henry is ill at Belvoir, Lincs, and is visited by King Philip for three days. 1186 Henry and Eleanor travel with the royal court in Normandy for several months, so the story of Eleanor being shut up at Winchester or Old Sarum Castles from 1174–89 is inaccurate. 10 March. Henry, Richard and King Philip hold a border conference at Gisors in the Vexin to secure French royal approval as overlord to Henry’s current succession plans; private(?) approaches by Richard to

Chronology: 1155–1217  209 Philip to get the king on his side and stop any idea of John (or Geoffrey?) succeeding to England/Normandy are refused. Henry behaves as though Richard is his heir to this main ‘bloc’ as well as to Aquitaine, though this is not openly stated and he is probably keeping his options open; the meeting agrees that the Vexin castles that were the ‘Young King’s wife Margaret’s dowry should be transferred to her sister Alix now she is a widow, and so when Alix marries Richard they will go to him (implying that he will be Duke of Normandy by then or later). Geoffrey, ‘left out’ of the succession by implication, is supposed to have offered his homage for Brittany to Philip and threatened to attack Normandy in retaliation (Roger of Hoveden/Giraldus/William of Newburgh). 25 May. Election as the new Bishop of Lincoln of the leading monastic reformer and Carthusian monk (St) Hugh of Avalon, prior since 1179 of the first ‘charterhouse’ in England at Witham, Somerset. The election, backed by the king, is held in public with bishops and other officials as well as the cathedral monastery ‘electors’ present, so as Hugh believes in strictly canon-law-approved elections with no outside influence allowed he insists on a private second election by the monks on their own later. He is consecrated at Lincoln on 21 September, and starts to rebuild the cathedral nave which has fallen in a recent earthquake. Summer. Border clashes between Richard and Raymond V of Toulouse in Quercy. SCOTLAND There is trouble between King Henry and William of Scots over the recent deposition of Lord Gillebride of Galloway’s sons by their uncle Lochlann/‘Roland’. A personal friend of William’s, Lochlann is a far more congenial vassal to him than the autonomist Gillebride; Henry tells William when he visits the English court to remove Lochlann but he fails to act so the English king brings his army to Carlisle ready to invade Galloway. Luckily Henry has other, Continental priorities and accepts Lochlann’s offer of submission to be his vassal, and William escorts Lochlann to Carlisle in July 1186 to meet Henry. William confirms him as Lord of Galloway and grants the dispossessed eldest son of Gillebride, Henry’s ally and former court protégé Donald, the earldom of Carrick. King William has his bride – Ermengarde de Beaumont, daughter of viscount Richard of Beaumont-le-Vicomte (a middle-ranking Norman baron) and an illegitimate daughter of Henry I – selected for him by his overlord King Henry, who has passed on his 1184 request to be allowed to marry Henry’s granddaughter Matilda of Saxony to the Pope who rules it illegal due to consanguinity. He marries Eremengarde at Woodstock in Oxfordshire on 5 September 1186, but they do not have a son (Alexander) until 24 August 1198; if a daughter succeeds her marriage

210  Chronology: 1155–1217 legally needs the permission of her father’s overlord so this gives the Angevins a hold over William until 1198. Henry returns the custody of Edinburgh Castle to William as a goodwill gesture for the marriage. IRELAND/ENGLAND/BRITTANY ‘Lord of Midhe’ Hugh de Lacey is assassinated in July while supervising the building of a new castle at Durrow and is buried at the nearby abbey. Former ‘High King’ (ruled 1166–75) and current king of Connacht (since 1156) Ruaidhri Ua Conchobair, son and successor of ‘High King’ Toirrdelbach, is overthrown and forced to abdicate by his son Conor/ Conchobar ‘Maenmhaighe’ (k. 1189). King Henry is planning to send John back to Ireland, with the death of de Lacey removing someone who John has been complaining about as allegedly undermining him in 1185; Henry’s mission to Rome to get permission to raise it to a kingdom for John receives a favourable welcome from the new Pope Honorius. John is about to embark when this is cancelled by news of Geoffrey’s surprise death (19 August) in an accident at a tournament in Paris, aged 28. Geoffrey’s death leaves Duchess Constance a widow, pregnant with a small daughter (Eleanor); Henry now keeps John in England as a counter to Richard as his potential successor. There is also a renewal of hostility with Philip of France, who demands as Geoffrey’s overlord that he should have custody of Geoffrey’s daughters and be regent of Brittany until either Constance’s unborn child (if male) is adult or he arranges marriage and co-rule for her eldest daughter (if she is left as heir by the new baby being female), which Henry ignores. September. Philip complains that Richard has illegally invaded Toulouse lands (Quercy?) and Henry must order him out, and threatens to invade Normandy. Henry sends his justiciar Ranulf de Glanville, his trusted adviser William de Mandeville Earl of Essex (younger son of the brigand Earl Geoffrey who d. 1144) and Archbishop Walter of Rouen to Philip to preserve peace but avoid handing over Constance’s daughters and Brittany; a truce is precariously arranged. 1187

February. To reassure Philip, Henry repeats his earlier promises that his ward and reputed mistress Princess Alix of France, Philip’s sister, will soon be married to her fiancé Richard. But this is not carried out; it is possible that behind the scenes Richard is now less willing, as there were stories circulating among the French troubadours before Henry’s death in 1189 that he now intended to marry King Sancho of Navarre’s sister Berengaria.

Chronology: 1155–1217  211 29 March. Birth at Nantes of Geoffrey’s posthumous son by Constance, Arthur, who becomes Duke of Brittany under his mother’s regency. May. Philip invades Berry, takes Issoudun and Fréteval by prior arrangement with their lords, and besieges Châteauroux; Henry brings up a large army to confront him, but Philip stands firm. Both are too cautious to fight, and Cardinal Octavian’s papal mediators shuffle between the two armies but cannot shift Philip from demanding his rights over the Berry borders as its overlord and his contention that as his vassal Henry should obey him. Philip tries to suborn Richard via a personal appeal to think of his future and what good pleasing his long-term overlord will do, brought by the Count of Flanders. Richard arranges a truce, and then accompanies Philip to Paris for festivities; it is on this occasion that Roger of Hoveden says they shared a bed. Giraldus claims that Philip tells Richard he has ‘proof’ that Henry plans to marry Alix off to John and make him his heir instead, and when Richard leaves he proceeds to Anjou to stock up arsenals in his castles and ignores a summons to see his father. SCOTLAND A royal military expedition under Lochlann of Galloway defeats rebel Earl Duncan MacWilliam of Ross at the Battle of ‘Mam Garvia’ (near Dingwall?) but fails to dislodge him from the earldom. Duncan – who may have a link to the long-term royal challengers, the MacHeth dynasty – dies later that year, but surviving relatives will cause further trouble. PALESTINE/FRANCE 3–4 July. Catastrophic defeat at the ‘Horns of Hattin’ (by the Sea of Galilee) of the army of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, led by its king (since 1186) Guy of Lusignan the hereditary turbulent vassal of the Dukes of Aquitaine and past foe of Richard and would-be kidnapper of Eleanor. This leaves the kingdom defenceless, and the victor, Saladin (Salah-ad-Din Yusuf) proceeds to besiege Jerusalem which has to surrender (2 October). The news makes the next Crusade urgent and this puts pressure on Henry, Philip and Richard to stop their feuds and head to Palestine to recover the Holy City. Richard takes the Cross at Tours Cathedral, and writes to Henry asking him to have the great men of his dominions swear allegiance to him (i.e. as heir) before he leaves showing that he does not trust his father not to give all his lands to John. The king is reportedly shocked by the prospect of Richard leaving quickly, and proposes that they go together; Philip insists that Richard and Alix be married before he will consider leaving for Crusade.

212  Chronology: 1155–1217 ISLE OF MAN On the death of King Godred (ruled 1153–6, 1164–87) on 10 November, probably in his 50s or early 60s, his adult illegitimate son Ragnald seizes power at the invitation of leading Manxmen who sent to recall him from his exile or governorship in the Hebrides, denying the kingdom to Godred’s legitimate son Olaf II ‘the Black’ despite Godred’s express wishes. Olaf is declared too young to rule as he is only ten, and has to make do with Lewis in the Outer Hebrides once he is an adult. 1188 ENGLAND/FRANCE January. Archbishop Josias of Tyre, as the Kingdom of Jerusalem’s representative in rallying recruits for a rescue expedition, meets Henry II and King Philip of France at the traditional Norman/French truce meeting site of Gisors, on the Norman/Vexin frontier, to plan the ‘Third Crusade’. The meeting is also to patch up a lasting truce after Philip’s recent threats to attack Normandy, while Richard has another clash with Raymond V of Toulouse over him maltreating Poitevin merchants and arresting some Angevin knights en route home from Compostela. Many of the nobility of both kingdoms who are at the Gisors meeting take the Cross too, and it is decided that despite their long enmity Henry’s and Philip’s armies will march together. Late January. Henry holds a council at Le Mans to raise a special tax for the Crusade, the ‘Saladin Tithe’; Henry then sails to England to make arrangements there, and holds a council at Geddington. The tax for the Crusade (10% on goods) is bitterly resisted in England. Josias leaves France for Italy. February/March? Richard faces revolt from restive barons in Aquitaine, possibly starting while he is at the Gisors conference; among the rebels is King Guy of Jerusalem’s brother Geoffrey of Lusignan. Putting down the rebellion, Richard agrees to pardon the rebels provided that they go on Crusade; Geoffrey soon arrives in Palestine. February. Death of Bishop Gilbert Foliot of London, major politico-  religious actor since the mid-1140s and rival of Thomas Becket. Spring. An attack by Richard on the County of Toulouse – a fellow fief of France which has long resisted claims of overlordship by Aquitaine – breaks the fragile Crusade truce in France. As Richard reoccupies the disputed Quercy territory and advances on Toulouse itself Count Raymond appeals to his overlord King Philip, who protests to Henry II; Henry assures that Richard is acting without his permission, and Philip invades Berry on Richard’s NE borders.

Chronology: 1155–1217  213 ENGLAND/WALES April. Archbishop Baldwin of Canterbury’s famous journey across Wales to preach and raise funds and recruits for the Crusade, accompanied (and later memorialised) by the clerical Anglo-Norman-Welsh historian Giraldus Cambrensis. Starting from Chepstow, he follows the South coast westwards via the see of Llandaff to St David’s, and then goes north to Cardigan and across the independent Welsh principalities to Caernarfon and St Asaph. There are around 3000 recruits. Rhys ap Gruffydd of Deheubarth receives him with honour and ‘signs up’ for the Crusade, but is talked out of it by his wife – not least as his absence will enable his large collection of legitimate and illegitimate sons to fight over power. Giraldus refers to the future ruler of Gwynedd, current rulers Dafydd and Rhodri’s late elder brother Iorweth’s son Llywelyn (d. 1240), as already an active politico-military adventurer struggling for lands by this date, aged 12–15(?). (or 1189) The young Earl Ranulf de Blondeville of Chester, conspicuously loyal to his royal guardian the king, is chosen by him for the tricky role of second husband to the widowed Duchess Constance of Brittany after her first husband, the king’s disloyal son Geoffrey, is killed in a tournament in Paris. He thus acts as ‘co-regent’ for Prince/Duke Arthur. His local family lands at Avranches make him a ‘player’ in Breton politics and give him troops to use to help enforce stability in the turbulent duchy. However, he soon separates from Constance, probably at her wish. FRANCE 16 June. Philip takes Châteauroux, and thus secures a commanding position in Berry; in NE Anjou the Lord of Vendome defects to him. Philip leaves the Berry castles with Henry’s castellans in command alone so as not to provoke him, and after his return to the Isle de France Richard returns and fails to retake the town of Châteauroux. Henry, back in England, sends the Archbishops of Canterbury and Rouen and Earl Ranulf of Chester to Philip to secure peace, but hires a large body of Welsh archers for the forthcoming campaign. The Franco-Angevin border war intensifies as Henry returns from England to Normandy (11 July) and Philip refuses to call a truce; as Henry hangs back from confrontation and keeps his main army immobile at Alençon but sends Richard to retake lost castles in Berry, Philip raids his borderlands in E Anjou and S Normandy. In this campaign the famous elm tree at Gisors marking the usual truce meeting site is cut down by Philip as a provocation after an abortive meeting at the site sees Philip only offer to exchange his gains in Berry

214  Chronology: 1155–1217 for Richard’s gains in Toulouse and the English turn it down. On Richard’s arrival in his father’s camp Henry moves forward into the Vexin (30 August) and raids Philip’s base at Mantes; skirmishes continue into the autumn. 7 October. Truce meeting between Henry, Richard and Philip at Châtillon-sur-Indre in E Anjou, where Richard alarms his father by showing signs of moving towards alliance with Philip as he proposes that he will accept the judgments of the French legal court in such border disputes. This explicit recognition of French overlordship of Anjou and Aquitaine – and legal right to interfere – will weaken the Angevin autonomy from France, but it is in Richard’s favour for the forthcoming succession to Henry’s French dominions. As ‘overlord’ of Angevin lands in France, Philip can refuse to accept any grant of them to Richard’s younger brother John. Philip also demands custody of the castle of Pacy as a guarantee that Henry will abide by the forthcoming agreement, which he refuses. Richard allegedly accuses Henry of wanting to disinherit him in John’s favour. On 18–20 November, a second Angevin-French meeting at Bonmoulins sees Philip demand that Henry cease holding up his refusal to let his ward and alleged mistress, Princess Alix of France (Philip’s half-sister), marry Richard. By the third meeting (the 20th) edgy knights at the meeting are fingering their swords as high words are exchanged. Richard insists he should not exchange revenue-rich lands in Berry for poorer ones in Quercy. But now he suddenly does homage to Philip for all of Henry’s French dominions, thus securing his legal backing as overlord for his succession whatever Henry may decide, and Henry is furious. A truce is agreed until January 1189, but war looms again. Henry heads to Aquitaine to check up that his castellans there are ready for attacks, while his bastard son Geoffrey does likewise in Anjou. 25 December. Henry holds court at Saumur. According to later memories by William Marshal, Henry sends that trusted adviser to Paris to try to win Philip round but he finds that Richard’s adviser and envoy William Longchamp is already there and being successful. December. Death of Richard of Ilchester, Bishop of Winchester (since April 1173). 1189 ENGLAND May. The main fleet leaves Dartmouth en route for the Mediterranean. Whitsun. The papal envoy, John of Anagni, manages to persuade Henry (who missed the planned peace conference with Philip in January due to illness), Richard and Philip to meet at La-Ferté-Bernard in Maine, with four archbishops (Rheims, Rouen, Bourges and Canterbury) to arbitrate. However, Richard and Philip demand that Alix be handed over to

Chronology: 1155–1217  215 Richard by Henry, Richard be recognised as heir to all Henry’s domains, and John join the Crusade so he cannot stage a revolt once Richard has left – Richard refuses to leave for Crusade without his brother. Henry refuses these terms, and Philip defies the threat of a papal interdict if he refuses peace and claims that the legate has been bribed by Henry. The conference breaks up. On 12 June, Richard and Philip join forces to stage a surprise attack on Henry at Le Mans, and the ailing king has to flee his birthplace which has caught fire as fires which the citizens started in the suburbs to keep the attacker back spread via sparks inside the walls. The allies pursue Henry north towards Normandy, and Richard is confronted and nearly killed by the great English model of chivalry, William Marshal, as he attacks Henry’s rearguard. According to William Marshal, he could have killed Richard but chose to obey his request for mercy and killed his horse instead. June. Death in Germany of Henry’s and Eleanor’s daughter Duchess Matilda of Saxony, aged 34. Henry returns towards Anjou, possibly as he knows he is dying, and sends his bastard son Geoffrey on to Normandy to prepare the garrisons for attack; the allies pursue Henry and (3 July) sack Tours, while Henry lies sick at Chinon. 4 July. Henry has to ride out via a Templar house at Ballan near Tours to the nearby village of Colombières to agree to peace terms demanded by Richard and Philip, which include the setting of a date for the departure of all three for Crusade as Lent 1190 at Vézelay. All Henry’s subjects are to swear allegiance to Richard as heir, and Alix is to be handed over to a guardian named by Richard and married to him after the Crusade; Philip gets 20,000 ‘marks’ indemnity plus three Vexin castles as pledges of good faith. Henry refuses an offer from the worried Philip to sit on a mattress on the ground as he can barely ride, and has to leave the meeting in a litter as he is too ill to ride back, allegedly swearing about Richard’s treachery. 5 July. Henry has a list brought to him at Chinon by his vice-chancellor Roger Malchat of who has left his crumbling court to join Richard – headed by his youngest son John. REIGN OF KING RICHARD I: 1189–99 6 July. Death of Henry II at Chinon, aged 56; Richard succeeds to all the Angevin ‘empire’ and confirms Henry’s promise of the county of Mortain in Normandy (once held by William I’s half-brother) to John, who has arrived at his base in a hurry from Chinon while Henry II is still alive – which is cited against him as an example of his faithlessness. William Marshal sends a messenger to Richard to tell him he is now king. As executor of the royal will, William is at Fontevraud Abbey (the Angevin

216  Chronology: 1155–1217 dynastic mausoleum) to organise the funeral (10 July), originally intended by Henry for Grandmont, when Richard arrives. The Histoire de Guillaume le Marechal says that William is alarmed at Richard’s arrival lest he be arrested for nearly killing Richard in their recent battlefield encounter but the new king assures him ‘You are pardoned, I bear you no malice’ and they are reconciled. Richard now takes over the royal wards on his accession, and immediately confirms the arrangement to marry William to Isabel de Clare, Countess of Pembroke and Lady of Leinster. They are married a few weeks later, with the Histoire saying that as soon as he had permission William rushed from the king’s side to Dieppe to take a boat to London and hurry to the Tower of London where Isabel and other ‘high-status’ wards and hostages were kept by Henry II. William is around 25 years older than his wife; they have five sons (who all succeeded to the Pembroke title and died without children in turn) and two daughters. Richard orders Eleanor’s release from surveillance and return in honour to the royal court; she returns to Westminster and takes oaths of fealty from the English elite before the new king’s arrival, restoring estates confiscated by Henry in 1174 to her and the ‘Young King’s then ally Earl Robert of Leicester. 20 July. Richard’s inauguration ceremony as Duke of Normandy at Rouen; he orders the Church authorities at York to elect his half-brother Geoffrey as their new archbishop, which will secure the archdiocese under a loyal Angevin but also make Geoffrey ineligible for the throne as a cleric. On 22 July, Richard and Philip hold another conference at Gisors, and confirm the Crusade arrangements and that Richard will pay Henry’s promised 20,000 ‘marks’ pension to Philip plus an extra 4000 to help the French Crusade. Richard confirms he is to marry Alix; Richard sails to England and (13 August) lands at Portsmouth. The other major royal marital arrangements concerning royal wards as heiresses see Prince John, who joins Richard and Eleanor at Winchester en route to Marlborough in August, married off at Marlborough Castle on 28 August to the bride his father promised him in 1176 – Isabella of Gloucester, daughter and (November 1183) successor of the late Earl William, son of Earl Robert, who was her bridegroom’s cousin which could be used later to claim that the marriage broke Church canon law. As well as holding the earldom and its lordship of Glamorgan plus Newport Castle, Isabella is the owner of Bristol with its strategically important castle on the River Avon. Richard adds extra lands and castles for John – the counties of Derby and Nottingham and later on Devon, Cornwall, Somerset and Dorset and the castles of Tickhill and Peverel (Derbyshire), Wallingford, Ludgershall in Wiltshire, and Lancaster. All this is unfortunately to be the ‘launch pad’ for John’s revolts in 1191 and 1193–4. John is required to reside in France while Richard is on Crusade. This marriage of cousins proceeds without waiting to gain official papal dispensation

Chronology: 1155–1217  217 for its breach of canon law, a cumbersome and probably expensive process for which Richard has no time as he prepares for the Crusade, and due to this oversight the infuriated Church led by Archbishop Baldwin of Canterbury duly puts an interdict on John’s and Isabella’s lands (i.e. requiring all Church services to cease which means no legal baptisms, marriages or funerals and the implication of unblessed ‘sinners’ going to Hell). This is later lifted by negotiations with Pope Clement III when Baldwin has left on Crusade and John’s political goodwill is needed by the majority of the nation’s senior clerics in combating regent Bishop Longchamp of Ely (see 1191), but the couple are banned from having sexual relations so some uncertainty over its legality remains. Richard and Eleanor proceed from Marlborough to Windsor, where they are received by his half-brother Geoffrey whose election as Archbishop of York (10 August by York canons) is confirmed; Geoffrey is replaced as chancellor by Richard’s senior ‘trusty’ William Longchamp. WALES/IRELAND William Marshal’s new lands in July 1189 include not only the earldom of Pembroke (including the eponymous castle plus others such as Narbeth and Haverfordwest) and the ‘honour’ of Chepstow/‘Striguil’ and substantial parts of Leinster in Ireland but also possessions in Normandy. William rebuilds Pembroke Castle in its current form and also does extensive work at Chepstow Castle, but is not granted the title of Earl of Pembroke or all of its lands by Richard and he had to wait until the accession of King John. Early in his marriage he and his wife go to Ireland, where they set up their base at Ross (formerly a Leinster royal estate of Isabel’s grandfather) and build the new castle as well as founding the adjoining town ‘borough’ of New Ross. He later builds Carlow Castle too, around 1210. Assassination at Clanconwy of Gaelic King Conor/Conchobar ‘Maenmaighe’ of Connacht (acc. 1186), son of ‘High King’ Ruaidhri; he is killed by his followers at the instigation of his kinsman Conchobar Ua Diarmait. He is succeeded by his son Cathal ‘Carrach’ (k. 1201/2), with disputed co-rule by the latter’s father’s half-brother Cathal ‘Crovedearg’ (d. 1224). ENGLAND/FRANCE Sunday 13 September. Richard’s coronation in Westminster Abbey. Some Jews bringing gifts to the abbey are set upon by the crowd and robbed or killed, and the news sparks off a riot and a night of attacks on Jews and burnings of their houses in London. Richard orders a halt as soon as he hears and hangs three rioters, but his orders that the Jews are to live unmolested under his protection are disobeyed in various towns; the most serious incidents are at Lynn, Norwich and Stamford in eastern

218  Chronology: 1155–1217 England and the most notorious massacre after his departure at York (March 1190). Mid-September. Major council at Pipewell Abbey near Corby, Northants; Richard sacks Ranulf de Glanville as justiciar (17 September) and replaces him with William de Mandeville, third Earl of Essex, and Hugh de Puiset, Bishop of Durham and son of King Stephen’s sister Agnes. Vacant sees are filled: on 15 September Godfrey de Lucy (d. September 1204) is made Bishop of Winchester, Richard FitzNigel (d. 10 September 1198) Bishop of London, the ruthless senior royal ‘trusty’ William Longchamp Bishop of Ely, and the senior royal clerk/civil servant and future chancellor Hubert Walter (born c. 1160, Dean of York 1186), nephew of Ranulf de Glanville and brother of Ireland Lord Theobald Walter, Bishop of Salisbury (consecrated 22 October). 14 November. Death of senior Angevin royal adviser William de Mandeville, third Earl of Essex (former rebel 1173–4 and Crusader 1177); he has no children so the extensive family lands and castles in E Anglia go to his father (brigand baron Geoffrey de Mandeville, d. 1144)’s sister Beatrice (d. April 1197), married to William de Say, and her late son William de Say (d. 1184)’s daughter Beatrice. William Longchamp is appointed custodian of the realm S of the Trent during Richard’s Crusading absence, and Hugh de Puiset Bishop of Durham custodian N of the river. Richard restores Eleanor’s dower lands which Henry seized in 1174. PALESTINE August. After minor skirmishes with Saladin’s local troops, King Guy leaves his blockade of Tyre in S Lebanon to march south to Acre as an alternative base for his claim to the throne. On 28 August Guy reaches Acre and begins the siege. c. 10 September. Arrival at Acre of the Flemish and North French expedition. Late September. Arrival of Margrave Louis of Thuringia with the seaborne German contingent and North Italians. WALES The years of stability for Deheubarth end permanently with Henry’s death. Frontier disputes break out with Rhys apparently alleging that the peace had been for Henry’s lifetime and seeking to retake extra territory in the Carmarthen region, overrunning Laugharne soon after Henry’s death. Richard’s brother John, now married to the heiress of the earldom of Gloucester, arranges a truce while Richard summons the other Welsh

Chronology: 1155–1217  219 kings (led by Dafydd of E Gwynedd, married to the king’s aunt Emma, and his brother Rhodri of W Gwynedd plus Gruffydd ‘Maelor’ of N Powys and Owain ‘Cyfeiliog’ of S Powys) to Worcester. The Welsh rulers presumably promise peace while he is on Crusade. John invites Rhys to court at Oxford to discuss his claims with the king (October). Richard fails to see him which breaches his father’s customary courtesy to his vassal rulers, so Rhys goes home and takes St Clear’s to cut the road E from Pembroke to Carmarthen. Rhys and his warlike sons now seek to extend their coastal territories, and regain Kidwelly in 1190; a siege of Swansea in 1192 however failed. He also takes Nevern, capital of the commote of Cemaes in Ceredigion, in 1191. Rhys also faces trouble in his family from his impatient sons, and seems to have been persuaded by his eldest legitimate son and presumed senior heir, Gruffydd, to arrest Maelgwyn in 1189. Rhys hands Maelgwyn over to his wife Matilda’s father William de Braose (d. 1211), the brutal and expansionist Lord of Brecon and Abergavenny, presumably to get him out of the way – permanently? – in the forthcoming struggle for the succession. Eventually Rhys secures Maelgwyn’s release, but the two brothers remain at loggerheads. SCOTLAND Richard is seeking substantial donations from his magnates to pay for the Crusade, and King William comes to visit him for a ‘summit’ in Kent at his invitation; the king’s half-brother Geoffrey meets William at the River Tweed and escorts him south to join his brother Earl David of Huntingdon at court at Canterbury. Richard-William Treaty (‘Quit-Claim of Canterbury, 5 December): William is to pay Richard 10,000 ‘marks’ to cancel the Treaty of Falaise; he is released from his vassalage and the occupied southern Scottish castles Roxburgh and Berwick are returned to him. Given what occurs in 1191–4, he probably also privately promises to help defeat any plots by John. PALESTINE November. The English fleet arrives at Acre from a foray in Portugal; more reinforcements arrive from across Europe but the Kings of England and France are not planning to meet up until late spring 1190. ITALY 8 November. Death of William II of Sicily, husband to Richard’s sister Joan, at Palermo, aged 24; Tancred of Lecce, bastard son of his grandfather Roger II (d. 1154) and last male of the royal house, disputes the

220  Chronology: 1155–1217 right of Roger’s daughter Constance (and her German husband Henry, Emperor Frederick’s eldest son and heir) to the throne and the Sicilian fleet sails home from Palestine. FRANCE 30 December. Richard, returning to France (Christmas at Bures, Normandy) leaving S England in the charge of William Longchamp despite his unpopularity and alleged arrogance, meets Philip at Nonancourt to confirm arrangements for 1190; however, he prevaricates about marrying Alix as Philip is expecting him to do. 1190 PALESTINE Guy and his rival magnate Conrad of Montferrat (brother of Guy’s Queen Sibylla’s half-sister and heiress Isabella’s late husband William) reach agreement, letting Guy keep his title and the lordships of Beirut and Sidon but Conrad securing Tyre. In March, Conrad leads naval assistance and supplies for the besiegers from Tyre to the siege of Acre. FRANCE 2 February. Eleanor arrives from England with Prince John, Archbishop Geoffrey of York and other bishops, plus Princess Alix who is placed under secure guard at Rouen. February. Angevin family conference at Nonancourt – Richard orders John to stay out of England until he returns and Geoffrey, who he distrusts and knows is a foe of Longchamp, to keep out of England for three years. This may also be the point at which Richard’s possible engagement to King Sancho of Navarre’s daughter Berengaria instead of to Alix is first raised – with some historians believing that as Eleanor was the most long-experienced family member in that region and she collected Berengaria in 1190–1 it was her idea. (But troubadour Bertrand de Born had referred to the potential engagement in a song in 1188 so there were rumours then; had Richard thought it up?) The matter may be raised with local barons or an embassy sent to Navarre to arrange a royal ‘summit’ while Richard is briefly in S Aquitaine that February (council at La Réole, 2 February). 16 March. Richard and Philip meet again at Dreux to arrange their journey to Palestine, now set to begin a little later on 24 June, but the issue of the Richard/Alix marriage is not mentioned; a further delay is requested by Philip as his wife Isabella of Hainault dies in childbirth. Richard reappoints Henry’s seneschal of Normandy, William FitzRalph (in office 1180–d. 1200).

Chronology: 1155–1217  221 PALESTINE 5 May. A Christian assault on the walls of Acre is driven back and their siege towers are destroyed in sorties. 19 May, Whit Saturday. Saladin, recently reinforced, launches a sustained attack on the Christian camp which lasts until 27 May. BYZANTIUM/SELJUK SULTANATE/ARMENIA/SYRIA 3 May. Emperor Frederick and the German Crusaders enter Myriocephalum in SE Asia Minor, site of the vital Byzantine defeat by the Seljuks in 1176 which opened central-western Anatolia to invasion. On 17 May Frederick enters abandoned Konya/Iconium, Seljuk Sultan Kilij Arslan’s capital; he crosses the Taurus Mountains into friendly ‘Little Armenia’, and on 10 June is drowned at the River Calycadnus near Seleucia/Silifke in Cilicia, aged 70. His younger son Frederick of Swabia takes charge and leads his army on, but many nobles sail direct to Syria. The vanguard reaches Antioch on 21 August; Frederick of Swabia arrives a few days later. FRANCE May. Richard is in Bordeaux and then Bayonne, touring his S dominions. Early June. Richard meets King Sancho VI of Navarre (d. 1194), southern neighbour of Aquitaine, and discusses marrying Sancho’s daughter Berengaria, who is aged c. 20 – the meeting and alliance are possibly arranged via their mutual friend King Alfonso II of Aragon (d. 1196). Alix’s half-brother King Philip is not informed. Richard then takes the staff and badge of a Crusader at Tours. 2 July. Richard and Philip meet at Vézelay as promised and (4 July) set out for the Holy Land, with arrangements for Richard to embark his men at Marseilles and Philip at Genoa. They march in two separate national forces, the French first (the English force is larger), to minimalise clashes; at Lyons a bridge breaks under the weight of the English troops and for three days the rearguard is left stranded on the West bank of the Rhône. PALESTINE Conrad leaves for Antioch to attend Frederick ‘Barbarossa’s funeral in the cathedral and confer with the German leadership, presumably to secure their backing for his claims to the kingdom (and possibly his marriage to Princess Isabella). 25 July. Christians at Acre are defeated in an attack on Saladin’s nephew Taki-ed-Din’s camp and Archdeacon Ralph of Colchester, one of the 1189 English arrivals’ leaders, is killed; Count Theobald of Blois, his

222  Chronology: 1155–1217 brother Stephen of Sancerre, Ralph of Clermont, and Count Henry of Champagne are among the major North French feudatories who arrive at Acre well ahead of the royal expedition. Count Henry, as Richard’s half-sister’s son and representative of King Philip, takes command of the siege operations – he is also the nephew of King Richard so will be acceptable to him too. FRANCE 31 July. Richard arrives at Marseilles, his fleet (under Richard of Canville and Robert de Sable) is now at Gibraltar, after a clash with the citizens of Lisbon during their stay there while they were waiting for the Angevin contingent involving attacks on local Moslems and Jews. August. Philip heads along the riviera from Marseilles to Genoa; Richard waits at Marseilles for his fleet which was due on 1 August. 22 August. The fleet arrives just after Richard has given up and left. Part of the English army under Archbishop Baldwin and the ‘justiciar’ Ranulf de Glanville sails directly to Palestine; Richard takes the other part to Sicily, probably to pick up his sister Queen Joan (widow of the late King William II) and possibly to investigate complaints about the non-payment of her husband’s legacies. Most of the army travels by sea, but Richard goes by land via Pisa and Ostia. Late August. Philip sails from Genoa for Sicily. PALESTINE 16 September. The main English fleet arrives at Acre. Early October. The main German contingent arrives at Acre. Autumn. Famine and epidemic in the Crusader camp; Queen Sibylla (aged around 32, ruled 1186–90) and her young daughters by Guy de Lusignan die. This leaves her half-sister Isabella, aged around 20, as sole hereditary claimant to the kingdom and the new queen, and makes her choice of husband the obvious next king. The barons of the kingdom are unwilling to keep Guy as king. Balian of Ibelin, as Isabella’s stepfather, plans to marry her to his candidate Conrad of Montferrat. Isabella is unwilling to co-operate in divorcing her present husband Humphrey of Toron but is bullied into it by her mother Queen Maria Comnena (widow of King Amalric I who d. 1174 and niece of Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Comnenus), Balian’s wife. Patriarch Heraclius is unwell so his nominee Archbishop Baldwin of Canterbury leads the clerics’ discussions on agreeing to a divorce, his role including that of senior cleric to Isabella’s cousin King Richard of England; he temporises as Richard knows Guy (an ex-vassal of Richard’s

Chronology: 1155–1217  223 in Aquitaine) and claims that he cannot give consent as there are rumours that Conrad left a wife behind in Constantinople. Guy opposes the divorce which will elevate his rival Conrad to the kingship. Bishop Philip of Beauvais, the senior representative of Richard’s rival King Philip, and the Archbishop of Pisa (allegedly offered a French commercial treaty for his city) take the lead in authorising the divorce. 19 November. Death of Archbishop Baldwin, while leading the Anglo-Norman barons’ refusal to agree to the Conrad/Isabella marriage and threatening excommunications of its backers; Guy challenges Conrad to a single combat but is ignored. 24 November. Conrad of Montferrat is married to Princess Isabella at Tyre; Guy still disputes his claim to the Crown and Conrad does not return to Acre after the honeymoon. (Before Richard’s arrival in S Italy; probably this year) Discovery by excavating monks at Glastonbury Abbey of the alleged ‘bodies of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere’, as found in an oak tree coffin with an appropriately labelled cross nearby outside the abbey which is being rebuilt as a massive modern shrine. This discovery is duly played up for fundraising purposes as the rebuilding is costly and pilgrims are needed, and modern commentators are sceptical about its authenticity – is it a genuine pre-Christian burial at a pagan holy site with a C12th fake cross? (The ‘sword of King Arthur, Excalibur’ – as named by poet Chrétien of Troyes in the 1170s – duly turns up in Richard’s hands in late 1190.) ITALY 14 September. Philip arrives at Messina. King Tancred invites him to use the royal palace. FRANCE September? Eleanor arrives in Bordeaux en route to collect Berengaria of Navarre, and sends John to England in defiance of Richard’s plans – to keep an eye on Longchamp? ITALY Richard arrives at Salerno by road. He sends almost all his men by sea to Messina and travels with one attendant across Calabria. On 21 September he is reputedly nearly killed by angry villagers near Mileto for helping himself to a local’s hawk (restricted to knightly owners in Anglo-French practice). He has an awkward relationship with a distrustful Tancred as he discovers that Tancred, short of money and lands, has put Joan in custody and not given Joan all that her late husband bequeathed her

224  Chronology: 1155–1217 (including the county of Monte St Angelo) or his own legacy; he sends a message to Tancred to release his sister and pay up or else. 22 September. Richard arrives at Messina and disputes Joan’s dower rights with Tancred; Tancred gives him a palace outside the walls as his residence, a snub as Philip was lodged in the town. Joan is sent to Richard by Tancred with a gift of 1 million ‘taris’. 28 September. Joan arrives at Messina. Philip offers to mediate with Tancred, but Richard refuses and (30 September) crosses the Straits to seize the Abbey of Bognara where he installs Joan with a garrison. He returns to Messina and takes a Greek Orthodox monastery on a nearby island to use as barracks, infuriating the townsfolk. On 3 October the Messinans bar the gates to him after a clash between Messinans and English in a suburb amid rumours that he intends to overrun the kingdom. 4 October. Philip brings the Count of Poitiers, Count Hugh of Burgundy, and others to Messina to negotiate; during the talks some townsmen venture outside the walls to shout abuse at the English and Richard, hearing insults aimed at him through his residence’s windows, orders his men to attack them. They chase the citizens back into the city and seize control of the gates; the English sack Messina and Richard does not call his men off but occupies the town, burning Tancred’s fleet in the harbour. Philip’s and his troops’ ‘zone’ is left untouched, and Philip watches the looting without intervening. Richard raises his flag over the walls (a usual sign of conquest), along with Philip’s as the latter protests, threatens to overrun the kingdom and builds the fort of ‘Mategrifon’ (‘Bridle on the Greeks’) outside the walls. Philip sends Count Hugh to tell Tancred at Catania and offer military support, but Tancred is dubious about trusting him as he is an ally of the Germans who will shortly be invading Apulia on behalf of his rival Constance, wife of their new Emperor designate Henry (VI). Tancred sends an envoy to Richard offering him and Joan 40,000 ‘taris’ (20,000 gold pieces) each as compensation for the money due to Henry II/Richard and to Joan and a marriage between Tancred’s daughter and Richard’s nephew Arthur of Brittany. Richard agrees, and the Archbishop of Rouen persuades him to return looted possessions to the principal citizens of Messina. His promise to defend Tancred against any invasion while he is in his lands means that he is his ally against the German claim to Sicily – and may add to Constance’s husband Henry VI’s hostility as seen when he is taken prisoner in 1192. Richard gives Philip a third of the money he has received from Tancred. Mid-October. Philip, angered by the delay in Richard’s promised marriage to his half-sister Alix, sets sail for Palestine; he is driven back by a storm and agrees to winter at Messina. He is probably aware that

Chronology: 1155–1217  225 Richard’s mother Eleanor is now on a mission to Navarre to collect his new fiancée, King Sancho’s daughter Berengaria; some time that autumn Eleanor meets Sancho and takes possession of Berengaria at Pamplona. 11 November. A treaty between Richard and Tancred is signed; however, Richard’s and Philip’s dispute over Philip’s half-sister Alix escalates bad feeling between them, and Richard urges his mother to bring his replacement fiancée Berengaria to Sicily for a quick marriage. 25 December. Richard entertains Philip and Tancred with a sumptuous banquet at ‘Mategrifon’ fort; a few days later he meets the noted Apocalyptic expert and mystic Abbot Joachim of Corazzo (Joachim of Fiore) and discusses the identity of the Antichrist with him, reputedly suggesting the current pro-French Pope Clement III to local scandal. 1191 SYRIA/PALESTINE March? Arrival of Duke Leopold of Austria, the late Emperor Frederick’s half-Byzantine cousin, to take over the German Crusaders. ITALY/PALESTINE February. Queen Eleanor and Berengaria of Navarre arrive in Naples, shortly after a confrontation between Richard and Philip where the latter allegedly threatened lifelong enmity if Richard put Alix aside (Roger of Hoveden); either Richard or (more probably) Philip has their expedition diverted to Brindisi as Messina is too crowded as Count Philip of Flanders’ Crusaders arrive with them. Richard meets Tancred at Catania, Sicily, and swears friendship; a suspicious Philip joins them at Taormina where he recognises the inevitable and frees Richard from his legal agreement to marry Alix. Richard promises to return Alix and the Vexin to Philip, including the great castle at Gisors – which means that legally Philip has some excuse for his attacks there after the Crusade. 30 March. Philip sails for Palestine. On 3 April Berengaria sails for Palestine with Richard’s sister Queen Joan, as Eleanor returns home; Richard sails on 10 April. Philip arrives at Tyre and consults with Conrad, which is later interpreted by his English opponents as a plot to create a French/Montferrat/ Palestine ‘axis’ to exclude English influence from the kingdom; he goes on to Acre, arriving on 20 April (the day before Palm Sunday). ENGLAND/NORMANDY March. John has been touring his lands in England building up support against the ‘alien’ Norman Longchamp, and has been allowing his followers to speak of him as the next king – possibly in deliberate defiance

226  Chronology: 1155–1217 of the news that Richard declared Arthur his heir while in Sicily. He now leads a baronial revolt against the ‘misrule’ and office-grabbing of Longchamp, who has made his brother Henry sheriff of Herefordshire (infuriating the Marchers) and his brother Osbert sheriff of Yorks, Norfolk and Suffolk. Longchamp has also refused his co-regent Bishop Hugh of Durham access to the exchequer, found wardships and heiresses for his relatives, imposed excessive taxation, and as legate bullied the clergy who desert him. John, encouraged by Bishop Hugh of Coventry who has taken against Longchamp and wants him expelled, now takes the royal castles of Nottingham and Tickhill (Derbyshire). Meanwhile his Marcher ally Roger Mortimer attacks Longchamp’s brother the sheriff; Longchamp leads his army W to Herefordshire and takes Mortimer’s home, Wigmore Castle, but in his absence John moves on Lincoln where royal sheriff Gerard of Camville has been refusing to admit or surrender his accounts to Longchamp. CYPRUS/PALESTINE 22 April – 1 May. Richard is delayed at Crete and Rhodes by bad weather, but two English ships are wrecked off Cyprus and its ruler Isaac Ducas Comnenus (in rebellion against his cousin, Byzantine Emperor Isaac II Angelus) seizes the occupants and loots their property. Berengaria and Joan arrive off Limassol but their parties are refused permission to land. Joan is invited ashore but refuses as she is afraid she will be used as a hostage; Isaac sets up fortifications on the shore to repel any attack. 8 May. Richard arrives at Limassol and lands demanding revenge and Isaac flees into the Troodos Mountains, to Kilani; the Greek and Latin residents of Limassol welcome Richard. 11 May. Isaac visits Richard’s camp at Colossi under truce, and he offers compensation, 100 men for the Crusade and his daughter as a hostage; he thinks the English army is reassuringly small and breaks off talks. Guy of Lusignan, his brother Geoffrey, and other Palestinian barons (including Humphrey of Toron, Isabella’s ex-husband) and a Templar delegation arrive to encourage Richard against Conrad and join him. Leo of Armenia, Bohemund III of Antioch and the latter’s elder son Raymond of Tripoli also arrive. 12 May. Richard (aged 33) marries Berengaria (aged probably c. 25) in the chapel of St George at Limassol, and Berengaria is crowned Queen of England by the Bishop of Évreux. 13 May. The rest of Richard’s ships arrive and he enters Famagusta; Isaac, based inland to the west at Nicosia, sends his family north to Kyrenia and moves to Famagusta. Isaac retreats again as Richard moves on Famagusta, and Richard occupies the town.

Chronology: 1155–1217  227 Isaac is defeated at Treminthos and flees to Kantara. Richard occupies Nicosia, and while he is ill Guy of Lusignan takes Kyrenia and besieges St Hilarion and Buffavento Castles; Guy takes Isaac’s family prisoner as Kyrenia surrenders. Isaac surrenders and is put in chains, allegedly of silver as Richard promised not to put him in irons; Richard loots Isaac’s treasury, and imposes a 50% capital levy on all Greek citizens. He organises a new government under his advisers Richard of Camville and Richard of Turnham as ‘justiciars’, and confirms Greek laws but hands the castles to Westerners. On 5 June Richard sails for Syria with Isaac Ducas Comnenus and family as prisoners; Isaac’s daughter is put in the charge of Queen Joan. He passes Tortosa, Jebrail and Beirut and (evening, 6 June) lands at Tyre. Conrad refuses him admission, so he marches on to Acre. 8 June. Richard arrives at Acre; a three-day truce with Saladin is arranged though Saladin refuses an invitation to meet Richard; Richard is unable to attend a meeting with Al-Adil as he and Philip fall ill. ITALY Late March. Death of Pope Clement III; Henry of Hohenstaufen, now German emperor (Henry VI) after his father Frederick, and his wife Constance of Sicily arrive in Rome, with hostile intent towards Constance’s rival Tancred’s rule of Sicily that will imply trouble for Tancred’s ally Richard. 14 April. Giacinto Bobo (aged 85) is consecrated Pope Celestine III; on 15 April he crowns Henry and Constance. In late April Henry invades Apulia. Naples is then besieged (June?) and Constance installed in Salerno, but Henry’s troops wilt in the heat in Apulia and in late August he starts to retreat; Constance is captured in revolt in Salerno and sent to Tancred. ENGLAND/FRANCE 24 June. Eleanor arrives back at Rouen to take up residence as regent of Normandy and sends Walter of Coutances, Archbishop of Rouen, who Richard has sent home to investigate rumours of a revolt, to England to see what is happening and who is to blame for the John vs Longchamp confrontation. Walter mediates between them and Longchamp is conciliatory as his role as legate has expired with the death of the previous Pope. WALES Death of ruler Gruffydd ‘Maelor’ of northern Powys (so-called from his main territory, the ‘cantref’ of Maelor), after reigning since 1160 and outliving his nominal co-ruler brother Owain of Cynllaith (d. 1187); he is succeeded by his son Madoc ap Gruffydd (d. 1236).

228  Chronology: 1155–1217 PALESTINE Bombardment of Acre commences; Patriarch Heraclius dies, and Richard and Philip dispute over whether Guy (Richard’s candidate, as his ex-vassal in Poitou) or Conrad should be King of Jerusalem. Another quarrel begins over the inheritance of Philip’s recently deceased (1 June) vassal Count Philip of Flanders, and Philip demands half of Cyprus in return for allowing Richard any of Flanders. Late June. Philip has to lead a French attack on Acre alone as Richard fails to join in, possibly due to convalescence or not wanting to weaken his reputation by a failed attack. 3 July. The French breach the walls of Acre. On 4 July, Acre sends a delegation to Richard and Richard sends a delegation to Saladin asking for his terms and requesting permission to collect snow from the mountains inland for refreshment. 5 July. Saladin fails to persuade his vassals to launch an attack on the Crusader camp. On 6 July, a swimmer brings a last desperate message from Acre to Saladin warning that if help does not come quickly they will surrender. 11 July. Richard leads a surprise Crusader attack on Acre, aided by the Pisans but not the French who are caught unawares during dinner; the latter were probably deliberately not told so Richard could claim the glory if he broke in. They fail to take the walls. 12 July. Acre surrenders; the terms involve 200,000 pieces of gold as ransom for the inhabitants and garrison; 450 pieces of gold are to go to Conrad (implying that he is rightful sovereign as Isabella’s husband) and 1500 Christian prisoners (100 named) and the True Cross are to be handed over by Saladin. The terms are supposed to be guaranteed by Saladin in return for the Crusaders sparing the garrison. The Moslem garrison is allowed to leave Acre for internment in the Crusader camp pending repatriation, and Richard, Conrad and Philip enter. Richard takes over the royal palace and Philip takes over the Templar headquarters. The Crusader leaders’ banners are erected on the walls and towers, but Richard is accused of taking down his enemy Duke Leopold of Austria’s banner to deny him a share in the victory as head of the German contingent. Leopold shortly afterwards leaves the Crusade for home, and the incident is traced as the reason why he is keen to seize Richard and hold him to ransom on his homeward journey in 1192. The government of Acre is arranged by a council of barons; Guy remains king until his death and Conrad then succeeds; Conrad is to be Lord of Tyre, Beirut and Sidon and the next king. 31 July. Philip and Conrad leave Acre for Tyre. On 2 August Philip sails home for France. Richard has failed to persuade him to take an oath

Chronology: 1155–1217  229 to stay for three years so the rest of the kingdom can be liberated, and he fears that Philip will attack his French dominions while he is absent; Philip promises a one-year truce there. Richard negotiates with Saladin for the ransoms and handover of the True Cross which were promised in the surrender terms; the garrison of Acre is to be released on payment of the first of three instalments of the ransom, and Saladin shows that the True Cross is in his camp ready to be returned. 11 August. The first instalment of the ransom is paid, and some Christian prisoners are sent to Richard’s camp. There is a dispute over the number of Christian prisoners to be released, and the Acre garrison is not released in retaliation; Saladin offers hostages but demands that all his men be returned now, and this is rejected. 20 August. Richard massacres 2700 Moslem prisoners, held in the camp outside Acre, in dispute over ransoms with Saladin. On 22 August he marches south from Acre towards Arsuf, the Duke of Burgundy commanding the reigning French in the rear, with the Crusader fleet offshore and Saladin shadowing his army and moving south ahead of him to camp on Mount Carmel. Richard passes dismantled Haifa, and (30 August) there is a first skirmish near Caesarea. The Moslems harass his flanks with archery and skirmishes, and many Europeans fall victim to sunstroke and are picked off if they leave the main column. The French rearguard has to fight off an attack. The Crusaders pass unmolested through the forest of Arsuf, and emerge to see Saladin’s fortified camp ahead. Richard encamps near Saladin’s position on the plain of Arsuf. On 5 September, he meets Al-Adil under a flag of truce and demands the return of all Palestine which is refused. 7 September. Richard prepares his troops for battle with Henry of Champagne in the rear, the Templars on the right wing, and himself, the Lusignans, Flemings, French and the Hospitallers in the centre. Battle of Arsuf: the Moslem light infantry attack is supported by archers, but is repulsed from the Christian centre infantry by a cavalry charge. The Moslem cavalry charge and are repulsed, and Richard orders a defensive strategy until the enemy are exhausted. The impatient Marshal of the Hospitallers refuses to wait and he and Baldwin Carew lead a cavalry attack without orders, but this breaks through; James of Avesnes, Lord of Brabant, is among the casualties as the Moslems are routed. 8 September. Saladin challenges Richard to another battle; Richard avoids fighting. Saladin retires to Ramleh while Richard enters and refortifies Jaffa and starts marching towards Jerusalem. Saladin retreats to the city and orders the abandonment and demolition of Ascalon.

230  Chronology: 1155–1217 Richard retrieves deserters who are heading back to Acre as they refuse to obey Guy when the latter is sent to halt them; a rebellion in Cyprus leads to Richard, lacking troops to deal with it, selling it to the Templars. Richard sends Humphrey of Toron, who can speak Arabic, to Saladin to request the return of all Palestine west of the Jordan and of the True Cross. ENGLAND/NORMANDY 14 September. Archbishop Geoffrey of York (consecrated at Tours on 18 August) arrives from Normandy in Dover in defiance of Richard’s ban on him entering England. Fearing he has come to lead a Church coup to overthrow his regency, Longchamp has him blockaded in the priory church of St Martin there by the castellan of Dover’s wife (Longchamp’s sister Richenda) and her men, and when he refuses to emerge he is dragged out and taken to prison in the castle. The sight of an archbishop being dragged out of sanctuary infuriates the Church and barons, and Longchamp insists that the violation of sanctuary had not been his wish and Bishop Hugh of Lincoln excommunicates the perpetrators. Geoffrey is released by Longchamp and escorted to London for a triumphal welcome, and Longchamp retires to Windsor Castle. John makes the most of the crisis, and he invites Geoffrey and co-regent Bishop Hugh of Durham to Marlborough Castle to join them; he marches on Reading summoning a great council there for 5 October, and on to Longchamp’s HQ at Windsor Castle which he occupies. Longchamp flees to the Tower of London, and misses the council on 5 October. 7 October. John enters London to public welcome, and confirms the citizens’ right to elect their own lord mayor; a list of Longchamp’s crimes is read out at St Paul’s Cathedral. At the next great council, in London, Archbishop Walter of Rouen proposes that Longchamp resign as regent/ justiciar; he accepts and hands over his brothers as hostages and then they leave England, with Longchamp allegedly jeered over his hurried and secret departure from custody in Dover Castle (20 October) dressed as a woman. Walter produces a letter from Richard appointing him as justiciar instead, which John did not expect; after this John goes on assorted support-seeking tours of England showing his generosity and goodwill to the elite and the public and is presumed to be drumming up support for a coup. PALESTINE 1 October. Richard announces in a newsletter to the West that he intends to take Jerusalem within 20 days of Christmas; he asks the Abbot of Clervaux to organise a preaching campaign to recruit settlers to repopulate Crusader Palestine.

Chronology: 1155–1217  231 1? October. Richard’s first truce meeting with Al-Adil at Lydda; he again attempts to secure the surrender of all Palestine. 2 October. Second meeting; in the following talks Richard proposes that Al-Adil should be Saladin’s viceroy of Palestine, based at Jerusalem, and marry his sister Joan with the Christians resuming control of the coast as far south as Ascalon, the Templars having all their castles returned, and free Christian access to Jerusalem. Joan, now at Acre, refuses to convert to Islam and Al-Adil refuses to convert to Christianity so the marriage proposal is abandoned. 11 October. In a letter to Genoa, Richard invites the Genoese to send ships to Palestine in 1192 for an attack on Egypt; at around this time (early October) Richard visits Acre, partly to consult and if needed collect Joan for marriage and partly to ward off the threat of Conrad attacking it. 13 October. Richard returns to Jaffa with naval reinforcements. On 17 October he asks Al-Adil to send negotiators, and the latter sends his secretary Ibn an-Nahhal. Apparently he writes to Saladin insisting that the Christians need all land west of the Jordan to make the kingdom defensible and that the Cross is only a piece of wood to the Moslems but vital to the Christians; both he and Saladin insist that the Holy City is too precious to their religions to be negotiable. 20 October. Baha-al-Din the historian is among Al-Adil’s next embassy to Richard. 31 October. Richard leaves Jaffa to rebuild the local castles of the ‘Casal of the Plains’ and ‘Casal Moyen’ at Yasur. ENGLAND October–November. Back in Normandy, Longchamp insists that he is still legally chancellor of England and demands Eleanor’s help; she refuses and he goes on to Paris, where he meets papal legates who have been sent to mediate between him and Archbishop Walter. He secures their support, but Eleanor gets the seneschal of Normandy to forbid them access to Normandy; halted on the border bridge at Gisors, they impose an interdict on Normandy. PALESTINE 8 November. Richard and Al-Adil meet for a feast at Lydda, amid fears that the Moslems are playing for time so they can demolish more castles; Richard apparently insists that his ancestors conquered Palestine so he has a hereditary right to it. 9 November. Humphrey of Toron brings Richard’s proposals to Al-Adil to Saladin, suggesting that Richard could now marry his niece Eleanor of Brittany (Geoffrey and Constance’s daughter, aged around 10) to Al-Adil

232  Chronology: 1155–1217 if Joan is unwilling. According to Saladin’s biographer Baha al-Din, Richard proposes a plan that will not rouse religious hardliners against either party for giving away too much. Negotiations continue, with (11 ­November) the Moslem leadership debating whether to ally with Richard or Conrad. Al-Adil persuades Saladin to prefer an alliance with Richard to one with Conrad as he will be going back to Europe soon and has no long-term stake in or ability to enforce the treaty. Richard is based at Ramleh for six weeks as negotiations continue. During one of a number of skirmishes between the armies’ scouts, Richard is ambushed with a small escort while out hawking but is saved from capture by William of Breaux shouting that he is the king and being captured instead. Late November. Saladin returns to Jerusalem; Richard advances inland from Ramleh. Richard is nearly captured and Earl Robert of Leicester is captured in a skirmish near Blancheguarde, E of Ascalon and SW of Jerusalem; heavy rain halts the Moslem cavalry raids on his army and he marches towards Jerusalem. 25 December. Richard is at Latrun. On 28 December Richard is in the Judaean hills W of Jerusalem. ENGLAND 27 November. Election of Reginald FitzJoscelin, Bishop of Bath and Wells, as Archbishop of Canterbury; he is replaced by Savaric FitzGeldwin, who famously ends a dispute with the monks of Bath Abbey over his authority where they refuse him entry by sending in his armed retainers to drive them out in a scuffle. 26 December. Death of Archbishop-elect Reginald FitzJoscelin before consecration, at the Canterbury see’s manor of Dogmersfield, Hants; the see is vacant again. FRANCE Christmas. Philip arrives back at Fontainebleau near Paris, and soon starts plotting with Richard’s enemies including Prince John. He offers the latter all of Richard’s Continental domains if he will marry Alix and hand over Gisors, but the French barons refuse to make war on Richard’s lands during a Crusade as this breaches Church custom. 1192 PALESTINE 3 January. Richard reaches Beit-Nuba, 12 miles from Jerusalem, but the local barons advise him that it would be dangerous to mount a siege with extended communication lines, Saladin in the city with a strong garrison

Chronology: 1155–1217  233 and supplies, and Saladin’s Egyptian army, undefeated, ready to cut him off; he decides to retire to the coast. 8 January. Richard returns to Ramleh. The Duke of Burgundy and part of the French contingent leave for Acre without Richard’s permission, reducing his forces. 20 January. Richard holds a council, and decides to refortify Ascalon as a base for the control of the southern coast and a possible attack on Jerusalem. He restores Ascalon as a strong fortress but (early February) Conrad refuses to come south to help him, reviving fears of his intentions for a private agreement with Saladin protecting only his own lands. The Pisans, Richard’s allies, seize control of Acre in Guy’s name against the returned Duke Hugh and the local Genoese merchant community, who are Conrad’s allies; they hold out against Conrad’s men for three days and ask Richard to bring his forces north to help them. 20 February. Richard arrives in Acre, and meets the angry Conrad at Casel Imbert en route; they fail to come to any agreement and Conrad defies a threat to have his lands seized unless he does his duty and reinforces Ascalon. Richard negotiates with Saladin (who is in Jerusalem), sending Richard of Turnham who has left Cyprus as the Templars take command there, and Conrad sends a rival delegation led by Balian of Ibelin and Reynald of Sidon. Saladin asks Al-Adil to try to reach agreement and if not to spin out talks while reinforcements arrive; Richard proposes the division of Jerusalem, leaving the ‘Haram al-Sharif’ and Temple site in Moslem hands. ENGLAND/NORMANDY 11 February. Hearing that John is about to leave England to negotiate with Philip for aiding a revolt, Eleanor arrives by sea at Portsmouth. She sends to John, at Southampton, to warn him that if he does this he will have all his lands confiscated for treason and she will back that; he backs down and she proceeds to hold great councils at Windsor, Oxford, London and Winchester where all the barons are summoned to take new oaths of loyalty to Richard and it is confirmed that all rebels will have lands confiscated. John retires to Wallingford Castle checkmated. March. Longchamp returns to England claiming the chancellorship and renewed legateship, and goes to London to attend the council but is shunned by the barons; he has reputedly bribed John to back him. Eleanor heads the council and attempts to restore Church unity by halting the current row between Archbishop Geoffrey of York and his neighbour and legal vassal Bishop Hugh of Durham who he has excommunicated – Hugh is refusing to go to Paris and negotiate the lifting of the interdict on Normandy until this is resolved – but this fails.

234  Chronology: 1155–1217 15 March. Geoffrey stages an impressive entrance with a procession to the Temple church in London for the planned meeting with his rival and the queen mother and tries to intimidate her but she browbeats him into pretending to reconcile. Bishop Hugh is released from excommunication and goes to Paris, but the legates refuse his request so Eleanor has to intercede with the Pope. 3 April. Eleanor and the council force Longchamp to leave England again, but the council has to bribe John heavily on a visit to Wallingford to get his support for this. SCOTLAND King William secures the bonus of papal recognition of the full independence of the Scots Church from the archbishopric of York in the bull ‘Cum Universi’ in March, halting English ecclesiastical claims. PALESTINE 20 March. Al-Adil meets Richard on his brother’s behalf and offers the True Cross, a coastal strip including Beirut (the southern border not yet defined – Ascalon or not?) and right of access for pilgrims to Jerusalem; Richard knights Al-Adil’s son as a goodwill gesture and (April) Al-Adil takes his terms to Saladin. The prior of Hereford arrives at Acre with news of trouble in England; the news encourages Saladin to realise that Richard will have to leave Palestine soon and he plans an attack on the coastal strip’s southern fortresses to improve his negotiating position. 31 March. Richard arrives back at the camp at Ascalon. 5 April, Easter Day. Richard holds a council and announces that the kingship must finally be decided; the local barons are unanimous that they prefer Conrad to Guy, so Richard gives way and sends his half-sister’s son Henry of Champagne to Tyre to collect Conrad. 20? April. Henry arrives at Tyre and informs Conrad; the latter plans his coronation at Acre and Henry brings the news of his acceptance to Richard. 28 April. Before Conrad can leave Tyre, he is returning to his residence in the town from a dinner-time visit to the Bishop of Beauvais when he is fatally stabbed in the street by two ‘Assassins’, one is killed, and the other is captured and says they were sent by the ‘Shaikh’ of the Order in the Syrian mountains, Rashid-al-Din Sinan, in a private dispute over Conrad robbing a ship belonging to the Order. Richard and Saladin are both suspected of ordering the murder to remove their main local enemy, and the Arab sources say the captured killer implicated Richard. Ibn-al-Athir writes that Saladin paid Sinan to murder both Conrad and Richard but

Chronology: 1155–1217  235 Sinan wanted to leave Richard alive as a check on Saladin; the Bishop of Beauvais leads the accusations, and from the outcome apparently tells Philip he believes them when he returns to France. Isabella barricades herself in the Tyre citadel and awaits the arrival of either Richard or Philip, but when Henry of Champagne arrives in the town from Acre the locals hail him as their next ruler. It is suspected by the French that Richard put him up to it and organised the demonstration as the Palestinian barons would still not accept Guy as their ruler, but it may be an unprompted act; Henry insists that Richard must approve. 30 April. Isabella agrees to marry Henry, and the engagement is celebrated formally in Tyre; Richard officially agrees to it and possibly talks Henry out of going home to Champagne instead. 5 May. Marriage of Isabella and Henry at Acre; Henry becomes King of Jerusalem. May. Richard negotiates with the Templars to persuade them to sell Cyprus to Guy of Ibelin; they agree (they have so far only paid 40,000 of the promised 100,000 dinars and the locals are in revolt) and Guy sails to Cyprus as the new king, beginning 280 years of Lusignan dynastic rule there. Richard advances south and (18 May) attacks the fortress of Daron, near (demolished) Gaza, which protects the southern approaches to Ascalon; Alam-al-Din Qaisar retreats rather than face a siege. Henry fails to arrive with reinforcements from Acre on time, but on 22 (Christian sources) or 23 (Moslem sources) May. Daron town falls to Richard’s assault and the citadel surrenders; Richard massacres or enslaves the garrison. On 24 May, Henry arrives with Hugh of Burgundy and Richard hands Daron to him. Richard marches north to Ascalon (31 May), but before he can advance on Jerusalem another worrying report arrives from England (brought by John of Alençon) of a plot between John and King Philip; a Poitevin chaplain, William, has to persuade him to make one final attempt to advance on the city and he says he will stay in Palestine until Easter 1193. On 6 June he leaves Ramleh and advances to Blancheguarde. Richard’s second march on Jerusalem, to Latrun (9 June) and Beit-Nuba (12 June); he waits for Henry to return with reinforcements. Richard sights the city from the hills near Emmaus, and allegedly covers his eyes weeping that he cannot deliver it; the Bishop of Lydda and the abbot of a local convent present him with reputed parts of the True Cross saved in 1187. On 20 June a caravan bringing supplies from Egypt to the city is spotted by Crusader scouts. Richard (with 500 knights and 900 sergeants) attacks and captures it by the ‘Round Cistern’ 20 miles SW of Hebron on 23 June.

236  Chronology: 1155–1217 Saladin orders all the wells around Jerusalem to be blocked, and on 1 July, at a council in the city he decides to stay and fight. 4 July. Richard decides that a siege of Jerusalem would be impractical and too dangerous, and that it cannot be held long if captured; he sets off back for the coast. At Jaffa he and Henry send envoys to Saladin, Richard only requiring the handover of the coastal strip (minus Ascalon) but Henry requiring all that west of the Jordan. The later pro-Richard Western writers blame Duke Hugh of Burgundy for talking Richard out of an attack on Jerusalem, either on Philip’s orders or unilaterally. 26 July. Richard retires to Acre to plan an attack on Beirut. On 27 July, Saladin brings his army down to the coastal plain and launches a surprise attack on Jaffa, intending to secure it so that Richard cannot retake it before he has to go home. 30 July. Fall of Jaffa town on the third day of the Moslem assault; the citadel’s garrison surrenders and is told to stay put as berserk attackers are plundering the town and Saladin wants to avoid a massacre. A messenger sent on 27 July reaches Acre late on the 28th and tells Richard what has happened; he immediately orders a counter-attack and within hours 50 galleys leave to sail down the coast to Jaffa. The wind holds him up at sea, and his land force halts at Caesarea so as not to be caught ahead of the ships by the Moslems on shore. 31 July, evening. Richard reaches Jaffa as 49 of the garrison knights and their families are allowed to pass through the town out to safety. The rest of the garrison rallies as it sees him, but as he fails to attack at once it continues preparations to leave. 1 August. A priest swims out to Richard’s ship to tell him that the citadel is untaken. He leaps from his ship near the citadel walls and wades through the water to the beach to lead the attack, and the garrison rallies and attacks into the town. The garrison’s attack is repulsed and it sends envoys to Saladin to repeat its surrender, but Richard’s men then enter the town and save the day; the Moslem forces, stronger in numbers (the attackers have around 80 knights, 400 archers and 2000 Italian sailors) but exhausted from the previous day’s storming, are driven out of Jaffa. Saladin’s camp is filled with his panicking troops from Jaffa and he has to retreat inland. 2 August. Negotiations with Saladin resume, and his chamberlain Abu Bekr is sent to Richard’s camp. There is a stalemate over who should have Ascalon; Richard offers to hold Jaffa and Ascalon as a fief from Saladin. 5 August. Saladin attacks the Crusader camp by surprise hours before the main Crusader army from Acre is due to arrive; he is repulsed with Richard leading around 54 knights and 2000 infantrymen with makeshift weapons, defending a hasty barricade which the Moselm cavalry

Chronology: 1155–1217  237 fail to storm. After an afternoon of Moslem cavalry assaults Richard organises a counter-attack by his archers, and leads his cavalry into the stricken enemy cavalry; in the evening Saladin retreats out of range of attack and heads back to Jerusalem. On c. 8 August Saladin is able to return to Ramleh with Egyptian reinforcements. Although Crusader reinforcements arrive at Jaffa, Richard is unable to march due to illness; Richard sends a vain message to the ill Al-Adil to ask Saladin for Ascalon, and finally gives way over Ascalon. 28 August. Bishop Hubert Walter informs Saladin’s advance guard commander Badr-ad-Din that Richard is prepared to concede Ascalon. A peace agreement is reached with Al-Adil’s next embassy, bringing Saladin’s ‘final offer’. On 3 September a five-year peace treaty is signed, and the ‘Latin Church’ obtains restoration of guardianship of the ‘Holy Places’ in Jerusalem despite Emperor Isaac Angelus’ offers to Saladin to keep it with the Greek Orthodox; Jaffa is agreed as the southern frontier of the kingdom and Ascalon is to be demolished. French writers later allege that Richard was bribed to abandon Ascalon, but strategically it would be difficult to defend once he had left Palestine. Bishop Hubert Walter leads a party of Crusader pilgrims to Jerusalem, where they tour the ‘Holy Places’ and have an interview with Saladin; Richard refuses to go as he could not retake Jerusalem by force, and refuses to allow any French troops to go either. Two ‘Latin’ priests each are to be allowed at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Basilica of the Nativity at Bethlehem and Nazareth, and Queen Tamara of Georgia endeavours to buy the ‘True Cross’ for 200,000 dinars from Saladin but he refuses. Richard returns to Acre in a litter after another bout of illness. On 29 September, Queens Berengaria and Joan sail for the West with the first part of the English contingent, and call in at Palermo en route to France. The English admiral Stephen of Turnham commands the small fleet. 8 October. Richard sails for the West on board a ‘buss’ or ‘great ship’; in the meantime, Philip is organising a ‘smear campaign’ against him, particularly over the alleged disposal of Conrad of Montferrat, and alleging that Richard has hired the Assassins to kill him too. Emperor Henry backs Philip, as Richard is an ally of his enemy Tancred; as a result, Richard cannot travel through German dominions. Richard crosses the Ionian Sea to Corfu, but finds that the route across Italy to France is blocked by the hostile Germans (Henry VI’s men) in the Papal States; Henry cannot be trusted not to intercept him in the Alps or southern Germany, and Philip’s ally Genoa blocks the riviera. Another enemy, Count Raymond V of Toulouse, has sent troops to Provence to guard the ports against him and is rumoured to be planning to ambush him at Marseilles. The western route via the Straits of Gibraltar into the

238  Chronology: 1155–1217 Atlantic is too risky for his small force against Moslem pirates (and the strong currents which would require oared galleys to overcome them), and it is mid-winter. 11 November. Richard’s ship sails from Corfu; it is spotted off Brindisi a few days later, but fails to land in Italy or Sicily. Probably warned by Tancred’s envoys, he decides to sail up the Adriatic and head for northern Germany (to his ally Duke Henry of Saxony) via Bohemia (the realm of Henry’s foe King Premysl Ottakar). According to Ralph of Coggeshall, he abandons his warship for two hired galleys. He escapes an attack by a pirate ship in the Ionian Sea. Meanwhile Joan and Berengaria arrive in Rome by road from Naples, but are unable to proceed further due to German troops. ITALY/GERMANY December. Richard arrives at Ragusa/Dubrovnik, traditionally after being shipwrecked nearby on Lokrum Island and vowing to build a church on the site if he gets ashore. He apparently initially claims to be a Templar knight, and is probably on a Templar galley. Later he is shipwrecked near Aquileia at the head of the Adriatic; the local lord, Meinhard of Gorizia, is a nephew of Conrad of Montferrat and a close ally of his overlord Emperor Henry. Claiming to be ‘Hugo’, a merchant, Richard sends an envoy to Meinhard seeking help but the latter is suspicious of the value of the ruby offered to him and sends his Norman-bred nephew-in-law Roger of Argentan to see if he can recognise Richard. Roger does so but refuses to betray him and Richard leaves in a hurry; later some of his party are captured at Udine by Meinhard’s men. Richard’s small party is reputedly ambushed but fights the locals off; Richard heads across Carinthia into Austria, pretending to be a Templar pilgrim and heading for Vienna, but is now hunted by Duke Leopold whose flag he tore down from the walls of Acre in 1191. According to Roger of Hoveden, the conspicuous expenditure of Richard’s party arouses suspicion; he leaves Baldwin of Bethune and most of his men behind at Freisach to pretend that he is with them, and rides swiftly ahead with one companion, a boy who can speak German, and possibly the knight William de l’Etang for the first part of the route. 21 December. Richard is captured at an inn, probably at Erdberg on the outskirts of Vienna, after being held up for a few days by illness; the boy with him is reported for his foreign accent and the expensive gloves he is carrying and is caught making purchases in a nearby market by Leopold’s men. According to the French version of events, Richard is ignobly roasting meat in the inn kitchen when the guards arrive; he is taken before Duke Leopold. Within days he is sent to the fortress of Durnstein,

Chronology: 1155–1217  239 on a rock overlooking the Danube upstream from Vienna, owned by Leopold’s vassal Hetmar von Kuenring. 28 December. Henry, spending Christmas near Regensburg, writes to Philip to inform him of Richard’s capture; Leopold is ordered to bring Richard to the emperor. ITALY Pope Celestine secures the guardianship of Tancred’s captive Constance, but en route to Rome Henry’s men rescue her. 1193 ENGLAND/FRANCE Eleanor is informed by Archbishop Walter of the arrival of a letter from the emperor dated 28 December in Paris informing Philip of Richard’s capture. January. Having heard that Richard is a captive, John arrives in Paris to do homage to Philip for the Angevin dominions in France – and reputedly for England too. Eleanor organises new oaths of loyalty from the elite to Richard. GERMANY 6 January. Duke Leopold brings Richard to the Imperial court at Regensburg, and Meinhard of Gorizia arrives with Richard’s men who he rounded up in Northern Italy. Negotiations follow for Leopold’s ‘payoff’ for handing Richard to the emperor, who wants Richard forced to abandon his ally Tancred. The fact that the persons and lands of Crusaders are supposed to be inviolate are ignored though the English regency government points this out and seeks papal help. Richard is soon returned to Durnstein by Leopold, possibly in case Henry seizes him without paying up; it is to this period in January–February that the story of Richard’s minstrel ‘Blondel’ (a nickname, probably for a Picard troubadour called Jean de Nesle) discovering his whereabouts by singing under the castle tower and Richard joining in, belongs. The original version of the story, in the 1260s by the ‘Minstrel of Rheims’, has Blondel going in search of Richard after his disappearance and searching for months if not a year; the timescale makes this impossible. If ‘Blondel’ did find Richard at Durnstein he is unlikely to have come all the way from England or Normandy, but could have been one of Richard’s entourage in Austria. Hearing of Richard’s capture, his chief adviser Bishop Hubert Walter (in Sicily after leaving him on Corfu) sends to Rome to ask the Pope to order Richard’s release and excommunicate Leopold. He then goes to

240  Chronology: 1155–1217 Germany to join the English/Norman delegation which (late February) a ‘great council’ sends to Henry’s court. The delegation is led by Bishop Savaric of Bath. 14 February. At Wurzburg, Henry and Leopold reach terms on Richard’s handover. 19 March. Apparent date for the English/Norman delegation, en route to Speyer, meeting Richard nearby as Leopold’s men take him to the city. 22 March. Richard is formally accused before Henry’s Imperial court at Wurzburg of treasonable dealings with Saladin to betray the Holy Land (i.e. the rumours of a bribe to sign a quick truce and abandon Ascalon?), having Conrad murdered and breaking agreements with Henry (i.e. alliance with Tancred); these reflect Henry’s willingness to use Philip’s propaganda. Boniface of Montferrat, Conrad’s brother and the later 1203–4 Crusader, leads the accusations. Richard defends himself, and the majority of the emperor’s vassals believe in his innocence; after Richard kneels at Henry’s feet to swear his innocence Henry gives him the kiss of peace and promises to negotiate between him and Philip. 22 March. Henry takes custody of Richard. On 25 March terms are reached whereby Richard pays 100,000 ‘marks’, technically as a dowry for his niece Eleanor who will marry one of Leopold’s kin, and allies with and sends military support to Henry against Tancred. Leopold is to receive half the money and the English/Norman delegation returns home to collect it. Henry also reportedly wants some German Crown Jewels back, which were taken in 1125 by his grandmother the Empress Matilda (widow of Emperor Henry V). Richard is soon sent to the castle of Trifels in the Rhineland, as Henry faces revolt from some Lower Rhineland princes. April. Richard is returned to Henry’s court after his protests at the humiliation of close confinement, after the intercession of his adviser Bishop Longchamp. FRANCE/ENGLAND Lent. John returns to England to a largely hostile reception, sends to King William of Scots for help but is ignored, heads for Wales to collect an army of mercenaries but has limited success, and then goes to the council in London to demand that they surrender the regency to him. They refuse. Spring. John’s group of Norman rebels and a French army overrun part of eastern Normandy; Philip takes Gisors, the great fortified key to the Vexin and his long-term goal (12 April), and the Lords of Aumale, Eu, Meulan (i.e. the Earls of Leicester’s relatives) and Perche defect to

Chronology: 1155–1217  241 Philip, but the king and his ally Count Baldwin VIII of Flanders fail to take Rouen as Earl Robert of Leicester arrives with help in time. Philip regains much of the Vexin which John has promised to cede to him, but his Rhineland allies, local NW German foes of the Emperor Henry, do not come to his aid as Richard has been sending English envoys to them to persuade them to talk to the emperor about reconciliation and funding his planned Sicilian war – which will help persuade Henry that Richard is a useful ally and should be released. Richard duly persuades Henry not to go and see Philip as planned for June. In England, loyal barons under Archbishop Walter of Rouen as ‘justiciar’ drive John’s rebels back into his castle at Windsor and besiege it, and in the North Bishop Hugh of Durham besieges John’s men in Tickhill Castle; a six-month truce is then agreed to raise Richard’s ransom. Eleanor orders the coasts guarded against the expected arrival of an army of Flemish mercenaries to aid John. The latter has to surrender his castles of Windsor, Wallingford and Tickhill to his mother under an agreement arranged by Hubert Walter who now arrives from visiting Richard, but John is to get his castle back by a certain date if Richard has not been released – and all are aware that he could yet become king. 29 May. Election as per Richard’s instructions of Hubert Walter as the new Archbishop of Canterbury (consecrated 7 November); he is replaced in the see of Salisbury 1193/4 by Herbert Poore, Archdeacon of Canterbury (d. January 1215). 1 June. Following the arrival (and ignoring) of Longchamp who brings the official request from Richard to prepare to raise the ransom, Eleanor holds a council at St Albans and appoints the men who are to supervise raising the ransom – Hubert Walter, now just elected as the new Archbishop of Canterbury as per Richard’s written request; Richard FitzNigel, Bishop of London and leading royal bureaucrat (author of The Dialogue of the Exchequer); William d’Albini, Earl of Arundel; Richard’s uncle Hamelin Plantagenet, Earl of Surrey (by marriage); and the first elected Lord Mayor of London, Henry FitzAilwyn. The amount to be raised from laity and clergy is arranged and collectors are sent out, and the money is brought to St Paul’s Cathedral in London. GERMANY Richard, and his advisers now helping him at the Imperial court, manage to halt plans for Henry to meet Philip on 24 June. 29 June. A new agreement between Richard and Henry at Worms halts Philip’s efforts to pay Henry to hand Richard over to him. Richard is now to pay an extra 50,000 ‘marks’ to Henry, though within seven months of his release not before it.

242  Chronology: 1155–1217 ENGLAND/FRANCE/GERMANY October. German envoys arrive in London to collect the first two-thirds of the ransom (100,000 ‘marks’) and take it home, and report back to the emperor; Richard summons Eleanor and Archbishop Walter of Coutances to bring the rest of the money to him at Speyer when it is ready, with a provisional release date set for 17 January 1194 by the emperor. December. Eleanor arrives with the rest of the money in Normandy, leaving Hubert Walter as justiciar in England; she brings along her granddaughter Eleanor of Brittany, who is to be married to Duke Leopold of Austria’s son. (This is cancelled in December 1194 when Leopold dies.) 1194

6 January. Eleanor’s party arrives in Cologne. The release date is delayed, apparently due to a counter-offer from John and King Philip to keep Richard in prison, but after a delay (2 February) Eleanor arrives at the Imperial court in Mainz and the handover goes ahead once Henry has secured agreement that Richard will do homage as his vassal. Richard confirms Philip’s grant of important Norman castles to John, which Henry wants to include in his mediation between Richard and Philip, to keep John busy there. Henry fails in a plan to have Richard appointed as the new ‘King of Burgundy’, the Imperial lands in the Rhône valley/western Switzerland (thus his vassal), but Richard offers to hold the kingdom of England as his vassal instead and Henry accepts; he does homage and is set a 5,000-‘mark’ annual rent. The agreement is probably aimed at reassuring Henry of Richard’s firm loyalty to ensure his release; meanwhile a desperate John has promised to hand over all Normandy east of the Seine to Philip. 4 February. Richard is handed over to his mother, Queen Eleanor, on the payment of all the main part of the ransom; he sets out for his dominions to deal with Philip and John, travelling via Cologne (12 February) and Brabant. February. Fall of Évreux and other SE Norman strongholds to Philip; he heads to N Aquitaine to win over local lords. John reportedly heads for France and Philip’s court as soon as he hears news from Philip that Richard is free. February. Election of William Marshal’s brother Henry (d. November 1206), Dean of York, as the new Bishop of Exeter to replace Bishop John ‘the Chanter’ (d. June 1191). 14 March. Richard sails from Flanders for England; he lands at Sandwich. Richard and Eleanor give thanks at the shrine of St Thomas Becket in Canterbury. On 23 March they enter London to a warm reception, and go on to St Albans and Bury St Edmunds for offering gifts at the shrines there.

Chronology: 1155–1217  243 28 March. Surrender of John’s principal rebel fortress, Nottingham Castle. Richard arrives. On 30 March to 2 April a great council is held at Nottingham Castle, where it is agreed that John should have 45 days to surrender and return to his brother or he will have all his possessions confiscated. Richard restores Longchamp as chancellor. 2 April. Richard and Eleanor are at the royal hunting lodge at Clipstone, in Sherwood Forest – the only recorded connection of Richard to the forest despite the later literary stories of his meeting ‘Robin Hood’ there in the aftermath of his being ransomed. (The connection is first mentioned by Scots chronicler John Major in 1521; the original medieval legends of Robin do not name the king who he met and who pardoned him for his crimes as an outlaw and later medieval ones call the king ‘Edward’.) ENGLAND/SCOTLAND Having helped to pay King Richard’s ransom, King William turns up at the king’s court when he returns home in April 1194 to help him defeat John’s revolt, a campaign in which his brother Earl David also assists from his Huntingdonshire lands. William seems to have been more concerned about the return of his beloved earldom of Northumberland than about Scottish independence, and he asks Richard for it to be told that he can have the lands without their strategically vital castles which the Bishop of Durham will retain. On 17 April he carries one of the three swords of state at Richard’s crown-wearing ceremony at Winchester, and Earl David remains in England then goes to Normandy in 1196–7 to aid Richard against King Philip of France. As William has no son yet Richard proposes to marry off his eldest daughter Margaret, as his heiress, to Richard’s favourite nephew Otto of Saxony in the mid-1190s in exchange for the return of Northumberland, but the talks fail. CYPRUS May. Death of Guy of Lusignan, who Richard I has granted Cyprus, aged around 35; he wills Cyprus to his brother Geoffrey, but the latter has returned to Poitou so the barons elect their brother Amalric, Constable of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Amalric will become King of Jerusalem (based in Acre) too in 1197 when Richard’s nephew Henry of Champagne has a fatal accident and the barons elect him as king (and he marries Queen Isabella). SPAIN 27 June. Death of Richard’s father-in-law and ally, King Sancho VI of Navarre, aged 60/1; he is succeeded by his son, Sancho VII, aged 36/7.

244  Chronology: 1155–1217 WALES Rebel Prince Llywelyn ap Iorweth, son of Owain Gwynedd’s disinherited eldest legitimate son Iorweth, allies to the equally resentful disinherited sons of current ruler Dafydd’s late half-brother Cynan (led by Maredudd, Lord of Meirionydd), who also have nothing to lose by rebellion. They defeat Dafydd’s weaker brother and co-ruler Rhodri, ruler of W Gywnedd and Anglesey/Mon since 1170, who has already been driven out of Anglesey by these youths in 1191 and had to seek Scandinavia mercenary help to return, in two battles in Anglesey. Llywelyn takes Anglesey and rules as his cousins’ senior; Rhodri is restricted to mainland Arfon and Lleyn, ‘boxed in’ by Maredudd and his brothers to the south. Maelgwyn, one of the senior among the many sons of Rhys ap Gruffydd of Deheubarth, has been blaming his father for his ordeal when in 1191 he was kidnapped and sent off to the de Braoses of Brecon as a prisoner by his older brother and rival Gruffydd. He now seizes and imprisons Rhys; his and Gruffydd’s younger brothers Rhys ‘Gryg’ (‘the Hoarse’) and Maredudd, possibly anticipating an immediate succession struggle and determined to oust Gruffydd from leadership, then seize Dinefwr. Luckily Rhys is released by an alarmed Maelgwyn and restores order for the moment. ENGLAND/FRANCE 22 April. King William of Scots leaves Richard’s court for home; Richard is heading for Normandy to stop Philip closing in on Rouen, but is delayed by slow preparations of his fleet and fighting between his Welsh and Brabantine mercenaries at Portsmouth (24 April – 2 May). 2 May. Richard issues the first royal charter for the new town of Portsmouth which complements the naval base he has been building there; the town is recently forfeit from Norman Lord Jean of Gisors as he has handed his eponymous castle over to King Philip. Richard finally sails in the teeth of a gale but is blown back. 3 May. Richard and his fleet sail for Normandy; he will never return to England, and his long absence for most of his reign has added to modern historians’ criticism of him for ‘neglecting’ English interests. His strong-willed and highly capable chief minister and archbishop Hubert Walter acts as effective regent – and the administrative developments and effective tax collecting for Richard’s wars in England in 1194–9 are often seen as entirely his, not Richard’s achievement. August. Richard delineates the only ‘official’ sites permitted for tournaments in England (Salisbury/Wilton fields, Warwick/Kenilworth fields, Brackley/Mixbury in Northants, Stamford/Warinford, and Blyth/Tickhill in Notts), all run by officials led by Earl William of Salisbury – to

Chronology: 1155–1217  245 cut down on unofficial ones leading to brawls and feuding, and to raise funds via fees? 10 May. Philip breaks the agreed May-Whitsun truce in Normandy and attacks Verneuil. Richard lands at Barfleur and hastens to Lisieux, en route to Verneuil, where his brother John arrives at his lodgings to throw himself at his feet and beg pardon; Richard apparently says that he is a boy who has been misled by his elders, showing patronising contempt (John is 27), and forgives him but keeps all his castles and holds his lands too for some months. 21 May. Richard meets an envoy from the garrison of Verneuil sent to urge haste, a few miles from the town; he sends an advance force ahead to break their way into the town, which they do, while he takes the main army east to cut Philip’s supply line and John retakes Évreux and slaughters its garrison. Philip rides off too late to save Évreux, and next day (Whitsun Eve) his remaining troops abandon the siege of Verneuil. 30 May. Richard enters Verneuil in triumph; Philip sacks Évreux and heads for Rouen, but is held up for four days (10–14 June) besieging the small local castle of Fontaine. Philip captures the Earl of Leicester in an ambush and uses this to send envoys for a truce as well as a ransom, but this is refused. Richard retakes Loches, sends his Maine-Anjou contingent to the Maine border to retake Montmirail, and sends some of his Anglo-Norman troops to retake the Earl of Leicester’s (Beaumont) family’s Beaumont estate; Richard heads into Anjou intending to join his wife Berengaria’s brother Prince Sancho of Navarre at Loches, but as Sancho’s father is dying he has to go home and the town falls. Richard reaches Tours, forces the citizens and Church to pay him for his army, and rides on to retake Loches by a surprise attack (13 June). Richard attacks Vendome on the E Anjou border, is tipped off that Philip’s army is coming along the nearby main road, and as Philip hears that his foe is nearby awaiting battle he bolts; Richard pursues his army. Next morning (4 July) Richard catches and mauls Philip’s rearguard near Fréteval, and the entire royal baggage train with the royal archives is taken. Richard drives back the rebels in E Aquitaine and defeats the Count of Angoulême, taking his eponymous town; Philip heads north and manages to surprise John and the Earl of Arundel at Vaudreuil and retake that town. 23 July. Richard and Philip, exhausted, agree a truce until November 1195 at Tillières, as negotiated by Longchamp; each side keeps its current lands so Philip can hold onto Vaudreuil, Eu, Arques, Gournay and other border towns (especially in SE and NE Normandy) plus Gisors and the Vexin. Richard is allowed to rebuild only four recently reoccupied castles (e.g. Dincourt), but Philip ends up demolishing some that he

246  Chronology: 1155–1217 holds out of fear of losing them to the next Angevin attack after he hears that Richard and Emperor Henry are negotiating for Henry to invade France in 1195. IRELAND Death of King Domnhall ‘Mor’ (‘the Great’) of Munster, aged c. 54 and ruler since 1168, whose marriage to a daughter of the late ‘High King’ Diarmait mac Murchada of Leinster gives him a link to the de Clares (and to Countess Isabella of Pembroke, his wife’s niece); the Anglo-Norman lords treat the kingdom as defunct but his son Donnchadh is recognised as King of Thomond (NW Munster) in 1198. WALES Late 1194? Llywelyn ap Iorweth of W Gwynedd, aided by his cousins from Arfon/Anglesey, invades his uncle Dafydd’s lands and defeats him in a battle on the River Conwy, their border. This leaves him as senior among the princes of the royal house in resources as well as ability, and he probably lures assorted lords of Dafydd’s kingdom to his side given the ease with which he is soon able to depose him. 1195 ENGLAND/FRANCE 3 March. Death of Hugh de Puiset, Bishop of Durham (since 1153) and co-chief justiciar 1189–90; he is succeeded by Philip of Poitiers (elected November 1195?). WALES Death of Rhodri of Arfon and Lleyn, which weakens his surviving brother Dafydd of E Gwynedd (River Conwy to River Dee, basically Clywd). Llywelyn ap Iorweth buys off Rhodri’s son Gruffydd with recognition of his rule of Arfon. He reduces Dafydd to nominal co-rulership but in effect his junior partner, having a larger army and the backing of his junior cousins, the sons of Cynan, in W Gwynedd. Abdication of Owain ‘Cyfeiliog’ (acc. 1149 as vassal, 1160 as full ruler) of southern Powys, who becomes a monk and dies in 1197; he is succeeded by his son Gwenwynwyn (d. 1240). Roger Mortimer, Lord of Wigmore Castle in Herefordshire and much of Radnor, annexes the adjacent Welsh lordship of Maelienydd which Deheubarth claims; the ageing Rhys ap Gruffydd of Deheubarth plans to retaliate and has no hope of the preoccupied and overseas King Richard doing justice against either the Mortimers or the equally aggressive new ‘bailli’ (governor) of Carmarthen Castle, William de Braose – father-inlaw and usually ally of his devious son Gruffydd.

Chronology: 1155–1217  247 SCOTLAND King William belatedly asserts himself in Ross, Sutherland and Caithness to build up royal power in the far North and diminish that of the Jarls of Orkney, with new castles being founded and lands granted to loyal vassals on condition of military service. Probably the king’s illness in 1195 has emboldened the autonomist endeavours of long-serving Jarl Harald ‘the Old’ (acc. 1139, effectively from the 1150s), and the latter’s recent marriage to a MacHeth lady, Hvarflod, has implied a threat to the Scots dynasty as well as possible claims on Ross or Moray. William now builds up his new local landed allies to challenge the Orkney rule of Caithness. He also negotiates his daughter Margaret’s potential marriage to Richard’s nephew Otto of Saxony with Richard’s approval, and Richard offers Otto the earldom of Northumberland in this plan so William can get the earldom back into the family but Richard can have a loyalist installed there. ENGLAND/FRANCE July. A meeting between Richard and Philip to discuss extending the truce breaks up in disarray after Richard hears masons at work in the nearby Vaudreuil Castle and realises Philip intends to knock it down before handing the site back; he rushes off to alarm his men and they storm the castle, driving Philip’s men out as Philip flees over the Seine and breaks down the bridge behind him to stop the pursuit (Roger of Hoveden, William of Newburgh, both have the incident undated). Richard rebuilds castles on the E and SE Norman frontier and collects new allies, e.g. the Lusignans who have been allies since his aid to them in Palestine/Cyprus in 1191–2, so he gives Ralph of Issoudun the heiress to the border county of Eu in response to King Philip’s rival claim. August. Abortive second meeting between Richard and Philip – the latter offers his son Louis (born 1188) to marry Richard’s niece Eleanor of Brittany with the disputed Vexin castles, Arques, etc. to be the dowry and to cede what Richard wants in Angoulême. This will need the approval of the emperor as Richard’s ally and therefore a truce and delay until November to consult him; the agreement is not followed up. Philip now (in August) gives the Eu lands to Count William of Ponthieu, his neighbour, along with Richard’s ex-fiancée Alix. Baldwin of Bethune gets the Countess of Aumale from Richard; Philip still holds Arques near Richard’s reconquered Dieppe. 28 August. A new army arrives at Barfleur from England; after the November talks (8 November) fail, two days later the French attack quickly with a major raid on and burning of Dieppe by Philip while Richard is busy besieging Arques. Philip then goes off to Berry for a surprise descent on Issoudun, but is still besieging the castle after the town’s

248  Chronology: 1155–1217 fall when Richard arrives in an equal hurry, catches him unawares and reinforces the castle. Outnumbered as more English troops follow, Philip has to pull back and agree to another truce (5 December). November. Death of Philip’s close ally Count Baldwin VIII of Flanders; he is succeeded by his less partisan son Baldwin IX, who will leave on Crusade in 1203. 1196

January. Peace talks near Louviers; Richard has by now recovered most of the castles lost in 1193–4 except the Norman Vexin and some border strongholds, and this is reflected in the treaty. Philip has to recognise his foe’s nominees to rule Eu and Aumale and hand back the right to homage over the Counts of Angoulême in NE Aquitaine. Strategically vital pro-Philip defector Hugh of Gournay can keep his Norman lands and choose who to do homage to – and he soon returns to Richard’s side. Spring. Richard summons his sister-in-law Constance of Brittany to his court; she and her husband Ralph, Earl of Chester, are living apart and as she arrives in Normandy the latter kidnaps her and claims her back, leading to her advisers back in Brittany fearing a Ricardian plot to control her and her son Arthur and in reply appealing to Philip for help. Richard invades Brittany swiftly (around Good Friday, when he is noted as violating a holy day to campaign) but Arthur is taken off to Paris to be used as a pawn by Philip. June. As Richard’s hastily summoned new army arrives in Normandy the Counts of Flanders, Boulogne and Ponthieu join Philip and his protégé Arthur; Philip attacks Aumale (July) but Richard replies by taking nearby Nonancourt. Richard attempts to relieve Aumale but is driven back from an attack into the French camp and (20 August) it surrenders; the nervous Philip demolishes the castle as it is too damaged to hold out long. Later Richard is wounded in the knee in a clash at Gaillon and Philip retakes Nonancourt. Summer? After earlier visits to the site beginning in March, Richard starts to construct a huge defensive castle on an island in a bend of the River Seine upriver from Rouen, at the archiepiscopal manor of Les Andelys – which was banned from any castle-building in the recent treaty but he ignores this, as he likewise does with Archbishop Walter’s complaints. This is intended to protect the approaches to Rouen and hold up any future French attacks; however, just because this was to be its role after 1199 this does not mean that this was its sole role and Richard may also have intended to use it as a base from which to reconquer the Vexin. He apparently nicknames his new castle the ‘Château Gaillard’ (‘Saucy Castle’). The archbishop heads to Rome (November) to protest at this seizure of Church lands and Richard sends a rival envoy.

Chronology: 1155–1217  249 There is a probable English initiative for alliance with Toulouse after the deaths of Richard’s ally Alfonso II of Aragon (25 April 1196) and enemy Raymond V of Toulouse (1194); the new Count Raymond VI of Toulouse (born 1156) agrees to an alliance. October. Marriage of Raymond VI at Rouen to Richard’s widowed youngest sister Joan of Sicily; Richard renounces his claims to Quercy and hands over Agen as dowry in return for 500 knights a year for his army if there is a regional war, ending a long border dispute. This frees Richard from the S border threat so he can concentrate on Philip. WALES Rhys ap Gruffydd launches a final offensive in the NE of his realm after the Mortimers’ seizure of Maelienydd. Most of the Marcher castles in Radnorshire are taken, and Rhys’ long reign ends in a final burst of success for Deheubarth. SCOTLAND Jarl Harald’s son Thorfinn invades the Scottish mainland, aided by an unknown magnate called Ruari, to combat the advance of royal power north, and fights a battle in Caithness with royal troops. 1197 ENGLAND/FRANCE January. Richard’s unpopular adviser Bishop Longchamp is transferred from Ely to the bishopric of Poitiers and duly resigns the chancellorship to reside in his new see; he is replaced as chancellor and (elected 10 August 1197) as Bishop of Ely by Eustace, Dean of Salisbury (d. 3/4 February 1215). March. Lifting of the papal interdict on Normandy. April. Richard invades Philip’s ally Ponthieu and sacks the port of St Valéry. WALES On the death of Rhys ap Gruffydd, ‘Yr Arglywdd Rhys’ (‘Lord Rhys’), of Deheubarth (ruler since 1155) on 28 April, aged around 65, his princedom is split among his sons. He is buried at St David’s Cathedral, but only after his body has been scourged as punishment for a recent ‘outrage’ (possibly an assault on Bishop Peter de Leia, appointed 1176 and d. 1198, builder of the present cathedral). His second son Maelgwyn also undergoes a scourging to gain Church support and offset his lack of legal recognition by the clerics as a bastard, in the manner of the way that Henry II has done penance for the death of Thomas Becket. The senior

250  Chronology: 1155–1217 of Rhys’ legitimate sons, Gruffydd, described by Giraldus as devious, succeeds to the family heartland of ‘Cantref Mawr’, but is soon under particular threat from his half-sibling Maelgwyn who inherits Ceredigion and wants more. Maelgwyn, the most unscrupulous of the brothers, is under threat of disinheritance if Church law is followed as he was illegitimate; he attacks and seizes Aberystwyth with help from Gwenwynwyn of southern Powys and captures Gruffydd, who is given to Gwenwynwyn as a hostage and is handed over to the English. Gwenwynwyn then overruns the ‘cantref’ of Arwystli and defeats Llywelyn ap Iorweth and his uncle and reluctant co-ruler Dafydd. Llywelyn ap Iorweth of W Gwynedd imprisons and exiles his uncle Dafydd of E Gwynedd in 1197/8, claiming Church backing on the grounds that as Dafydd’s parents (Owain Gwynedd, d. 1170, and Cristin) were cousins their marriage broke Church law and he is a bastard. Llywelyn drives Daffydd and his wife (King Richard’s aunt) and children into England as refugees to live on the lands Henry II has given them at Hales in Shropshire; Dafydd dies there in 1203. ENGLAND/FRANCE May. Richard attacks the lands of pro-Philip Bishop Philip of Beauvais, NE of Normandy, and takes the castle of Milli. His mercenary captain Mercadier captures the bishop, a virulent critic of Richard’s who the king now throws in prison and refuses to release; this may induce the wavering new Count Baldwin of Flanders to open talks and (in June/ July) he visits Richard and signs a mutual defence pact – neither will make peace with Philip without the other’s permission. Philip thus loses two major allies to his NE. SCOTLAND King William marches into Caithness with the first royal army ever seen that far north, part of it supplied by his ally King Rognvald of Man, and forces Jarl Harald to come to him at Nairn to surrender. Harald is held hostage until his son Thorfinn surrenders and takes his place; William also gives part of Caithness to Harald’s pro-Scottish dynastic rival, Harald ‘the Young’, grandson of Harald’s late rival co-ruler Rognvald ‘Kali’ (k. 1158), in a return to the 1140s–50s policy of dividing and weakening Orkney. ENGLAND/FRANCE Late summer? Richard retakes lands in Berry while his new ally Count Baldwin retakes the town of Arras from Philip (who has confiscated it in 1192) and routs his relief army. Philip has to agree to meet Baldwin

Chronology: 1155–1217  251 for peace talks, and this is extended to a new conference on the Norman border including Richard; the three leaders meet (September, between ‘Château Gaillard’ and Philip’s Gaillon) and agree to a truce for a year from 13 January 1198 on the basis of the status quo. ENGLAND/FRANCE/GERMANY 28 September. Death of Richard’s ally/overlord Emperor Henry VI, now also (1194) king of Sicily by conquest from Tancred’s sons, aged 35; his son Frederick (II) is a baby so he can succeed to Sicily but not to the empire and the next Imperial election is an ‘open race’. This leads to Richard’s Rhineland allies, led by Archbishop Adolf of Cologne, seeking his aid and money for influence at the election and he sends Bishop Philip of Durham and Baldwin of Bethune (Count of Aumale) to the election, backing his nephew Henry of Brunswick (the son of his late sister Matilda and Duke Henry ‘the Lion’ of Saxony) who is away in Palestine. King Philip opposes this, raising tension again. 1198

March. The German Imperial election chooses Emperor Henry’s younger brother Duke Philip of Swabia instead of Richard’s proposed candidate, who is now Henry of Brunswick’s brother Otto (intended by Richard and King William of Scots to marry William’s daughter and perhaps have the earldom of Northumberland, and since 1196 governing Poitou for Richard) as he is in Germany. June. Defying the ‘illegal’ election of Philip of Swabia, Richard’s Rhineland allies meet at Cologne and elect Otto instead; civil war in Germany looms, with Philip of France backing his namesake. At around this time, Count Renaud (of Dammartin) of Boulogne, son of King Stephen’s daughter Mary by Count Matthew, defects from Philip and transfers his allegiance and homage to Richard – giving Richard a ‘clean sweep’ of allies along the North Sea coasts from Boulogne via Flanders to the county of Holland and showing that the autonomist resistance to the French monarchy’s centralising is in his favour in the late 1190s. WALES Gwenwynwyn of southern Powys (known as ‘Powys Wenwynwyn’ after him) attempts to use King Richard’s preoccupation overseas to extend his lands south into the upper Wye valley by taking over the Builth/Radnor area (historically part of Powys), following a prestigious mediation role between the quarrelling dynasts of Deheubarth, but is defeated by the royal justiciar Geoffrey FitzPeter at Painscastle. Famously, his attempt to seize the eponymous castle at that location is driven off by a determined defence of several weeks, led in person by wife of the lord, the younger

252  Chronology: 1155–1217 William de Braose – Mabel (née St Valéry), later to be nicknamed the ‘Lady of Hay’ from her association with nearby Hay-on-Wye Castle. She may have led her troops herself, probably built most of the extant buildings at Hay Castle, and is to end up murdered by her husband’s foe King John – and celebrated in fiction in modern times. While she rallies the defence at Painscastle, her messengers summon the royal army in time to catch Gwenwynwyn outside the castle and rout him. Gwenwynwyn’s crushing defeat is another piece of luck for the rising figure in N Welsh politics, Llywelyn ap Iorweth of Gwynedd. As a result of the defeat, the English are able to send their current hostage Gruffydd, evicted brother of Maelgwyn of Ceredigion/Deheubarth, back to his lands to retake Cardigan and ‘Cantref Mawr’ from him. Maelgwyn of Ceredigion, defeated by his brother Gruffydd, deserts to the English to acquire extra troops. SCOTLAND Harald III, now ruling as King William’s protégé in Caithness, is killed in battle by Harald II who attacks him at Wick as he is fitting out a fleet ready for invasion of his islands. ENGLAND/FRANCE 10 September. Death of Bishop Richard FitzNigel of London, author of The Dialogue of the Exchequer as royal bureaucrat; he is succeeded (elected 16 September) by William of St Mère-Église (res. January 1221, d. 1224). September. Philip breaks the peace and raids the northern Vexin. Richard pursues him by fording the River Epte at Dangu (27 September) and taking Courcelles, and as Philip hurries too late to rescue Courcelles Richard’s scouts spot him; Richard is with a scouting party and sets off to intercept him, and as waiting for his main army to come up from Dangu will give Philip time to escape he rashly attacks the royal rearguard on his own. Philip loses his nerve and bolts for the safety of Gisors, adding to his humiliation which Richard exploits. This victory near Gisors is played up in English sources, though in fact Philip has enough men to launch another raid and to sack Évreux soon afterwards. Autumn. Baldwin of Flanders invades the remainder of his territory confiscated by Philip in 1192 and still held. On 13 October St Omer falls. After more minor clashes on the E Norman border, in November Philip agrees to a truce until January 1199. (or 1199?) The marriage of Duchess Constance of Brittany to Earl Ranulf of Chester is dissolved after she flees from him again; she remarries,

Chronology: 1155–1217  253 to Guy of Thouars, younger brother of Count Aimery of Thouars (vassal of Eleanor in Aquitaine) and alleged to be pro-Philip. IRELAND 2 December. Death of the former ‘High King’ Ruaidhri of Connacht (‘High King’ 1166–75 and King of Connacht 1156–86, abdicated). 1199 ENGLAND/FRANCE 13 January. Richard and Philip meet on the River Seine (Richard on a ship, Philip on horseback on the bank) to agree another truce on the basis of the status quo; there are more talks later mediated by the papal legate Peter of Capua, sent by new Pope Innocent III to get the squabbling kings to come to a settlement and send aid to the Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Historie de Guillaume le Marechal presents William Marshal’s view of Peter as a biased and craven French ally and Richard pointing out that he is only trying to regain lands stolen for him by someone who broke the Crusading truce and invaded while he was illegally a captive. Eventually Peter gets an agreement that Philip’s son and heir Louis (VIII), born 1188, will marry one of Richard’s Castilian nieces and receive Gisors and 20,000 ‘marks’ as the dowry – preserving Richard’s titular overlordship of this part of the Vexin – and in return Philip will abandon Philip of Swabia and back Richard’s nephew Otto in Germany. There is an apparent incident (Roger of Hoveden), if true, in which Philip shows Richard a document sent to him by Prince John offering his allegiance again and Richard orders John’s lands to be seized but later changes his mind in case it is a fake arranged by Philip to break up his truce with John (and get Philip’s ward Arthur to be his heir?). Late March? Richard heads into Aquitaine from Tours to join Mercadier in attacking the Count of Angoulême who is still resisting him and is not included in the recent truce; this also involves the count’s ally the viscount of Limoges. Richard sieges the viscount’s minor castle of Châlus-Chabrol, S of Limoges – with a story in Ralph of Coggeshall that this was connected to the discovery of a ‘treasure’ by the viscount who was refusing to hand it over to his overlord, Richard. This is duly played up later as showing that God punished Richard for his greed. 26 March, evening. Richard ventures close to the walls of Châlus Castle to inspect the siege works and try his skill with a crossbow; he has not bothered to put on a protective surcoat and is shot in the shoulder by a crossbow-bolt fired from the walls. The bolt is pulled out clumsily and gangrene sets in; Richard sends for his mother Eleanor and when Châlus falls he generously summons and pardons his assailant.

254  Chronology: 1155–1217 6 April. Death in his camp of Richard, aged 41, with widespread shock at the surprise circumstances, clerical sermons about the workings of Providence, and the reversal of fortune that saves King Philip from his recent reverses; the story of the treasure does not appear in the contemporary local account of Bernard Itier, but is mentioned in the Margam Abbey annals (S Wales) in the 1230s so may have come from a Marcher baron who was present at Châlus, William de Braose (d. 1211). Roger of Hoveden has Richard being offered some of but demanding all the treasure from the viscount of Limoges and then being killed as a Divine punishment; Richard leaves his kingdom to John. REIGN OF KING JOHN: 1199–1216 10 April. News of Richard’s death reaches William Marshal at Rouen as he is going to bed, after arriving from nearby Vaudreuil where a message told him Richard had been dangerously injured; he dresses and consults Archbishop Hubert Walter, who argues for Arthur as heir but is told by William that Arthur is too young and inexperienced, has no interest in England and Normandy, and is counselled by traitors so the adult and ‘nearest heir’ John is a better choice. Hubert agrees if that is his decision but says that he will regret it more than any other decision he has made (testimony of his biography). 11 April, Palm Sunday. Funeral of Richard at Fontevault Abbey, next to his father Henry II, though his heart is buried at Rouen and some parts at the Poitevin Abbey of Charroux; Bishop Hugh of Lincoln takes the service. 14 April. John arrives at Chinon and is handed the Angevin treasury by custodian Robert of Thornham. He is elected as count by the royal household and entourage, but (18 April) the barons of Anjou, Touraine and Maine with Breton support sent by Constance elect Arthur (who has genealogical seniority as son of John’s late elder brother Geoffrey) instead. Philip invades SE Normandy and occupies Évreux. John goes on to Fontevraud and then visits Queen Berengaria at Beaufort-la-Vallée, but when he arrives at Le Mans the garrison will not admit him and an army sent by Philip is said to be approaching. On Easter Tuesday (20 April), John heads N for Normandy. John heads for Rouen while Eleanor holds Aquitaine for him and Arthur, Constance and rebel Angevin barons led by William de Roches enter Angers. He is invested as Duke at Rouen on 25 April. Meanwhile, Arthur and his entourage have to flee Angers as Eleanor and Mercadier arrive and sack it. William Marshal and Archbishop Hubert land in England and persuade the elite to accept John as king, with new (1198) justiciar Geoffrey FitzPeter the crucial voice in accepting this; FitzPeter calls a baronial assembly

Chronology: 1155–1217  255 at Northampton to swear allegiance to John. Meanwhile Arthur swears fealty to Philip for the rule of Anjou, Maine and Touraine at Le Mans, and Arthur appoints Willam de Roches as seneschal of Anjou in defiance of John’s choice, Aimery of Thouars. John returns to Le Mans with a Norman army and sacks it, as Eleanor and Mercadier bring the Aquitaine army into Anjou to drive back Arthur’s faction; he heads back N and sails for England. On 25 May John lands at Shoreham and makes for London. 27 May, Ascension Day. John is crowned at Westminster Abbey by Archbishop Hubert. Following the coronation, John invests William Marshal as Earl of Pembroke and Geoffrey FitzPeter (married 1197? to the heiress of the de Mandeville dynasty of Essex, Beatrice de Say) as Earl of Essex. June. John returns to Normandy with an army and pushes into Maine; Philip has moved forward into SE Normandy so he has to postpone a campaign to Anjou and the two kings manoeuvre but avoid battle. In mid-August, John and Philip meet and agree a short truce, but Philip demands all of Maine, Anjou and Touraine for Arthur plus strategic Norman castles so there is no agreement. 8 August. Election of John’s physician Mauger (d. 1 July 1212) as the new Bishop of Worcester, replacing John of Coutances (d. 24/5 September 1198). August. First Count Baldwin of Flanders and then (at the royal residence at Les Andelys near Château Gaillard) Count Renaud of Boulogne come to John’s court to do homage; they help to defend the NE frontier so that when Philip attacks Conches (September) John ignores this and heads S into Maine. As he closes in on William de Roches’ Breton army in the W, William opens talks to save his constableship of Anjou/Maine granted him by Philip from confiscation, and on his advice Arthur and Constance leave Paris – Philip has been garrisoning Maine and Anjou castles claimed by Arthur so they are already suspicious of him. John, hearing that they are coming but not why, tries unsuccessfully to arrange an ambush and when it fails blames Aimery of Thouars and sacks him as his seneschal of Chinon. Philip, infuriated at his ‘puppet’ Arthur’s desertion, sacks and pulls down William de Roches’ castle of Ballon and William protests then defects to John, with Eleanor mediating and persuading John to accept him; he and John agree a Breton truce recognising John’s overlordship of Brittany and (22 September) Constance and Arthur arrive at Le Mans to confirm this, abandoning Philip. Philip agrees to let the papal peace mission mediate. John puts the question of the legality of his marriage to his cousin Countess Isabella of Gloucester (who he has not had crowned with him) to a panel of three Norman bishops, and then to a separate panel

256  Chronology: 1155–1217 of three Aquitaine bishops; both agree that the marriage is illegal so he agrees to it being dissolved. The earldom of Gloucester and lordship of Glamorgan thus pass out of the royal family; John probably intends his chief local deputy in the S Marcher region to be William de Braose of Brecon. Eleanor heads south to Burgos in Castile to collect her granddaughter Princess Blanche, aged 11 (daughter of Eleanor’s daughter Eleanor and of King Alfonso VIII) for her marriage to Prince Louis of France, and Count Hugh VII of Lusignan (nephew of Richard I’s allies Guy and Amalric) threatens to ambush her en route unless she accepts his rule of La Marche. WALES King John backs the return to Ceredigion of its expelled ruler Maelgwyn ap Rhys, rival and victim of his elder brother Gruffydd of ‘Cantref Mawr’, as a royal vassal to cement English power on the frontier. Maelgwyn hands over the crucial Cardigan Castle, former Welsh stronghold of his father Rhys and seized by the latter from the Anglo-Norman Marcher warlords, to the king’s officials – an act regarded with fury by patriotic annalists. IRELAND By this point the kingdom of Tir Eoghain in W Ulster has been secured by Aedh ‘the Fat’, son of the late ruler Aedh ‘Lazy-Arsed Youth’ (k. 1177) and ancestor of the later Ui Nialls, after the mid-1190s war against his rivals the Mac Lochlainn branch of the dynasty; in 1199 he stops the ‘Cenel Conaill’ dynasty taking over Fermanagh/Fir Manach and secures it. Aedh (d. 1230) becomes the main Gaelic ally and ‘on–off’ rival of the predatory John de Courcy, Lord of Ulster. Cathal ‘Crobhdearg’ Ua Conchobair (d. 1224), son of ‘High King’ Toirrdelbach and king of Connacht since 1189, is driven out by his cousin and rival/co-ruler, Cathal ‘Carrach’ (d. 1201/2). ENGLAND/FRANCE John restores the vacant Constableship of England to Henry de Bohun (1172–1220), fifth Earl of Hereford. Henry de Bohun is Lord of Caldicot Castle in the S Marches through his father Humphrey de Bohun (d. 1181), a loyal general of Henry II’s who had led the defeat of the invading rebels at Fornham in Suffok in 1173. His mother is Princess Margaret of Scotland (1145–1201), daughter of Earl Henry of Huntingdon, granddaughter of King David, and sister of King Malcolm IV (d. 1165) and William (d. 1214).

Chronology: 1155–1217  257 1200

15 January. John and Philip meet on the Norman frontier and agree to peace talks. Easter. Assassination of the great Angevin mercenary commander Mercadier by a rival commander’s man, during Eleanor’s and Blanche’s stay in Bordeaux en route back from Burgos; Eleanor is reportedly too shaken to escort her granddaughter on to Paris. As the Pope has laid France under an interdict over Philip abandoning his discarded wife Isabella of Denmark and taking up with his mistress Agnes of Meran in her place, Louis and Blanche are married at the Norman border. 22 May. An Anglo-French treaty is agreed at Le Goulet. John is recognised as King of England, Duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, and Count of Anjou and Maine and overlord of Brittany so he forces Philip to abandon his plan to divide up the Angevin domains. But John has to pay a feudal ‘relief’ (accession tax) for his French lands as Philip’s vassal, which Henry and Richard did not, and also to accept that though Arthur is his vassal all questions of the Anglo/Norman/Breton legal relationship have to be adjudicated in Philip’s courts – so Philip can intervene at will to his disadvantage. The Lords of Angoulême and Limoges are pardoned and received back into John’s obedience, Philip receives minor border gains in E and SE Normandy, most notably Évreux, and the disputed Vexin area is made (as agreed in 1198–9) the dowry of John’s niece Blanche of Castile and her fiancé, Philip’s son and heir Louis. Worse, John has to end his legal alliance/homage ties with the counties of Flanders and Boulogne which return to dependence on France – historically correct but the abandonment of Richard’s close allies is a major strategic loss, which has been criticised by modern historians as unnecessary and careless. In fact, Count Baldwin of Flanders will go off on Crusade and end up ruling Constantinople in 1203–4 so this only speeds up his ‘desertion’. There is criticism of John as the incompetent or lazy ‘Softsword’ compared to Richard, as recorded by Giraldus Cambrensis (who thought the king was prudently conserving his resources); it is also an issue for modern criticism of whether the Angevin realms were ‘overstretched’ by taxation demands for Richard’s castles and army by 1200 and John was correct to be cautious. June. John visits Maine and Anjou, restoring his local power. On 2 June Bishop John of Norwich (since November 1175) dies; he is succeeded by the senior royal clerk and administrator John de Gray (elected before 3 September). July. John tours the S of his dominions, crossing Aquitaine from Poitiers to Bordeaux and going on via Lusignan (5 July), where he presumably meets his soon-to-be bride Isabella of Angoulême aged 12 to 15, as well as her father Count Aymer of Angoulême and her fiancé Count Hugh of Lusignan (see below), to St Sever in Gascony. He sends an embassy to Portugal to enquire about a marriage with the royal family of Portugal

258  Chronology: 1155–1217 but does not follow this through, presumably due to his new and sudden infatuation with Isabella; he then returns N along the E frontiers to Angoulême and (late August) Poitiers. 23 August. John arrives at Angoulême en route for Bordeaux – and from the outcome Count Aymer agrees to send his daughter to the city to marry him. 24 August. Surprise marriage at Bordeaux Cathedral of John to Isabella (born 1185/88?), daughter and heiress of Count Aymer – who is a former long-term rebel against Richard and ally of Philip who John had to give back all his possessions at Le Goulet so he could cause serious border trouble. The match ties Aymer to the king’s side without the expense of local military deployment and keeps Angoulême out of rivals’ hands, but it means that Isabella’s engagement to her father’s neighbour Count Hugh of Lusignan (nephew of the late King Guy of Jerusalem and the current King Amaury of Jerusalem and Cyprus) is cancelled and thus Hugh cannot inherit the county. Hugh has just forced the new regime to accept his claim to and to let him do homage for the county of La Marche which Richard had held for years against his family’s claim, and now he is left furious; the question of whether Isabella was only 12 and John had improper lust for an under-age girl is more a question of later guesswork and interpreting his generally poor sexual reputation (e.g. for raping his barons’ wives) this way. For the moment, Hugh accepts John’s offer of Count Aymer of Angoulême’s niece Matilda as his replacement bride. September. The ageing Eleanor (now either 76 or 78) formally transfers her lands to John. 19 September. Election as Bishop of Hereford, replacing William de Vere (d. December 1198), of the Marcher dynastic cadet Giles de Braose, younger son of the ferocious William de Braose of Brecon (d. 1211) and his wife the ‘Lady of Hay’. October. John returns to England. On 8 October he and Isabella are crowned at Westminster Abbey. He takes his wife on a royal tour of the SW as far as his old HQ at Marlborough Castle, then heads N to Gloucester, Bridgnorth, Stafford and Nottingham. John meets King William of Scots for a ‘summit’ at Lincoln. 16 November. Death of the highly respected and saintly moralist Bishop Hugh of Lincoln (born c. 1140, elected May 1186), later canonised, at the bishopric’s official residence in London (the original ‘Lincoln’s Inn’) after falling ill as he arrived back from a visit to his monastic ‘parent house’ at the Grand Charteuse in France. This occurs during John’s royal visit to the city of Lincoln; famously the usually religiously lax and indifferent John attends his funeral as a pall-bearer, but this may be due to

Chronology: 1155–1217  259 personal respect not piety. He is replaced (elected May 1203) by William of Blois. John returns south for Christmas court and hunting in Surrey. WALES Death of Gruffydd ap Rhodri, ruler of Arfon/SW Gwynedd and junior co-ruler of the kingdom with his cousin Llywelyn ap Iorweth; the latter seizes his realm and so reunites the main parts of Gwynedd. Llywelyn invades the lands of and deposes his last co-ruler and effective junior ally, his cousin Maredudd ap Cynan of Meirionydd; he thus reunites Gwynedd but this precipitates a clash with his alarmed regional rival Gwenwynwyn of S Powys. 1201 ENGLAND/FRANCE John heads NE as far as Bamburgh, then SW to Carlisle; he holds his Easter court and crown-wearing at Canterbury. John has the disputed county of La Marche seized from Hugh of Lusignan and occupied by his own men to forestall Hugh using it in a rumoured plot; he is advised by the alarmed Eleanor, residing at Fontevraud Abbey after an illness and warned of a conspiracy by her ally Aimery of Thouars, to come quickly to Poitou. After Easter a military muster is ordered by John for Whitsun at Portsmouth ahead of an expedition to Poitou. He confiscates the Lusignan castle of Drincourt in E Normandy from Hugh’s brother Count Ralph of Eu as it is too dangerous to be left in their hands, and the family renounce their allegiance, defect to Philip, and revolt. Eleanor summons Arthur to Fontevraud and makes him promise to keep the peace, but he plans rebellion. 31 May. John and Isabella arrive in Normandy. As France has just had an interdict lifted Philip cannot defy the Pope who wants local peace and a new Crusade so he agrees to ignore the appeals of the Lusignans and duly receives John and Isabella in Paris; John and Philip agree that the Lusignans can appeal to the French court as Philip is legally their overlord. WALES Completion of the building of Strata Florida Abbey in Powys. Gruffydd ap Rhys of ‘Cantref Mawr’, eldest son of the late ‘Lord’ Rhys of Deheubarth but resisted by his brothers, dare not challenge his next sibling Maelgwyn, protégé of the king, in Ceredigion but secures his murdered younger brother Maredudd’s realm of ‘Cantref Bychan’ and its principal fortress of Llanmyddfri. He dies weeks later at Strata Florida Abbey (late July). Maelgwyn invades and secures most of his lands, centring

260  Chronology: 1155–1217 on ‘Cantref Mawr’, and evicts his sons, Rhys and Owain. But his dispossessed younger brother Rhys ‘Gryg’ links up with the latter to plot revenge. ENGLAND/FRANCE July. Death of Philip’s contentious mistress and ‘wife’ Agnes of Meran, whose marriage to him is not recognised by the furious Pope Innocent – meaning that Philip can restore relations with the papacy and not be objected to when he attacks John’s lands. Early September. Death of Constance of Brittany in childbirth aged 40; Arthur is left in full control of the duchy – and John as her executor agrees to pay her legacies. John negotiates with his sister-in-law Berengaria of Navarre’s brother King Sancho for a new marriage for her to further English influence as part of their alliance and promises a good dowry for her. October. John orders the Lusignans to submit to a trial by combat at his court or face confiscaton for rebellion, going back on his earlier agreement with Philip that he will not stop them going to Philip’s feudal court to obtain redress of their grievances; they appeal for help to Philip and are joined in revolt by other regional Poitevin barons. Philip remonstrates with John, who says the Lusignans can have a fair trial but then refuses them a safe conduct to it; Philip orders him to give three castles as hostages to him, as overlord of both John and the Lusignans, and that he will arrange a fair trial. December. John sends Archbishop Hubert to Paris to excuse his not handing over the proposed hostage castles. SCOTLAND Jarl Harald II of Orkney seizes and mutilates Bishop John of Caithness at Scrabster Castle, for stirring up trouble between him and King William and allegedly causing the latter to interpret his moves on Caithness as treason and intervene. As a result he faces invasion from the Scots king again. IRELAND Cathal ‘Carrach’ Ua Conchobair of Connacht (acc. as co-ruler 1189), who has driven out his cousin and co-ruler Cathal ‘Crobhdearg’ in 1199, is challenged as his victim invades with the aid of their neighbour, King Aedh ‘Meith’ (‘the Fat’) of Tir Eoghain/Tyrone. Invasion of Connacht by John’s nominee and ‘trusty’ William de Burgh (of Burgh Castle, Norfolk), seneschal of Munster, who has been in Ireland since he was on John’s staff there in the 1185 expedition and who

Chronology: 1155–1217  261 by now has acquired Munster/Leinster border lordships (Tibberaghny, Kilsheelan, Ardpatrick, Kilfeade, Carrigogunnell, Castleconnell); he is Aedh of Tir Eoghain’s father-in-law and uses the Connacht civil war to mount a land grab under the cover of driving Aedh out and helping Cathal ‘Carrach’. He proceeds to overrun much of E Connacht in the next year or so, and has probably by now married the daughter of the local ‘Ua Briain’ dynasty king of Thomond (either Domnhall, ruled 1168–94, or his son Murtogh). (or 1202, according to Annals of Ulster) The civil war in Connacht ends with the death in battle at Corr Sliab in the Curlew Mountains of the refugee king, Cathal ‘Carrach’ (acc. 1189); he is succeeded by his challenger, his father’s half-brother Cathal ‘Crobhdearg’ (‘Red Hand’) (d. 1224), the disputed co-ruler with him, who has driven him out of his kingdom. Cathal ‘Carrach’s brother Muirchertach is subsequently killed by his relatives too (1204 in the Annals of Ulster). 1202 WALES Llywelyn ap Iorweth of Gwynedd invades his southern neighbour Gwenwynwyn of southern Powys’ lands but is forced to pull back and accept Church mediation as the border ‘cantref’ of Penllyn’s troops refuse to fight for him. He later arrests and deposes their lord Eliseg ap Madoc for alleged treason to him and seizes his lands, allowing him to keep one castle. SCOTLAND The mutilation of Bishop John of Caithness, King William’s local ‘trusty’, by Jarl Harald II of Orkney in 1201 leads to his hostage son Thorfinn’s fatal blinding by the angry king. There is another major royal campaign north, and the Orkney principality explicitly has to accept a Scots presence in Caithness. Harald submits to the royal army and hands over a quarter of the revenues of Caithness per annum to the king as his overlord. ENGLAND/FRANCE Easter. Philip summons John to his law court to explain his conduct over the Lusignans; John replies that by custom the King of England, as Duke of Normandy, can only meet his French overlord on the frontier but Philip replies that he is summoning him as Duke of Aquitaine and Count of Anjou and Poitou not Duke of Normandy. John ignores this, so when he does not turn up in court on the due date of 28 April 1202 the French court declares his fiefs of Aquitaine, Poitou and Anjou forfeit for contempt of court. Philip declares that John is no longer his vassal and transfers all his French lands except Normandy to Arthur, who (in July) comes to his

262  Chronology: 1155–1217 court at Gournay to be knighted and do homage for them. Philip now invades Normandy – which he has not actually declared forfeit, as the bishops in the overrun area protest as they are required to do homage to Philip and refuse. Philip overruns E Normandy; John assembles his army of mercenaries to deal with Arthur’s descent on the Loire valley and Anjou. On 29 July he is distracted as he approaches Le Mans by an urgent message from Eleanor. Having left her ‘retirement’ at Fontevraud to head for Poitiers and rally her people against Arthur and the Lusignans, she is being pursued by Arthur and takes refuge in the castle at Mirebeau, 20 miles NE of Poitiers. Arthur intends to exchange her for John’s wife Isabella and then barter lands from his uncle. 31 July. Arthur overruns the town of Mirebeau and besieges Eleanor in the castle keep but she has got messengers through to John and to the seneschal of Anjou, William de Roches; after the invaders retire to bed that night John and his troops arrive after a breakneck 48-hour ride along with the seneschal of Anjou. In the early hours of 1 August William de Roches, who is now with John, directs him into the town via an unguarded gate; Arthur is captured by William de Braose of Brecon, and among the other rebel leaders who try to take refuge in the castle but are caught and rounded up is Geoffrey de Lusignan (caught having breakfast). Most of Arthur’s expedition, 250 knights, plus all their leaders are rounded up in a crushing blow to the invasion and John’s greatest military success, as has often been cited by commentators in his favour ever since. Philip calls off the siege of Arques and tries to intercept John’s army but loses his nerve and retreats. Arthur and Geoffrey are imprisoned at Falaise, lesser prisoners are removed to ‘high-security’ Corfe Castle (John’s favoured Dorset hunting estate residence which he is extending) in Purbeck, Dorset, and the rebellion seems defeated, but then William de Roches takes umbrage at John breaking a promise to hand Arthur over to him and rebels instead. Aimery of Thouars joins him, and chaos resumes in Poitou. 1203 IRELAND William de Braose, Lord of Brecon, is apparently the prime mover in the pardoning of the disgraced senior Lord Theobald Butler, principal landholder in what is to become Tipperary in northern Munster. The official decree reinstating Theobald as lord of the district’s territories of ‘Ely O’Carroll’ (Eile Ua Cerbhaill), Eliogarty (i.e. the area of Eile owned by the O’Fogartys), Upper Ormond, Lower Ormond, and Owney and Arra states that they were in the hands of and were restored by William de Braose, who presumably received them from John when Theobald was recently forfeited.

Chronology: 1155–1217  263 ENGLAND/FRANCE Early 1203. John tries to stabilise Poitou by releasing the captured Lusignans to fight for him, but within months they break their pledges and revolt again despite his holding some of their castles as pledges so he can seize them. He heads south from assembling another mercenary army in Normandy, before he is ready, to deal with a rebel attack on Queen Isabella’s court at Chinon, but after he passes through Argentan in S Normandy its lord defects to Philip. He halts at Le Mans and sends mercenary captain Peter de Preux to rescue and evacuate Isabella instead; John sets up his base at Argentan. Easter. Disappearance of Arthur, apparently after being transferred to the ‘high-security’ keep at Rouen Castle from Falaise. Contemporary Ralph of Coggeshall writes that John ordered his rising aide Hubert de Burgh (born c. 1168), constable of Chinon Castle and chamberlain to John since c. 1198, a minor East Anglian landowner as son of Walter FitzAldhelm of Burgh Castle and younger brother of William de Burgh Lord of Connacht, to blind and castrate Arthur to make him ineligible for the throne. Hubert refuses, out of honour or common sense as it would cause a revolt (though he tries declaring that Arthur has died and has to renege on this and declare it false after rebellion follows in Brittany?); John comes to Falaise to demand that Arthur abandons his claims to his lands but is refused in a stormy interview (later account of Roger of Wendover). John takes Arthur into his own custody and he vanishes at or near Rouen, soon after (2 April) the king and a small group of senior aides arrive at the royal manor of Molineux near Rouen and (account of Guillaume le Breton) William de Braose formally relinquishes his custody of Arthur to John. Ralph of Coggeshall writes that Philip heard c. 1204 that Arthur had been drowned. (Matthew Paris in the 1250s was not certain of what happened but was aware of the rumours that John was responsible.) The story of John killing Arthur at Rouen Castle in a fit of rage just before Easter and throwing his body, weighted down, in the Seine comes from the Margam Abbey chronicle, believed to be via John’s ally William de Braose – who captured Arthur at Mirebeau and who claims c. 1208 that he knows the truth about the murder (see under that date). John’s niece and Arthur’s sister, Eleanor, is now technically Duchess of Brittany, but John keeps her in secure if luxurious custody at Corfe Castle; some of the lower-status prisoners at Corfe revolt and seize a tower around this time but John has them blockaded there and starved to death. Revolt in Brittany: Philip sails down the Loire unhindered to Saumur and heads into N Aquitaine, and John moves back N to Rouen; the steady French advance sees worrying surrenders of castles without a fight, most impressively at Vaudreuil which John falsely claims was by his orders. Logically, his Norman and Angevin elite are losing heart or

264  Chronology: 1155–1217 are so revolted by the death of Arthur that they are deserting en masse, and John’s lengthy stay at Rouen with little action may be due to depression, panic or (modern suggestion) bi-polar disorder not just cowardice or exhaustive debauchery of which he is accused by contemporaries or slightly later (e.g. Roger of Wendover on his orgies). Gervase of Canterbury and the Histoire de Guillaume le Marechal blame endemic treachery for undermining hopes of a proper defence in 1202–3. August. Philip lays siege to Château Gaillard, the key to Rouen and within reach of John’s base at that city. John plans a major action to send supplies up the river and break through Philip’s pontoon near the castle while William Marshal takes troops up the bank to distract the guard with a simultaneous attack, but the rowers fall behind schedule due to the current and William Marshal attacks unsupported to be repulsed; the boats then arrive and are repulsed too, with heavy losses. John gives up and leads his army off to fight the advancing Bretons, but his success in sacking Dol does not distract Philip as hoped. John dares not use the direct route back to Rouen from Brittany. A few weeks later he decides to return to England on the excuse of collecting a new army, with the biographer of William Marshal saying he had heard that many local barons were planning to hand him over to Philip so en route he bolted from an overnight stop at Bonneville Castle hours early. On 5 December he sails from Barfleur, and back in England holds Christmas at Canterbury; Roger de Lacey holds out at Château Gaillard and Peter de Preux with his mercenaries at Rouen. 1204

6 January. John holds a morale-boosting baronial assembly at Oxford to raise a new army and boasts of his intended campaign, and asks for money rather than troops (at an agreed rate of two and a half ‘marks’ for each knight owed in feudal service by his lords) so he can recruit experienced mercenaries. The troops are to gather to defend the line of the River Touques to defend W Normandy. 6 March. Storming of Château Gaillard, as the walls of the huge central keep (recently undermined by French miners who sheltered under a tongue of rock protruding into the defensive ditch) are hit by rocks fired by a massive new ‘trebuchet’ and start to collapse; the attackers storm in but the 156 remaining defenders fight to the last and are overwhelmed. With an attack on Rouen now likely and assorted Rhineland allies off on Crusade so unable to be paid to attack France, John holds an emergency council in London and sends supplies into Rouen. 1 April. Death of Eleanor, aged either 80 or 82, after a 67-year rule of Aquitaine – knowing that her last son’s dominions are fatally crumbling and the family ‘empire’ is doomed.

Chronology: 1155–1217  265 c. 8 April. Archbishop Hubert, the Bishops of Norwich and Ely, William Marshal, and the Earl of Leicester lead a delegation to France to join the papal legate there in meeting Philip. The latter leaves Rouen alone for the moment and takes his army by a surprise march via the woods at the head (SE end) of the River Touques valley to cross the river into the Orne valley, S of Falaise; the defence crumbles and Argentan and the ancient ducal residence of Falaise surrender, the royal mercenaries at the latter after a week’s siege. May. Fall of Caen. The Bretons break through the W frontier at Pontorson to join Philip at Caen and he sends them to secure Cherbourg so John cannot rescue Rouen by a surprise landing in the West. Philip marches E via Lisieux to Rouen. On 1 June, Commander Peter de Preux says he will surrender if there is no rescue in 30 days; messages are sent to John but he does not (or cannot) do anything and (24 June) Rouen surrenders early. This marks the end of the effectively independent dukedom of Normandy in John’s family after 293 years and a shattering blow to his reputation – with the rest of his reign and part of his son Henry III’s concentrating on restoring the dynasty’s prestige by reconquering at least part of the lost dominions; only the W part of Aquitaine remains to the English king. The Anglo-Norman monarchy is forced back on the British Isles where John will have more success in beating down the ‘Celtic’ realms though not in coercing the barons – and is commended by modern ‘revisionists’ as a better administrator and more interested in Britain than Richard I. John and his successors make extra demands of their diminished realm with resulting clashes with the over-taxed elite and people; the historical debate since 1204 has also focussed on whether John’s character faults and mistakes ‘caused’ the disasters of 1199–1204 or whether the expansion of resources for the French monarchy and the financial and administrative pressures on Normandy were so severe by 1200 that collapse was ‘inevitable’ or likely. Late spring. With Eleanor dead Philip can safely take over and reassign control of Aquitaine and Poitou, and he sends William de Roches and an army into the latter. John’s commander Robert of Thornham is defeated and captured, and the viscount of Thouars is besieged there and defects; Niort and on the coast La Rochelle hold out, and Angoulême resists as John’s wife is its hereditary owner and he thus has local loyalty. Philip is defied by the majority of the barons of Aquitaine and John sends money to Bordeaux for troops. The majority of English barons are reluctant to fight for Aquitaine as they have no territory there to defend – and those with lands in Normandy now have to choose to save these by doing homage to its new lord, Philip, or else defy him and risk confiscation. Some prefer to keep their Norman lands even if it means having to give up those in England

266  Chronology: 1155–1217 as John will not accept any homage to Philip. John declares the lands of those English barons who have stayed in Normandy under Philip’s rule to be forfeit (October), though he will allow them to buy their lands back and so help him to pay for his campaigns so this is not as drastic as it sounds; Philip orders those with Norman lands who are in England to come to him and do homage or face confiscation from him. William Marshal, who has reached a private deal with Philip to buy time – to do homage for his Norman lands after a year and a day if Philip is still ruling Normandy then – advises John as the council remains divided over the feasibility of regaining Normandy that he has lost the support of its elite and reconquest is hopeless. A severe winter adds to the delays over planning a new campaign; John finds little baronial interest in this and complaints at the cost. WALES Coalition against Maelgwyn ap Rhys of Ceredigion, who has occupied his late elder brother Gruffydd’s ‘Cantref Mawr’, by the latter’s sons Rhys and Owain and their uncle, Maelgwyn’s dispossessed sibling Rhys ‘Gryg’ (‘the Hoarse’). The trio drive Maelgwyn out of ‘Cantref Mawr’, most of which falls to Rhys. Maelgwyn is also responsible for his men’s murder of one of their excluded brothers, Hywel ‘Sais’ (‘the Englishman’, as long resident in England in the 1180s as a hostage of Henry II’s), but loses most of his remaining lands to William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke, later that year as the latter invades Ceredigion to annex the earldom’s occupied lands there. Rhys’ continuing rivalry with his nephews leads them to seek the patronage of Llywelyn ap Iorweth of Gwynedd, and in response Rhys turns to King John. IRELAND/ISLE OF MAN Assertion of royal power by the new justiciar, Meiler FitzHenry – the son of Henry I’s son by Princess Nest of Deheubarth, Henry, who was killed in 1157, and so both a royal relative and a cousin of the FitzGeralds and the de Barrys. Meiler is also a Marcher lord himself, as Lord of Narbeth and the ‘cantref’ of Pebidiog in Pembrokeshire. Meiler seeks to rein in semi-autonomous lords in the English-ruled areas of Ireland at the centralising John’s request, and so evicts John de Courcy the late 1180s conqueror of Ulster and founder of Carrickfergus and Dundrum Castles. King Ragnald of Man annoys King John by aiding his sister Affrica’s husband, John de Courcy, when he is driven out of that land by his Anglo-Norman rivals, the brothers, at John’s request. John’s intention is to curb the ‘threat’ from Ulster by the too independent de Courcy and install his allies the de Laceys there instead (unlike de Courcy they

Chronology: 1155–1217  267 have large mainland, Marcher estates which John can threaten in order to control them), but his victim flees to the Isle of Man and is offered military help. 1205 ENGLAND/FRANCE January. John requires an oath of loyalty from all adult males in England, and prepares to raise a larger than usual, national army against the threat of invasion from France as Philip allies with Count Renaud of Boulogne and his wife’s sister’s husband Henry of Brabant – in possession of large amounts of Flemish coastal shipping. 25 January. At Winchester, John issues his foundation charter for his only monastic foundation – the new Cistercian abbey set up at a former royal hunting lodge in the New Forest, Beaulieu Abbey (‘Bello Loco’, ‘beautiful place’). The monastery was originally to be at the royal manor of Faringdon near Abingdon, which the king granted to the monks in 1203, but has been moved in 1204 to the forest. The first abbot, Hugh, is a worldly royal clerk who will be used as John’s envoy to the Pope in the ‘interdict’ crisis in 1206–8. March. John holds a large council at Oxford and secures promises of obedience from his barons, but they insist that in return he will promise to maintain the rights of the kingdom inviolate – a sign of the move to ‘constitutional’ opposition to excessive and arbitrary royal demands as breaching the kingdom’s customs that will lead to Magna Carta, unease at John’s unreliability and oath-breaking habits, or more a practical fear of his forthcoming demands for the Poitou war? Royal vassals are told to be ready on 1 May. However, John’s military intentions also seem to have been to raise a large mercenary force which is more professional than the full ‘national’ knight service due from his vassals and so to gain money to pay for them, and two expeditions are prepared – the king’s main force, with the barons, at Portsmouth (1500 ships according to Gervase of Canterbury) and a separate one, led by his halfbrother Archbishop Geoffrey, at Dartmouth, probably intended for Poitou. Fall of Chinon, birthplace of Henry II and main stronghold remaining to John in Anjou; defender Hubert de Burgh is captured and ransomed and comes to England to serve John there. First week of June. John arrives at Portsmouth, but finds the assembled barons disgruntled. William Marshal has been to see Philip, probably with some degree of official authorisation to discuss a settlement (which Archbishop Hubert thought was fruitless according to William Marshal’s biography) though also on his own interest to pay the homage he has promised for his Norman lands. He has done homage ‘for this side of the sea’, which is ambiguous but implies balancing homage to two masters in two separate realms; when William Marshal returns John accuses him of breaking

268  Chronology: 1155–1217 his oath of allegiance and a feudal court is called to issue a ruling. But when John corners William Marshal a few days later and asks him pointblank to prove his loyalty by going with him to fight in France he refuses, and the watching barons back his decision (or so John interprets it). This incident (only recorded in William Marshal’s biography) is followed by formal advice to the king by Archbishop Hubert and William Marshal that sailing is folly as Philip has a far larger army, John will be relying on help from the fickle Poitevins who could desert, and while he is overseas the Count of Boulogne could invade – and an implicit or explicit threat of a ‘strike’ by the barons against sailing. John goes off to Winchester in a sulk, and next day returns to find the barons unmoved but the ordinary soldiers and sailors more keen; reportedly he sets sail in his own ship to shame others into following, but after three days none have come out of harbour so he gives up and calls off the expedition. July. Death of Archbishop and chancellor Hubert Walter; John, in Buckinghamshire, heads for Canterbury for the election and decides to give the archbishopric to another veteran administrator and ex-royal clerk – John de Gray, Bishop of Norwich (1200). Despite the upshot in a major Anglo-papal confrontation, this ‘interference’ and the choice of a royal clerk is a normal procedure for the era and there is no crisis at first; John mishandles the outcome by rash and heavy-handed intimidation. The election is delayed as the bishops demand a part in the cathedral monastery canons’ election procedure and the latter deny they have any such right – both sides appeal to Rome and the result is awaited, again without controversy. But a few weeks later the monks are tipped off that John is pressing in Rome the claim of de Gray to be chosen, and as they do not want him but their own man they secretly elect their prior, Reginald. This leads to John turning up at Canterbury in a rage and they deny any election has occurred. The Poitou expedition at Dartmouth does sail, and the Earl of Salisbury reinforces La Rochelle as the ‘gateway’ to Poitou; the fall of Loches (midsummer) ends the defence of Anjou. December. Unwilling to wait any longer for a decision from Rome on the Canterbury election procedure, John tells the cathedral monks and bishops to halt their appeals to Rome; he calls a new election in his presence and the monks obediently elect de Gray, and the bishops are then told and have to approve it. IRELAND/ISLE OF MAN John de Courcy, recently evicted by the de Laceys of Midhe/Meath on John’s orders, is replaced as earl and governor of Ulster by another major Marcher lord, Hugh (II) de Lacey (c. 1175–1242). Younger son of Hugh de Lacey the Lord of Ludlow in Shropshire and (1172) of Midhe/Meath

Chronology: 1155–1217  269 in Ireland, Hugh (II) is the younger brother of Walter de Lacey (1172?– 1241) who currently holds those combined lordships and is thus the second largest ruler of combined lands in the Marches and Ireland after William Marshal who holds Leinster as husband to its heiress, Countess Isabella of Pembroke. Ragnald of Man leads an unsuccessful attempt to restore his brother-inlaw de Courcy to power in Ulster in July 1205, but the walls of Dundrum Castle – built by de Courcy – prove too strong to take and Ragnald gives up and goes home. His brother-in-law is later captured by King John and imprisoned for life. One Irish poem of this time written in Ragnald’s praise even suggested that he might be made ‘High King’ of Ireland at Tara – so is this in his mind? Another subject of distrust by Meiler and King John is Richard de Burgh, the Anglo-Norman Lord of Thomond in NW Munster and of adjacent Limerick, who is now seeking to take over Connacht to his north and could thus become as powerful as ‘Strongbow’ had become in Leinster and de Courcy had in Ulster. The great lords in Ireland have the advantage of distance from potential royal attack, or even from an expedition sent from Dublin (where Meiler is building the first Dublin Castle from 1204), provided that their sub-vassals remain loyal – and de Burgh now stands up to Meiler and resists his attempts to curb his power with threats of dispossession of Connacht. December 1205/