6. Henry I as beneficiary of William II's death
- Created by: Alasdair
- Created on: 15-06-17 19:19
View mindmap
- 6. Henry I as beneficiary of William II's death
- Intro
- Immediate aftermath of death of William, Henry became main beneficiary
- Henry acted quickly to be crowned new king of England
- Longer-term and up to Conquest of Normandy in 1106, Henry benefited further
- Using guile and ruthlessness, Henry eliminated challenge to his authority from his brother, Robert Curthose, and was able to consolidate his rule over joint kingdom of England and Normandy
- Short-term beneficiary
- Henry knew by seizing Crown he would be confronted by number of challenges
- Most obvious was he would need to consolidate his position in face of opposition from Robert and his allies
- Many nobles in England and Normandy believed two should be united under Curthose, as eldest son
- Age-factor no longer relevant due to 1087 inheritance agreement, Curthose's deal with Rufus over Normandy in 1095 and Henry's loyalty to Robert in helping bring stability to England
- Main issue for Henry was Robert's support was gained through acts of fealty which had been established through agreements made between Robert and Rufus
- Henry was excluded from these deals and was therefore not seen by some as credible candidate for King
- Henry had to take immediate steps to combat threat of Curthose and his followers
- Methods started to appear through coronation ceremony
- Henry intended to strengthen his position by doing the following:
- Widening his circle of supporters by supporting them with gifts, as was case with William Giffard, who gained bishopric of Winchester
- Other prominent nobles who were quickly won over included Count of Meulan and Earl Henry of Warwick
- Recalled exiled Archbishop Anselm to resume his duties
- Gave signal Henry was likely to be supportive of Church and papacy unlike brother Rufus.
- Also had function of prompting Archbishop of London, Maurice, to crown Henry
- Would have been reassured of Henry's credentials to be good King due to attitude towards Anselm and may have been honoured to be chosen to do coronation
- Capturing and imprisoning Ranulf Flambard in Tower of London
- Flambard was symbol of all that had been bad about Rufus's reign
- Marrying Edith (also known as Maud), daughter of Malcolm (King of Scotland) and Queen Margaret in November 1100
- Edith was also niece of Edgar Aetheling meaning she was linked to Old English line of royal descent which reinforced support for Henry from those who traced their roots back to Anglo-Saxons
- Edith changed name to Matilda to appease Norman relatives (Norman name)
- Widening his circle of supporters by supporting them with gifts, as was case with William Giffard, who gained bishopric of Winchester
- Robert's return
- On return bemused by what had happened and did nothing
- Ranulf Flambard (who had escaped from Tower of London in Feb 1101) met up with Robert and used powers of persuasion to get Duke to assemble army to invade England
- Henry knew by seizing Crown he would be confronted by number of challenges
- Herny as long-term beneficiary
- Robert's invasion
- Landed July 1101 in Portsmouth
- Duke Robert had secured support of number of English nobles, including earls of Surrey and Buckingham and three brothers of powerful Montgomery family (Robert of Belleme, Arnulf and Roger)
- Henry had too increased his support, mainly through Robert, Count of Flanders, who exchanged services of 1000 knights for yearly pension of £500 on top of being able to muster fyrd
- Talks held in Alton, Hampshire instead of battle. Resulted in formulation of treaty with number of stipulations:
- Henry agreed not to pursue any interests he might have had in Normandy in exchange for Robert abandoning claims to English throne
- To secure deal Henry said he would pay to his brother stipend of £2000 per annum
- On top of this, Rufus-lie agreement was made that if one brother should pass away before the other then the survivor would inherit all of deceased's wealth and titles
- Finally, each other's enemies (that is, supporters of each interested party) were to be pardoned and reassured that they would be allowed to keep their property
- Appearance of political stability through agreement. Success dependent on both parties keeping to their word
- Unfortunately for Robert, Henry soon reneged on terms that had been discussed
- From 1102, to 1106, Henry pursued campaign to gain jurisdiction over duchy of Normandy. Came about through number of steps:
- 1102, Henry instructed influential Robert of Belleme was to have his land confiscated, followed by deportation to France
- Year after Belleme's exile, Henry made concerted effort to gain allies in Normandy. Through bribes of money or marriage, he gained support of counts of Flanders, Anjou and Maine
- In 1105, Henry launched his first military expedition to Normandy and secured control of western sector
- Returned to England to regroup for bigger campaign following year
- Henry returned to Normandy in summer of 1106 supported by counts of Maine and Brittany. Together they attacked, in September, fortress of William of Mortaine (one of most important allies of Robert) - castle of Tinchebrai was successfully put under siege by Henry's army and both WIlliam and Robert, who had attempted to relieve fortress, were forced to surrender.
- Both Mortaine and Curthose taken away and imprisoned for life
- Victory of Tinchebrai meant Henry had achieved aim of having authority over both England and Normandy
- Counts of Anjou and Flanders died soon after being replaced by more aggressive individuals towards English king.
- Henry continuously embroiled in overseas conflicts for rest of reign
- By time of death in 1135, Henry I had fought three major wars in defence of Duchy of Normandy
- Henry continuously embroiled in overseas conflicts for rest of reign
- Counts of Anjou and Flanders died soon after being replaced by more aggressive individuals towards English king.
- Robert's invasion
- Intro
Comments
No comments have yet been made