Chap. IV. from the. Conquest, to the Death of §L Mary I.

1140.

Civil

Mar.

Mahnesb.

gervase-ssceto.

J- Hagust.M. Paris.

I 14 T.&ing Ste-Phen taken

Prisoner.Matildablareds ! een.J'tephen re-Jccred.

1 142.

The CivilH ~°r conti-nued.

I H3-

Matilda re-T,r es.

^ackJuyt,

^°bert P Ke-te nensis, agreat Tra-wler.

p , 4 7*

J:?? 1ldh s°

<, % the K.t0

sS° iy

ll 49-

k'nce Hen-1 } c °*nes to

NaDd,

t>6.’

ss*%ust.

C tln g d -

° v eden.

Retaking of Towns and Castles; Plun-dering and Burning ; Horrour and De-solation, on all Sides, were the Fruitsof it. Now one Party, and then theother, uppermost ; King Stephen takenPrisoner ; Matilda declared Queen, andStephen released and restored, were E-vents which all happened within theSpace of a few Months.

In the Year 1142. Robert, havingbeen in Normandy, returned with somefresh Supplies, and Prince Henry, theEmpress’s Son. Thus the War wascontinued, with various Success, but con-tinual Calamities to the Nation; ’till thefollowing Year, 0 Matildas s Interest be-ing, by her Pride and Haughtiness,pretty much funk, she sent away herSon, and soon after followed herself toNormandy, (y)

This Year (says Hackluyt) flou-rished Robert Ketenenjis, an Englijhman,who having laid the Foundation of hisStudies in the Universities of England,travelled thro' France, Italy, Dalma-tia and Greece into Asia, where he liv-ed among the Saracens, learned theArabian Tongue, and afterwards re-turned by Sea into Spain, where hegave himself wholly up to the Studyof Astrology : And the same Authormentions in the Year 1147. from Gul.Neobr. several Englijhmen, accompa-nying Lewis, King of France, to theHoly Land.

In the Year 1149. (or, according toy. Hagusad 1148 ) when King Ste-phen thought himself secure on hisThrone, Duke Henry, now about six-teen Years of Age, came over toEngland , with a choice Army , (d)to pursue his Right to the Crown. Someof the discontented Lords soon repair-ed to him, and with them he marchedto the North, where he was met by his

Cousin, David King of Scotland. Ha-ving concerted Matters with hisFriends,he returned to Normandy, where hewas detained, by the Death of his Fa-ther, his Marriage with the Duchess ofGuienne and Aquitam, and some Trou-bles in his Dominions, on that Side theSea, till the Year 1152. In this Yearhe returned with a considerable Force,and was joined by a great many of theNobility. Stephen marched at theHead of his Army to give the DukeBattle; But was prevailed upon to holda Conference with him. The Effect ofthis Conference was a Truce, whichended in a Peace, by Virtue whereofHenry was declared lawful Successor tothe Crown, after Stephen ’s Death.

The Articles of this Peace, withthe Charter by which King Stephen con-firmed them, are at large in Holinjhead:He likewise mentions a Report ot anInducement which moved Stephen tothis Treaty, in Prejudice of his SonPrince William, which was, that theEmpress declared Stephen had carnalKnowledge of her, a little before herlast Marriage, and that Prince Henrywas his own Son: But our Historiandoes not seem to give much Creditto this Report himself. The Ba-rons , at the fame Time, engagedthemselves to do Hommage to Henry,as Stephen's presumptive Successor, Sai-nt a Fidelitate Regis Stephani quamdiuvixerit.

The next Year Henry took his fi-nal Leave of the King and passed overinto Normandy: And now Stephen mightprobably have enjoyed his Crown inPeace ; But Death snatched him awayon the twentieth of OSlober, at Canter-bury, after a calamitous Reign of eigh-teen Years, nine Months and seventeenDays.

1149.

ConcertsMatterswith hisFriends , andreturns.

1 152.He comesagain ,Hoiinsh,Diceto.Gervase.

M. Pans.

Chrosl.Norm- apndDu Chei’ne,Hoveden.

MakesPeace withStephen, andis declaredhis S-accessor.1159.

Acta Regia,

Stephen

dies.

^ a foiesh, (c) William of Mahnesbv.ry , who diedabout this Time, fays, that in his Days, theCities of London and Bristol were famous forTraffick and Shipping.

fi ° Ve den A ) Hoveden fays a large Army, as also, thatmany Castles were delivered up to him, and thathe coined Mony, which was called the Duke'sCoin. According to him, likewise, there were

frequent Actions between Stephen and Henry , (orrather between their Troops) during the twoensuing Years, in which Henry had always the Vic-tory, his Party encreasing in Measure, as Ste-phen’s decreased. Gervase fays, he came ( Cam Gervase.grandi Comitatu Militum electorum, & Peditmn ,)with a great Company of choice Knights, andFoot-Soldiers.

D

CHAP.