Henry I
Born 1068. - Married first Eadgyth, called Matilda, daughter of Malcolm III. of Scotland, by whom he had two children; secondly, Adelais of Louvain, daughter of Godfrey 1st Duke of Lovaine; no children
Began to reign,1100. Reigned 35 years. - Died 1135.
DOMINIONS
Henry was elected king of the English at Winchester, and crowned in London with national consent, though many of the Norman barons favoured his elder brother Robert's claims. In the same year Robert returned to Normandy from the East, and took possession of the duchy, with the exception of a few places held by King Henry's men. In 1106 Henry conquered Normandy , and afterwards called himself Duke of the Norman's, though his possession of the duchy and of the county of Maine was continually disputed by his brother's Partisans ; his nephew William the son of Robert, the French king, and the Count of Anjou.
In 1105 Henry secured his possession of Pembrokeshire by settling some Flemings in the country.
In 1107 Gilbert de Glare conquered Cardigan.
PRINCIPAL EVENTS
| 1101 | Robert, having returned from Palestine, invades England, to obtain the throne, which belonged to him, but gives it |
| up for a pension, and afterwards treacherously made prisoner, and to resign it to regain his liberty. | |
| 1106 | Henry invades Normandy, takes his brother Robert and confines him in Cardiff castle for life. |
| In the same year Henry's annexed Normandy to the English crown. | |
| 1120 | Henry's eldest son, Prince William, was drowned at sea. |
| 1126 | The crown was settled upon his daughter, Matilda married to Geoffrey Plantagent, earl of Anjou |
Henry I., King of England, had received a far better education than his father, and to have a king who knew how to read and write and to speak in three languages, was a decided advantage his surname was Beauclerc (' fine scholar ') , He was the youngest son of William the Conqueror, born at Selby in Yorkshire, in 1068.
It was while he was hunting with William Rufus that the prince was killed, (1100), he then took hold of the Crown Jewels, which were in the keeping of a friend of Robert's, and this he did by force. Soon, he was on his way to London, and proclaimed himself king, to the prejudice of his elder brother Robert, then absent at the Crusade.When Robert his brother landed an army, he was pacified with a pension, and the promise of succession in event of Henry's decease. Later, Henry invaded Normandy, took Robert prisoner (1106), and took the duchy of Normandy for himself, so becoming ruler of the same lands as his father.
Henry soon made himself very popular
with the English people, he re-established by charter the laws of Edward the Confessor ; His reign was a good one
and he is noted for a number of changes which he made. One of these which was to affect a large number of people
was the reorganization of justice. The old ideas of determining whether a person was guilty or not by the ordeals
of fire and water, were being replaced by Justices, who were able to judge in the name of the Crown, and who gave
a verdict on the evidence they heard. Henry has been known as the Lion of Justice, for he was a very just man. Moreover, he promised that he would relieve them of some of
their taxation, and, unlike his brother, he kept his promise. He married Matilda, daughter of Malcolm III. of Scotland,
thus conciliating in turn the people, the church, and the Scots.
His attitude to the Church was also very different from his brother's. One of his earliest actions was to recall
Anselm from France, and, though the King and the Archbishop did not agree entirely, there was certainly not the
trouble there had been in the reign of Rufus. Moreover, he invited a number of monks from Cisteaux, in France,
to come and settle in England. These Cistercians, as we know them, built many monasteries and did much good work
among the people. One thing for which they were noted was the rearing of sheep, and they were to do a great deal
for the sheep-rearing industry. Here, again, is another thing for which Henry I., is noted . He did much to encourage
trade and industry, especially the woolen industry, and it was during his reign that the first Trade Guild was formed to protect the master craftsmen in their particular trade.He was successful also in the struggle with
France.The favourite of Henry's children
was a prince by the name of William. The King had fond hopes that William would succeed him, and he did everything
in his power to secure the throne for the young prince and to ensure that he was brought up in the arts of kingship.
In 1120, Henry took Prince William, who was then eighteen, to Normandy, with the intention of getting the barons
to swear allegiance to him. Having achieved his object and having secured the hand of a princess for William, the
King was about to embark, when a sailor, whose family had been in the employment of William I, begged to be allowed
to carry the King to England in his White
Ship. Henry told him that he had
already made arrangements for himself, but entrusted the young prince and his brother and sister to the charge
of Fitz-Stephen. Henry went on ahead and little dreamed of the disaster which was going to happen. Before sailing,
there had been much drinking and merry-making on the White Ship, and the crew was determined to overtake the King.
Unfortunately, it struck a rock and began to sink. A boat was quickly lowered, which would have enabled the prince
to escape, but, hearing the cries of his sister Marie, he returned to rescue her. Panic-stricken, those on board
all tried to jump into the small boat, and all, save a butcher, perished. He alone carried the news to court, where
everyone feared to tell the King. At last, however, a page bore the sad news, and on hearing it Henry fainted and
thereafter was never seen to smile again.
In 1123 a revolt occurred in favour of Robert's son. The Welsh also were a source of disturbance. Henry appointed as his heir his daughter Matilda or Maud, whom he had married first to the Emperor Henry V., and then to Geoffrey Plantagenet of Anjou. The remaining fifteen years of Henry's life were spent in trying to secure the throne for his daughter Matilda, and, by the time he died, he had received the promise from his nephew Stephen and from the barons that they would accept her as Queen. On 1st December, 1135, the King died at Rouen in France and his body was laid to rest in Reading Abbey, which the King himself had founded, and after his death he was succeeded by Stephen..
WARS
1101-2. Henry was at war with his brother Robert, and in the latter year defeated Robert of Belesme,
his leading partisan in England.
1104. Henry went to war with his brother, and in 1106 at Tenchbrai defeated and captured Robert
of Normandy, Nor-mandy being thus conquered by England.
1116 - 20. Henry at war with the French king and the partisans of Robert
and his son in Normandy. Petty warfare went on almost continually in Normandy and in the Welsh Marches.
OFFICIALS
Archbishops. - Anselm, d. 1109 - see vacant five years; Ralph d'Escures, trans. from Rochester 1114
- 1122; William de Corbeil, 1123.
Justiciars - Robert Bloett, Bishop of London, 1100 - 1107 Roger le
Poor, Bishop of Salisbury, 1107 - 1135.
Chancellors. - William Giffard 1100 - 1101; Roger le Poor 1101 - 1103;
William Giffard 1103 - 1104; Waldric 1104 - 1107; Ranulf 1108 - 1123; Geoffrey Rufus 1124 - 1135.
