80 CHAPTER VIII. STEPHEN. A. D. 1135-1154. As every expedient was used during the life of the late king to fix the succession in his family, he, among others, thought that the aggrandizing his nearest relations would not be an impolitic step. He only dreaded the designs of Robert and his adherents, no way mistrusting any attempts from another quarter. With these views, he was very liberal in heaping favours upon the children of his sister Adela, who had been married to the count of Blois. He thought they would be the strongest safeguard to protect him from the aspiring attempts of his brother, or his posterity; and he resolved to load them with favours, as being too far removed from the crown to entertain any hopes of succeeding in their designs to obtain it in pursuance of this plan, he had, some years before his death, invited Stephen and Henry, the two youngest of his sister's sons, into England, and received them with great honour and esteem. Thinking that he could never do too much to secure their affections, he married Stephen to the daughter and heiress of Eustace, count of Boulogne, who brought him an immense fortune. He conferred on him the great estates forfeited by Robert Mallet in England, and by the earl of Mortaigne in Normandy. Nor was Stephen's brother, Henry, without his share in the king's liberalities. He was created abbot of Glastonbury, and bishop of Winchester; so that the two brothers were thus become by far the most powerful subjects in the kingdom. Such great riches, so much power, and the consciousness of abilities, were the first incentives to Stephen's ambition. Placed at no great distance from the throne by birth, and perceiving the success of his uncle's usurpation, he resolved to run the same career, and strike for the crown. For this purpose, even during the king's lifetime, he used all his arts to procure popularity, and to cultivate the affections of the English nobility. By his bravery, activity, and vigour, he acquired the esteem of the barons; by his generosity and familiar address he obtained the love of the people. No sooner, therefore, was the king known to be dead, than Stephen, conscious of his own power, and influence, resolved to secure to himself the possession of what he had so long desired. He hastened from Normandy, where he then was, and, setting sail for England, landed at Dover. But there the citizens, apprized of his intent, shut their gates against him. Thence he went to Canterbury, where he was treated with the like disrespect; but passing on he arrived at London, where he was immediately saluted king by all the lower ranks of the people. Being thus secure of the populace, his next step was to gain over the clergy; and for that purpose, his brother the bishop of Winchester exerted all his influence among them with great success. The archbishop of Canterbury, as he had taken the oaths of allegiance to Matilda, seemed for a while to stand out; but Hugh Bigod (steward of the household) averring, upon oath, that the late king had expressed his intentions to make Stephen his heir, the archbishop anointed him without farther scruple. Thus was Stephen made king, by one of those speedy revolutions which ever mark the barbarity of a state in which they are customary. The people acquiesced in his claims from his popularity; the clergy allowed them, being influenced by the intrigues of his brother; and the nobility acknowledged a king, from the weakness of whose title they might derive power to themselves. The firsts acts of an usurper are always popular. Stephen, in order to secure his tottering throne, passed a charter, granting several privileges to the different orders of the state; to the nobility, a permission to hunt in the royal forests; to the clergy, a speedy filling of all vacant benefices; and to the people, a restoration of the laws of Edward the Confessor. To fix himself still more securely, he took possession of the royal treasures at Winchester, and had his title ratified by the pope with a part of the money. A crown thus gained by usurpation was to be kept only by repeated concessions. The nobility and the clergy, in proportion as they were indulged in one demand, only prepared to find out others. The barons, in return for their submission, required the right of fortifying their castles, and putting themselves in a posture of defence; nor could the king refuse his consent to such exorbitant demands, as their opposition might be fatal. The clergy imitated the same pernicious example; and, in a short time, all England was filled with these independent fortresses, which the noblemen garrisoned with their own vassals, or with mercenary bravoes hired from the continent: nothing could exceed the misery to which the kingdom must have been reduced at that terrible period of aristocracy. Unbounded rapine was exercised upon the people for the maintenance of those troops; the private animosities of the nobility were productive of wars in every quarter; the erection of one castle proved the immediate cause of building many more; and the whole country presented a scene of petty tyranny and hostile preparation. It was in vain that a victory gained by the king 1138. over the Scots at Northallerton promised to allay the murmurs of the people; their miseries were risen to too great a height for such brilliant successes to remove. The prince, having usurped the crown without a title, was obliged to tolerate in others that injustice by which he had himself risen to the throne. A. D. Not only real but imaginary grievances were added to raise the discontents of the people, and fill the country with complaints against the government. The clergy, whose power had been firmly established on the ruins of the regal authority, began, in imitation of the lay-barons, to build castles, and entertain garrisons, sensible G that their sacred pretensions would be more implicitly obeyed when their temporal power was sufficient to enforce them. Stephen, who now too late perceived the mischiefs attending these multiplied citadels, resolved to begin with destroying those of the clergy, whose profession seemed to be averse from the duties of war. Taking, therefore, the pretence of a fray, which had risen between the retinue of the bishop of Salisbury and that of the earl of Bretagne, he seized that prelate, and obliged both him and the bishop of Lincoln to deliver up their castles which they had lately erected. This the whole body of the clergy considered as a breach of that charter which he had granted upon his accession; they loudly murmured against this infraction; and even his brother, the bishop, resolved to vindicate the privileges of the church, which he pretended were openly violated. A synod was assembled, in which the disgraced prelates openly inveighed against the king. But he, instead of answering the charge in person, sent one of his barons to plead his cause, and intimidate his accusers. It was in this critical situation of Stephen's affairs that accounts were brought him of Matilda's landing in England, with a resolution to dispossess him, and regain the crown. Matilda, upon the death of the late king, being then in Normandy, found herself totally unable to oppose the rapid progress of her rival. She was not less unfortunate in her continental connexions than in those at home. The Norman barons, unwilling to have the union with England dissolved, almost unanimously declared for Stephen, and put him in possession of their government; while Geoffrey himself, Matilda's husband, was content to resign his pretensions, and to receive a pension from the English king. He had not, however, long acquiesced in this compromise, when he was incited to a renewal of his wife's claims by Robert earl of Gloucester, natural son of the late king, a nobleman who had, from the beginning, opposed the accession of Stephen, and only waited an opportunity of beginning an insurrection. This haughty baron, having at length settled with his friends the project of an opposition, retired to the continent, to the court of Matilda, and sent the king a defiance, solemnly renouncing his allegiance. It was not long before he was in a capacity effectually to second his declarations; for, sensible of the power of his party in England, he landed, together with Matilda, whose claims he professed to support, upon the coast of Sussex. The whole of Matilda's retinue, upon this occasion, amounted to no more than a hundred and forty knights, who immediately took possession of Arundel castle; but the nature of her claims soon increased the number of her partisans, and her forces every day seemed to gain ground upon those of her antagonist. Meantime Stephen, being assured of her arrival, flew to besiege ArunA. D. del, where she had taken refuge, and where she was pro1139. tected by the queen dowager, who secretly favoured her pretensions. This fortress was too feeble to promise a long defence; and it would have been soon taken, had it not been represented to the king, that as it was a castle belonging to the queen dowager, it would be an infringement of the respect which was her due, to attempt taking it by force. There was a spirit of generosity mixed with the rudeness of the times, that unaccountably prevailed in many transactions. Stephen permitted Matilda to come forth in safety, and had her conveyed with security to Bristol, another fortress equally strong with that from which he permitted her to retire. It would be tedious to relate the various skirmishes on either side, in pursuance of their respective pretensions; it will suffice to say, that Matilda's forces increased every day, while her antagonist seemed every hour to become more unpopular. The troops Stephen led were, in general, foreign mercenaries, commanded by tumultuous barons, more accustomed to pillage than to conquer. But, in this fluctuation of success, the kingdom was exposed to ruin, whichever side pretended to victory. The castles of the nobility were become receptacles for licensed robbers, who gave their rapine the name of attachment to party. The land was left untilled, the instruments of husbandry were destroyed or abandoned, and a terrible famine, the result of general disorder, oppressed at once the spoiled and the spoilers. 1141. After the misery of numberless indecisive conflicts, added to the rest of the country's calamities, a complete victory gained by the forces of Matilda, promised to terminate their disputes. Stephen had marched with his forces to relieve the city of Lincoln; the earl of Gloucester led a body of troops to second the efforts of A. D. the besiegers. These two armies engaged within sight of D the city, and a dreadful conflict ensued. After a violent shock, the two wings of Stephen's army, which were composed of horse, were put to flight; and the infantry, soon following the example, deserted their king. All the race of the Norman conqueror were brave. Stephen was for some time left without attendants, and fought on foot in the midst of his enemies, assaulted by multitudes, and resisting all their efforts with astonishing intrepidity. Being hemmed in on every side, he made way for some time with his battle-axe; but that breaking, he drew his sword, and dealt his blows round the circle in which he was enclosed. At length, after performing more than could be naturally expected from a single arm, his sword flying in pieces, he was obliged to surrender himself prisoner. He was conducted to Gloucester; and though at first treated with respect, he was soon after, on some suspicions, thrown into prison, and laid in irons. Stephen and his party now seemed totally disabled. Matilda was possessed not only of superior power, but also the juster title. She was considered as incontestable sovereign, and the barons came in daily from all quarters to do her homage. The bishop of Winchester himself, who had espoused her cause against his brother, admitted her claims; he led her in procession into his cathedral, and blessed her with the greatest solemnity; the archbishop of Canterbury also swore allegiance; and shortly after an ecclesiastical coun cil, at which none of the laity assisted, except deputies from the city of London, confirmed her pretensions; and she was crowned at Winchester with all imaginable solemnity. A crown thus every way secured, seemed liable to be shaken by no accidents; yet such is the vanity of human security, and such was the great increase of power among the barons, who were in effect masters of those they nominally elected as governors, that Matilda remained but a short time in possession of the throne. This princess, beside the disadvantages of her sex, which weakened her influence over a martial people, was resolved upon repressing the growing power of the nobles, who had left only the shadow of authority to their sovereign. But having neither temper nor policy sufficient to carry her views into execution, she disgusted by her pride those to whom she was obliged for her power. The first petition she refused was the releasement of Stephen; she rejected the remonstrance of the Londoners, who entreated her to mitigate the severe laws of the Norman princes, and revive those of Edward the Confessor. She affected to treat the nobility with a degree of disdain to which they had long been unaccustomed; while the fickle nation once more began to pity their deposed king, and to repent the steps they had taken in her favour. The bishop of Winchester, who probably was never her sincere partisan, was not remiss in fomenting these discontents; and, when he found the people ripe for a tumult, detached a party of his friends and vassals to block up the city of London, where the queen then resided. At the same time measures were taken to instigate the Londoners to a revolt, and to seize her person. Matilda, having timely notice of this conspiracy, fled to Winchester, whither the bishop, still her secret enemy, followed her, watching an opportunity to ruin her cause. His party was soon sufficiently strong to bid the queen open defiance, and to besiege her in the very place where she first received his benediction. There she continued for some time; but the town being pressed by famine, she was constrained to retreat, while her brother, the earl of Gloucester, endeavouring to follow, was taken prisoner, and exchanged for Stephen, who still continued a captive. Thus a sudden revolution once more took place; Matilda was deposed, and obliged to seek safety in Oxford. Stephen was again recognised as king, and taken from his dungeon to be placed on the throne. The civil war now broke out afresh, with all its train of devastations. Many were the battles fought, and various the stratagems of those who conducted the affairs of either party. Matilda escaped from Oxford, at a time when the fields were covered with snow, by being dressed all in white, with four knights, her attendants, habited in the same manner. Stephen was upon another occasion surprised by the earl of Gloucester at Wilton, and put to flight. Another time the empress was obliged to quit the kingdom; and the death of the earl of Gloucester soon after, who was the soul of her party, gave a dreadful blow to her interests. Yet the affairs of Stephen continued to fluctuate. Though this A. D. 1147. |