N the progress and settlement of the
feudal law, the male succession to
fiefs had taken place some time be-
fore the female was admitted; and
estates being considered as military
benefices, not as property, were trans-
mitted to such only as could serve in

the armies, and perform in person the conditions upon
which they were originally granted. But when the con-
tinuance of rights, during some generations, in the same
family, had, in a great measure, obliterated the primitive
idea, the females were gradually admitted to the posses-
sion of feudal property; and the same revolution of prin-
ciples which procured them the inheritance of private
estates, naturally introduced their succession to govern-
ment and authority. The failure, therefore, of male heirs
to the kingdom of England and duchy of Normandy,
seemed to leave the succession open, without a rival, to
the empress Matilda; and as Henry had made all his
vassals in both states swear fealty to her, he presumed
that they would not easily be induced to depart at once
from her hereditary right, and from their own reiterated

1135.

oaths and engagements. But the irregular manner in which
he himself had acquired the crown might have instructed
him, that neither his Norman nor English subjects were as
yet capable of adhering to a strict rule of government;
and as every precedent of this kind seems to give au-
thority to new usurpations, he had reason to dread, even
from his own family, some invasion of his daughter's title,
which he had taken such pains to establish.

Adela, daughter of William the conqueror, had been
married to Stephen, count of Blois, and had brought him
several sons; among whom Stephen and Henry, the two
youngest, had been invited over to England by the late
king, and had received great honours, riches, and pre-
ferment, from the zealous friendship which that prince
bore to every one that had been so fortunate as to acquire
his favour and good opinion. Henry, who had betaken
himself to the ecclesiastical profession, was created abbot
of Glastonbury and bishop of Winchester; and though
these dignities were considerable, Stephen had, from his
uncle's liberality, attained establishments still more solid
and durable. The king had married him to Matilda,
who was daughter and heir of Eustace, count of Boulogne,
and who brought him, besides that feudal sovereignty
in France, an immense property in England, which, in
the distribution of lands, had been conferred by the Con-
queror on the family of Boulogne. Stephen also by this
marriage acquired a new connexion with the royal family of
England, as Mary, his wife's mother, was sister to David,
the reigning king of Scotland, and to Matilda, the first wife
of Henry, and mother of the empress. The king, still
imagining that he strengthened the interests of his family by
the aggrandizement of Stephen, took pleasure in enriching
him by the grant of new possessions; and he conferred on
him the great estate forfeited by Robert Mallet in England,
and that forfeited by the earl of Mortaigne in Normandy.
Stephen, in return, professed great attachment to his
uncle, and appeared so zealous for the succession of Ma-
tilda, that, when the barons swore fealty to that princess,
he contended with Robert, earl of Glocester, the king's

a Gul. Neubr. p. 360. Brompton, p. 1023.

1

natural son, who should first be admitted to give her this testimony of devoted zeal and fidelity. Meanwhile he continued to cultivate, by every art of popularity, the friendship of the English nation; and many virtues with which he seemed to be endowed, favoured the success of his intentions. By his bravery, activity, and vigour, he acquired the esteem of the barons; by his generosity, and by an affable and familiar address, unusual in that age among men of his high quality, he obtained the affections of the people, particularly of the Londoners. And though he dared not to take any steps towards his farther grandeur, lest he should expose himself to the jealousy of so penetrating a prince as Henry; he still hoped that, by accumulating riches and power, and by acquiring popularity, he might in time be able to open his way to the throne.

No sooner had Henry breathed his last, than Stephen, insensible to all the ties of gratitude and fidelity, and blind to danger, gave full reins to his criminal ambition; and trusted that, even without any previous intrigue, the celerity of his enterprise, and the boldness of his attempt, might overcome the weak attachment which the English and Normans in that age bore to the laws and to the rights of their sovereign. He hastened over to England; and though the citizens of Dover and those of Canterbury, apprised of his purpose, shut their gates against him, he stopped not till he arrived at London, where some of the lower rank, instigated by his emissaries, as well as moved by his general popularity, immediately saluted him king. His next point was to acquire the good will of the clergy; and by performing the ceremony of his coronation, to put himself in possession of the throne, from which he was confident it would not be easy afterwards to expel him. His brother, the bishop of Winchester, was useful to him in these capital articles: having gained Roger, bishop of Salisbury, who, though he owed a great fortune and advancement to the favour of the late king, preserved no sense of gratitude to that prince's family, he applied, in b W. Malms. p. 192. c Ibid. p. 179. Gest. Steph. p. 928.

1135. 1135.

conjunction with that prelate, to William, archbishop of Canterbury, and required him, in virtue of his office, to give the royal unction to Stephen. The primate, who, as all the others, had sworn fealty to Matilda, refused to perform this ceremony; but his opposition was overcome by an expedient equally dishonourable with the other steps by which this revolution was effected. Hugh Bigod, steward of the household, made oath before the primate, that the late king, on his death-bed, had shown a dissatisfaction with his daughter Matilda, and had expressed his intention of leaving the count of Boulogne heir to all his dominionsd. William, either believing or feigning to believe Bigod's testimony, anointed Stephen, and put the 22d Decem. crown upon his head; and from this religious ceremony, that prince, without any shadow either of hereditary title or consent of the nobility or people, was allowed to proceed to the exercise of sovereign authority. Very few barons attended his coronation; but none opposed his usurpation, however unjust or flagrant. The sentiment of religion, which, if corrupted into superstition, has often little efficacy in fortifying the duties of civil society, was not affected by the multiplied oaths taken in favour of Matilda, and only rendered the people obedient to a prince who was countenanced by the clergy, and who had received from the primate the rite of royal unction and consecration f.

Stephen, that he might farther secure his tottering throne, passed a charter, in which he made liberal promises to all orders of men; to the clergy, that he would speedily fill all vacant benefices, and would never levy the rents of any of them during the vacancy; to the nobility, that he would reduce the royal forests to their ancient boundaries, and correct all encroachments; and to the people, that he would remit the tax of danegelt, and restore the laws of king Edward. The late king had a