Notes


Matches 1,501 to 1,550 of 1,662

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1501 Siegfried (or Sigefroy) (c. 922 - 28 October 998) is considered the first count of Luxembourg. He was actually count in the Moselgau and the Ardennes. He was also the advocate of the abbeys of Saint-Maximin de Trêves and Saint-Willibrod d'Echternach. He is speculated to be the son of Wigeric of Lotharingia, Count Palatine and Cunigunda. He is the founder of the House of Luxembourg, a cadet branch of the House of Ardennes.

He had possessions from his father in Upper Lorraine. At the centre of his dominions he constructed the fortress of Luxembourg in 963. A town soon grew up around the castle. Though he used the title of count, the title "count of Luxembourg" was only applied to William some 150 years later.

Around 950, he married Hedwig of Nordgau (937-992), daughter of Eberhard IV of Nordgau. They had the following issue:

Henry I of Luxembourg
Siegfried, cited in 985
Frederick I, Count of Salm and Luxembourg, married Ermentrude of Gleiberg, daughter of Heribert I, Count of Gleiberg and Ermentrud (Imizi).
Dietrich, bishop of Metz
Adalberon, canon of Trier
Gislebert (d.1004), count in the Moselgau
Cunigunda, married Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor
Eve, married Gerard, Count of Metz
Ermentrude, abbess
Luitgarde, married Arnulf, Count of Holland
a daughter, married Thietmar 
Siegfried Count of Luxemburg (I2894)
 
1502 Siegfried I, Count of Sponheim (b. ca. 1010 at Castle Sponheim; d. 7 February 1065 at Bulgaria) is considered the patriarch of the House of Sponheim and all of its lateral branches, the Counts of Lebenau and the Counts of Ortenburg. Originally he came from Rhenish Franconia, where he was born at Castle Sponheim.

Family life

About his parents little is known. It has been noticed however, that his father was Eberhard I of Sponheim (d. 1044) and that he therefore had brothers named Friedrich of Sponheim (1022-1058) and Eberhard II of Sponheim. Likewise Siegfried had a relationship of unknown degree with Stephan I, Count of Sponheim, patriarch of the Rhenish branch of the House of Sponheim, which survives as the present-day Princes of Sayn and Wittgenstein. Siegfried was married with Richgard, the heiress of Count Engelbert IV of Pustertal from the Carinthian family of the Sieghardinger and Aribonians. From this marriage several children were born:

Engelbert I. († 1096), Margrave of Istrien, Count to Spanheim, Count im Pustertal, ? Hadwig
Siegfried († 1070) ? NN, supposedly not of equal birth, since there is no direct relationship of the descendants to further Sponheimern.
Hartwig († 1102), Archbishop of Magdeburg
Hermann († 1118), Burggraf to Magdeburg

In the year 1064 Siegfried took part in the pilgrimage of the Archbishop Siegfried I of Mainz towards Jerusalem. On the way back, one year later, he died in Bulgaria. There he was also buried, before his widow Richgard released the corpse and let him be buried in the church St. Paul im Lavanttal he had planned and constructed.

Career

In the year 1035 Kaiser Conrad II marched against Duke Adalbero of Eppenstein towards Carinthia. In the company of Conrad was Siegfried as his close companion. He thus arrived from the Rhineland on the Southeast of the Empire of then. Through marriage with Richgard from the family of the Sieghardinger, he obtained large possessions in Tirol and also in Carinthia, for example the Lavanttal valley (in modern Austria) and probably also Laško and some other parts of modern Slovenia like the territories around Ljubljana.

In the year 1044 he documents as ruling Count to Sponheim. In 1045 Siegfried was granted the Margraviate Hungarian March in the eastern Lower Austria by Kaiser Henry III as fiefdom. He kept and managed this land until the end of his life. Thereafter the Hungarian March fell to the Babenberger.

In 1048 he documents as Gaugraf in the Pustertal and Count in the Lavanttal, Siegfried must therefore have already succeeded to his father-in-law Engelbert IV as heir to this territory by then. He overtook likewise the possessions of his father-in-law in Upper Bavaria. Besides he was soon Vogt of the Bistums Brixen and Salzburg. Siegfried received likewise possessions in Lower Carinthia and in the eastern Upper Bavaria. In the year 1909 the Siegfriedstrasse in Vienna Floridsdorf was named after him. 
Siegfried I Count of Sponheim (I5499)
 
1503 Sigobert the Lame (also Sigibert or Sigebert) (died ca. 509) was a king of the Franks in the area of Zülpich (Latin: Tolbiac) and Cologne.

He was presumably wounded at the knee at the Battle of Tolbiac against the Alamanni.

According to Gregory of Tours, he was murdered by his son Chlodoric upon the instigation of Clovis I, sometime after his victory on the Visigoths (507). Clovis then accused Chlodoric of murder and had him killed in his turn. In this way Clovis became king of Sigobert's and Chlodoric's people.

Gregory suggests that Chlodoric was murdered in the same campaign that also killed the Frankish King Chararic. Before, Clovis had killed Ragnachar and his brothers. After all these murders Gregory tells us that Clovis lamented that he had left no family anymore, implying that amongst his own casualties were close relatives.
 
Sigebert the Lame (I2753)
 
1504 Simon I de Montfort born about 1025 in Montfort l'Amaury, Ile de France, France and died 1087. He is buried in Epernon, Normandy, France. He was the son of Amaury I de Montfort (c. 1000-1031) and Bertrade de Gometz.

Progeny

Simon I first married Isabel de Broyles (b. 1034, Broyes, Marne, France), daughter of Hugh Bardoul. Their children were:

Amauri de Montfort (c. 1056-1089)
Isabel (Elizabeth) de Montfort (b. 1057), who married Raoul II de Tosny.

Simon I's second marriage was to Agnes d'Evreux (b. 1030), daughter of Richard d'Evreux of Rouen, Normandy. Their children were:

Bertrade de Montfort (c. 1059-1117), became Queen of France.
Richard de Montfort (c. 1066-1092), slain in attack on abbey at Conches.
Simon II de Montfort (c. 1068-1101)
Amaury III of Montfort(c. 1070-1137), married Richude (Richilde) de Hainault and Agnes de Garland.
Guillaume de Montfort (c. 1073-1101)
Adeliza de Montfort (b. 1075) 
de Montfort, Simon I (I3785)
 
1505 Sinking of SS Cortes

Name Cortes
Type: Steam merchant
Tonnage 1,374 tons
Completed 1919 - Caledon Shipbuilding & Engineering Co Ltd, Dundee
Owner MacAndrews & Co Ltd, London
Homeport London
Date of attack 26 Sep 1941 Nationality: British

Fate Sunk by U-124 (Johann Mohr)
Position 47.48N, 23.45W - Grid BE 4166
Complement 43 (43 dead - no survivors)
Convoy HG-73
Route Lisbon - Liverpool - London
Cargo General cargo, including potash and cork
History Laid down as War Waveney for The Shipping Controller, completed in August 1919 as Cortes for MacAndrews & Co Ltd, London.

Notes on loss

At 02.32 hours on 26 Sep, 1941, the Cortes (Master Donald Ray McRae) in station #12 of convoy HG-73 was hit aft by one torpedo from U-124 and sank immediately by the stern north-northeast of the Azores.

After both ships ahead of her were torpedoed, the Lapwing in station #13 stopped and launched a lifeboat for rescue work. Among the survivors picked up were three men from Cortes, but they had to abandon ship again when she was sunk by U-203 (Mützelburg) at 06.34 hours. The lifeboat of Lapwing made landfall in Ireland two weeks later, but two Arab firemen from Cortes had died of exhaustion in the boat and the last survivor, bosun Alfonso Pimentil, died later in a hospital in Clifden. The master, 30 crew members, six gunners and six passengers were lost.

Convoy HG-73

Reassessment of U-boat attacks during the nights of 25/26 and 26/27 September 1941

by Rainer Kolbicz (Uboat.net)

The assessment of convoy attacks, particularly at night, always proved difficult and the first assessments made after the war were often based only on the basic information available back then. In the case of convoy HG-73 the lack of suitable information at the time led to preliminary conclusions by Dr. Jürgen Rohwer, the leading authority on U-boat successes that will be reassessed in this article.

Usually the primary sources used for the assessment of U-boat attacks are the war diaries (KTB) and the torpedo firing reports of the attacking U-boats for the German viewpoint of the events and the report of the convoy commodore and the senior officer of the escort (SOE) for the Allied side. The Allied reports for convoy HG-73 are sketchy because the convoy commodore’s ship was one of the first ships hit in the U-boat attacks and due to the confusion resulting from the attacks occurring at night.
Successful attacks on the night of 25/26 September 1941

Two U-boats reported successful attacks on convoy HG-73 during the night of 25/26 September 1941. The first was made by U-203 (Mützelburg) at 00.31 hours. The U-boat fired a spread of four torpedoes at two of the biggest ships in the convoy but could not observe the results because they had to crash-dive after the attack. They did however hear four detonations. U-203 avoided a depth charge attack, reloaded the torpedo tubes and resurfaced after three hours. They then saw an escort lying close to a stopped tanker, apparently to rescue survivors from the torpedoed ship as Mützelburg thought. At 04.01 hours and 04.04 hours, the U-boat attacked the destroyer with one and two torpedoes respectively, but missed and left at full speed to reload the torpedo tubes again. Returning to the area they found the stopped tanker again and hit it amidships with one torpedo at 06.34 hours, observing the ship sink within 3 minutes.

The second attack was made by U-124 (Mohr) who approached the convoy at 02.10 hours. At 02.32 hours, one torpedo was fired at a steamer which was observed to sink immediately by the stern after being hit aft. At 02.34 hours, another torpedo was fired at a second steamer which was observed to sink by the bow after being hit amidships.

The incomplete Allied reports mention the Varangberg and Avoceta (the convoy commodore’s ship) being hit in the first attack and the Cortes, Petrel and Lapwing in the second, but U-124 could not have hit more than two ships in her attack as she only fired two torpedoes. Earlier assessments credited U-203 with damaging Cortes and assumed that she was the ship finished off at 06.34 hours.

The following assessments were made in “Axis Submarine Successes”:

26/0031 U-203 BE 4156 -D 8000+ T HG-73 25/2233 nw -D Varangberg 2842+
26/0031 U-203 BE 4156 -D 12000+ T HG-73 25/2233 br -D Avoceta 3442+
26/0031 U-203 BE 4156 -T + T HG-73 25/0036 br -D Cortes 1374+
26/0232 U-124 BE 4165 -D 6000+ T HG-73 25/0036 br -D Petrel 1354+
26/0232 U-124 BE 4165 -D 5000+ T HG-73 25/0036 br -D Lapwing 1348+

But according to the survivor’s report, the Lapwing had not been hit at the same time. Being in station #13 they observed how the Cortes in station #12 and then Petrel in station #11 were hit and sunk and stopped to pick up survivors. Just before the rescue work was finished, Lapwing was herself torpedoed about 4 hours after the other ships had been hit. The conclusion from this and the survivor’s reports of the other ships is that the first attack of U-203 hit two ships: Varangberg (2 hits) and Avoceta (1 hit). The attack by U-124 sank Cortes and Petrel, while Lapwing stopped to rescue survivors and was located in this vulnerable situation by U-203. Mützelburg mistook the small coaster with its engine aft as tanker and wrongly assumed that the ship had stopped because it has been torpedoed in an earlier attack.

Our reassessment for “Axis Submarine Successes”:
26/0031 U-203 BE 4156 -D 8000+ T HG-73 25/2233 nw -D Varangberg 2842+
26/0031 U-203 BE 4156 -D 12000+ T HG-73 25/2233 br -D Avoceta 3442+
26/0232 U-124 BE 4165 -D 6000+ T HG-73 25/0036 br -D Cortes 1374+
26/0234 U-124 BE 4165 -D 5000+ T HG-73 25/0036 br -D Petrel 1354+
26/0634 U-203 BE 4132 -T + Tf HG-73 25/0430 br -D Lapwing 1348+

Successful attacks on the night of 26/27 September 1941

During the next night of 26/27 September 1941, again two U-boats reported successful attacks on convoy HG-73. This time the first attack was made by U-124 (Mohr) at 23.35 hours. The U-boat fired one torpedo at a steamer which sank fast after being hit aft.

At 02.08 hours, U-201 (Schnee) fired a spread of two torpedoes at a steamer of 5000 tons and a corvette, observed a bright flash close to the escort and a steamer sinking immediately. Turning around the U-boat then fired the stern torpedo at steamer of 3000 tons but missed. At 02.11 hours, they attacked the missed steamer with a spread of two torpedoes and observed two hits.

The following assessments were made in “Axis Submarine Successes”:

26/2335 U-124 BE 2711 -D 3000+ T HG-73 26/ br D Cervantes 1810+
27/0208 U-201 BE 1939 -D 5000+ T HG-73 27/ br AC Springbank 5155+
27/0208 U-201 BE 1939 PE + T HG-73
27/0211 U-201 BE 1939 -D 3000+ T HG-73 27/ nw D Siremalm 2468+

The Allied reports are incomplete for this night, but the report of the commander of the fighter catapult ship HMS Springbank provides some new information that makes a reassessment necessary. According to his report the first ship hit was on the port side of the convoy and to avoid an attack moved his ship between column 4 and 6 on the starboard side. At 00.13 GMT, the Leadgate in station #41 ahead of his ship was torpedoed, then a torpedo passed between the ships and shortly afterwards HMS Springbank was hit by two torpedoes.

The Admiralty convoy report states that Siremalm was torpedoed at 21.35 GMT, so she was the ship hit first. This is also confirmed by her position in the convoy, the station #23 being on the port side as observed by the commander of HMS Springbank. Contrary to the above mentioned report the British steam merchant Leadgate was in fact not torpedoed, but it is quite possible that the bright flash observed by U-201 was a premature torpedo detonation close to Leadgate. The stern torpedo and the second spread of two torpedoes were then aimed at HMS Springbank. This only leaves the question: when was Cervantes torpedoed? Judging from her position in the convoy Cervantes in station #53 was apparently the ship observed to sink after U-201 had fired the first spread of two torpedoes.

Our reassessment for “Axis Submarine Successes”:

26/2335 U-124 BE 2711 -D 3000+ T HG-73 26/2135 nw D Siremalm 2468+
27/0208 U-201 BE 1939 -D 5000+ T HG-73 27/0013 br D Cervantes 1810+
27/0208 U-201 BE 1939 PE + T HG-73 27/0013 br D Leadgate -
27/0211 U-201 BE 1939 -D 3000+ T HG-73 27/0013 br AC Springbank 5155+

Note: This analysis was sent to Dr. Jürgen Rohwer for review and he confirmed our findings. (Uboat.net)

Johann Mohr

Korvettenkapitän (Crew 34)

Successes

27 ships sunk, total tonnage 129,976 GRT
2 warships sunk, total tonnage 5,775 tons
3 ships damaged, total tonnage 26,167 GRT

Born 12 Jun 1916 Hannover
Died 2 Apr 1943 (26) Middle Atlantic

Ranks

8 Apr 1934 Offiziersanwärter
26 Sep 1934 Seekadett
1 Jul 1935 Fähnrich zur See
1 Jan 1937 Oberfähnrich zur See
1 Apr 1937 Leutnant zur See
1 Apr 1939 Oberleutnant zur See
1 Sep 1941 Kapitänleutnant
1 Apr 1943 Korvettenkapitän

Decorations

29 Nov 1939 Iron Cross 2nd Class
4 May 1941 Iron Cross 1st Class
4 May 1941 U-boat War Badge 1939
27 Mar 1942 Knights Cross
13 Jan 1943 Knights Cross with Oak Leaves

U-boat Commands

U-boat From To
U-124 8 Sep 1941 2 Apr 1943 (+) 6 patrols (268 days)

'Jochen' Mohr was one of a handful of U-boat officers who spent their entire U-boat careers on a single boat. He completed his first three patrols under the command of Kapitänleutnant Georg-Wilhelm Schulz.

Mohr achieved great success against enemy warships. On his first patrol as commander, in November 1941, he sank the British light cruiser HMS Dunedin and in 1942 he sank the French corvette Mimosa. Especially remarkable was the night of 12 May, 1942, when U-124 sank four ships for a total of 21,784 tons from convoy ONS-92.

A doggerel composed by Mohr on his way back from the US East Coast:

The moon night is as black as ink
Off Hatteras the tankers sink
While sadly Roosevelt counts the score
some fifty thousand tons. Mohr

Mohr was killed when his boat was sunk with all hands on 2 April, 1943 west of Oporto, Portugal, by the British corvette HMS Stonecrop and the sloop HMS Black Swan (Niestlé, 1998).

Sources

Busch, R. and Röll, H-J. (1999). German U-boat commanders of World War II.
Busch, R. and Röll, H-J. (1997). Der U-Bootkrieg 1939-1945 (Band 2).
Niestlé, A. (1998). German U-boat losses during World War II.
Rohwer, J. (1998). Axis Submarine Successes of World War Two.

Patrol info for Johann Mohr

U-boat Departure Arrival
1. U-124 16 Sep 1941 Lorient 1 Oct 1941 Lorient Patrol 1, 16 days
2. U-124 30 Oct 1941 Lorient 29 Dec 1941 Lorient Patrol 2, 61 days
3. U-124 21 Feb 1942 Lorient 10 Apr 1942 Lorient Patrol 3, 49 days
4. U-124 4 May 1942 Lorient 26 Jun 1942 Lorient Patrol 4, 54 days
5. U-124 25 Nov 1942 Lorient 13 Feb 1943 Lorient Patrol 5, 81 days
6. U-124 27 Mar 1943 Lorient 2 Apr 1943 Sunk Patrol 6, 7 days

6 patrols, 268 days at sea

Ships hit by Johann Mohr

Date U-boat Commander Name of ship Tons Nat. Convoy
20 Sep 1941 U-124 Johann Mohr Baltallinn 1,303 br OG-74
20 Sep 1941 U-124 Johann Mohr Empire Moat 2,922 br OG-74
25 Sep 1941 U-124 Johann Mohr Empire Stream 2,922 br HG-73
26 Sep 1941 U-124 Johann Mohr Cortes 1,374 br HG-73
26 Sep 1941 U-124 Johann Mohr Petrel 1,354 br HG-73
26 Sep 1941 U-124 Johann Mohr Siremalm 2,468 nw HG-73
24 Nov 1941 U-124 Johann Mohr HMS Dunedin (D 93)4,850 br
3 Dec 1941 U-124 Johann Mohr Sagadahoc 6,275 am

14 Mar 1942 U-124 Johann Mohr British Resource 7,209 br
17 Mar 1942 U-124 Johann Mohr Ceiba 1,698 ho
17 Mar 1942 U-124 Johann Mohr Acme (d.) 6,878 am
18 Mar 1942 U-124 Johann Mohr Kassandra Louloudis5,106 gr
18 Mar 1942 U-124 Johann Mohr E.M. Clark 9,647 am
19 Mar 1942 U-124 Johann Mohr Papoose 5,939 am
19 Mar 1942 U-124 Johann Mohr W.E. Hutton 7,076 am
21 Mar 1942 U-124 Johann Mohr Esso Nashville (d.) 7,934 am
21 Mar 1942 U-124 Johann Mohr Atlantic Sun (d.) 11,355 am
23 Mar 1942 U-124 Johann Mohr Naeco 5,373 am
12 May 1942 U-124 Johann Mohr Empire Dell 7,065 br ONS-92
12 May 1942 U-124 Johann Mohr Llanover 4,959 br ONS-92
12 May 1942 U-124 Johann Mohr Mount Parnes 4,371 gr ONS-92
12 May 1942 U-124 Johann Mohr Cristales 5,389 br ONS-92
9 Jun 1942 U-124 Johann Mohr FFL Mimosa (K 11) 925 fr ONS-100
12 Jun 1942 U-124 Johann Mohr Dartford 4,093 br ONS-100
18 Jun 1942 U-124 Johann Mohr Seattle Spirit 5,627 am ONS-102
28 Dec 1942 U-124 Johann Mohr Treworlas 4,692 br

9 Jan 1943 U-124 Johann Mohr Broad Arrow 7,718 am TB-1
9 Jan 1943 U-124 Johann Mohr Birmingham City 6,194 am TB-1
9 Jan 1943 U-124 Johann Mohr Collingsworth 5,101 am TB-1
9 Jan 1943 U-124 Johann Mohr Minotaur 4,554 am TB-1
2 Apr 1943 U-124 Johann Mohr Gogra 5,190 br OS-45
2 Apr 1943 U-124 Johann Mohr Katha 4,357 br OS-45
161,918

29 ships sunk (135,751 tons) and 3 ships damaged (26,167 tons).

U-124

Type IXB
Ordered 15 Dec 1937

Laid down 11 Aug 1939 AG Weser, Bremen (werk 956)
Launched 9 Mar 1940

Commissioned 11 Jun 1940 Kptlt. Georg-Wilhelm Schulz (Knights Cross)
Commanders 11 Jun 1940 - 7 Sep 1941 Kptlt. Georg-Wilhelm Schulz (Knights Cross)
8 Sep 1941 - 2 Apr 1943 KrvKpt. Johann Mohr (Knights Cross)

Career

11 patrols 11 Jun 1940 - 1 Aug 1940 2. Flottille (training)
1 Aug 1940 - 2 Apr 1943 2. Flottille (front boat)

Successes

46 ships sunk, total tonnage 219,862 GRT
2 warships sunk, total tonnage 5,775 tons
4 ships damaged, total tonnage 30,067 GRT

Fate

Sunk 2 April, 1943 west of Oporto, in position 41.02N, 15.39W, by depth charges from the British corvette HMS Stonecrop and the British sloop HMS Black Swan. 53 dead (all hands lost).

Wolfpack operations

U-124 operated with the following Wolfpacks during its career:

Süd (22 Jul 1941 - 5 Aug 1941)
Hecht (8 May 1942 - 18 Jun 1942)

Attacks on this boat

25 Aug 1940
In the late evening, the boat successfully attacked convoy HX-65A and then dived to evade HMS Godetia, which dropped 12 depth charges and then lost contact to U-124 because she lied stopped on the bottom for one hour after hitting a rock formation at a depth of 90 meters. The U-boat was not damaged by the attack itself, but the collision had damaged three of the four bow torpedo tubes so the boat was ordered to assume weather reporting duties for the rest of her patrol.

17 Oct 1940
At 08.55 hours, the boat encountered HMS Clyde while acting as weather boat in the North Atlantic. Assuming the vessel to be a destroyer U-124 immediately dived and did not realize that the submarine fired three torpedoes at her at 09.06 hours. (Sources: KTB U-124/Patrol report HMS Clyde)

9 Dec 1941
The boat was attacked by coastal artillery from Fort Thornton off the harbour of Georgetown on Ascension island, but suffered no damage.

1 Jan 1943
At 15.23 hours, the boat crash-dived when attacked by an American Catalina flying boat (VP-53 USN/P-1) east of Trinidad. The aircraft dropped two depth charges that caused no damage. (Sources: Rohwer/Ritschel)

4 recorded attacks on this boat.

General notes on this boat

The emblem of U-124, the Edelweiss, was inspired by the loss of U-64 in April, 1940 as the boats were largely manned by the same crew, including the commander and saved from the Norwegian waters by members of the German mountain troops using that same emblem.

Men lost from U-boats

Unlike many other U-boats, which during their service lost men due to accidents and various other causes, U-124 did not suffer any casualties (we know of) until the time of her loss.

Convoy HG-73

Homeward from Gibraltar (North Atlantic)

19 Sep 1941 - 28 Sep 1941

The Convoy 25 ships
First sighting On 19 Sep 1941 by U-371

Escorts

When leaving Gibraltar on 17 September:

British destroyer HMS Vimy (D 33) (LtCdr H.G.D. de Chair, RN) until 22 September
British escort destroyers HMS Duncan (D 99) (LtCdr A.N. Rowell, RN) and HMS Farndale (L 70) (Cdr S.H. Carlill, RN) until 20 September
British sloop HMS Fowey (L 15) (LtCdr L.C.A. Leefe, RN)
British corvettes HMS Begonia (K 66) (T/Lt T.A.R. Muir, RNR), HMS Gentian (K 90) (Cdr R.O. Yeomans, RD, RNR), HMS Hibiscus (K 24) (LtCdr C.G. Cuthbertson, RNR), HMS Jasmine (K 23) (LtCdr C.D.B. Coventry, RNR (retired)), HMS Larkspur (K 82) (Lt S.C.B. Hickman, RNR), HMS Myosotis (K 65) (Lt G.P.S. Lowe, RNVR), HMS Periwinkle (K 55) (LtCdr P.G. MacIver, RNR) and HMS Stonecrop (K 142) (Lt J.V. Brock, RCNVR)
British fighter catapult ship HMS Springbank (Capt C.H. Godwin, DSO, RN (retired)) until lost on 27 September.

Joined on 20 September: British destroyer HMS Wild Swan (D 62) (LtCdr C.E.L. Sclater, RN) until 22 September
Joined on 22 September: British destroyer HMS Highlander (H 44) (Cdr S. Boucher, RN) until 26 September
Joined on 28 September: British destroyer HMS Wolverine (D 78) (LtCdr J.M. Rowland, RN)

U-boats
U-124 * Kaptlt. Johann Mohr, U-201 * Oblt. Adalbert Schnee, U-203 * Kaptlt. Rolf Mützelburg, U-205 Kaptlt. Franz-Georg Reschke, U-371 Kaptlt. Heinrich Driver

* U-boats that fired torpedo or used the deck gun

The battle

One day after the convoy HG-73 had left Gibraltar, a German Fw200 Condor aircraft (KG 40) located the ships off Cape St. Vincent but was chased away by the Fulmar fighter from HMS Springbank. Four Italian submarines on patrol west of Gibraltar were ordered to search for it: Leonardo Da Vinci (CC Ferdinando Calda), Alessandro Malaspina (TV Giuliano Prini) *, Morosini (CC Athos Fraternale) and Luigi Torelli (CC Antonio De Giacomo).

On 19 September, the Morosini made the first contact with the convoy but one of the electrical engines broke down and the submarine returned to base. The same day, U-371 sighted the convoy as well but the U-boat was en route to the Mediterranean and ordered to continue its mission. In the evening on 20 September, Torelli found the convoy and was badly damaged by depth charges from HMS Vimy when she tried to attack the convoy during the night of 21/22 September, forcing the submarine to abort its patrol. On 23 September, Da Vinci sighted the convoy again and kept contact for U-124 and U-201 which were directed to it by the BdU, coming from the battle against convoy OG-74. The next day, a Fw200 aircraft located the convoy and sent homing signals.

During the following night, only U-124 reached the convoy and reported unsuccessful attacks on a cruiser sailing ahead of the convoy HG-73, possibly misidentifying the fighter catapult ship HMS Springbank and a destroyer, before sinking the first ship. The U-boat was joined by U-203 the next night and together they sank five ships, while U-201 also reached the convoy but was chased away by the escorts. In the night of 26/27 September, all three U-boats attacked again sinking two more ships and HMS Springbank, while the outbound U-205 made contact but lost the convoy in bad visibility.

On 27 September, Allied flying boats arrived to screen the convoy HG-73 and they kept the most U-boats at distance, only U-201 managed to attack the following night, sinking another steamer. Three of the four participating U-boats were now out of torpedoes and the BdU ordered U-124 and U-201 to return to base, while U-203 shadowed the convoy for U-205, but this U-boat had been bombed and damaged in the evening on 28 September and the operation was broken off at dawn on 29 September.

The three attacking U-boats claimed the sinking of 10 ships with 62.000 tons, one corvette possibly sunk and another ship damaged. This reflects the reappearing problem of overestimating the targets in the Gibraltar convoys, the commanders mistaking coasters with the engine aft as tankers and claiming normal ship sizes for North Atlantic convoys, while the average size of the ships in the convoy HG-73 was about 2200 GRT for example.

On this occasion the cooperation between the U-boats and air reconnaissance of the Luftwaffe worked as intended, the Fw200 aircraft of KG 40 being in contact with the convoy after it left Gibraltar, on 24 and 26 to 28 September, sending homing signals and helping the U-boats to get into a favorable position for the night attacks. Moreover, the Italian submarines were complimented by the BdU for their shadowing work in the early phase of this battle. None of the submarines reported a successful attack on the convoy, but a Fw200 reported two ships in sinking condition and one burning ship behind the convoy on 24 September, so they were wrongly credited to Malaspina * which did not return from her patrol. Allied sources mention no ships being lost or damaged in this area on that day.

* Unknown at this time was that Malaspina had already been lost on 10 September, bombed and sunk with all hands by the Australian Sunderland aircraft W3986 (10 Sqdn RAAF/U, pilot F/L A.G.H. Wearne, RAAF) while outbound in the Bay of Biscay in position 46°23N/11°22W. The submarine was reported missing after leaving Bordeaux on 7 September and for some time it was thought that she had been sunk by the British destroyer HMS Vimy during the night of 21/22 September in the vicinity of convoy HG-73, but this attack was in fact directed against Torelli. Her fate was revised in March 2004 by Dr. Axel Niestlè and Eric Zimmerman. 
Bosdet, Jack Percival (I890)
 
1506 Sir Alan de la Zouche lived at Ashby, Leicestershire, England. de la Zouche, Sir Alan (I5870)
 
1507 Sir Geoffrey le Scrope (c. 1280 - 2 December 1340) was an English lawyer, and Chief Justice of the King's Bench for four periods between 1324 and 1338. He was the son of Sir William le Scrope, who was bailiff to the earl of Richmond in Richmondshire. Geoffrey’s older brother Henry was also a lawyer, and served as Chief Justice twice, 1317-23 and 1329-30.

In the baronial conflicts of the reign of Edward II he was a loyal adherent of the crown. He was involved in the proceedings both against Thomas of Lancaster and Andrew Harclay. He was knighted in 1323, and became Chief Justice for the first time the next year. He managed, however, to survive politically the overthrow both of Edward II in 1326 and of Roger Mortimer in 1330.

After retiring as a justice, he campaigned with Edward III in Flanders, and distinguished himself as a soldier. He was also one of the instigators behind the king’s actions against Archbishop Stratford in 1340. He died at Ghent the same year, probably on December 2nd, and was buried at Coverham Abbey, Yorkshire. Geoffrey and his wife Ivetta had five sons. Their eldest son, Henry (whose daughter Joane married Henry Fitzhugh), became the first Baron Scrope of Masham.

Geoffrey le SCROPE , of Masham, Sir Sex: M Birth: BEF 1285 in Bolton, Wensley, North Riding Yorkshire, England Death: DEC 1340 in Masham, Bedale, North Riding Yorkshire, England Burial: Coverham Abbey, Ghent, Yorkshire, England

GEOFFREY LE SCROPE, 2nd son, of Sir William LE SCROPE of Bolton, was born probably ante 1285; for in 1306, with Ralph de Bellerby, he was attorney for Thomas de Meynill; 1310, granted by William de Brakenbury a rent out of a mill in Thirsk; 1311, obtained a grant from John de Clavering in fee of the manor of Whatton, Northumberland and a grant of free warren to himself and his heirs in Coverham, Caldebergh and Agglethorp, co. York. In 1315, when he was already a King's serjeant, he was granted protection for one year on 4 July, and on 1 September he was in a commission to survey the waste of the castle of Knaresborough; 1316, certified as one of the lords of the townships of Warlaby, Carleton in Coverdale, Caldebergh, Coverharn and Scrafton, Kirklington and Marrick, co. York; July 1316, appointed to take seisin of castles towns and manors of Conisborough and elsewhere in cos. York and Lincoln which John (de Warenne), Earl of Surrey, had surrendered for himself and his heirs to the King, and afterwards to return them to the Earl to hold for life; 22 August 1316, granted protection for one year; on 1 July 1317, summoned among the Justices and others to attend Council at Nottingham, and so thenceforward. In 1317 he obtained various grants of free warren.

On 25 September 1317 he obtained licence to crenellate his dwelling place of Clifton-upon-Ure; 1317/8, he was pardoned for acquiring in fee without licence lands in Dalton; on 11 April 1318 and thereafter, on commissions in Chester, Flint, Yorks; on 12 June obtained confirmation of grant to him and his heirs by Sir Gilbert de Aton of the manor of Eltham Mandeville; 1 December, appointed during pleasure, as King's yeoman and serjeant, to have the custody of all lands &c. held of him in the North; January 1, 1319/20, licence for Joan, daughter of John de Wauton, to grant to Geoffrey and his heirs 20 li. rent in Waltham, Barnoldby and Wathe, co. Lincoln, to hold in chief; 15 September, joint commissioner to repair to Carlisle to treat for peace with Robert de Brus; 6 October, appointed a trier of petitions of Engalnd and Wales; appointed as one of the "oratores domini Regis" in the Eyre of London in 1321; on 26 February 1320/1, granted the marriage of Eustache, daughter and heir of Henry de Percy, tenant-in-chief; 16 April 1321, present at Gloucester at the delivery of the Great Seal; 15 June, obtained release from Sir Roald de Richmond of the latter's right in the manor of Constable Burton; 13 March 1321/2, appointed to sentence Roger Amory for treason. On 1 May 1322, granted protection for himself and his tenants of Bracken, co. York; 8 July, empowered with the Chancellor and others to enlarge persons imprisoned for adherence to the Earl of Lancaster; in 1322/3,

William de Ros of Ingmanthorp, knight, granted to Geoffrey le Scrope and Ivette (or Juette) his wife during their lives the manors of South Muskham and Carleton, and later released them, as did his wife Isabel; 27 February 1322/3, joint commissioner to degrade Andrew de Harcla, Earl of Carlisle, and pass judgment upon him; 1 April 1323, with William de Herle to treat with the emissaries of Robert de Brus; June and July, in commissions of oyer and terminer, co. York; 27 September appointed during pleasure to be a Justice of the Common Pleas, with the usual fee. On 21 March 1323/4 he was appointed Chief Justice of King's Bench; 9 May 1324, specially summoned to great Council at Westminster; on 8 November 1324 a joint commissioner to make a final peace with Robert de Brus; 21 January 1324/5, he acquired for himself and his heirs an interest in a moiety of the manor of Billington, Lancs; 26 February 1325/6, empowered, with others, to try persons accused of illegal confederacies in cos. Leicester and Stafford; a member of the deputation to Kenilworth to announce to Edward Il his deposition; 1 March, pardon and restoration to the King's favour. On 23 April 1327, joint ambassador to Robert de Brus. On 28 October he obtained to himself and his heirs grant of free warren, markets and fairs in Masham, Bellerby and other places in co. York and Muskham, co. Notts., 21 February 1328/9, granted in fee a yearly pension of 100 li. for the life of Queen Isabel and the reversion of the manor of Whitgift, co. York, after her death.

During 1329, by fine passed within one month of Easter (23 April), Geoffrey acquired the manor of Masham, subject to the dower of the widow, and payment of a yearly sum to the heiress, of John de Walton; 20 May 1329, protection, and going beyond seas with the King; June, present at Amiens when the King did homage to the King of France for duchy of Guienne; 16 June, joint commissioner to treat with the King of France for a marriage between his eldest son and Eleanor the King's sister; 19 December, appointed to be Chief Justice; 30 December, granted the manor of Eltham Mandeville, Kent, which he had lately given to the Queen. 20 October 1331 joint commissioner, to treat for a marriage between the Count of Geldres and Eleanor the King's sister. 30 September 1333, joint commissioner to make a survey of the County of Ponthieu and correct abuses. 1 February 1333/4, with Edward de Bohun and others to go to the Parliament of Edward de Balliol, King of Scotland, to seek confirmation of convention of 1327; 25 February, approval of payment of 200 Ii. to William de Clinton and Geoffrey le Scrope, who had set out in the King's service to France; 30 March 1334, with John Archbishop of Canterbury to treat with the Duke of Brittany; and to treat with Philip King of France; 14 July, granted exemption from special journeys and services; 16 July, appointed as a Justice of the Bench in place of John de Stonore; 10 November Chief Justice; 10 December, granted protection for one year. 6 June 1335, present at delivery to the King of the Great Seal; 16 November, with others, to treat with Andrew de Moray, "custos Scotiae."

20 January 1335/6, grant to him and his heirs of the manor of Driffield, co. York. On 24 March 1336/7 he was appointed with R. bishop of Durham and others, to treat with the magnates and others about to set out against the Scots as to their stay in Scotland. In 1337 he was busily employed in the north. On 6 March 1337/8, and thereafter, under Ralph de Nevill, he went on eyre to hold pleas of the forest in co. York; 20 June, granted a pardon; 21 June, joint commissioner to treat with the King of France as to the King's demesnes and inheritance; 28 June, with the Earl of Northampton, commended to the Emperor of the Romans to discuss the King's passage abroad; 15 November, joint commissioner to treat of peace with Philip de Valois; 28 December, collectors of customs at Hull ordered to permit him to load wool and victuals at Kingston upon Hull. On 4 January 1338/9 and 13 November 1339, joint commissioner to make alliances with Louis Count of Flanders &c., and to treat of a marriage between Louis, son of Louis, and the King's daughter Isabel; 28 April 1340, present at delivery to the King of the Great Seal; joint commissioner to treat for a truce and final peace with the Scots; and, 26 May, to treat with the friends of the Earl of Moray for his temporary liberation from prison. In July he crossed to France on the King's business. He was a benefactor to the Abbeys of Fountains, Whalley and Stratford, the canons of Haltemprice and the church of Brompton-Patrick.

He married Ivette, or Juette.(k) There is no evidence that she survived him. He died probably early in December 1340 at Ghent, and was buried in Coverham Abbey. He left a will, which has not been preserved. [Complete Peerage XI:554-61, (transcribed by Dave Utzinger)]

[k] According to Nicolas, both Glover and Vincent state that she was daughter of William de Ros of Ingmanthorp, and the same statement appears in Add. MS 37141, f 281; and the transaction referred to in note "b" on p. 556 and in the relevant text is not inconsistent with this view, for which, however, there appears to be no record evidence. Sir Robert de Ros of Ingmanthorp, who gave evidence for Scrope in 1386 made no reference to any relationship; but it might have lessened the value of his testimony if he had done so. Nicolas adds that there is reason to believe that Geoffrey married 2ndly, before 1331, Lora, daughter and coheir of Sir Gerard de Furnival, widow of Sir John Ufflete; but he points out the difficulties involved.

From jweber site
 
Scrope, Sir Geoffrey (I5220)
 
1508 Sir Mark Husee was the son of Henry Husee, 2nd Lord Husee. He married Margery de Verdun, daughter of Sir Theobald de Verdun, 2nd Lord Verdun and Maud de Mortimer, before 18 October 1339. He died before 10 February 1345/46.
 
Husee, Sir Mark (I2812)
 
1509 Sir Ralph Deincourt or d'Eincourt of Sizergh. Deincourt, Sir Ralph (I5183)
 
1510 Sir Richard Fourneys or de Fourneux. Fourneys, Sir Richard (I5203)
 
1511 Sir Richard Hudleston served with Sir William in the wars of France.
 
Harrington, Sir William (I561)
 
1512 Sir Robert de Ros, or de Roos of Helmsley, was the grandfather and ancestor of the Barons Ros of Helmsley that was created by writ in 1264. In 1215, Ros joined the confederation of the barons at Stamford. He was one of the twenty-five barons to guarantee the observance of the Magna Carta, signed by King John on 15 Jun 1215.

He was the son of Everard de Ros, Baron of Helmsley and Roese Trussebut, daughter of William Trussebut of Warter. In 1191, aged fourteen, he paid a thousand marks fine for livery of his lands to King Richard I of England. In 1197, while serving King Richard in Normandy, he was arrested for an unspecified offence, and was committed to the custody of Hugh de Chaumont, but Chaumont entrusted his prisoner to William de Spiney, who allowed him to escape from the castle of Bonville, England. King Richard thereupon hanged Spiney and collected a fine of twelve hundred marks from Ros' guardian as the price of his continued freedom.

When King John came to the throne, he gave Ros the barony of his great-grandmother's father, Walter d'Espec. Soon afterwards he was deputed one of those to escort William the Lion, his father-in-law, into England, to swear fealty to King John. Some years later, Robert de Ros assumed the habit of a monk, whereupon the custody of all his lands and Castle Werke (Wark), in Northumberland, were committed to Philip d'Ulcote, but he soon returned and about a year later he was High Sheriff of Cumberland.

When the struggle of the barons for a constitutional government began, de Ros at first sided with King John, and thus obtained some valuable grants from the crown, and was made governor of Carlisle; but he subsequently went over to the barons and became one of the celebrated twenty-five "Sureties" appointed to enforce the observance of Magna Carta, the county of Northumberland being placed under his supervision. He gave his allegiance to King Henry III and, in 1217-18, his manors were restored to him. Although he was witness to the second Great Charter and the Forest Charter, of 1224, he seems to have remained in royal favour.

In early 1191, in Haddington, East Lothian, Scotland, Ros married Isabella Mac William (Isibéal nic Uilliam), widow of Robert III de Brus. Isabella was the illegitimate daughter of William the Lion, King of Scots by the daughter of Richard Avenel.

Issue with Isabella:

Sir William de Ros (b. before 1200 - d. ca. 1264/1265), father of Robert de Ros, 1st Baron de Ros.
Sir Robert de Ros (ca. 1223 - 13 May 1285), was Chief Justice of the Kings Bench. He married Christian Bertram; from which Elizabeth Ros (d.1395), wife of William Parr of Kendal (1350 - c.1404) descended. The two were ancestors of Queen consort Catherine Parr.
Sir Alexander de Ros (d. ca. 1306), he fathered one child with an unknown wife, William.
Peter de Ros

He erected Helmsley or Hamlake Castle in Yorkshire, and of Wark Castle in Northumberland. Sir Robert is buried at the Temple Church under a magnificent tomb.
 
de Roos, Sir Robert (I2199)
 
1513 Sir Theobald de Verdun, 2nd Lord Verdun was born on 8 September 1278. He was the son of Theobald Verdun, 1st Lord Verdun and Margery de Bohun. He married, firstly, Maud de Mortimer, daughter of Sir Edmund de Mortimer, on 29 July 1302 at Wigmore, Herefordshire, England. He married, secondly, Elizabeth de Clare, daughter of Gilbert de Clare, 6th Earl of Gloucester and Joan of Acre, on 4 February 1315/16.

He lived at Alton, Staffordshire, England.
 
de Verdun, Sir Theobald 2nd Lord Verdun (I265)
 
1514 Sir Thomas (iv) Curwen (c. 1494-1543) married Agnes, daughter of Sir Walter Strickland and great-granddaughter of Anne Parr. The royal blood of the Plantagenets came to the Curwen house..according to the book Papers and Pedigrees by William Jackson (1892).
 
Curwen, Sir Thomas Christopher (I1446)
 
1515 Sir Thomas Tunstall lived at Thurland, Lancashire, England.
 
de Tunstall, Sir Thomas (I1518)
 
1516 Sir Walter Devereux was the son of Sir Walter Devereux. He died in 1403, killed fighting against Owen Glendower. In 1387 King Richard II committed the forests and castles of the Earl of Hereford to him.
 
Devereux, Sir Walter (I2811)
 
1517 Sir William le Blount, 1st and last Lord Blount was the son of Sir Walter le Blount and Joan Sodington. He married Margery de Verdun, daughter of Sir Theobald de Verdun, 2nd Lord Verdun and Maud de Mortimer, before 20 February 1326/27. He died before 3 October 1337. He was created 1st Lord Blount [England by writ] on 25 January 1329/30. He lived at Sodington, Worcestershire, England. On his death, his title become extinct.
 
le Blount, Sir William 1st and last Lord Blount (I289)
 
1518 Sister of Sir Edward. Betham, Elizabeth (I5127)
 
1519 Siward or Sigurd (Old English: Sigeweard) was an important earl of 11th-century northern England. The Old Norse nickname Digri and its Latin translation Grossus ("the stout") are given to him by near-contemporary texts. Siward was probably of Scandinavian origin, perhaps a relative of Earl Ulf, and emerged as a powerful regional strongman in England during the reign of Cnut ("Canute the Great", 1016-1035). Cnut was a Scandinavian ruler who conquered England in the 1010s, and Siward was one of the many Scandinavians who came to England in the aftermath of that conquest. Siward subsequently rose to become sub-ruler of most of northern England. From 1033 at the latest Siward was in control of southern Northumbria, that is, present-day Yorkshire, governing as earl on Cnut's behalf.

He entrenched his position in northern England by marrying Ælfflæd, the daughter of Ealdred, Earl of Bamburgh. After killing Ealdred's successor Eadulf in 1041, Siward gained control of all Northumbria. He exerted his power in support of Cnut's successors, kings Harthacnut and Edward, assisting them with vital military aid and counsel. He probably gained control of the middle shires of Northampton and Huntingdon by the 1050s, and there is some evidence that he spread Northumbrian control into Cumberland. In the early 1050s Earl Siward turned against the Scottish ruler Mac Bethad mac Findlaích ("Macbeth"). Despite the death of his son Osbjorn, Siward defeated Mac Bethad in battle in 1054. More than half a millennium later the Scotland adventure earned him a place in William Shakespeare's Macbeth. Siward died in 1055, leaving one son, Waltheof, who would eventually succeed to Northumbria. St Olaf's church in York and nearby Heslington Hill are associated with Siward.

Sources

Source material on Siward's life and career is scarce, and only a small and potentially unrepresentative amount of information exists. No contemporary or near-contemporary biography has survived, and narratives from around the time of his life such as the Encomium Emmae and the Vita Ædwardi Regis scarcely mention him; historians are therefore dependent on a few entries in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and comparable Irish sources. Later Anglo-Norman histories may or may not be reliable depending on their source material, but useful ones include the Chronicle of John of Worcester (compiled between 1124 and 1140), William of Malmesbury (writing between c. 1125 and 1142), Henry of Huntingdon (writing between c. 1133 and 1154), and Orderic Vitalis (writing between c. 1114 and 1141). Other sources include the material attributed to Symeon of Durham (compiled and written as extant between the late 1000s and the first half of the 1100s). Legendary material, such as that in hagiography or later medieval sources such as John of Fordun or Andrew of Wyntoun, is not generally regarded as useful beyond its limited potential for cleanly preserving earlier source material.

Background

Siward's career in northern England spanned the reigns of four different monarchs. It began during the reign of Cnut, and lasted through those of Harold Harefoot and Harthacnut into the early years of Edward the Confessor. Most important was the reign of Cnut, in which so many new political figures rose to power that some historians think it comparable to the Norman conquest five decades later. These "new men" were military figures, usually with weak hereditary links to the West Saxon royal house that Cnut had deposed. As Cnut ruled several Scandinavian kingdoms in addition to England, power at the highest level was delegated to such strongmen. In England, it fell to a handful of newly promoted "ealdormen" or "earls", who ruled a shire or group of shires on behalf of the king. Siward was, in the words of historian Robin Fleming, "the third man in Cnut's new triumvirate of earls", the other two being Godwine, Earl of Wessex and Leofwine, Earl of Mercia.

Northern England in the 11th-century was a region quite distinct from the rest of the country. The former kingdom of Northumbria stretched from the Humber and Mersey estuaries, northward to the Firth of Forth, where, passing the western Kingdom of Strathclyde, it met the Kingdom of Alba (Scotland). Northumbria had been united with the West Saxon English kingdom only in the 950s, by King Eadred, and subsequent control was exerted through the agency of at least two ealdormen, one to the north and one to the south of the river Tees. The former is associated with the stronghold of Bamburgh, while the latter is associated with the great Roman city of York. It was a politically fragmented region. The western part, from Lancashire to Cumberland, was heavily settled by Norse-Gaels, while in the rest of Northumbria English and Anglo-Scandinavian regional magnates-thegns, holds and high-reeves-exercised a considerable degree of independence from the ealdormen. One such example was the magnate Thurbrand, a hold in Yorkshire, probably based in Holderness, whose family were frequently at odds with the ruling earls at Bamburgh.

Ancestry

"The Stories of the ancients tell us that Ursus (a certain nobleman whom the Lord, contrary to what normally happens in human procreation, allowed to be created from a white bear as a father and a noblewoman as a mother), begot Spratlingus; Spratlingus begot Ulfius; and Ulfius begot Beorn, who was nicknamed Beresune, that is, "Bear's Son". This Beorn was Danish by race, a distinguished earl and famous soldier. As a sign, however, that due to part of his ancestry he was of a different species, nature had given him the ears of his father's line, namely those of a bear. In all other features he was of his mother's appearance. And after many manly deeds and military adventures, he begot a son, a tried imitator of his father's strength and military skill. His name was Siward, nicknamed Diere, that is, the Stout (grossus)".- A description of Siward's ancestry and his father Beorn, taken from the Vita Waldevi, a saint's life dedicated to Siward's son Waltheof.

Historians generally claim Siward to be of Scandinavian origin, a conclusion supported by the Vita Ædwardi Regis, which states that Siward was "[called] Digri in the Danish tongue" (Danica lingua Digara). Legendary material incorporated in the Vita et passio Waldevi comitis (or simply Vita Waldevi), the hagiographic biography of Siward's son Waltheof, states that Siward was the son of a Scandinavian earl named Bjorn and provides a genealogy claiming that he was the descendant of a polar bear, a commonplace piece of Germanic folklore.

Historian Timothy Bolton has recently argued that the similarities between these genealogies is evidence of a shared family tradition between the descendants of Siward and Thorgil Sprakling. Bolton hypothesized that Siward's alleged father Bjorn was probably a historical figure, a brother of Thorgil Sprakling. Siward would then have been first cousin to Earl Ulf, the earl of Denmark who married Cnut's sister Estrith and founded the dynasty of Danish monarchs that eventually succeeded Cnut's. Bolton argued that the Sprakling family had only recently risen to prominence in Scandinavia, and so Siward's career in England was another indication of that family's success in Scandinavian politics.

The Vita Waldevi provides further legendary detail of Siward's journey from Scandinavia to England. According to the Vita, Siward passed through Orkney, killing a dragon there before moving on to Northumbria. There he encountered another dragon, before meeting an Oðinn-like old man on a hill,[24] who handed him a raven banner and instructed him to proceed to London to receive the patronage of the king of England.

Career under Cnut, Harold and Harthacnut

"[A]fter a short conversation the king took him [Siward] into his service, and promised him the first position of dignity which became vacant in his realm. After that Siward said farewell, and he and his men took the way back to London. On the bridge not far from the monastery [Westminster] he met the Earl of Huntingdon, Tosti, a Dane by birth; the king hated him because he had married Earl Godwine's daughter, sister to the queen. The earl crossed the foot-bridge so near Siward that he soiled his mantle with his dirty feet; for at that time it was fashionable to wear a mantle without any cord by which to hold it up. Then blood rushed to his heart; yet he checked himself from taking revenge on the spot, because the shame was inflicted upon him by one who was on his way to the king's hall. But he remained standing with his men by the same bridge until Tosti came from the king; then he drew his sword and hacked off Tosti's head, and went with it under his mantle back to the king's hall. Here he asked, according to his promise, to give him the earldom of Huntingdon. But as the earl had just left him, the king thought he was only joking. Then Siward related his deed, and, as sure proof, cast the head down before the king's feet. The king then kept his promise, and proclaimed him at once earl of Huntingdon ... A few days later, the Northmen began to attack the realm. The king then was in a state of uncertainty, and deliberated with the great men of his realm as to what means should be adopted; and they made over with one voice Northumberland, Cumberland and Westmoreland to Earl Siward, and the king invested him with earldom over them". - A saga-like description of Siward's accession to power in England, taken from the Vita Waldevi

The exact date and context of Siward's arrival in England are unknown, though the Vita Waldevi offers a legendary account. Charters dating to 1019, 1024, 1032, 1033 and 1035 mention a Si[ge]ward Minister, "the thegn Siward", but it is impossible to securely identify any of these names with the man who became Earl of Northumbria.[28] The earliest certain contemporary record of Siward occurs in a charter of King Cnut to Ælfric Puttoc, Archbishop of York, in 1033. This charter attestation can be identified as Siward the earl because he is styled dux ("earl").

Although it is clear that Siward was earl by 1033, he may have attained the position somewhat earlier. His predecessor Erik of Hlathir last appeared in the historical sources in 1023, leaving a ten-year gap during which Siward could have taken the position. Although William of Malmesbury asserted that Erik was driven back to Scandinavia, Scandinavian tradition firmly maintained he died in England. Historian William Kapelle believed that Erik ceased to be earl in or soon after 1023, and that Carl son of Thurbrand was appointed hold or high-reeve (heahgerefa) for the king in Yorkshire. Carl retained this position, it was argued, even after Siward was installed as earl a few years later, but from then on he acted as a deputy to the earl rather than to the king. Richard Fletcher remained agnostic on the point, although he did argue that Erik must have been dead by 1028. Timothy Bolton, although rejecting Kapelle's argument concerning Carl son of Thurbrand, believed Erik died c. 1023 and that the earldom may have remained vacant for a period. Bolton argued that Cnut left the earldom of Northumbria empty and appears to have paid it little attention until the last years of his reign, and another northerner Ealdred son of Uhtred rose to power in the political vacuum.

When Cnut died in 1035, there were a number of rival claimants for his throne. These included his son Harthacnut, and the nobleman Harold Harefoot, as well as Alfred Ætheling and Edward (later, King Edward the Confessor), the exiled sons of Æthelred the Unready. Isolated in Scandinavia, Harthacnut was unable to prevent Harold Harefoot seizing the crown for himself. Ruling England from 1035, Harold died in 1040 just as Harthacnut was preparing an invasion.[36] Arriving soon after Harold's death, Harthacnut reigned in England only two years before his own death in 1042, a death that led to the peaceful succession of Edward. Frank Barlow speculated on Siward's political stance, guessing that during these upheavals Siward assumed "a position of benevolent or prudent neutrality".

Siward is found in 1038, as Sywardus Comes ("Earl Siward"), witnessing a charter of King Harthacnut to the Abbey of Bury St Edmunds. He witnessed a confirmation granted by Harthacnut to Fécamp Abbey, between 1040 and 1042, of an earlier grant made by Cnut. In 1042, he witnessed grants by Harthacnut to Abingdon Abbey and to Ælfwine, Bishop of Winchester.

Siward was, at some stage, married to Ælfflæd, daughter of Ealdred, Earl of Bamburgh, and granddaughter of Uhtred the Bold. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle' asserts that, in 1041 Eadulf, Earl of Bamburgh, was "betrayed" by King Harthacnut. The "betrayal" seems to have been carried out by Siward; since when the Libellus de Exordio and other sources write about the same event, they say that Siward attacked and killed Eadulf. It was thus that Siward became earl of all Northumbria, perhaps the first person to do so since Uhtred the Bold. It is possible that Siward used Ælfflæd's lineage to claim the earldom of Bamburgh for himself, although it is unclear whether the marriage took place before or after Siward killed Eadulf. Kapelle has pointed out that no ruler of Bamburgh after Uhtred is attested at the English royal court, which he argued "must mean they were in revolt" against the monarchy, and that Siward's attack may therefore have been encouraged by a monarch wishing to crush a rebellious or disloyal vassal.
Siward however probably had his own interests too. Killing Eadulf eliminated his main rival in the north, and the marriage associated him with the family of Uhtred the Bold, and with Uhtred's surviving son Gospatric.

There may nonetheless be a connection between the murder of Eadulf and events further south. For the same year the Chronicle of John of Worcester related that, because of an attack on two of Harthacnut's tax-collectors there, Siward took part in a reprisal on the city and monastery of Worcester. Harthacnut reigned only another year, dying on 8 June 1042. He was succeeded by the exiled English ætheling Edward. As an ætheling, a royal prince with a present or likely future claim on the throne, Edward appears to have been invited back by Harthacnut in 1041, fortuitously smoothing over the coming change in ruler. Edward was crowned king on Easter Day, 3 April 1043.

English affairs under Edward the Confessor

Relations between Siward and King Edward appear to have been good. Neither Siward nor any associates of Siward were punished by Edward in later years. In fact, Siward appears to have been one of Edward's most powerful supporters. On 16 November 1043, Siward, along with Earls Godwine of Wessex and Leofric of Mercia, marched with King Edward against Queen Emma, helping the king to deprive the queen of her huge treasury. Edward then accused Emma of treason and deposed Stigand, Bishop of Elmham from his position "because he was closest to his mother's counsel".

The Norman propagandist and historian, William of Poitiers, claimed that Siward was among those who had sworn an oath to uphold Edward the Confessor's alleged declaration that William, Duke of Normandy (later King William I), was to be his heir. Others said to have made that oath were Earls Godwine of Wessex and Leofric of Mercia, along with Stigand, who had been pardoned in 1044, and raised to Bishop of Winchester in 1047). If this did happen, it was probably during or a little before spring 1051, when Robert, Archbishop of Canterbury, was journeying to Rome for his pallium.

In 1051 Siward, along with Earls Leofric and Ralph the Timid, mobilised forces in defence of the king against a rebellion by Earl Godwine and his sons. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle relates that although Siward had to call up reinforcements, King Edward was successful and Earl Godwine was temporarily exiled. Earl Godwine remained a threat in exile, and the continued "belligerent support" of Siward and Leofric was thus vital to King Edward's safety. It was apparently, however, the reluctance of these two earls to fight Earl Godwine that contributed to Godwine's re-establishment in England in 1052.

There is evidence to suggest that Siward extended his power southward, bringing the shire of Northampton into his control in the 1040s and the shire of Huntingdon in the 1050s. The evidence comes from royal writs addressed to Siward as earl in these shires. Siward's predecessors as earl in these areas were other Scandinavians, Thuri and Bjorn son of Earl Ulf; the former was styled "earl of the Midlanders" (comes mediterraneorum), showing that this earldom represented the earlier polity of the Middle Angles of Mercia. It was this area, rather than Northumbria, to which Siward's descendants were most attached.

Likewise, it has been argued that Siward brought Cumberland, thought by some historians to have been lost to Strathclyde, back under Northumbrian lordship. The evidence comes from a document known to historians as "Gospatric's Writ". This is a written instruction, issued either by the future Gospatric, Earl of Northumbria or Gospatric, son of Earl Uhtred that was addressed to all Gospatric's kindred and to the notables dwelling in the "all the lands that were Cumbrian" (on eallun þam landann þeo Combres); it ordered that one Thorfinn mac Thore be free in all things (þ Thorfynn mac Thore beo swa freo in eallan ðynges) in Allerdale, and that no man is to break the peace which was given by Gospatric and Earl Siward.[69] Historians such as Charles Phythian-Adams believed that such phraseology indicated that Siward conquered the region from its previous rulers, although others, like William Kapelle, believed that the region had come, were it ever lost, back into English power before Siward's time.

A little can be said about Siward's relations with the Northumbrian church, in particular with regard to his relations with Durham. As a result of Siward's marriage to Ælfflæd, Siward gained possession of a group of estates in Teesside claimed by the bishops of Durham. Acquisition of these estates might have brought opposition from the Bishop of Durham, but Æthelric the incumbent had been expelled by the clergy of Durham in either 1045 or 1046 and, according to the Libellus de Exordio, only returned by bribing Siward. According to the Libellus, the clergy were "terrified and overwhelmed by the fearful power of the earl" and "were compelled willy nilly to be reconciled to the bishop, and to admit him into his episcopal see". Despite this, Siward escaped censure in the writings of later Durham monks, something which suggests relations between Siward and Durham were probably good in general.

Siward can be found witnessing numerous charters during Edward's reign, though not as many as the Godwinsons; Siward usually comes third in lists of earls, behind Godwine and Leofric but ahead of Godwine's sons and the other earls. He witnessed at least seven, possibly nine, extant charters in 1044, six or seven in 1045, two in 1046, one in 1048 and one in 1049. A Dux ("earl") named Sihroþ and Sihroð witnessed two charters in 1050, and this may be Siward. There is another attestation in 1050, and his name appears in two dubious witness lists attached to charters dating to 1052 and 1054. Possibly Siward's last historical appearance in English legal documents is in the agreement made-probably at Lincoln-between Wulfwig, Bishop of Dorchester, and Earl Leofric, dating to between 1053 and 1055.

Expedition against the Scots"Around this time Siward, the mighty earl of Northumbria, almost a giant in stature, very strong mentally and physically, sent his son to conquer Scotland. When they came back and reported to his father that he had been killed in battle, he asked 'Did he receive his fatal wound in the front or the back of his body?' The messengers said 'In the front'. Then he said, 'That makes me very happy, for I consider no other death worthy for me or my son'. Then Siward set out for Scotland, and defeated the king in battle, destroyed the whole realm, and having destroyed it, subjected it to himself".- A description of Osbjorn's death and Siward's reaction, taken from the Historia Anglorum of Henry of Huntingdon

Siward is perhaps most famous for his expedition in 1054 against Mac Bethad mac Findlaích (known to the English of a later era as King Macbeth of Scotland), an expedition that cost Siward his eldest son, Osbjorn. The origin of Siward's conflict with the Scots is unclear. According to the Libellus de Exordio, in 1039 or 1040, the Scottish king Donnchad mac Crínáin attacked northern Northumbria and besieged Durham. Within a year, Mac Bethad had deposed killed Donnchad. The failed siege occurred a year before Siward attacked and killed Earl Eadulf of Bamburgh, and though no connection between the two events is clear it is likely that they were linked.

The Annals of Lindisfarne and Durham, written in the early 12th-century, relate under the year 1046 that "Earl Siward with a great army came to Scotland, and expelled king Mac Bethad, and appointed another; but after his departure Mac Bethad recovered his kingdom". Historian William Kapelle thought that this was a genuine event of the 1040s, related to the Annals of Tigernach entry for 1045 that reported a "battle between the Scots" which led to the death of Crínán of Dunkeld, Donnchad's father; Kapelle thought that Siward had tried to place Crínán's son and Donnchad's brother Maldred on the Scottish throne. Another historian, Alex Woolf, argued that the Annals of Lindisfarne and Durham entry was probably referring to the invasion of Siward in 1054, but misplaced under 1046.

During the invasion of 1054, a battle was fought somewhere in Scotland north of the Firth of Forth, a battle known variously as the "Battle of the Seven Sleepers" or the "Battle of Dunsinane". The tradition that the battle actually took place at Dunsinane has its origins in later medieval legend. The earliest mention of Dunsinane as the location of the battle is in the early 15th-century by Andrew of Wyntoun.

Dolfin is unidentified, but may have been a relation of Mac Bethad's enemy Crínán of Dunkeld, on the basis that some of Crínán's descendants may have borne this name.

The purpose of Siward's invasion is unclear, but it may be related to the identity of the "Máel Coluim" (Malcolm) mentioned in the sources. The early 12th-century chronicle attributed to John of Worcester, probably using an earlier source, wrote that Siward defeated Mac Bethad and made "Máel Coluim, son of the king of the Cumbrians" a king (Malcolmum, regis Cumbrorum filium, ut rex jusserat, regem constituit) The identity of Máel Coluim and the reasons for Siward's help are controversial. The traditional historical interpretation was that "Máel Coluim" is Máel Coluim mac Donnchada, known sometimes today as Malcolm III or Malcolm Canmore, and that Siward was attempting to oust Mac Bethad in his favour.

The traditional historical interpretation that "Máel Coluim" is Máel Coluim mac Donnchada derives from the Chronicle attributed to the 14th-century chronicler of Scotland, John of Fordun, as well as from earlier sources such as William of Malmesbury.The latter reported that Mac Bethad was killed in the battle by Siward, but it is known that Mac Bethad outlived Siward by two years. A. A. M. Duncan argued in 2002 that, using the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle entry as their source, later writers innocently misidentified Máel Coluim "son of the king of the Cumbrians" with the later Scottish king of the same name. Duncan's argument has been supported by several subsequent historians specialising in the era, such as Richard Oram, Dauvit Broun and Alex Woolf. It has also been suggested that Máel Coluim may have been a son of the Strathclyde British king Owen the Bald, perhaps by a daughter of Máel Coluim II, King of Scotland.

Duncan in fact believes that the Battle of the Seven Sleepers did not lead directly to a change of leadership in the Kingdom of Scotland. It has been suggested that the chief consequence of Siward's expedition was not the overthrow of Mac Bethad, but the transfer of British territory-perhaps previously lying under Scottish suzerainty-to Northumbrian overlordship. Alex Woolf has posited that, in such a context, Máel Coluim might have been a discontented Cumbrian prince who had been forced to "put himself under English protection". Evidence for Northumbrian control of Strathclyde in this period includes 11th-century Northumbrian masonry found at the site of Glasgow Cathedral as well as early 12th-century claims from the archbishopric of York that Archbishop Cynesige (1051-1060) had consecrated two Bishops of Glasgow.

Death and legacy

"Siward, the stalwart earl, being stricken by dysentery, felt that death was near, and said, "How shameful it is that I, who could not die in so many battles, should have been saved for the ignominious death of a cow! At least clothe me in my impenetrable breastplate, gird me with my sword, place my helmet on my head, my shield in my left hand, my gilded battle-axe in my right, that I, the bravest of soldiers, may die like a soldier." He spoke, and armed as he had requested, he gave up his spirit with honour".- A description of Siward's death, taken from the Historia Anglorum of Henry of Huntingdon.

The 12th-century historian, Henry of Huntingdon, in his Historia Anglorum, relates that when Siward was attacked by dysentery, fearing to die "like a cow" and wishing rather to die like a soldier, he clothed himself in armour and took to hand an axe and shield. Ennobled in such a manner, Siward died. This anecdote is of doubtful historicity, and is thought to be derived from the saga devoted to Earl Siward, now lost. The Vita Ædwardi Regis states that Siward died at York and was buried in "the monastery of St Olaf" at Galmanho, a claim confirmed by the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, John of Worcester, and the Historia Regum.

Material incorporated in two surviving sources is thought by some to attest to the existence of a lost saga or some other kind of literary tradition concerning Siward's life. The first source is the Vita et Passio Waldevi, a hagiographic history of Siward's cult-inspiring son Waltheof. This text contains an account of Waltheof's paternal origin, and in the process recounts certain adventures of his father Siward (see boxes throughout article). The second major witness of the tradition is Henry of Huntingdon's Historia Anglorum, which contains extracts of saga-like material relating to Siward's invasion of Scotland (1054) and his death (1055). The Anglo-Saxonist Frank Stenton declared that Siward was "not a statesman, but a Danish warrior of the primitive type". Writers in the half-century after his death remembered Siward as a strong ruler who brought peace and suppressed brigandage.

Siward died more than a decade before the death of Edward the Confessor, but despite this the Domesday Book recorded 4 manors, 3 in Yorkshire and 1 in Derbyshire, owned directly by Earl Siward in 1066, all of them subsequently held by Hugh d'Avranches, Earl of Chester. This land was stated to have been worth £212, while his son Waltheof was said to have held £136 worth of land across 9 counties. Domesday records give an incomplete picture of Siward's holdings. In total it recorded property worth £348 for Siward and his son, which on its own would compare poorly with the £2493 in value recorded to have been held by the family of the earls of Mercia. Of the latter, however, Morcar of Mercia, Earl of Northumbria on the day of King Edward's death, possessed land worth £968, while Tostig, exiled earl at the time, had land worth £491; both may have come into possession of some of Siward's land in the course of becoming Earls of Northumbria. Moreover, the counties that would become Durham, Northumberland, Cumberland and Westmorland were largely omitted from the survey, while, besides being only very poorly documented, the lands in Yorkshire had been severely devastated and devalued during the Harrying of the North.

Siward is said to have built a church dedicated to St Olaf at Galmanho, York. The record of his burial in this church is the only notice of a non-royal lay burial inside a church in pre-Norman England. Siward's Howe, i.e., Heslington Hill near York, was most likely named after Earl Siward, although probably because Siward held popular courts there rather than because it was his burial place.

One of Siward's sons is known to have survived him, Waltheof, whose mother was Ælfflæd. Waltheof later rose to be an earl in the East Midlands before becoming Earl of Northumbria. When Waltheof rebelled against William the Conqueror, however, the act led to his execution and to his subsequent veneration as a saint at Crowland Abbey. Waltheof's daughter married David I, King of the Scots, and through this connection Siward became one of the many ancestors of the later Scottish and British monarchs.

Besides Ælfflæd, Siward is known to have been married to a woman named Godgifu, who died before Siward. The marriage is known from a grant she made of territory around Stamford, Lincolnshire, to Peterborough Abbey. Although no surviving children are attested, and no source states the name of Osbjorn's mother, this marriage has nonetheless raised the possibility that Waltheof and Osbjorn were born to different mothers, and William Kapelle suggested that Siward may have originally intended Osbjorn to inherit his southern territories while Waltheof inherited those territories in the north associated with the family of his mother Ælfflæd
 
Digera, Siward Earl of Northumberland (I2918)
 
1520 Skoglar Toste or Skoglar Tosti (there are several variations) was a chieftain from the Swedish province of West Götaland. According to Snorri Sturluson, he was the father of Sigrid the Haughty. For some time he gave refuge to Harald Grenske, who later came back to woo Sigrid, only to be killed by her for his persistence. Toste is mentioned in several sagas, such as Heimskringla, and is said to have been the first to demand danegeld, in 970. Toste's great-grandson Stenkil became the King of Sweden in 1060.

His name skoglar, skauglar or skagul is due to his experience in battle (skagul is one of the many names for battle in Old Norse).

At Vallentuna, near Stockholm, the runestone of Orkesta (U 344) says:

in ulfr hafir onklati * Þru kialtakat Þit uas fursta Þis tursti * Þa ---Þurktil * Þa kalt knutr

Translation: "But Ulf has taken three danegelds in England. The first one was with Toste, the second one with Thorkel and the third one with Canute the Great".

Children according to the sagas

1.Ulf Tostesson, a jarl.
2.Sigrid the Haughty, queen of Sweden.

Wikipedia
 
Toste, Skogul (I2548)
 
1521 Social Security Administration, Social Security Death Index, Master File, : Social Security Administration Source (S53)
 
1522 Social Security Administration, Social Security Death Index, Master File, : Social Security Administration Source (S332)
 
1523 Son of Torf and of Ertemberge of Briquebec. William the Conqueror's governor during his minority. de Harcourt, Turquetil (I5783)
 
1524 Sophia of Rheineck, also known as Sophie of Salm, Countess of Bentheim (c. 1120 - 26 September 1176 in Jerusalem) was a German noblewoman. Her father was Count Otto I of Rheineck, the son of the anit-king Hermann of Salm. Her mother was Gertrud of Northeim. She was married to Dirk VI, Count of Holland.

Sophia built new churches in the abbeys of Egmond and Rijnsburg. In 1138, she made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem with her husband. During their return journey, they visited the pope in Rome.

After her husband's death, she made a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostella and to more pilgrimages to Jerusalem in 1173 and 1176. During the latter visit, she died in the St. Mary's hospital of the Teutonic Knights in Jerusalem. She was buried in Jerusalem.

Issue

Dirk, known as "the Pilgrim" (Peregrinus) (c. 1138 - 1151), buried in Egmond
Floris III ((Catalan) - 1 August 1190 at Antioch), who succeeded his father as Count of Holland in 1157
Otto (c. 1140/1145 - 1208 or later), who inherited his mother's possessions and became Count of Bentheim
Baldwin (c. 1149 - 30 April 1196), who was Provost at St. Maria in Utrecht and later Bishop of Utrecht from 1178 until his death
Dirk (c. 1152 - 28 August 1197 in Pavia), who also became Bishop of Utrecht, in 1197, but died the same year
Sophia, who became abbess of Rijnsburg Abbey in 1186
Hedwig (d. 28 August 1167), who was a nun at Rijnsburg
Gertrud, died in infancy
Petronilla
 
of Rheineck, Sophia (I5332)
 
1525 SSN 568443961 Bell, George Victor (I6374)
 
1526 St. Vladimir I, Grand Duke of Kiev was born illegitimately in 956. He was the son of Svyatolslav I, Grand Duke of Kiev and Malushka. He married Anna, daughter of Romanus II, Emperor of Constantinople. He married Rogneda von Polotsk.

He succeeded to the title of Grand Duke St. Vladimir I of Kiev in 978.

Vladimir Sviatoslavich the Great (c. 958 near Pskov (perhaps near Volodymyr-Volynskyi) - 15 July 1015, Berestovo) was a grand prince of Kiev, ruler of Kievan Rus' in (980-1015).

Vladimir's father was the prince Sviatoslav of the Rurik dynasty. After the death of his father in 972, Vladimir, who was then prince of Novgorod, was forced to flee to Scandinavia in 976 after his brother Yaropolk had murdered his other brother Oleg and conquered Rus. In Sweden with the help from his relative Ladejarl HÃ¥kon Sigurdsson, ruler of Norway, assembled a Varangian army and reconquered Novgorod from Yaropolk. By 980 Vladimir had consolidated the Kievan realm from modern day Ukraine to the Baltic Sea and had solidified the frontiers against incursions of Bulgarian, Baltic, and Eastern nomads. Originally a Slavic pagan, Vladimir converted to Christianity in 988 and Christianized the Kievan Rus'.

Way to the throne

Vladimir, born in 958, was the natural son and youngest son of Sviatoslav I of Kiev by his housekeeper Malusha. Malusha is described in the Norse sagas as a prophetess who lived to the age of 100 and was brought from her cave to the palace to predict the future. Malusha's brother Dobrynya was Vladimir's tutor and most trusted advisor. Hagiographic tradition of dubious authenticity also connects his childhood with the name of his grandmother, Olga Prekrasa, who was Christian and governed the capital during Sviatoslav's frequent military campaigns.

Transferring his capital to Pereyaslavets in 969, Sviatoslav designated Vladimir ruler of Novgorod the Great but gave Kiev to his legitimate son Yaropolk. After Sviatoslav's death (972), a fratricidal war erupted (976) between Yaropolk and his younger brother Oleg, ruler of the Drevlians. In 977 Vladimir fled to his kinsman Haakon Sigurdsson, ruler of Norway, collecting as many of the Norse warriors as he could to assist him to recover Novgorod, and on his return the next year marched against Yaropolk.

On his way to Kiev he sent ambassadors to Rogvolod (Norse: Ragnvald), prince of Polotsk, to sue for the hand of his daughter Rogneda (Norse: Ragnhild). The high-born princess refused to affiance herself to the son of a bondswoman, but Vladimir attacked Polotsk, slew Rogvolod, and took Ragnhild by force. Polotsk was a key fortress on the way to Kiev, and the capture of Polotsk and Smolensk facilitated the taking of Kiev (978), where he slew Yaropolk by treachery, and was proclaimed knyaz of all Kievan Rus.

Years of pagan rule

Saint Vladimir of Kiev

Vladimir continued to expand his territories beyond his father's extensive domain. In 981, he conquered the Cherven cities (known later as Galicia) shifting his borders toward Poland; in 983, he subdued the Yatvingians, whose territories lay between Lithuania and Poland; in 985, he led a fleet along the central rivers of Kievan Rus' to conquer the Bulgars of the Kama, planting numerous fortresses and colonies on his way.

Though Christianity grow in the region under Olga's rule, Vladimir had remained a thoroughgoing pagan, taking eight hundred concubines (besides numerous wives) and erecting pagan statues and shrines to gods. He may have attempted to reform Slavic paganism by establishing the thunder-god, Perun, as a supreme deity. "Although Christianity in Kiev existed before Vladimir’s time, he had remained a pagan, accumulated about seven wives, established temples, and, it is said, taken part in idolatrous rites involving human sacrifice."

“In 983, after another of his military successes, Prince Vladimir and his army thought it necessary to sacrifice human lives to the gods. A lot was cast and it fell on a youth, Ioann by name, the son of a Christian, Fyodor. His father stood firmly against his son being sacrificed to the idols. More than that, he tried to show the pagans the futility of their faith: ‘Your gods are just plain wood: it is here now but it may rot into oblivion tomorrow; your gods neither eat, nor drink, nor talk and are made by human hand from wood; whereas there is only one God - He is worshiped by Greeks and He created heaven and earth; and your gods? They have created nothing, for they have been created themselves; never will I give my son to the devils!’”

An open abuse of the deities, to which most people in Rus' bowed in reverence in those times, triggered widespread indignation. A mob killed the Christian Fyodor and his son Ioann (later, after the overall christening of Kievan Rus, people came to regard these two as the first Christian martyrs in Rus and the Orthodox Church set a day to commemorate them, July 25).

Immediately after the murder of Fyodor and Ioann, early medieval Rus saw persecutions against Christians, many of whom escaped or concealed their belief.

However, Prince Vladimir mused over the incident long after, and not least for political considerations. According to the early Slavic chronicle called Tale of Bygone Years, which describes life in Kyivan Rus' up to the year 1110, he sent his envoys throughout the civilized world to judge at first hand the major religions of the time-Islam, Roman Catholicism, Judaism, and Byzantine Orthodoxy. They were most impressed with their visit to Constantinople, saying, "We knew not whether we were in Heaven or on Earth… We only know that God dwells there among the people, and their service is fairer than the ceremonies of other nations."

Christianization of the Kievan Rus'

The Primary Chronicle reports that in the year 987, as the result of a consultation with his boyars, Vladimir sent envoys to study the religions of the various neighboring nations whose representatives had been urging him to embrace their respective faiths. The result is amusingly described by the chronicler Nestor. Of the Muslim Bulgarians of the Volga the envoys reported there is no gladness among them; only sorrow and a great stench. He also said that the Bulgars' religion of Islam was undesirable due to its taboo against alcoholic beverages and pork; Vladimir said on that occasion: "Drinking is the joy of all Rus'. We cannot exist without that pleasure." Ukrainian and Russian sources also describe Vladimir consulting with Jewish envoys (who may or may not have been Khazars), and questioning them about their religion but ultimately rejecting it, saying that their loss of Jerusalem was evidence of their having been abandoned by God. Roman Catholic missionaries came too and so did Orthodox.[citation needed]. Ultimately Vladimir settled on Orthodox Christianity. In the churches of the Germans his emissaries saw no beauty; but at Constantinople, where the full festival ritual of the Byzantine Church was set in motion to impress them, they found their ideal: "We no longer knew whether we were in heaven or on earth," they reported, describing a majestic Divine Liturgy in Hagia Sophia, "nor such beauty, and we know not how to tell of it." If Vladimir was impressed by this account of his envoys, he was yet more so by political gains of the Byzantine alliance.

In 988, having taken the town of Chersonesos in Crimea, he boldly negotiated for the hand of the emperor Basil II's sister, Anna. Never before had a Byzantine imperial princess, and one "born-in-the-purple" at that, married a barbarian, as matrimonial offers of French kings and German emperors had been peremptorily rejected. In short, to marry the 27-year-old princess off to a pagan Slav seemed impossible. Vladimir, however, was baptized at Cherson, taking the Christian name of Basil out of compliment to his imperial brother-in-law; the sacrament was followed by his wedding with Anna. Returning to Kiev in triumph, he destroyed pagan monuments and established many churches, starting with the splendid Church of the Tithes (989) and monasteries on Mt. Athos.

Arab sources, both Muslim and Christian, present a different story of Vladimir's conversion. Yahya of Antioch, al-Rudhrawari, al-Makin, Al-Dimashqi, and ibn al-Athir all give essentially the same account. In 987, Bardas Sclerus and Bardas Phocas revolted against the Byzantine emperor Basil II. Both rebels briefly joined forces, but then Bardas Phocas proclaimed himself emperor on 14 September 987. Basil II turned to the Kievan Rus' for assistance, even though they were considered enemies at that time. Vladimir agreed, in exchange for a marital tie; he also agreed to accept Christianity as his religion and Christianize his people. When the wedding arrangements were settled, Vladimir dispatched 6,000 troops to the Byzantine Empire and they helped to put down the revolt.

Christian reign

He then formed a great council out of his boyars, and set his twelve sons over his subject principalities.

It is mentioned in the Primary Chronicle that Vladimir founded the city of Belgorod in 991.

In 992 he went on a campaign against the Croats, most likely the White Croats (an East Slavic group unrelated to the Croats of Dalmatia) that lived on the border of modern Ukraine. This campaign was cut short by the attacks of the Pechenegs on and around Kiev.

In his later years he lived in a relative peace with his other neighbors: Boleslav I of Poland, Stephen I of Hungary, Andrikh the Czech (questionable character mentioned in A Tale of the Bygone Years).

After Anna's death, he married again, likely to a granddaughter of Otto the Great.

In 1014 his son Yaroslav the Wise stopped paying tribute. Vladimir decided to chastise the insolence of his son, and began gathering troops against Yaroslav. However, Vladimir fell ill, most likely of old age and died at Berestovo, near Kiev.

The various parts of his dismembered body were distributed among his numerous sacred foundations and were venerated as relics.

Family

The fate of all Vladimir's daughters, whose number is around nine, is uncertain.

Olava or Allogia (Varangian or Czech), speculative she might have been mother of Vysheslav while others claim that it is a confusion with Helena Lekapena
Vysheslav (~977-~1010), Prince of Novgorod (988-1010)
a widow of Yaropolk I, a Greek nun
Sviatopolk the Accursed (~979), possibly the surviving son of Yaropolk
Rogneda (the daughter of Rogvolod), later upon divorce she entered a convent taking the Christian name of Anastasia
Izyaslav of Polotsk(~979, Kiev), Prince of Polotsk (989-1001)
Yaroslav the Wise (no earlier than 983), Prince of Rostov (987-1010), Prince of Novgorod (1010-1034), Grand Prince of Kiev (1016-1018, 1019-1054). Possibly he was a son of Anna rather than Rogneda. Another interesting fact that he was younger than Sviatopolk according to the words of Boris in the Tale of Bygone Years and not as it was officially known. Also the fact of him being the Prince of Rostov is highly doubtful although not discarded.
Vsevolod (~984-1013), possibly the Swedish Prince Wissawald of Volyn (~1000)
Mstislav, other Mstislav that possibly died as an infant if he was ever born
Mstislav of Chernigov (~983), Prince of Tmutarakan (990-1036), Prince of Chernigov (1024-1036), other sources claim him to be son of other mothers (Adela, Malfrida, or some other Bulgarian wife)
Predslava, a concubine of Boles?aw I Chrobry according to Gesta principum Polonorum
Premislava, (? - 1015), some source state that she was a wife of the Duke Laszlo (Vladislav) "the Bald" of Arpadians
Mstislava, in 1018 was taken by Boles?aw I Chrobry among the other daughters
Bulgarian Adela, some sources claim that Adela is not necessarily Bulgarian as Boris and Gleb were born from some other wife
Boris (~986), Prince of Rostov (~1010-1015), remarkable is the fact that Rostov Principality as well as the Principality of Murom used to border the territory of Volga Bolgars
Gleb (~987), Prince of Murom (1013-1015), as Boris, Gleb is being also claimed the son of Anna Porphyrogenita
Stanislav (~985-1015), Prince of Smolensk (988-1015), possible of another wife and a fate of whom is not certain
Sudislav (?-1063), Prince of Pskov (1014-1036), possible of another wife, but he is mentioned in Nikon's Chronicles. He spent 35 years in prison and later before dying turned into a monk.
Malfrida
Sviatoslav (~982-1015), Prince of Drevlians (990-1015)
Anna Porphyrogenita
Theofana, a wife of Novgorod posadnik Ostromir, a grandson of semi-legendary Dobrynya (highly doubtful is the fact of her being Anna's offspring)
a granddaughter of Otto the Great (possibly Rechlinda Otona [Regelindis])
Maria Dobroniega of Kiev (~1012), the Duchess of Poland (1040-1087), married around 1040 to Casimir I the Restorer, Duke of Poland
Agatha, a theoretical daughter according to Jette
other possible family
an out-of-marriage daughter (?-1044), a wife of the Nordmark Margrave Bernard
Pozvizd (prior to 988-?), a son of Vladimir according to Hustyn Chronicles. He, possibly, was the Prince Khrisokhir mentioned by Niketas Choniates.

Significance and legacy

One of the largest Kievan cathedrals is dedicated to him. The University of Kiev was named after the man who Christianized Kievan Rus. There is the Russian Order of St. Vladimir and Saint Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary in the United States. The Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches celebrate the feast day of St. Vladimir on 15 July.

His memory was also kept alive by innumerable Ukrainian and Russian folk ballads and legends, which refer to him as Krasno Solnyshko, that is, the Fair Sun. With him the Varangian period of Eastern Slavic history ceases and the Christian period begins.
 
Saint Vladimir I Grand Duke of Kiev (I3053)
 
1527 STAINED GLASS MARKS & MONOGRAMS Source (S126)
 
1528 Stained glass window in St Johns Anglican Church, Arichat, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia:

'To the glory of god, and in loving memory of Mary E., Ernest V., George, Thomas, Florence H., Charles H., Peter, Stanley, Cline and Helen Bosdet'

Given as Mary Ann Smith Bosdet in Baptism Registers? 
Bosdet, Mary Elizabeth Smith (I3794)
 
1529 State of California, California Birth Index, 1905-1995, Sacramento, CA, USA: State of California Department of Health Services, Center for Health Statistics Source (S54)
 
1530 State of California, California Death Index, 1940-1997, Sacramento, CA, USA: State of California Department of Health Services, Center for Health Statistics Source (S487)
 
1531 State of Minnesota, Minnesota Death Index, 1908-1002, Minneapolis, MN, USA: Minnesota Department of Health Source (S345)
 
1532 State of Oregon, Oregon Death Index, 1903-1998, Salem, OR, USA: Oregon State Archives and Records Center Source (S486)
 
1533 Stephen (c. 1092/6 - 25 October 1154), often referred to as Stephen of Blois (French: Étienne de Blois, Medieval French: Estienne de Blois), was a grandson of William the Conqueror. He was King of England from 1135 to his death, and also the Count of Boulogne in right of his wife. Stephen's reign was marked by the Anarchy, a civil war with his cousin and rival, the Empress Matilda. He was succeeded by Matilda's son, Henry II, the first of the Angevin kings.

Stephen was born in the County of Blois in middle France; his father, Count Stephen-Henry, died while Stephen was still young, and he was brought up by his mother, Adela. Placed into the court of his uncle, Henry I, Stephen rose in prominence and was granted extensive lands. Stephen married Matilda of Boulogne, inheriting additional estates in Kent and Boulogne that made the couple one of the wealthiest in England. Stephen narrowly escaped drowning with Henry I's son, William Adelin, in the sinking of the White Ship in 1120; William's death left the succession of the English throne open to challenge. When Henry I died in 1135, Stephen quickly crossed the English Channel and with the help of his brother Henry of Blois, a powerful ecclesiastic, took the throne, arguing that the preservation of order across the kingdom took priority over his earlier oaths to support the claim of Henry I's daughter, the Empress Matilda.

The early years of Stephen's reign were largely successful, despite a series of attacks on his possessions in England and Normandy from David I of Scotland, Welsh rebels and the Empress Matilda's husband, Geoffrey of Anjou. In 1138 the Empress's half-brother Robert of Gloucester rebelled against Stephen, threatening civil war. Together with his close advisor, Waleron de Beaumont, Stephen took firm steps to defend England, including arresting a powerful family of bishops. When the Empress and Robert invaded in 1139, however, Stephen was unable to rapidly crush the revolt, which took hold in the south-west of England. Captured at the battle of Lincoln in 1141, Stephen was abandoned by many of his followers and lost control of Normandy. Stephen was only freed after his wife and William of Ypres, one of his military commanders, captured Robert at the rout of Winchester, but the war dragged on for many years with neither side able to win an advantage.

Stephen became increasingly concerned with ensuring that his son, Eustace, would inherit his throne after him. The king attempted to convince the church to agree to crown Eustace to reinforce his claim: Pope Eugene III refused and Stephen found himself in a sequence of increasingly bitter arguments with his senior clergy. In 1153 the Empress's son, Henry FitzEmpress, invaded England and built an alliance of powerful regional barons to support his claim for the throne. The two armies met at Wallingford but neither side's barons were keen to fight another pitched battle. Stephen began to examine a negotiated peace, a process hastened by the sudden death of Eustace. Stephen and Henry agreed the Treaty of Winchester later in the year, in which Stephen recognised Henry as his heir in exchange for peace, passing over William, Stephen's second son. Stephen died the following year. Modern historians have extensively debated the extent to which Stephen's personality, external events or the weaknesses in the Norman state contributed to this prolonged period of civil war.

Early life (1096-1135)

Stephen was born in Blois in France, either in 1092 or 1096. His father was Stephen-Henry, Count of Blois and Chartres, an important French nobleman; Stephen's father played only a brief part in his early life, being an active crusader. During the First Crusade Stephen-Henry had acquired an unfortunate reputation for cowardice, and he returned to the Levant again in 1101 to rebuild his reputation where he was killed at the battle of Ramlah. Stephen's mother, Adela of England, was the daughter of William the Conqueror and Matilda of Flanders, famous amongst her contemporaries for her piety, wealth and political talent. She had a strong matriarchal influence on Stephen during his early years.

France in the 12th century was a loose collection of counties and smaller polities, under the minimal control of the king of France. The king's power was linked to his control of the rich province of ÃŽle-de-France, just to the east of Stephen's home county of Blois. In the west lay the three counties of Maine, Anjou and Touraine, and to the north of Blois was the Duchy of Normandy, from which Duke William had conquered England in 1066. William's children were still fighting over the collective Anglo-Norman inheritance. The rulers across this region spoke a similar language, albeit with regional dialects, followed the same religion and were closely interrelated; they were also highly competitive and frequently in conflict with one another for valuable territory and the castles that controlled them.

Stephen had at least four brothers and one sister, along with two probable half-sisters. Stephen's eldest brother was William, who under normal circumstances would have inherited the title of count. William was probably intellectually disabled, and Adela instead had the title passed over him to her second son, Theobald, who went on to later acquire the county of Champagne as well as Blois and Chartres. Stephen's remaining older brother, Odo, died young, probably in his early teens. Stephen's younger brother, Henry of Blois, was probably born four years after Stephen. The brothers formed a close-knit family group, and Adela encouraged Stephen to take up the role of a feudal knight, whilst steering Henry towards a career in the church, possibly so that their personal career interests would not overlap. Unusually, Stephen was raised in his mother's household rather than being sent to a close relative; he was taught Latin and riding, and was educated in recent history and Biblical stories by his tutor, William the Norman.

Relationship with Henry I

Stephen's early life was heavily influenced by his relationship with Henry I, his uncle and King of England. Henry seized power in England following the death of his elder brother William Rufus. In 1106 he invaded and captured the Duchy of Normandy, controlled by his eldest brother, Robert Curthose, defeating Robert's army at the battle of Tinchebray. Henry then found himself in conflict with Louis VI of France, who took the opportunity to declare Robert's son William Clito the Duke of Normandy. Henry responded by forming a net of alliances with the western counties of France against Louis, resulting in a regional conflict that would last throughout Stephen's early life. Adela and Theobald allied themselves with Henry, and Stephen's mother decided to place him in Henry's court. Henry fought his next military campaign in Normandy from 1111 onwards, where rebels led by Robert of Bellême were opposing his rule. Stephen was probably with Henry during the military campaign of 1112, when he was knighted by the king, and was definitely present at court during the king's visit to the Abbey of Saint-Evroul in 1113. Stephen probably first visited England in either 1113 or 1115, almost certainly as part of Henry's court.

Henry became a powerful patron to Stephen; Henry probably chose to support him because Stephen was part of his extended family and a regional ally, yet not sufficiently wealthy or powerful in his own right to represent a threat to either the king or his heir, William Adelin. As a third surviving son, even of an influential regional family, Stephen still needed the support of a powerful patron such as the king to progress in life. With Henry's support, Stephen rapidly began to accumulate lands and possessions. Following the battle of Tinchebray in 1106, Henry confiscated the County of Mortain from William, the Count of Mortain, and the Honour of Eye, a large lordship previously owned by Robert Malet. In 1113, Stephen was granted both the title and the honour, although without the lands previously held by William in England. The gift of the Honour of Lancaster also followed after it was confiscated by Henry from Roger the Poitevin. Stephen was also given lands in Alençon in southern Normandy by Henry, but the local Normans rebelled, seeking assistance from Fulk, the Count of Anjou. Stephen and his older brother Theobald were comprehensively beaten in the subsequent campaign, which culminated in the battle of Alençon, and the territories were not recovered.

Finally, the king arranged for Stephen to marry Matilda in 1125, the daughter and only heiress of the Count of Boulogne, who owned both the important continental port of Boulogne and vast estates in the north-west and south-east of England. In 1127, William Clito, a potential claimant to the English throne, seemed likely to become the Count of Flanders; Stephen was sent by the king on a mission to prevent this, and in the aftermath of his successful election, William Clito attacked Stephen's lands in neighbouring Boulogne in retaliation. Eventually a truce was declared, and William Clito died the following year.

The White Ship and succession

In 1120, the English political landscape changed dramatically. Three hundred passengers embarked on the White Ship to travel from Barfleur in Normandy to England, including the heir to the throne, William Adelin, and many other senior nobles. Stephen had intended to sail on the same ship but changed his mind at the last moment and got off to await another vessel, either out of concern for overcrowding on board the ship, or because he was suffering from diarrhoea. The ship foundered en route, and all but two of the passengers died, including William Adelin.

With Adelin dead, the inheritance to the English throne was thrown into doubt. Rules of succession in western Europe at the time were uncertain; in some parts of France, male primogeniture, in which the eldest child would inherit a title, was becoming more popular. It was also traditional for the King of France to crown his successor whilst he himself was still alive, making the intended line of succession relatively clear, but this was not the case in England. In other parts of Europe, including Normandy and England, the tradition was for lands to be divided up, with the eldest son taking patrimonial lands-usually considered to be the most valuable-and younger sons being given smaller, or more recently acquired, partitions or estates. The problem was further complicated by the sequence of unstable Anglo-Norman successions over the previous sixty years-William the Conqueror had gained England by force, William Rufus and Robert Curthose had fought a war between them to establish their inheritance, and Henry had only acquired control of Normandy by force. There had been no peaceful, uncontested successions.

With William Adelin dead, Henry had only one other legitimate child, Matilda, but as a woman she was at a substantial political disadvantage. Despite Henry taking a second wife, Queen Adeliza, it became increasingly unlikely that Henry would have another legitimate son and instead he looked to Matilda as his intended heir. Matilda had been married to Henry V, the Holy Roman Emperor, which gave her the title of Empress, but her husband died in 1125 and she was remarried in 1128 to Geoffrey, the Count of Anjou, whose lands bordered the Duchy of Normandy. Geoffrey was unpopular with the Anglo-Norman elite: as an Angevin ruler, he was a traditional enemy of the Normans. At the same time, tensions continued to grow as a result of Henry's domestic policies, in particular the high level of revenue he was raising to pay for his various wars. Conflict was curtailed, however, by the power of the king's personality and reputation.

Henry attempted to build up a base of political support for Matilda in both England and Normandy, demanding that his court take oaths first in 1127, and then again in 1128 and 1131, to recognise Matilda as his immediate successor and recognise her descendants as the rightful ruler after her. Stephen was amongst those who took this oath in 1127. Nonetheless, relations between Henry, Matilda and Geoffrey became increasingly strained towards the end of the king's life. Matilda and Geoffrey suspected that they lacked genuine support in England, and proposed to Henry in 1135 that the king should hand over the royal castles in Normandy to Matilda whilst he was still alive and insist on the Norman nobility swearing immediate allegiance to her, thereby giving the couple a much more powerful position after Henry's death. Henry angrily declined to do so, probably out of a concern that Geoffrey would try to seize power in Normandy somewhat earlier than intended. A fresh rebellion broke out in southern Normandy, and Geoffrey and Matilda intervened militarily on behalf of the rebels. In the middle of this confrontation, Henry unexpectedly fell ill and died near Lyons-la-Forêt.

Succession (1135)

Stephen was a well established figure in Anglo-Norman society by 1135. He was extremely wealthy, well-mannered and liked by his peers; he was also considered a man capable of firm action. Chroniclers recorded that despite his wealth and power he was a modest and easy-going leader, happy to sit with his men and servants, casually laughing and eating with them. He was very pious, both in terms of his observance of religious rituals and his personal generosity to the church. Stephen also had a personal Augustine confessor appointed to him by the Archbishop of Canterbury, who implemented a penitential regime for him, and Stephen encouraged the new order of Cistercians to form abbeys on his estates, winning him additional allies within the church. Rumours of his father's cowardice during the First Crusade, however, continued to circulate, and a desire to avoid the same reputation may have influenced some of Stephen's rasher military actions. His wife, Matilda, played a major role in running their vast English estates, which contributed to the couple being the second-richest lay household in the country after the king. The landless Flemish nobleman William of Ypres had joined Stephen's household in 1133, alongside Faramus of Boulogne, a Flemish relative and friend of Matilda's.

Meanwhile, Stephen's younger brother Henry of Blois had also risen to power under Henry I. Henry of Blois had become a Cluniac monk and followed Stephen to England, where the king made him Abbot of Glastonbury, the richest abbey in England. The king then appointed him Bishop of Winchester, one of the richest bishoprics, allowing him to retain Glastonbury as well. The combined revenues of the two positions made Henry of Winchester the second-richest man in England after the king. Henry of Winchester was keen to reverse what he perceived as encroachment by the Norman kings on the rights of the church. The Norman kings had traditionally exercised a great deal of power and autonomy over the church within their territories. From the 1040s onwards, however, successive popes had put forward a reforming message that emphasised the importance of the church being "governed more coherently and more hierarchically from the centre" and established "its own sphere of authority and jurisdiction, separate from and independent of that of the lay ruler", in the words of historian Richard Huscroft.

When news began to spread of Henry I's death, many of the potential claimants to the throne were not well placed to respond. Geoffrey and Matilda were in Anjou, rather awkwardly supporting the rebels in their campaign against the royal army, which included a number of Matilda's supporters such as Robert of Gloucester. Many of these barons had taken an oath to stay in Normandy until the late king was properly buried, which prevented them from returning to England. Stephen's elder brother Theobald was further south still, in Blois. Stephen, however, was in Bolougne, and when news reached him of Henry's death he left for England, accompanied by his military household. Robert of Gloucester had garrisoned the ports of Dover and Canterbury and some accounts suggest that they refused Stephen access when he first arrived. Nonetheless Stephen probably reached his own estate on the edge of London by 8 December and over the next week he began to seize power in England.

The crowds in London traditionally claimed a right to elect the king of England, and they proclaimed Stephen the new monarch, believing that he would grant the city new rights and privileges in return. Henry of Blois delivered the support of the church to Stephen: Stephen was able to advance to Winchester, where Roger, who was both the Bishop of Salisbury and the Lord Chancellor, instructed the royal treasury to be handed over to Stephen. On 15 December, Henry delivered an agreement under which Stephen would grant extensive freedoms and liberties to the church, in exchange for the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Papal Legate supporting his succession to the throne. There was the slight problem of the religious oath that Stephen had taken to support the Empress Matilda, but Henry convincingly argued that the late king had been wrong to insist that his court take the oath. Furthermore, the late king had only insisted on that oath to protect the stability of the kingdom, and in light of the chaos that might now ensue, Stephen would be justified in ignoring it. Henry was also able to persuade Hugh Bigod, the late king's royal steward, to swear that the king had changed his mind about the succession on his deathbed, nominating Stephen instead. Stephen's coronation was held a week later at Westminster Abbey on 26 December.

Meanwhile, the Norman nobility gathered at Le Neubourg to discuss declaring Theobald king, probably following the news that Stephen was gathering support in England. The Normans argued that the count, as the eldest grandson of William the Conqueror, had the most valid claim over the kingdom and the duchy, and was certainly preferable to Matilda. Theobald met with the Norman barons and Robert of Gloucester at Lisieux on 21 December but their discussions were interrupted by the sudden news from England that Stephen's coronation was to occur the next day. Theobald then agreed to the Normans' proposal that he be made king, only to find that his former support immediately ebbed away: the barons were not prepared to support the division of England and Normandy by opposing Stephen. Stephen subsequently financially compensated Theobald, who in return remained in Blois and supported his brother's succession.

Early reign (1136-39)

Initial years (1136-37)

Stephen's new Anglo-Norman kingdom had been shaped by the Norman conquest of England in 1066, followed by the Norman expansion into south Wales over the coming years. Both the kingdom and duchy were dominated by a small number of major barons who owned lands on both sides of the English Channel, with the lesser barons beneath them usually having more localised holdings. The extent to which lands and positions should be passed down through hereditary right or by the gift of the king was still uncertain, and tensions around this issue had grown during the reign of Henry I. Certainly lands in Normandy, passed by hereditary right, were usually considered more important to major barons than those in England, where their possession was less certain. Henry had increased the authority and capabilities of the central royal administration, often bringing in "new men" to fulfil key positions rather than using the established nobility. In the process he had been able to maximise revenues and contain expenditures, resulting in a healthy surplus and a famously large treasury, but also increasing political tensions.

Stephen had to intervene in the north of England immediately after his coronation. David I of Scotland invaded the north on the news of Henry's death, taking Carlisle, Newcastle and other key strongholds. Northern England was a disputed territory at this time, with the Scottish kings laying a traditional claim to Cumberland, and David also claiming Northumbria by virtue of his marriage to the daughter of the former Anglo-Saxon earl Waltheof. Stephen rapidly marched north with an army and met David at Durham. An agreement was made under which David would return most of the territory he had taken, with the exception of Carlisle. In return, Stephen confirmed David's son Prince Henry's possessions in England, including the Earldom of Huntingdon.

Returning south, Stephen held his first royal court at Easter 1136. A wide range of nobles gathered at Westminster for the event, including many of the Anglo-Norman barons and most of the higher officials of the church. Stephen issued a new royal charter, confirming the promises he had made to the church, promising to reverse Henry's policies on the royal forests and to reform any abuses of the royal legal system. Stephen portrayed himself as the natural successor to Henry I's policies, and reconfirmed the existing seven earldoms in the kingdom on their existing holders. The Easter court was a lavish event, and a large amount of money was spent on the event itself, clothes and gifts. Stephen gave out grants of land and favours to those present, and endowed numerous church foundations with land and privileges. Stephen's accession to the throne still needed to be ratified by the Pope, however, and Henry of Blois appears to have been responsible for ensuring that testimonials of support were sent both from Stephen's elder brother Theobald and from the French king Louis VI, to whom Stephen represented a useful balance to Angevin power in the north of France. Pope Innocent II confirmed Stephen as king by letter later that year, and Stephen's advisers circulated copies widely around England to demonstrate Stephen's legitimacy.

Troubles continued across Stephen's kingdom. After the Welsh victory at the battle of Llwchwr in January 1136 and the successful ambush of Richard Fitz Gilbert de Clare in April, south Wales rose in rebellion, starting in east Glamorgan and rapidly spreading across the rest of south Wales during 1137. Owain Gwynedd and Gruffydd ap Rhys successfully captured considerable territories, including Carmarthen Castle. Stephen responded by sending Richard's brother Baldwin and the Marcher Lord Robert Fitz Harold of Ewyas into Wales to pacify the region. Neither mission was particularly successful and by the end of 1137 the king appears to have abandoned attempts to put down the rebellion. Historian David Crouch suggests that Stephen effectively "bowed out of Wales" around this time to concentrate on his other problems. Meanwhile, Stephen had put down two revolts in the south-west led by Baldwin de Redvers and Robert of Bampton; Baldwin was released after his capture and travelled to Normandy, where he became an increasingly vocal critic of the king.

The security of Normandy was also a concern. Geoffrey of Anjou invaded in early 1136 and, after a temporary truce, invaded later the same year, raiding and burning estates rather than trying to hold the territory. Events in England meant that Stephen was unable to travel to Normandy himself, so Waleran de Beaumont, appointed by Stephen as the lieutenant of Normandy, and Theobald led the efforts to defend the duchy. Stephen himself only returned to the duchy in 1137, where he met with Louis VI and Theobald to agree to an informal regional alliance, probably brokered by Henry, to counter the growing Angevin power in the region. As part of this deal, Louis recognised Stephen's son Eustace as Duke of Normandy in exchange for Eustace giving fealty to the French king. Stephen was less successful, however, in regaining the Argentan province along the Normandy and Anjou border, which Geoffrey had taken at the end of 1135. Stephen formed an army to retake it, but the frictions between his Flemish mercenary forces led by William of Ypres and the local Norman barons resulted in a battle between the two halves of his army. The Norman forces then deserted the king, forcing Stephen to give up his campaign. Stephen agreed to another truce with Geoffrey, promising to pay him 2,000 marks a year in exchange for peace along the Norman borders.

Stephen's relationship with the church became gradually more complex. The royal charter of 1136 had promised to review the ownership of all the lands that had been taken by the crown from the church since 1087, but these estates were now typically owned by nobles. Henry of Blois's claims, in his role as Abbot of Glastonbury, to extensive lands in Devon resulted in considerable local unrest. In 1136, Archbishop of Canterbury William de Corbeil died. Stephen responded by seizing his personal wealth, which caused some discontent amongst the senior clergy. Stephen's brother Henry wanted to succeed to the post, but Stephen instead supported Theobald of Bec, who was eventually appointed, while the papacy named Henry papal legate, possibly as consolation for not receiving Canterbury.

Stephen's first few years as king can be interpreted in different ways. Seen positively, Stephen stabilised the northern border with Scotland, contained Geoffrey's attacks on Normandy, was at peace with Louis VI, enjoyed good relations with the church and had the broad support of his barons. There were significant underlying problems, nonetheless. The north of England was now controlled by David and Prince Henry, Stephen had abandoned Wales, the fighting in Normandy had considerably destabilised the duchy, and an increasing number of barons felt that Stephen had given them neither the lands nor the titles they felt they deserved or were owed. Stephen was also rapidly running out of money: Henry's considerable treasury had been emptied by 1138 due to the costs of running Stephen's more lavish court, and the need to raise and maintain his mercenary armies fighting in England and Normandy.

Defending the kingdom (1138-39)

Stephen was attacked on several fronts during 1138. First, Robert of Gloucester rebelled against the king, starting the descent into civil war in England. An illegitimate son of Henry I and the half-brother of the Empress Matilda, Robert was one of the most powerful Anglo-Norman barons, controlling estates in Normandy as well as the Earldom of Gloucester. He was known for his qualities as a statesman, his military experience and leadership ability. Robert had tried to convince Theobald to take the throne in 1135; he did not attend Stephen's first court in 1136 and it took several summonses to convince him to attend court at Oxford later that year. In 1138, Robert renounced his fealty to Stephen and declared his support for Matilda, triggering a major regional rebellion in Kent and across the south-west of England, although Robert himself remained in Normandy. In France, Geoffrey of Anjou took advantage of the situation by re-invading Normandy. David of Scotland also invaded the north of England once again, announcing that he was supporting the claim of his niece the Empress Matilda to the throne, pushing south into Yorkshire.

Anglo-Norman warfare during the reign of Stephen was characterised by attritional military campaigns, in which commanders tried to seize key enemy castles in order to allow them to take control of their adversaries' territory and ultimately win a slow, strategic victory. The armies of the period centred on bodies of mounted, armoured knights, supported by infantry and crossbowmen. These forces were either feudal levies, drawn up by local nobles for a limited period of service during a campaign or, increasingly, mercenaries, who were expensive but more flexible and often more skilled. These armies, however, were ill-suited to besieging castles, whether the older motte-and-bailey designs or the newer, stone-built keeps. Existing siege engines were significantly less powerful than the later trebuchet designs, giving defenders a substantial advantage over attackers. As a result, slow sieges to starve defenders out, or mining operations to undermine walls, tended to be preferred by commanders over direct assaults. Occasionally pitched battles were fought between armies but these were considered highly risky endeavours and were usually avoided by prudent commanders. The cost of warfare had risen considerably in the first part of the 12th century, and adequate supplies of ready cash were increasingly proving important in the success of campaigns.

Stephen's personal qualities as a military leader focused on his skill in personal combat, his capabilities in siege warfare and a remarkable ability to move military forces quickly over relatively long distances. In response to the revolts and invasions, Stephen rapidly undertook several military campaigns, focusing primarily on England rather than Normandy. His wife Matilda was sent to Kent with ships and resources from Boulogne, with the task of retaking the key port of Dover, under Robert's control. A small number of Stephen's household knights were sent north to help the fight against the Scots, where David's forces were defeated later that year at the battle of the Standard in August by the forces of Thurstan, the Archbishop of York. Despite this victory, however, David still occupied most of the north. Stephen himself went west in an attempt to regain control of Gloucestershire, first striking north into the Welsh Marches, taking Hereford and Shrewsbury, before heading south to Bath. The town of Bristol itself proved too strong for him, and Stephen contented himself with raiding and pillaging the surrounding area. The rebels appear to have expected Robert to intervene with support that year, but he remained in Normandy throughout, trying to persuade the Empress Matilda to invade England herself. Dover finally surrendered to the queen's forces later in the year.

Stephen's military campaign in England had progressed well, and historian David Crouch describes it as "a military achievement of the first rank". The king took the opportunity of his military advantage to forge a peace agreement with Scotland. Stephen's wife Matilda was sent to negotiate another agreement between Stephen and David, called the treaty of Durham; Northumbria and Cumbria would effectively be granted to David and his son Prince Henry, in exchange for their fealty and future peace along the border. Unfortunately, the powerful Ranulf, Earl of Chester, considered himself to hold the traditional rights to Carlisle and Cumberland and was extremely displeased to see them being given to the Scots. Nonetheless, Stephen could now focus his attention on the anticipated invasion of England by Robert and Matilda's forces.

Road to civil war (1139)

Stephen prepared for the Angevin invasion by creating a number of additional earldoms. Only a handful of earldoms had existed under Henry I and these had been largely symbolic in nature. Stephen created many more, filling them with men he considered to be loyal, capable military commanders, and in the more vulnerable parts of the country assigning them new lands and additional executive powers. Stephen appears to have had several objectives in mind, including both ensuring the loyalty of his key supporters by granting them these honours, and improving his defences in key parts of the kingdom. Stephen was heavily influenced by his principal advisor, Waleran de Beaumont, the twin brother of Robert of Leicester. The Beaumont twins and their younger brother and cousins received the majority of these new earldoms. From 1138 onwards, Stephen gave them the earldoms of Worcester, Leicester, Hereford, Warwick and Pembroke, which-especially when combined with the possessions of Stephen's new ally, Prince Henry, in Cumberland and Northumbria-created a wide block of territory to act as a buffer zone between the troubled south-west, Chester and the rest of the kingdom. With their new lands, the power of the Beamounts grew to the point where David Crouch suggests that it became "dangerous to be anything other than a friend of Waleran" at Stephen's court.

Stephen took steps to remove a group of bishops he regarded as a threat to his rule. The royal administration under Henry I had been headed by Roger, the Bishop of Salisbury, supported by Roger's nephews, Alexander and Nigel, the Bishops of Lincoln and Ely respectively, and Roger's son, Roger le Poer, who was the Lord Chancellor. These bishops were powerful landowners as well as ecclesiastical rulers, and they had begun to build new castles and increase the size of their military forces, leading Stephen to suspect that they were about to defect to the Empress Matilda. Roger and his family were also enemies of Waleran, who disliked their control of the royal administration. In June 1139, Stephen held his court in Oxford, where a fight between Alan of Brittany and Roger's men broke out, an incident probably deliberately created by Stephen. Stephen responded by demanding that Roger and the other bishops surrender all of their castles in England. This threat was backed up by the arrest of the bishops, with the exception of Nigel who had taken refuge in Devizes Castle; the bishop only surrendered after Stephen besieged the castle and threatened to execute Roger le Poer. The remaining castles were then surrendered to the king.

Stephen's brother, Henry of Blois, was alarmed by this, both as a matter of principle, since Stephen had previously agreed in 1135 to respect the freedoms of the church, and more pragmatically because he himself had recently built six castles and had no desire to be treated in the same way. As the papal legate, he summoned the king to appear before an ecclesiastical council to answer for the arrests and seizure of property. Henry asserted the Church’s right to investigate and judge all charges against members of the clergy. Stephen sent Aubrey de Vere as his spokesman to the council, who argued that Roger of Salisbury had been arrested not as a bishop, but rather in his role as a baron who had been preparing to change his support to the Empress Matilda. The king was supported by Hugh, Archbishop of Rouen, who challenged the bishops to show how canon law entitled them to build or hold castles. Aubrey threatened that Stephen would complain to the pope that he was being harassed by the English church, and the council let the matter rest following an unsuccessful appeal to Rome. The incident successfully removed any military threat from the bishops, but it may have damaged Stephen's relationship with the senior clergy, and in particular with his brother Henry.

Civil war (1139-54)

Initial phase of the war (1139-40)

The Angevin invasion finally arrived in 1139. Baldwin de Redvers crossed over from Normandy to Wareham in August in an initial attempt to capture a port to receive the Empress Matilda's invading army, but Stephen's forces forced him to retreat into the south-west. The following month, however, the Empress was invited by the Dowager Queen Adeliza to land at Arundel instead, and on 30 September Robert of Gloucester and the Empress arrived in England with 140 knights. The Empress stayed at Arundel Castle, whilst Robert marched north-west to Wallingford and Bristol, hoping to raise support for the rebellion and to link up with Miles of Gloucester, a capable military leader who took the opportunity to renounce his fealty to the king. Stephen promptly moved south, besieging Arundel and trapping Matilda inside the castle.

Stephen then agreed to a truce proposed by his brother, Henry of Blois; the full details of the truce are not known, but the results were that Stephen first released Matilda from the siege and then allowed her and her household of knights to be escorted to the south-west, where they were reunited with Robert of Gloucester. The reasoning behind Stephen's decision to release his rival remains unclear. Contemporary chroniclers suggested that Henry argued that it would be in Stephen's own best interests to release the Empress and concentrate instead on attacking Robert, and Stephen may have seen Robert, not the Empress, as his main opponent at this point in the conflict. Stephen also faced a military dilemma at Arundel-the castle was considered almost impregnable, and he may have been worried that he was tying down his army in the south whilst Robert roamed freely in the west. Another theory is that Stephen released Matilda out of a sense of chivalry; Stephen was certainly known for having a generous, courteous personality and women were not normally expected to be targeted in Anglo-Norman warfare.

Having released the Empress, Stephen focused on pacifying the south-west of England. Although there had been few new defections to the Empress, his enemies now controlled a compact block of territory stretching out from Gloucester and Bristol south-west into Devon and Cornwall, west into the Welsh Marches and east as far as Oxford and Wallingford, threatening London. Stephen started by attacking Wallingford Castle, held by the Empress's childhood friend Brien FitzCount, only to find it too well defended. Stephen left behind some forces to blockade the castle and continued west into Wiltshire to attack Trowbridge, taking the castles of South Cerney and Malmesbury en route. Meanwhile, Miles of Gloucester marched east, attacking Stephen's rearguard forces at Wallingford and threatening an advance on London. Stephen was forced to give up his western campaign, returning east to stabilise the situation and protect his capital.

At the start of 1140, Nigel, the Bishop of Ely, whose castles Stephen had confiscated the previous year, rebelled against Stephen as well. Nigel hoped to seize East Anglia and established his base of operations in the Isle of Ely, then surrounded by protective fenland. Stephen responded quickly, taking an army into the fens and using boats lashed together to form a causeway that allowed him to make a surprise attack on the isle. Nigel escaped to Gloucester, but his men and castle were captured, and order was temporarily restored in the east. Robert of Gloucester's men retook some of the territory that Stephen had taken in his 1139 campaign. In an effort to negotiate a truce, Henry of Blois held a peace conference at Bath, to which Stephen sent his wife. The conference collapsed over the insistence by Henry and the clergy that they should set the terms of any peace deal, which Stephen found unacceptable.

Ranulf of Chester remained upset over Stephen's gift of the north of England to Prince Henry. Ranulf devised a plan for dealing with the problem by ambushing Henry whilst the prince was travelling back from Stephen's court to Scotland after Christmas. Stephen responded to rumours of this plan by escorting Henry himself north, but this gesture proved the final straw for Ranulf. Ranulf had previously claimed that he had the rights to Lincoln Castle, held by Stephen, and under the guise of a social visit, Ranulf seized the fortification in a surprise attack. Stephen marched north to Lincoln and agreed to a truce with Ranulf, probably to keep him from joining the Empress's faction, under which Ranulf would be allowed to keep the castle. Stephen returned to London but received news that Ranulf, his brother and their family were relaxing in Lincoln Castle with a minimal guard force, a ripe target for a surprise attack of his own. Abandoning the deal he had just made, Stephen gathered his army again and sped north, but not quite fast enough-Ranulf escaped Lincoln and declared his support for the Empress, and Stephen was forced to place the castle under siege.

Second phase of the war (1141-42)

While Stephen and his army besieged Lincoln Castle at the start of 1141, Robert of Gloucester and Ranulf of Chester advanced on the king's position with a somewhat larger force. When the news reached Stephen, he held a council to decide whether to give battle or to withdraw and gather additional soldiers: Stephen decided to fight, resulting in the battle of Lincoln on 2 February 1141. The king commanded the centre of his army, with Alan of Brittany on his right and William of Aumale on his left. Robert and Ranulf's forces had superiority in cavalry and Stephen dismounted many of his own knights to form a solid infantry block; he joined them himself, fighting on foot in the battle. Stephen was not a gifted public speaker, and delegated the pre-battle speech to Baldwin of Clare, who delivered a rousing declaration. After an initial success in which William's forces destroyed the Angevins' Welsh infantry, the battle went badly for Stephen. Robert and Ranulf's cavalry encircled Stephen's centre, and the king found himself surrounded by the enemy army. Many of Stephen's supporters, including Waleron de Beaumont and William of Ypres, fled from the field at this point but Stephen fought on, defending himself first with his sword and then, when that broke, with a borrowed battle axe. Finally, he was overwhelmed by Robert's men and taken away from the field in custody.

Robert took Stephen back to Gloucester, where the king met with the Empress Matilda, and was then moved to Bristol Castle, traditionally used for holding high-status prisoners. He was initially left confined in relatively good conditions, but his security was later tightened and he was kept in chains. The Empress now began to take the necessary steps to have herself crowned queen in his place, which would require the agreement of the church and her coronation at Westminster. Stephen's brother Henry summoned a council at Winchester before Easter in his capacity as papal legate to consider the clergy's view. He had made a private deal with the Empress Matilda that he would deliver the support of the church, if she agreed to give him control over church business in England. Henry handed over the royal treasury, rather depleted except for Stephen's crown, to the Empress, and excommunicated many of Stephen's supporters who refused to switch sides. Archbishop Theobald of Canterbury was unwilling to declare Matilda queen so rapidly, however, and a delegation of clergy and nobles, headed by Theobald, travelled to see Stephen in Bristol and consult about their moral dilemma: should they abandon their oaths of fealty to the king. Stephen agreed that, given the situation, he was prepared to release his subjects from their oath of fealty to him, and the clergy gathered again in Winchester after Easter to declare the Empress "Lady of England and Normandy" as a precursor to her coronation. When Matilda advanced to London in an effort to stage her coronation in June, though, she faced an uprising by the local citizens in support of Stephen that forced her to flee to Oxford, uncrowned.

Once news of Stephen's capture reached him, Geoffrey of Anjou invaded Normandy again and, in the absence of Waleran of Beaumont, who was still fighting in England, Geoffrey took all the duchy south of the river Seine and east of the river Risle. No help was forthcoming from Stephen's brother Theobald this time either, who appears to have been preoccupied with his own problems with France-the new French king, Louis VII, had rejected his father's regional alliance, improving relations with Anjou and taking a more bellicose line with Theobald, which would result in war the following year. Geoffrey's success in Normandy and Stephen's weakness in England began to influence the loyalty of many Anglo-Norman barons, who feared losing their lands in England to Robert and the Empress, and their possessions in Normandy to Geoffrey. Many started to leave Stephen's faction. His friend and advisor Waleron was one of those who decided to defect in mid-1141, crossing into Normandy to secure his ancestral possessions by allying himself with the Angevins, and bringing Worcestershire into the Empress's camp. Waleron's twin brother, Robert of Leicester, effectively withdrew from fighting in the conflict at the same time. Other supporters of the Empress were restored in their former strongholds, such as Bishop Nigel of Ely, and others still received new earldoms in the west of England. The royal control over the minting of coins broke down, leading to coins being struck by local barons and bishops across the country.

Stephen's wife Matilda played a critical part in keeping the king's cause alive during his captivity. Queen Matilda gathered Stephen's remaining lieutenants around her and the royal family in the south-east, advancing into London when the population rejected the Empress. Stephen's long-standing commander William of Ypres remained with the queen in London; William Martel, the royal steward, commanded operations from Sherborne in Dorset, and Faramus of Boulogne ran the royal household. The queen appears to have generated genuine sympathy and support from Stephen's more loyal followers. Henry's alliance with the Empress proved short-lived, as they soon fell out over political patronage and ecclesiastical policy; the bishop met Stephen's wife Queen Matilda at Guildford and transferred his support to her.

The king's eventual release resulted from the Angevin defeat at the rout of Winchester. Robert of Gloucester and the Empress besieged Henry in the city of Winchester in July. Queen Matilda and William of Ypres then encircled the Angevin forces with their own army, reinforced with fresh troops from London. In the subsequent battle the Empress's forces were defeated and Robert of Gloucester himself was taken prisoner. Further negotiations attempted to deliver a general peace agreement but Queen Matilda was unwilling to offer any compromise to the Empress, and Robert refused to accept any offer to encourage him to change sides to Stephen. Instead, in November the two sides simply exchanged Robert and the king, and Stephen began re-establishing his authority. Henry held another church council, which this time reaffirmed Stephen's legitimacy to rule, and a fresh coronation of Stephen and Matilda occurred at Christmas 1141.

At the beginning of 1142 Stephen fell ill, and by Easter rumours had begun to circulate that he had died. Possibly this illness was the result of his imprisonment the previous year, but he finally recovered and travelled north to raise new forces and to successfully convince Ranulf of Chester to change sides once again. Stephen then spent the summer attacking some of the new Angevin castles built the previous year, including Cirencester, Bampton and Wareham. In September, he spotted an opportunity to seize the Empress Matilda herself in Oxford. Oxford was a secure town, protected by walls and the river Isis, but Stephen led a sudden attack across the river, leading the charge and swimming part of the way. Once on the other side, the king and his men stormed into the town, trapping the Empress in the castle. Oxford Castle, however, was a powerful fortress and, rather than storming it, Stephen had to settle down for a long siege, albeit secure in the knowledge that Matilda was now surrounded. Just before Christmas, the Empress left the castle unobserved, crossed the icy river on foot and made her escape to Wallingford. The garrison surrendered shortly afterwards, but Stephen had lost an opportunity to capture his principal opponent.

Stalemate (1143-46)

The war between the two sides in England reached a stalemate in the mid-1140s, while Geoffrey of Anjou consolidated his hold on power in Normandy. 1143 started precariously for Stephen when he was besieged by Robert of Gloucester at Wilton Castle, an assembly point for royal forces in Herefordshire. Stephen attempted to break out and escape, resulting in the battle of Wilton. Once again, the Angevin cavalry proved too strong, and for a moment it appeared that Stephen might be captured for a second time. On this occasion, however, William Martel, Stephen's steward, made a fierce rear guard effort, allowing Stephen to escape from the battlefield. Stephen valued William's loyalty sufficiently to agree to exchange Sherborne Castle for his safe release-this was one of the few instances where Stephen was prepared to give up a castle to ransom one his men.

In late 1143, Stephen faced a new threat in the east, when Geoffrey de Mandeville, the Earl of Essex, rose up in rebellion against the king in East Anglia. Stephen had disliked the baron for several years, and provoked the conflict by summoning Geoffrey to court, where the king arrested him. Stephen threatened to execute Geoffrey unless the baron handed over his various castles, including the Tower of London, Saffron Walden and Pleshey, all important fortifications because they were in, or close to, London. Geoffrey gave in, but once free he headed north-east into the Fens to the Isle of Ely, from where he began a military campaign against Cambridge, with the intention of progressing south towards London. With all of his other problems and with Hugh Bigod still in open revolt in Norfolk, Stephen lacked the resources to track Geoffrey down in the Fens and made do with building a screen of castles between Ely and London, including Burwell Castle.

For a period, the situation continued to worsen. Ranulf of Chester revolted once again in the summer of 1144, splitting up Stephen's Honour of Lancaster between himself and Prince Henry. In the west, Robert of Gloucester and his followers continued to raid the surrounding royalist territories, and Wallingford Castle remained a secure Angevin stronghold, too close to London for comfort. Meanwhile, Geoffrey of Anjou finished securing his hold on southern Normandy and in January 1144 he advanced into Rouen, the capital of the duchy, concluding his campaign. Louis VII recognised him as Duke of Normandy shortly after. By this point in the war, Stephen was depending increasingly on his immediate royal household, such as William of Ypres and others, and lacked the support of the major barons who might have been able to provide him with significant additional forces; after the events of 1141, Stephen made little use of his network of earls.

After 1143 the war ground on, but progressing slightly better for Stephen. Miles of Gloucester, one of the most talented Angevin commanders, had died whilst hunting over the previous Christmas, relieving some of the pressure in the west. Geoffrey de Mandeville's rebellion continued until September 1144, when he died during an attack on Burwell. The war in the west progressed better in 1145, with the king recapturing Faringdon Castle in Oxfordshire. In the north, Stephen came to a fresh agreement with Ranulf of Chester, but then in 1146 repeated the ruse he had played on Geoffrey de Mandeville in 1143, first inviting Ranulf to court, before arresting him and threatening to execute him unless he handed over a number of castles, including Lincoln and Coventry. As with Geoffrey, the moment Ranulf was released he immediately rebelled, but the situation was a stalemate: Stephen had few forces in the north with which to prosecute a fresh campaign, whilst Ranulf lacked the castles to support an attack on Stephen. By this point, however, Stephen's practice of inviting barons to court and arresting them had brought him into some disrepute and increasing distrust.

Final phases of the war (1147-52)

England had suffered extensively from the war by 1147, leading to later Victorian historians terming the conflict the period of "the Anarchy". The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle recorded how "there was nothing but disturbance and wickedness and robbery". Certainly in many parts of the country, such as Wiltshire, Berkshire, the Thames Valley and East Anglia, the fighting and raiding had caused serious devastation. Numerous "adulterine", or unauthorised, castles had been built as bases for local lords-the chronicler Robert of Torigny complained that as many as 1,115 such castles had been built during the conflict, although this was probably an exaggeration as elsewhere he suggested an alternative figure of 126. The previously centralised royal coinage system was fragmented, with Stephen, the Empress and local lords all minting their own coins. The royal forest law had collapsed in large parts of the country Some parts of the country, though, were barely touched by the conflict-for example, Stephen's lands in the south-east and the Angevin heartlands around Gloucester and Bristol were largely unaffected, and David I ruled his territories in the north of England effectively. The king's overall income from his estates, however, declined seriously during the conflict, particularly after 1141, and royal control over the minting of new coins remained limited outside of the south-east and East Anglia. With Stephen often based in the south-east, increasingly Westminster, rather than the older site of Winchester, was used as the centre of royal government.

The character of the conflict in England gradually began to shift; as historian Frank Barlow suggests, by the late 1140s "the civil war was over", barring the occasional outbreak of fighting. In 1147 Robert of Gloucester died peacefully, and the next year the Empress Matilda left south-west England for Normandy, both of which contributed to reducing the tempo of the war. The Second Crusade was announced, and many Angevin supporters, including Waleran of Beaumont, joined it, leaving the region for several years. Many of the barons were making individual peace agreements with each other to secure their lands and war gains. Geoffrey and Matilda's son, the future King Henry II, mounted a small mercenary invasion of England in 1147 but the expedition failed, not least because Henry lacked the funds to pay his men. Surprisingly, Stephen himself ended up paying their costs, allowing Henry to return home safely; his reasons for doing so are unclear. One potential explanation is his general courtesy to a member of his extended family; another is that he was starting to consider how to end the war peacefully, and saw this as a way of building a relationship with Henry.

The young Henry FitzEmpress returned to England again in 1149, this time planning to form a northern alliance with Ranulf of Chester. The Angevin plan involved Ranulf agreeing to give up his claim to Carlisle, held by the Scots, in return for being given the rights to the whole of the Honour of Lancaster; Ranulf would give homage to both David and Henry Fitzempress, with Henry having seniority. Following this peace agreement, Henry and Ranulf agreed to attack York, probably with help from the Scots. Stephen marched rapidly north to York and the planned attack disintegrated, leaving Henry to return to Normandy, where he was declared Duke by his father.

Although still young, Henry was increasingly gaining a reputation as an energetic and capable leader. His prestige and power increased further when he unexpectedly married Eleanor of Aquitaine in 1152; Eleanor was the attractive Duchess of Aquitaine and the recently divorced wife of Louis VII of France, and the marriage made Henry the future ruler of a huge swathe of territory across France.

In the final years of the war, Stephen began to focus on the issue of his family and the succession. Stephen's eldest son was Eustace and the king wanted to confirm him as his successor, although chroniclers recorded that Eustace was infamous for levying heavy taxes and extorting money from those on his lands. Stephen's second son, William, was married to the extremely wealthy heiress Isabel de Warenne. In 1148, Stephen built the Cluniac Faversham Abbey as a resting place for his family. Both Stephen's wife, Queen Matilda, and his older brother Theobald died in 1152.

Argument with the church (1145-52)

Stephen's relationship with the church deteriorated badly towards the end of his reign. The reforming movement within the church, which advocated greater autonomy from royal authority for the clergy, had continued to grow, while new voices such as the Cistercians had gained additional prestige within the monastic orders, eclipsing older orders such as the Cluniacs. Stephen's dispute with the church had its origins in 1140, when Archbishop Thurstan of York died. An argument then broke out between a group of reformers based in York and backed by Bernard of Clairvaux, the head of the Cistercian order, who preferred William of Rievaulx as the new archbishop, and Stephen and his brother Henry of Blois, who preferred various Blois family relatives. The row between Henry and Bernard grew increasingly personal, and Henry used his authority as legate to appoint his nephew William of York to the post in 1144 only to find that, when Pope Innocent II died in 1145, Bernard was able to get the appointment rejected by Rome.Bernard then convinced Pope Eugene III to overturn Henry's decision altogether in 1147, deposing William, and appointing Henry Murdac as archbishop instead.

Stephen was furious over what he saw as potentially precedent-setting papal interference in his royal authority, and initially refused to allow Murdac into England. When Theobald, the Archbishop of Canterbury, went to consult with the Pope on the matter against Stephen's wishes, the king refused to allow him back into England either, and seized his estates. Stephen also cut his links to the Cistercian order, and turned instead to the Cluniacs, of which Henry was a member.

Nonetheless, the pressure on Stephen to get Eustace confirmed as his legitimate heir continued to grow. The king gave Eustace the County of Boulogne in 1147, but it remained unclear whether Eustace would inherit England. Stephen's preferred option was to have Eustace crowned while he himself was still alive, as was the custom in France, but this was not the normal practice in England, and Celestine II, during his brief tenure as pope between 1143 and 1144, had banned any change to this practice. Since the only person who could crown Eustace was Archbishop Theobald, who refused to do so without agreement from the current pope, Eugene III, the matter reached an impasse. At the end of 1148, Stephen and Theobald came to a temporary compromise that allowed Theobald to return to England. Theobald was appointed a papal legate in 1151, adding to his authority. Stephen then made a fresh attempt to have Eustace crowned at Easter 1152, gathering his nobles to swear fealty to Eustace, and then insisting that Theobald and his bishops anoint him king. When Theobald refused yet again, Stephen and Eustace imprisoned both him and the bishops and refused to release them unless they agreed to crown Eustace. Theobald escaped again into temporary exile in Flanders, pursued to the coast by Stephen's knights, marking a low point in Stephen's relationship with the church.

Treaties and peace (1153-54)

Henry FitzEmpress returned to England again at the start of 1153 with a small army, supported in the north and east of England by Ranulf of Chester and Hugh Bigod. Stephen's castle at Malmesbury was besieged by Henry's forces and the king responded by marching west with an army to relieve it. Stephen unsuccessfully attempted to force Henry's smaller army to fight a decisive battle along the river Avon. In the face of the increasingly wintry weather, Stephen agreed to a temporary truce and returned to London, leaving Henry to travel north through the Midlands where the powerful Robert de Beaumont, Earl of Leicester, announced his support for the Angevin cause. Despite only modest military successes, Henry and his allies now controlled the south-west, the Midlands and much of the north of England.

Over the summer, Stephen intensified the long-running siege of Wallingford Castle in a final attempt to take this major Angevin stronghold. The fall of Wallingford appeared imminent and Henry marched south in an attempt to relieve the siege, arriving with a small army and placing Stephen's besieging forces under siege themselves. Upon news of this, Stephen gathered up a large force and marched from Oxford, and the two sides confronted each other across the River Thames at Wallingford in July. By this point in the war, the barons on both sides seem to have been eager to avoid an open battle. As a result, instead of a battle ensuing, members of the church brokered a truce, to the annoyance of both Stephen and Henry.

In the aftermath of Wallingford, Stephen and Henry spoke together privately about a potential end to the war; Stephen's son Eustace, however, was furious about the peaceful outcome at Wallingford. He left his father and returned home to Cambridge to gather more funds for a fresh campaign, where he fell ill and died the next month. Eustace's death removed an obvious claimant to the throne and was politically convenient for those seeking a permanent peace in England. It is possible, however, that Stephen had already begun to consider passing over Eustace's claim; historian Edmund King observes that Eustace's claim to the throne was not mentioned in the discussions at Wallingford, for example, and this may have added to Stephen's son's anger.

Fighting continued after Wallingford, but in a rather half-hearted fashion. Stephen lost the towns of Oxford and Stamford to Henry while the king was diverted fighting Hugh Bigod in the east of England, but Nottingham Castle survived an Angevin attempt to capture it. Meanwhile, Stephen's brother Henry of Blois and Archbishop Theobald of Canterbury were for once unified in an effort to broker a permanent peace between the two sides, putting pressure on Stephen to accept a deal. Stephen and Henry FitzEmpress's armies met again at Winchester, where the two leaders would ratify the terms of a permanent peace in November. Stephen announced the Treaty of Winchester in Winchester Cathedral: he recognised Henry FitzEmpress as his adopted son and successor, in return for Henry doing homage to him; Stephen promised to listen to Henry's advice, but retained all his royal powers; Stephen's remaining son, William, would do homage to Henry and renounce his claim to the throne, in exchange for promises of the security of his lands; key royal castles would be held on Henry's behalf by guarantors whilst Stephen would have access to Henry's castles; and the numerous foreign mercenaries would be demobilised and sent home. Stephen and Henry sealed the treaty with a kiss of peace in the cathedral.

Death

Stephen's decision to recognise Henry as his heir was, at the time, not necessarily a final solution to the civil war. Despite the issuing of new currency and administrative reforms, Stephen might potentially have lived for many more years, whilst Henry's position on the continent was far from secure. Although Stephen's son William was young and unprepared to challenge Henry for the throne in 1153, the situation could well have shifted in subsequent years-there were widespread rumours during 1154 that William planned to assassinate Henry, for example. Historian Graham White describes the treaty of Winchester as a "precarious peace", capturing the judgement of most modern historians that the situation in late 1153 was still uncertain and unpredictable.

Certainly many problems remained to be resolved, including re-establishing royal authority over the provinces and resolving the complex issue of which barons should control the contested lands and estates after the long civil war. Stephen burst into activity in early 1154, travelling around the kingdom extensively. He began issuing royal writs for the south-west of England once again and travelled to York where he held a major court in an attempt to impress upon the northern barons that royal authority was being reasserted. After a busy summer in 1154, however, Stephen travelled to Dover to meet the Count of Flanders; some historians believe that the king was already ill and preparing to settle his family affairs. Stephen fell ill with a stomach disorder and died on 25 October at the local priory, being buried at Faversham Abbey with his wife Matilda and son Eustace.

Legacy

Aftermath

After Stephen's death, Henry II succeeded to the throne of England. Henry vigorously re-established royal authority in the aftermath of the civil war, dismantling castles and increasing revenues, although several of these trends had begun under Stephen. The destruction of castles under Henry was not as dramatic as once thought, and although he restored royal revenues, the economy of England remained broadly unchanged under both rulers. Stephen's remaining son William I of Blois was confirmed as the Earl of Surrey by Henry, and prospered under the new regime, with the occasional point of tension with Henry. Stephen's daughter Marie I of Boulogne also survived her father; she had been placed in a convent by Stephen, but after his death left and married. Stephen's middle son, Baldwin, and second daughter, Matilda, had died before 1147 and were buried at Holy Trinity Priory, Aldgate. Stephen probably had three illegitimate sons, Gervase, Ralph and Americ, by his mistress Damette; Gervase became Abbot of Westminster in 1138, but after his father's death Gervase was removed by Henry in 1157 and died shortly afterwards.

Historiography

Much of the modern history of Stephen's reign is based on accounts of chroniclers who lived in, or close to, the middle of the 12th century, forming a relatively rich account of the period. All of the main chronicler accounts carry significant regional biases in how they portray the disparate events. Several  
Stephen King of England (I5458)
 
1534 Stephen II Henry (in French, Étienne Henri, in Medieval French, Estienne Henri) (c. 1045 - 19 May 1102), Count of Blois and Count of Chartres, was the son of Theobald III, count of Blois, and Garsinde du Maine. He is numbered Stephen II after Stephen I, Count of Troyes. He married Adela of Normandy, a daughter of William the Conqueror around 1080 in Chartres. In 1089, upon the death of his father, he became the Count of Blois and Chartres, although Theobald had given him the administration of those holdings in 1074. He was the father of Stephen of England.

Count Stephen was one of the leaders of the First Crusade, often writing enthusiastic letters to Adela about the crusade's progress. Stephen was the head of the army council at the Crusaders' siege of Nicaea in 1097. He returned home in 1098 during the lengthy siege of Antioch, without having fulfilled his crusading vow to forge a way to Jerusalem. He was pressured by Adela into making a second pilgrimage, and joined the minor crusade of 1101 in the company of others who had also returned home prematurely. In 1102, Stephen was killed at the Second Battle of Ramla at the age of fifty-seven.

Family and children

Stephen and Adela's children were:

William, Count of Sully (d.1150), Count of Chartres married Agnes of Sulli (d. aft 1104) and had issue.
Theobald II, Count of Champagne
Odo, died young.
Stephen, King of England
Lucia-Mahaut, married Richard d'Avranches, 2nd Earl of Chester. Both drowned on 25 November 1120.
Agnes, married Hugh III of Le Puiset
Eléonore (d. 1147) married Raoul I of Vermandois (d. 1152) and had issue; they were divorced in 1142.
Alix (c. 1100 - 1145) married Renaud III of Joigni (d. 1134) and had issue
Lithuise (d. 1118) married Milo de Brai, Viscount of Troyes (divorced 1115)
Henry, Bishop of Winchester
Humbert, died young.

Lithuise, who married Milon of Troyes, viscount of Troyes, was possibly his sister and not his daughter, judging from the dates of her children. Unsubstantiated claim.[citation needed]

He had an illegitimate daughter Emma, who was the mother of William of York, archbishop of York. 
Stephen II Count of Blois (I5459)
 
1535 Stephen, Count of Tréguier, Lord of Richmond (1058/62- 21 April 1136) was a Breton noble and a younger son of Odo, Count of Penthièvre and Agnes of Cornwall, sister of Hoel II, Duke of Brittany. In 1093, he succeeded to the title of Count of Tréguier; in 1098, he succeeded his brother Alain as Lord of Richmond in Yorkshire, England.

Due to his Breton heritage, he is sometimes misidentified as "Stephen, Count of Brittany" in the court documents of King Henry I of England, when in fact at the time Brittany was a Duchy ruled by Alan IV, Duke of Brittany.

He married Hawise of Guingamp and their children were:

Geoffrey II "Boterel", Count of Penthièvre, married Hawise de Dol, by whom he had issue.
Henry, Count of Tréguier, married Mathilde de Vendome, by whom he had issue.
Alan de Bretagne, 1st Earl of Richmond (died 15 September 1146) married Bertha of Brittany, by whom he had issue, including his heir Conan IV, Duke of Brittany; he had also four illegitimate sons.
Maud, married Walter de Gaunt, by whom she had issue, including Agnes de Gaunt who married William de Mohun of Dunster, 1st Earl of Somerset.
Olive, married firstly Henry de Fougères, by whom she had issue; secondly William de St. John
Tiphanie, married Rabel de Tancarville, Chamberlain of Normandy.
Eléonore, married Alan de Dinan, by whom she had issue.

Stephen was a benefactor of religious houses. In 1110, he and his wife, Hawise founded the Augustine Abbey of St Croix in Guingamp; and on an unknown date, he is recorded as having donated property to Rumbaugh Priory for the souls of his wife and children.

He died on 21 April 1136 and was buried in York.
 
Stephen Count of Tréguier Lord of Richmond (I3499)
 
1536 Stephen, Sir Leslie, ed, Dictionary of National Biography, 1921–1922, London, England: Oxford University Press, 1921–1922 Source (S501)
 
1537 Stepney St George in the East Union Wakeham, Elizabeth (I4640)
 
1538 Successor to the barony of Kendal whose son William assumed, according to Dugdale, from being govenor of Lancaster Castle, the surname of Lancaster. From him descended John de Lancaster who was summoned to Parliament as a baron in 1299. (see Burke's Extinct Peerage)
 
Gilbert (I848)
 
1539 Suppo I (or Suppone) (died 5 March 824) was a Frankish nobleman who held lands in the Regnum Italicum in the early ninth century.

In 817, he was made Count of Brescia, Parma, Piacenza, Modena, and Bergamo. He was also made a missus dominicus, along with the Brescian bishop Ratald, for Italy. In 818, he was instrumental in putting down the rebellion of Bernard against the Emperor, Louis the Pious. In 822, after the abdication and death of Duke Winiges, Suppo was created Duke of Spoleto by the grateful emperor and he passed Brescia to his son Mauring. Suppo's death was recorded by Einhard and Spoleto went to Adelard, who died within five months, leavin the duchy to Mauring.

Suppo probably had a Lombard wife, for his second son was named Adelchis. 
Suppo I (I5038)
 
1540 Suppo II was a member of the Supponid family and Engelberga, the wife of Louis II may have been his sister. He was Count of Parma, Asti, and Turin. Along with his cousin, Suppo III, he was the chief lay magnate in Italy during Louis's reign.

His father was Adelchis of Spoleto and his mother is unknown. He himself had fours sons: Adelchis, Arding, Boso, and Wifred. He also left a daughter, Bertila, who married Berengar I of Italy. 
Suppo II (I5036)
 
1541 Surprise of Jersey - Boy - November 1839 to May 1840
Camphill of Jersey - ??- June 1840 to January 1841
Broadaxe of Jersey - ?? - Feb 1841 to August 1841
Janvrin of Jersey - Carpenter - September 1841 to February 1842
Temperance of Jersey - Carpenters Mate - March 1842 to March 1844
Edwina of Jersey - Chief Mate - April 1844 to November 1844
Pallas of |Jersey - Chief Mate - December 1844 to January 1847
Stratton of Jersey - Chief Mate - February 1847 to July 1848
Mate of Peggy of Jersey from 23rd September 1848 to March 1849.
Master of Susan of Jersey from April 1849 to 12th July 1853. 
Bosdet, Thomas (I1975)
 
1542 Sveyn I 'Forkbeard' Haraldsson, King of Denmark and England was born circa 960 at Denmark. He was the son of Harald I 'Bluetooth' Gormsson, King of Denmark and Gyrid Olafsdottir. He married, firstly, Gunhilda of Poland, daughter of Mieszko I, Duke of Poland and Dubrawka of Bohemia, circa 990. He married, secondly, Sigrid 'the Haughty', daughter of Skogul Toste, before 1000. He and Gunhilda of Poland were divorced in 1000. He died on 3 February 1014 at Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England. He was buried at Roskilde Cathedral, Copenhagen, Denmark.

He succeeded to the title of King Sveyn I of Denmark on 1 November 986. He was deposed as King of Denmark in 987. He succeeded to the title of King Sveyn I of Denmark in 1000. He gained the title of King Sveyn I of England in 1013.
 
Haraldsson, Sveyn I 'Forkbeard' King of Denmark and England (I2549)
 
1543 Sybilla of Burgundy (1065-1103) was a French noble, the duchess consort of Burgundy. She was a daughter of William I, Count of Burgundy and Stephanie. She was married to Eudes I, Duke of Burgundy in 1080.

Children:

Florine of Burgundy (1083-1097)
Helie of Burgundy (1080-1141), wife of Bertrand of Toulouse and William III of Ponthieu
Hugh II of Burgundy
Henry (died 1131)
 
of Burgundy, Sibylla Duchess of Burgundy (I5022)
 
1544 Synopsis For the first time, the story of Jersey in the First World War is revealed. Whilst the island's role in the Second World War is well documented, a generation earlier another devastating war had struck Jersey, jeopardising the lives and liberties of its people. In 1915, a band of 300 young men known as the Jersey Company volunteered to fight for king and country in a war beyond the comprehension of many. Feted as heroes, they proudly took their place in the trenches of the Western front. But the war was to have a devastating effect - both on the Jersey Company and their island. Soon the volunteers were not only fighting the enemy, but also waging a bitter struggle for continued recognition and support from home. Accompanied by some incredible rare photographs, this book tells the moving but ultimately tragic story of one small and unique unit caught in the maelstrom of the Great War. This is an eye-opening account of one of the most important periods in Jersey's history and promises to fascinate anyone interested in the island's extraordinary past. Source (S115)
 
1545 Tadc or Tadg mac Briain (died 1023) was the son of Brian Boru and Echrad, daughter of Carlus mac Ailella of Uí Áeda Odba. Tadc had one son, Toirdelbach Ua Briain (Turlough O'Brien), with his wife Mór, daughter of Gilla Brigte Ua Maíl Muaid of Cenél Fiachach.

After Brian Boru's death at the battle of Clontarf in 1014, Tadc was a serious contender to the kingship of Munster, rivalling his half brother Donnchad mac Briain. Tadc was assassinated at the instigation of Donnchad in 1023.

He was also known as Teigh Pluingcead.
 
mac Briain, Tadc (I5835)
 
1546 Tenth Census of the United States, 1880. (NARA microfilm publication T9, 1,454 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C. Source (S40)
 
1547 Tenth Census of the United States, 1880. (NARA microfilm publication T9, 1,454 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C. Source (S349)
 
1548 Tertulle d'Anjou, Comte d'Anjou held the office of Governor of Rennes. He gained the title of Comte d'Anjou. He held the office of Governor of Petronille d'Auxerre.
 
d'Anjou, Tertulle Comte d'Anjou (I175)
 
1549 Teutberga was a Frank and daughter of Boso the Elder. Therefore she was a Bosonid. She married Lothair II, a prince of the Carolingian dynasty, the imperial family of Francia. Hucbert, the lay-abbot of St Maurice was Teutberga's brother.

Lothair's reign was chiefly occupied by his efforts to obtain a divorce from his wife Teutberga, and his relations with his uncles Charles the Bald and Louis the German were influenced by his desire to obtain their support for this endeavor. Although quarrels and reconciliations between the three kings followed each other in quick succession, in general it may be said that Louis favoured the divorce, and Charles opposed it, while neither lost sight of the fact that Lothair had no sons to inherit his lands. Lothair, whose desire for the divorce was prompted by his affection for a woman named Waldrada, put away Teutberga, but Hucbert took up arms on her behalf, and after she had submitted successfully to the ordeal of water, Lothair was compelled to restore her in 858. Still pursuing his purpose, he won the support of his brother, Emperor Louis II, by a cession of lands and obtained the consent of the local clergy to the divorce and to his marriage with Waldrada, which took place in 862.

A synod of Frankish bishops met at Metz in 863 and confirmed this decision, but Teutberga fled to the court of Charles the Bald, and Pope Nicholas I voided the decision of the synod. An attack on Rome by the emperor was without result, and in 865 Lothair, threatened with excommunication and convinced that Louis and Charles at their recent meeting had discussed the partition of his kingdom, again took back his wife. Teutberga, however, either from inclination or compulsion, now expressed her desire for a divorce, and Lothair went to Italy to obtain the assent of the new pope, Adrian II. Placing a favourable interpretation upon the words of the pope, he had set out on the return journey, when he was seized with fever and died at Piacenza on the August 8, 869. He left, by Waldrada, a son Hugo who was declared illegitimate, and his kingdom was divided between his uncles Charles the Bald and Louis the German by the Treaty of Meerssen.
 
Teutberga (I3728)
 
1550 The arms of Harington also bear a fret, frette, the famous Harington Knot. Both the Haringtons and the Curwens are descended from Thomas of Workington, whence, perhaps, the similarity of the arms.
 
Culwen, Sir Gilbert (I4549)
 

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