1718265

Alias:<ALIA> Beauclerc Henry I //
[egoncpy.FTW]
[JohnHaring060520.FTW]
[Brøderbund WFT Vol. 21, Ed. 1, Tree #1116, Date of Import: May 3, 1999]
Nicknamed "Beauclerc", he succeeded his brother, William ("Rufus") to the
throne in 1100.
[Brøderbund WFT Vol. 21, Ed. 1, Tree #1186, Date of Import: Apr 26, 1999]
Henry I was the third Norman King of England (1100-1135), and fourth son
of William the Conqueror. Because his father, who died in 1087, left him
no land, Henry I made several unsuccessful attempts to gain territories
on the Continent. On the death of his brother William II(William Rufus)
in 1100, Henry took advantage of the absence of another brother-Robert,
who had a prior claim to the throne-to seize the royal treasury and have
himself crowned king at Westminster. Henry subsequently secured his
position with the nobles and with the church by issuing a charter of
liberties that acknowledged the feudal rights of the nobles and the
rights of the church. In 1101 Robert, who was Duke of Normandy, invaded
England, but Henry persuaded him to withdraw by promising him a pension
and military aid on the Continent. In 1102 Henry put down a revolt of
nobles, who subsequently took refuge in Normandy, where they were aided
by Robert. By defeating Robert at Tinchebray, France, in 1106, Henry
won Normandy. During the rest of his reign, however, he constantly had
to put down uprisings that threatened his rule in Normandy. The conflict
between Henry and Anselm, archbishop of Canterbury, over the question of
lay investiture(the appointment of church officials by the king), was
settled in 1107 by a compromise that left the king with substantial
control in the matter. Because he had no surviving male heirs, Henry was
forced to designate his daughter Matilda as his heiress. After his death
on December 1, 1135, at Lyons-la-Foret, Normandy, however, Henry nephew,
Stephen of Bois, usurped the throne, plunging the country into a
protracted civil war that ended only with the accession of Matilda's son,
Henry II, (Henry I's grandson) in 1154, the first of the Angevin kings of
England.