General Notes

[1700591.ged]
1068-1135, king of England (1100-1135), youngest son of William I. He was
called Henry Beauclerc because he could write. He quarreled with his
elder brothers, William II of England and Robert II, duke of Normandy,
and attempted with little success to
establish a territorial base for himself on the Continent. When William
II was killed, Henry seized the treasury and had himself elected and
crowned king while Robert was away on crusade. Henry issued a charter
promising to right injustices inflicted
by William and to refrain from unjust demands on the church and the
barons. He also recalled Anselm from exile. His marriage (1100) to Edith
(thereafter known as Matilda), daughter of Malcolm III of Scotland and
niece of Edgar Atheling, gained him some
popularity with his English (as opposed to Norman) subjects. Robert
invaded England in 1101, but the brothers reached an agreement by which
Robert renounced his claim to the English throne in return for the
promise of a pension and the surrender of
Henry's possessions in Normandy. In the succeeding years Henry defeated
and banished Robert's leading supporters in England. He then invaded
(1105) Normandy, defeated (1106) Robert at Tinchebrai, and became duke of
Normandy. In the meantime Henry had
become involved in a quarrel with Anselm over the lay investiture of
bishops and abbots. In a compromise settlement (1107) the king gave up
investiture but retained the right to receive homage from the prelates.
Henry's reign continued to be troubled
by uprisings in Normandy centering about Robert's son and encouraged by
Louis VI of France, who was almost constantly at war with Henry. Henry's
only legitimate son, William Atheling, was drowned (1120), and Henry I's
second marriage was childless. The
latter years of his reign were marked therefore by his attempts to secure
the succession for his daughter Matilda. Henry's reign in England was one
of order and progress. Royal justice was strengthened and expanded; the
Norman legal system gradually
fused with the old Anglo-Saxon. The first of the extant pipe rolls and
the first appearance of the court of Exchequer date from this reign.