General Notes

King Henry I of England, surnamed Beauclerc. He was burie
d in the Abbey
of Reading, which he had founded. He was given an excellen
t education,
including the English law and language. As a younger son h
e was
notxpected to inherit the crown. Of his elder brothers, Wil
liam
received England and Robert became Duke of Normandy. When W
illiam died,
in 1100, Robert was on a Crusade and Henry seized the crown
. He issued a
charter by which he promised to restore the "laws of Edward
," exchange
customary fees for the unlimited demands of his father an
d brother on
the barons, stop the plundering of the church, and force th
e barons to do
justice to their tenants. By marrying a descendant of the A
nglo-Saxon
Kings he completed his policy of allying himself with the n
ative English.
In both England and Normandy he was more popular with the n
on-feudal
classes than with the barons. English levies helped him rep
el an
invasion of Robert and his victory at Tinchebrai was regard
ed as an
English victory in revenge for Hastings. Several times he w
as successful
in putting down rebellions and conspiracies in Normandy . T
he chief
institution created during his reign was that of the excheq
uer. Source:
Royal Gen. In 1106 he captured Robert and held him until h
e died. Thus he
was also Duke of Normandy from 1106 to 1135. Henry proved t
o be a hard
but just ruler. He apparently died from overeating lampreys!
He was crowned 6 Aug 11 00, at Westminster by Maurice, Bish
op of London.
He was the last male heir of  the Norman line. He was calle
d "Beauclerc"
(or " Good Scholar"). He died at age 67, of ptomaine poison
ing from a
meal of lampreys.
Pedigrees of some Emperor Charlemagne's Descendants - Langs
ton-Buck The
Plantagenet Chronicles, ed. by Dr. Elizabeth Hallam, p. 60
. The Oxford
Illustrated History of the British Monarchy by Cannon and G
riffith.
BIRTH: Also given as 1070.
-----------------------------------------
William's younger brother Henry succeeded to the throne. H
e was crowned three days after his brother's death, agains
t the possibility that his eldest brother Robert might clai
m the English throne. After the decisive battle of Tinchebr
ai in 1106 in France, Henry completed his conquest of Norma
ndy from Robert, who then (unusually even for that time) sp
ent the last 28 years of his life as his brother's prisoner
. An energetic, decisive and occasionally cruel ruler, Henr
y centralised the administration of England and Normandy i
n the royal court, using 'viceroys' in Normandy and a grou
p of advisers in England to act on his behalf when he was a
bsent across the Channel. Henry successfully sought to incr
ease royal revenues, as shown by the official records of hi
s exchequer (the Pipe Roll of 1130, the first exchequer acc
ount to survive). He established peaceful relations with Sc
otland, through his marriage to Mathilda of Scotland.
Henry's name 'Beauclerc' denoted his good education (as th
e youngest son, his parents possibly expected that he woul
d become a bishop); Henry was probably the first Norman kin
g to be fluent in English. In 1120, his legitimate sons Wil
liam and Richard drowned in the White Ship which sank in th
e English Channel. This posed a succession problem, as Henr
y never allowed any of his illegitimate children to expec
t succession to either England or Normandy. Henry had a leg
itimate daughter Matilda (widow of Emperor Henry V, subsequ
ently married to the Count d'Anjou). However, it was his ne
phew Stephen (reigned 1135-54), son of William the Conquero
r's daughter Adela, who succeeded Henry after his death, al
legedly caused by eating too many lampreys (fish) in 1135
, as the barons mostly opposed the idea of a female ruler.
(Research):Note: DESCENDANT OF CHARLEMAGNE AND ALFRED THE G
REAT
SON OF WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR
DUKE OF NORMANDY 1106-1135, KING OF ENGLAND 1100-1135.
William "The Conque