General Notes

[Isabel De Birkin.FTW]

Henry I was born in the year 1068---a factor he himself reg arded as highly significant, for he was the only son of th e Conqueror born after the conquest of England, and to Henr y this meant he was heir to the throne. He was not an attra ctive proposition: he was dissolute to a degree, producin g at least a score of bastards; but far worse he was pron e to sadistic cruelty---on one occasion, for example, perso nally punishing a rebellious burgher by throwing him from t he walls of his town.

At the death of William the Conqueror, Henry was left no la nds, merely 5,000 pounds of silver. With these he bought la nds from his elder brother Robert Curthose, Duke of Normand y, only to see them taken back again a few years later by R obert, in unholy alliance with his brother William Rufus.

Henry could do little to avenge such treatment, but in Engl and he found numerous barons who were tired of the exaction s and ambitions of their king. He formed alliances with som e of these, notably with the important de Clare family. H e and some of the de Clares were with William Rufus on hi s last hunting expedition, and it is thought that the king' s death was the result of Henry's plotting.

Certainly he moved fast to take advantage of it; leaving Ru fus's body unattended in the woods, he swooped down on Winc hester to take control of the treasury. Two days later he w as in Westminster, being crowned by the Bishop of London. H is speed is understandable when one realises that his elde r brother, Robert [Curthose], was returning from the crusad e, and claimed, with good reason, to be the true heir.

Henry showed great good sense in his first actions as King . He arrested Ranulph Flambard, William's tax-gatherer, an d recalled Anselm, the exiled Archbishop. Furthermore, he i ssued a Charter of Liberties which promised speedy redres s of grievances, and a return to the good government of th e Conqueror. Putting aside for the moment his many mistress es, he married the sister of the King of Scots, who was des cended from the royal line of Wessex; and lest the Norman b arons should think him too pro-English in this action, he c hanged her name from Edith to Matilda. No one could claim t hat he did not aim to please.

In 1101 Robert Curthose invaded, but Henry met him at Alton , and persuaded him to go away again by promising him an an nuity of £2,000. He had no intention of keeping up the paym ents, but the problem was temporarily solved.

He now felt strong enough to move against dissident baron s who might give trouble in the future. Chief amongst thes e was the vicious Robert of Bellême, Earl of Shrewsbury, wh om Henry had known for many years as a dangerous troublemak er. He set up a number of charges against him in the king' s court, making it plain that if he appeared for trial he w ould be convicted and imprisoned. Thus Robert and his colle agues were forced into rebellion at a time not of their ow n choosing, were easily defeated and sent scuttling back t o Normandy.

In Normandy Robert Curthose began to wreak his wrath on al l connected with his brother, thus giving Henry an excellen t chance to retaliate with charges of misgovernment and inv ade. He made two expeditions in 1104-5, before the great ex pedition of 1106 on which Robert was defeated at the hour-l ong battle of Tinchebrai, on the anniversary of Hastings. N o one had expected such an easy victory, but Henry took adv antage of the state of shock resulting from the battle to a nnex Normandy. Robert was imprisoned (in some comfort, it b e said); he lived on for 28 more years, ending up in Cardif f castle whiling away the long hours learning Welsh. His so n William Clito remained a free agent, to plague Henry fo r most of the rest of his reign.

In England the struggle with Anselm over the homage of bish ops ran its course until the settlement of 1107. In matter s of secular government life was more simple: Henry had fou nd a brilliant administrator, Roger of Salisbury, to act a s Justiciar for him. Roger had an inventive mind, a keen gr asp of affairs, and the ability to single out young men o f promise. He quickly built up a highly efficient team of a dministrators, and established new routines and forms of or ganisation within which they could work. To him we owe th e Exchequer and its recording system of the Pipe Rolls, th e circuits of royal justiciars spreading the king's peace , and the attempts at codification of law. Henry's good rel ationships with his barons, and with the burgeoning new tow ns owed much to skilful administration. Certainly he was ab le to gain a larger and more reliable revenue this way tha n by the crude extortion his brother had used.

In 1120 came the tragedy of the White Ship. The court was r eturning to England, and the finest ship in the land was fi lled with its young men, including Henry's son and heir Wil liam. Riotously drunk, they tried to go faster and faster , when suddenly the ship foundered. All hands except a butc her of Rouen were lost, and England was without an heir.

Henry's only legitimate child was Matilda, but she was marr ied to the Emperor Henry V of Germany, and so could not suc ceed. But in 1125 her husband died, and Henry brought her h ome and forced the barons to swear fealty to her---though t hey did not like the prospect of a woman ruler. Henry the n married her to Geoffrey of Anjou, the Normans' traditiona l enemy, and the barons were less happy---especially when t he newly-weds had a terrible row, and Geoffrey ordered he r out of his lands. In 1131 Henry, absolutely determined, f orced the barons to swear fealty once more, and the fact th at they did so is testimoney of his controlling power. Mati lda and Geoffrey were reunited, and in 1133 she produce d a son whom she named for his grandfather. If only Henry c ould live on until his grandson was old enough to rule, al l would be well.

But in 1135, against doctor's orders, he ate a hearty mea l of lampreys, got acute indigestion, which turned into fev er, and died. He was buried at his abbey in Reading---som e said in a silver coffin, for which there was an unsuccess ful search at the Dissolution. [Source: Who's Who in the Mi ddle Ages, John Fines, Barnes & Noble Books, New York, 1995]