G04 



ENGLAND. 



Peace with 

 France. 



Hiitoiy. and arbitrary taxes being impoted upon his English 

 """^ .-"' subjects, but wa* attinci lor.ible nont. 



Hostilities on l>oth >il ! on without ener- 



gy or decision ; and produced only slight ami ineffec- 

 tual skirmishes on the f'ruir .r, find- 

 ing th:il hi- could not prevail I \ .inn-, en. 



;red to interest Po|H' Calixtus II. in favour of the 

 A. n. i: .1 He carried W to > min- 



ed which was held at I ml represented tot! 



the injustice of Henry in l>t reaving his nephew of his 

 ini. .:nd also of detaining in prison his brother 



Koln-rt. who, on account of his eminent M : nst 



the infidels, was entitled to tin- pio'citior of the holy 

 ee. Rut Henry employe,! a iniov j)owcrfid in-trumcnt 

 to counteract the intentions of his enemies. I !e order- 

 ed his ambassadors to gain the pope and his (avoir 

 with liberal presents and promiv I. II. < t.-m-c of Wil- 

 liam was consequently heard with coldness ; and Calix- 

 tus, in an interview which he had with Henry, decla- 

 red, that of all men he was, beyond comparison, the 

 most eloquent and per- 



The war in \ormandy wa.5 again renewed; but Hen- 

 ry having p.T--ed over with an army, gave the enemy 

 battle at Brcnneville. During the conflict, Crispin, a 

 Norman officer, who had followed the fortunes of young 

 William, struck the King of England on the head with 

 such force, that all his armour was covered with blood. 

 Henry, however, no way intimidated, returned the 

 blow, and continued the combat with such resolution, 

 that he brought his antagonist to the ground. His 

 troops were encouraged by his exjunple, and victory de- 

 A. n. 1120. clared for the English. A peace was soon after con- 

 cluded between France and England, and the cause of 

 William was forgotten. 



Henry now seemed to have gained the summit of his 

 wishes. Profound tranquillity reigned throughout his 

 extensive dominions, both at home and on the conti- 

 nent. He had secured the affections of his English 

 subjects, by restraining the violence and oppression of 

 his barons. These mutinous nobles were kept in awe 

 by the vigour of his government, and his enemies were 

 humbled and discouraged by his invariable good for- 

 tune. But an unforeseen misfortune blasted his fond- 

 est hopes, and darkened with sorrow the remainder of 

 Death of his days. This was the death of his only son William, 

 Prince Wil- a y ou th of great promise, who had arrived at his 18th 

 im * year, and who had been recognised as his successor, and 



had received the homage of the barons both of England 

 and Normandy. When the king was returning from 

 the latter country with a numerous retinue of the chief 

 nobility, one of the vessels, in which was William and 

 several young noblemen his companions, \vas carried on 

 a rock, and almost immediately went to pieces. The 

 young prince was put into the boat, and had left the 

 ship, when the cries of his natural sister, the countess 

 of Perche, recalled him to her assistance. Upon the 

 return of the boat, the crew crowded into it in such 

 numbers, that it went to the bottom, and all perished. 

 A butcher of Itoucn, who clung to the mast, and was 

 taken up next morning by some fishermen, was the on- 

 ly person saved ; and it is said that on this occ;;-ion, 

 above a hundred and forty young noblemen of the prin- 

 cipal families of England and Normandy were lost. 

 When Henry heard of the disaster, he fainted away, and 

 never laughed after. 



The death of William left Henry without a male heir 

 to his crown. I lis only surviving daughter Matilda, had 

 been betrothed when only eight years of age, to the 

 Emperor of Germany. But he dying without issue, she 



wa afterwards united to Geoffrey of Plantagenet, the !' 

 eldest ilk, Count of Anjn'u. The king him-elf, " v~" 



in hopes of having male heir-, h.-ul been induct d to 



the Duke of I.ouvaine, 



and t'te niece of Pope CaliMus. I'ut this princess, who 

 wa-i 01 le person, brought him no children . 



Henry beca in-nsixe tl, it his nephew William 



might eventually be cnal. 1 , .-.crthe birth-. 



r. But the death of that prince, who 

 killed in a skirmish with the Langrave of Alsace, put 

 an end to his fears ; and his daughter Matilda, having 

 vlivered of a son named Henry, he made the no- 

 bility take an oath of succession in her favour. 1 ) 

 was in Normandy when this event happened, and found 

 such satisfaction in the com|>any of his favourite daugh- 

 ter, who bore successively two other sons, that he de- 

 termined to spend the remainder of his days in that 

 country An irruption of the Welsh, however, recalled 

 him to England ; but as he was -preparing for his jour- gnd Q[ ^ 

 ney. he was seized with a sudden ill '- ^jn- 



ing lamprey >, of which he died in the O'Tth year of his Uec. 1. 

 age. and ."'th of his reign. 113J. 



Henry. t>\ hi.- prudence, hi.- talents, and hi.s biv. 

 would have shone in whatever situation he might have 

 been placed. His great progress in literature procured 

 him the name of Beau-clerc, or the scholar ; and his af- 

 fability of manners encouraged and delighted all who 

 approached his person. He seemed, however, to ]>-- 

 sess the prejudices of his family against the native Eng- 

 lish ; and during his long reign, none of that nation 

 were ever preferred to any ecclesiastical or civil digni- 

 ty. Being a foreigner was a recommendation to his 

 protection beyond what any Englishman was supposed 

 to possess ; and it was certainly no small evidence of 

 the wisdom and moderation of his government, that the 

 tranquillity of his English dominions was never once 

 disturbed by those conspiracies and insurwction* wlm-h 

 were .<o frequent in former reigns. 



The death of Henry was followed by many years of 

 tyranny and misery to the defenceless inhabitants of 

 England. This arose not from the character of his 

 successor, but was the consequence of usurped power, 

 which was necessitated to tolerate the violence and op- 

 prcs-ions of the nobles by whom it was supported. The 

 oaths of fealty which the barons had taken to Matilda 

 and her son, were only remembered so long as the au- 

 thority which imposed them was capable of enforcing 

 obedience. These haughty chieftains had been grow- 

 ing in power, and exercised almost absolute dominion 

 over those who held under them. They wished, there- 

 fore, for a monarch who should owe to them his exalta- 

 tion, and wlto, on that account, would increase and con- 

 firm their pri\ ii 



Stephen and I irn;-y.t'irtwo youngest sons of theCount Stephen 

 of Blois by Adela, daughter of William the Conqueror, usurps the 

 had been bred at the court of England, and had recei- 

 ved great honours and preferment. Henry had assu- 

 med the religious habit, and was created Bishop of 

 Winchester; and Stephen had married the daughter 

 and heiress of the Count of rnulogiii-, by which all 

 he became connected with David, King of Scotland, 

 who was his mother-in-law's brother. The late king 

 had a!-o behoved upon Stephen rich and extensive pos- 

 '>oth in England and Normandy, for which he 

 had always professed the greatest attachment and grati- 

 tude; and along with the other barons, had readily ta- 

 ken the oath of succession in favour of his cou.-in Ma- 

 tilda. But no sooner had his uncle breathed hi- 1, 

 Uian these favours, and his own professions, were forgot- 



