[Mrs Faithorn]

Posted on behalf of Wolfieus 1986

I was reading about Stephen and Matilda and their little fallings out, but i couldnt seem to find out if matilda is actually considered to have been a queen of england. The book i was reading was bout all the monarchs of britain but in other books she seems to have been left out or little refernce has been made about her. can you help?
helenx

[Mrs Faithorn]

I'm no medievalist, but I suspect that the reason why some books recognise Matilda as Queen and others pay only passing attention to her is because although she was the rightful heir of Henry I (after the death of his sons) - and even though Stephen (Henry I's nephew) had originally promised to recognise her claim - she was never actually crowned. Interestingly, the the official website of the British Monarchy doesn't recognise Matilda as Queen in her own right. See Royal.gov.uk on Stephen and Matilda

It may be that, as a woman, I am biased but I suspect that at least part of the reason for Matilda being 'ignored' is due to medieval opposition to a female monarch - and more especially to the sexism of male historians ?

Since you say you have already done some reading I assume you are familiar with the 'story' but there is plenty on the web (see below for a few example)

Stephen

Matilda

This post has been edited by Mr. D. Bryant: 25 February 2011 - 07:03 PM
Reason for edit: Change royal.gov link and remove dead link

[Mr.P.Smith]

Another mystery is why most historians never regard Phillip II of Spain, husband of Mary Tudor, as King Phillip I of England? Fortunately Dr. Glyn Redworth of Manchester University continues to fight a lonely battle to right this wrong.

[Mrs Faithorn]

Ermmm..... perhaps that is because Mary's marriage contract with Philip precluded his recognition as King? (Didn't it???)

Come on Mr Smith - tell more about Redworth's work. I am intrigued.

[cutcha]

Hey guys,

Ive been set the following essay:

Why did Stephen King face Civil war in 1136?

Ive done some reserch but am struggling to come up with much, due to a lack of resources and not a huge deal on the internet about it. Its an important essay so im determind to try and do well.

Currently ive got the following reasons (which isnt reli enuf)

i) The civil war was a result of an unruly collection of barons. J.H. Round said this when he was writing in the 19th century. Other historians have criticised him for irrational hatred of the norman feudal system, pointing out that it didn't cause civil war anywhere else.

ii) many historians have sought to blame Stephen himself. Firstly they claim his deceit in obtaining the throne meant that he would never have any authority and secondly they stated he was an incompetent ruler incapable of ending the strife quickly (or indeed at all).

iii) Other historians say that point ii has been overemphasised, that Matilda would likely have faced rebellion if she had got the throne and that Stephen was a victim of circumstance. The primary factor pointed out here is that Henry I is really guilty for leaving a very open succession. He named matilda as his heir but didn't keep her or her husband in the country at the time of his death and thus really invited trouble



Would be very gratefull for any feed back or pointers how to go about this essay

Best wishes

Charlie Cuthbert

Mrs Faithorn, on Mar 23 2004, 02:11 AM, said:

Posted on behalf of Wolfieus 1986

I was reading about Stephen and Matilda and their little fallings out, but i couldnt seem to find out if matilda is actually considered to have been a queen of england. The book i was reading was bout all the monarchs of britain but in other books she seems to have been left out or little refernce has been made about her. can you help?
helenx

[MrJohnDClare]

I think if I were doing this question I would start by reading the Wikipedia article; it;s fairly simplistic, but as you read it it becomes clear that there were a number of factors involved in sparking off the civil war.

Then I would read the first chapter of this google book. Basically, it does the same thing as the wikipedia article - gives a narrative account, but it is much more detailed, mentions the views of other historians, and gives the clue to a number of other factors which might be regarded as causes of the civil war. You may also be interested in this chapter, which fairly much blames Henry I (like you do).

There is a relevant article here.

I would certainly read the chapter on Stephen in this google book, which is authoritative on the historians of Stephen's reign.


I think a major issue for you is to see to what degree Stephen was repsonsible for his own troubles. Traditionally, he is regarded as weak and fairly useless, and the question is whether he was a twit, or were other factors which NOBODY could have controlled at work? It would be worthwhile reading this chapter in a google book.

[cutcha]

Will read all of those atricals thanks you very much for your help

MrJohnDClare, on Nov 10 2009, 09:14 PM, said:

I think if I were doing this question I would start by reading the Wikipedia article; it;s fairly simplistic, but as you read it it becomes clear that there were a number of factors involved in sparking off the civil war.

Then I would read the first chapter of this google book. Basically, it does the same thing as the wikipedia article - gives a narrative account, but it is much more detailed, mentions the views of other historians, and gives the clue to a number of other factors which might be regarded as causes of the civil war. You may also be interested in this chapter, which fairly much blames Henry I (like you do).

There is a relevant article here.

I would certainly read the chapter on Stephen in this google book, which is authoritative on the historians of Stephen's reign.


I think a major issue for you is to see to what degree Stephen was repsonsible for his own troubles. Traditionally, he is regarded as weak and fairly useless, and the question is whether he was a twit, or were other factors which NOBODY could have controlled at work? It would be worthwhile reading this chapter in a google book.