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Book The Reign of King Stephen

Download or read book The Reign of King Stephen written by David Crouch and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-06-06 with total page 399 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At last: an authoritative, up to date account of the troubled reign of King Stephen, by a leading scholar of the Anglo-Norman world. David Crouch covers every aspect of the period - the king and the empress, the aristocracy, the Church, government and the nation at large. He also looks at the wider dimensions of the story, in Scotland, Wales, Normandy and elsewhere. The result (weaving its discussions around a vigorous narrative core) is a a work of major scholarship. A must for specialist and amateur medievalists alike.

Book King Stephen

Download or read book King Stephen written by Edmund King and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2011-01-18 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This compelling new biography provides the most authoritative picture yet of King Stephen, whose reign (1135-1154), with its "nineteen long winters" of civil war, made his name synonymous with failed leadership. After years of work on the sources, Edmund King shows with rare clarity the strengths and weaknesses of the monarch. Keeping Stephen at the forefront of his account, the author also chronicles the activities of key family members and associates whose loyal support sustained Stephen's kingship. In 1135 the popular Stephen was elected king against the claims of the empress Matilda and her sons. But by 1153, Stephen had lost control over Normandy and other important regions, England had lost prestige, and the weakened king was forced to cede his family's right to succession. A rich narrative covering the drama of a tumultuous reign, this book focuses well-deserved attention on a king who lost control of his destiny.

Book Stephen  Penguin Monarchs

    Book Details:
  • Author : Carl Watkins
  • Publisher : National Geographic Books
  • Release : 2019-06-25
  • ISBN : 0141989874
  • Pages : 0 pages

Download or read book Stephen Penguin Monarchs written by Carl Watkins and published by National Geographic Books. This book was released on 2019-06-25 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Known as 'the anarchy', the reign of Stephen (1135-1141) saw England plunged into a civil war that illuminated the fatal flaw in the powerful Norman monarchy, that without clear rules ordering succession, conflict between members of William the Conqueror's family were inevitable. But there was another problem, too: Stephen himself. With the nobility of England and Normandy anxious about the prospect of a world without the tough love of the old king Henry I, Stephen styled himself a political panacea, promising strength without oppression. As external threats and internal resistance to his rule accumulated, it was a promise he was unable to keep. Unable to transcend his flawed claim to the throne, and to make the transition from nobleman to king, Stephen's actions betrayed uneasiness in his role, his royal voice never quite ringing true. The resulting violence that spread throughout England was not, or not only, the work of bloodthirsty men on the make. As Watkins shows in this resonant new portrait, it arose because great men struggled to navigate a new and turbulent kind of politics that arose when the king was in eclipse.

Book Stephen and Matilda s Civil War

Download or read book Stephen and Matilda s Civil War written by Matthew Lewis and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2020-01-19 with total page 361 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The story of the twelfth-century rivalry for the throne between the daughter and the nephew of Henry I—a battle that tore England apart for over a decade. The Anarchy was the first civil war in post-Conquest England, enduring throughout the reign of King Stephen between 1135 and 1154. It ultimately brought about the end of the Norman dynasty and the birth of the mighty Plantagenet kings. When Henry I died having lost his only legitimate son in a shipwreck, his barons had sworn to recognize his daughter Matilda, widow of the Holy Roman Emperor, as his heir, and remarried her to Geoffrey, Count of Anjou. But when she was slow to move to England upon her father’s death, Henry’s favorite nephew, Stephen of Blois, rushed to have himself crowned, much as Henry himself had done on the death of his brother William Rufus. Supported by his brother Henry, Bishop of Winchester, Stephen made a promising start, but Matilda would not give up her birthright and tried to hold the English barons to their oaths. The result was more than a decade of civil war that saw England split apart. Empress Matilda is often remembered as aloof and high-handed, Stephen as ineffective and indecisive. By following both sides of the dispute and seeking to understand their actions and motivations, Matthew Lewis aims to reach a more rounded understanding of this crucial period of English history—and ask to what extent there really was anarchy.

Book Stephen and Matilda

Download or read book Stephen and Matilda written by Jim Bradbury and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2011-10-21 with total page 265 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Civil war and the battle for the English Crown dominated the reign of King Stephen, and this popular account is the only complete account of the complex and fascinating military situation. The war is examined in detail throughout the various campaigns, battles and sieges of the period, including the two major battles at the Standard and Lincoln, showing that Stephen always held more ground than his opponents and was mostly on the offensive. The nature of the warfare and the reasons for its outcome are examined, along with comment on the strategy, tactics, technology in arms and armour, and the important improvements in fortifications. Full use has been made of the numerous detailed chronicle sources which give some indication of the horrors of twelfth-century war, the depredations which affected the ordinary people of the land, and the atrocities which sometimes accompanied it. Full of colourful characters - the likeable king, the domineering Matlida, the young and vital Henry of Anjou (later Henry II), his intelligent and effective father Geoffrey Count of Anjou, the powerful barons from Geoffrey de Mandeville to Ranulf of Chester - and illustrated with photographs, maps and manuscript illustrations, this is a fascinating story of rivalry for the English throne which throws new light on a much-neglected aspect of Stephen's reign.

Book King Stephen

Download or read book King Stephen written by Donald Matthew and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2002-01-01 with total page 342 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The reign of King Stephen (1135-54) has usually been seen as uniquely disasterous in the history of the medieval England -- a counrty riven by a civil war between Stephen and his first cousin, the Empress Matilda, and by an anarchy during which overmighty barons laid waste the country and 'Christ and his saints slept'. Donald Matthew challenges this picture. By questioning such melodramatic assumptions, and by looking clearly at what can and cannot be known about Stephen, he brings new light to both the king and his reign. He shows that much of what has been written about Stephen has been based on the selective use of the testimony of hostile witnesses, and has been shot through by wishful thinking or by the political or historical prejudices of the day. King Stephen is an important, well-written and timely reinterpretation of the crisis of Norman government.

Book The Accession of Henry II in England

Download or read book The Accession of Henry II in England written by Emilie Amt and published by Boydell & Brewer. This book was released on 1993 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Detailed examination of the steps by which Henry II negotiated peace and established the authority of his government.

Book King Stephen and The Anarchy

Download or read book King Stephen and The Anarchy written by Chris Peers and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2018-02-28 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Anarchy, the protracted struggle between Stephen of Blois and the Empress Matilda for the English crown between 1135 and 1154, is often seen as a disastrous breakdown in one of the best-governed kingdoms of medieval Europe. But perhaps the impact of the conflict has been overstated, and its effect on the common people across the country is hard to judge. That is why Chris Peerss fresh study of this fascinating and controversial era is of such value. He describes each phase of this civil war, in particular the castles and sieges that dominated strategic thinking, and he sets the fighting in the context of the changing tactics and military systems of the twelfth century. His fresh account of this pivotal episode in the medieval history of England will be absorbing reading anyone who is keen to gain an insight into this period of English history and has a special interest in the practice of medieval warfare.

Book William of Malmesbury s Chronicle of the Kings of England

Download or read book William of Malmesbury s Chronicle of the Kings of England written by William (of Malmesbury) and published by . This book was released on 1895 with total page 604 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Book The Reign of Elizabeth I

Download or read book The Reign of Elizabeth I written by Stephen J. Lee and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-02-05 with total page 167 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Covering the period from 1558–1603, The Reign of Elizabeth I looks at all the important aspects of the reign of the last of the Tudor monarchs. The volume gives students the critical tools to enable them to perform to their best ability, drawing together the main issues on each topic and providing an accessible guide to the period. Using extensive sources and historiography, Stephen J. Lee explores: the religious settlement government and foreign policy the economy Elizabeth's relationship with Parliament society and culture. Also including a glossary of key terms and a helpful chronology, this is an essential tool for any student of British history.

Book King John

    Book Details:
  • Author : Stephen Church
  • Publisher : Basic Books
  • Release : 2015-04-07
  • ISBN : 0465040705
  • Pages : 286 pages

Download or read book King John written by Stephen Church and published by Basic Books. This book was released on 2015-04-07 with total page 286 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From a renowned medieval historian comes a new biography of King John, the infamous English king whose reign led to the establishment of the Magna Carta and the birth of constitutional democracy King John (1166-1216) has long been seen as the epitome of bad kings. The son of the most charismatic couple of the middle ages, Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, and younger brother of the heroic crusader king, Richard the Lionheart, John lived much of his life in the shadow of his family. When in 1199 he became ruler of his family's lands in England and France, John proved unequal to the task of keeping them together. Early in his reign he lost much of his continental possessions, and over the next decade would come perilously close to losing his English kingdom, too. In King John, medieval historian Stephen Church argues that John's reign, for all its failings, would prove to be a crucial turning point in English history. Though he was a masterful political manipulator, John's traditional ideas of unchecked sovereign power were becoming increasingly unpopular among his subjects, resulting in frequent confrontations. Nor was he willing to tolerate any challenges to his authority. For six long years, John and the pope struggled over the appointment of the Archbishop of Canterbury, a clash that led to the king's excommunication. As king of England, John taxed his people heavily to fund his futile attempt to reconquer the lands lost to the king of France. The cost to his people of this failure was great, but it was greater still for John. In 1215, his subjects rose in rebellion against their king and forced upon him a new constitution by which he was to rule. The principles underlying this constitution -- enshrined in the terms of Magna Carta -- would go on to shape democratic constitutions across the globe, including our own. In this authoritative biography, Church describes how it was that a king famous for his misrule gave rise to Magna Carta, the blueprint for good governance.

Book Henry II

    Book Details:
  • Author : Wilfred Lewis Warren
  • Publisher : Univ of California Press
  • Release : 1973
  • ISBN : 9780520022829
  • Pages : 750 pages

Download or read book Henry II written by Wilfred Lewis Warren and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 1973 with total page 750 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Henry II was an enigma to contemporaries, and has excited widely divergent judgements ever since. Dramatic incidents of his reign, such as his quarrel with Archbishop Becket and his troubled relations with his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and his sons, have attracted the attention of historical novelists, playwrights and filmmakers, but with no unanimity of interpretation. That he was a great king there can be no doubt. Yet his motives and intentions are not easy to divine, and it is Professor Warren's contention that concentration on the great crises of the reign can lead to distortion. This book is therefore a comprehensive reappraisal of the reign based, with rare understanding, on contemporary sources; it provides a coherent and persuasive revaluation of the man and the king, and is, in itself, an eloquent and impressive achievement.

Book To Reign in Hell

    Book Details:
  • Author : Steven Brust
  • Publisher : Orb Books
  • Release : 2007-04-01
  • ISBN : 1429910739
  • Pages : 288 pages

Download or read book To Reign in Hell written by Steven Brust and published by Orb Books. This book was released on 2007-04-01 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The time is the Beginning. The place is Heaven. The story is the Revolt of the Angels—a war of magic, corruption and intrigue that could destroy the universe. To Reign in Hell was Stephen Brust's second novel, and it's a thrilling retelling of the revolt of the angels, through the lens of epic fantasy. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Book Chronicles of the Reigns of Stephen  Henry II   and Richard I

Download or read book Chronicles of the Reigns of Stephen Henry II and Richard I written by Richard Howlett and published by . This book was released on 1884 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Book King John

Download or read book King John written by Stephen Church and published by Pan Macmillan. This book was released on 2016 with total page 383 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: No English king has suffered a worse press than King John: Bad King John, the Sheriff of Nottingham and Robin Hood, Magna Carta - but how to disentangle myth and truth?John was the youngest of the five sons of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, who, on the death of his brother Richard the Lionheart in 1199, took possession of a vast - and vastly wealthy - inheritance. But by his death in 1215, he had squandered it all, and come close to losing his English kingdom, too. Stephen Church vividly recounts exactly how John contrived to lose so much, so quickly and in doing so, tells the story of Magna Carta, which, eight hundred years later, is still one of the cornerstones of Western democracy. Vivid and authoritative, King John: England, Magna Carta and the Making of a Tyrant is history at its visceral best. --

Book London  Reign Over Me

    Book Details:
  • Author : Stephen Tow
  • Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
  • Release : 2020-02-15
  • ISBN : 1538127180
  • Pages : 225 pages

Download or read book London Reign Over Me written by Stephen Tow and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2020-02-15 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It all started in London. More than fifty years ago, a generation of teens created something that would change the face of music forever. London, Reign Over Me immerses us in the backroom clubs, basement record shops, and late-night faint radio signals of 1960s Britain, where young hopefuls like Peter Frampton, Dave Davies, and Mick Jagger built off American blues and jazz to form a whole new sound. Author Stephen Tow weaves together original interviews with over ninety musicians and movers-and-shakers of the time to uncover the uniquely British story of classic rock’s birth. Capturing the stark contrast of bursting artistic energy with the blitzkrieg landscape leftover from World War II, London, Reign Over Me reveals why classic rock ‘n’ roll could only have been born in London. A new sound from a new generation, this music helped spark the most important cultural transformation of the twentieth century. Key interviews include: •Jon Anderson (Yes) •Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull) •Rod Argent (The Zombies) •Chris Barber (Chris Barber Jazz Band) •Joe Boyd (Producer/manager) •Arthur Brown (Crazy World of Arthur Brown) •David Cousins (The Strawbs) •Dave Davies (The Kinks) •Spencer Davis (Spencer Davis Group) •Judy Dyble (Fairport Convention) •Ramblin’ Jack Elliott (Solo folk/blues artist) •Peter Frampton (Humble Pie, solo artist) •Roger Glover (Deep Purple) •Steve Howe (Yes) •Neil Innes (Bonzo Dog Band; Monty Python) •Kenney Jones (The Small Faces; The Who) •Greg Lake (King Crimson; Emerson, Lake & Palmer) •Manfred Mann (Manfred Mann) •Terry Marshall (Marshall Amplification) •Dave Mason (Traffic) •Phil May (The Pretty Things) •John Mayall (The Bluesbreakers) •Jim McCarty (The Yardbirds) •Ian McLagan (The Small Faces) •Jacqui McShee (The Pentangle) •Peter Noone (Herman’s Hermits) •Carl Palmer (Atomic Rooster; Emerson, Lake & Palmer) •Jan Roberts (Eel Pie Island Documentary Project) •Paul Rodgers (Free) •Peggy Seeger (Solo folk artist) •Hylda Sims (Club owner) •Keith Skues (DJ: Radio Caroline, Radio London, Radio One) •Jeremy Spencer (Fleetwood Mac) •John Steel (The Animals) •Al Stewart (Solo folk artist) •Dick Taylor (The Pretty Things) •Ray Thomas (The Moody Blues) •Richard Thompson (Fairport Convention) •Rick Wakeman (The Strawbs, Yes) •Barrie Wentzell (Photographer: Melody Maker)

Book King Stephen s Reign  1135 1154

Download or read book King Stephen s Reign 1135 1154 written by Paul Dalton and published by Boydell Press. This book was released on 2008 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Expert coverage and new assessments of the reign of King Stephen, set in social, political and European context.