STEPHEN OF BLOIS

(ca. 1100-1154). King of England. Stephen of Blois, the third son of Adele, daughter of William the Conqueror, and Etienne de Blois, rose to prominence through the patronage of his uncle Henry I of England. Stephen acquired his French lands by grants from Henry: the county of Mortain (by 1113), and the county of Boulogne through marriage to the heiress Matilda in 1125. Despite significant holdings in France, Stephen played a limited role in French politics. As an active member of Henry’s court, Stephen had little time for independent action in France, though he did lead an unsuccessful Flemish campaign in 1127 against Henry’s rival to the throne, William Clito, who was supported by Louis VI. His assumption of the English throne in December 1135 led to a civil war that was waged primarily in England.

Stephen fought to establish his control in Normandy from March to November of 1137. After formal recognition as duke of Normandy by Louis VI in May, Stephen put down several rebellions but failed to regain control of territories seized by Geoffroi d’Anjou. He returned to England to quell a baronial rebellion, leaving the situation in Normandy unsettled.

Stephen continued to play an indirect role in French politics through a marriage alliance in 1140 between his son, Eustache, and Louis VII’s sister, Constance. This alliance fell into abeyance when Geoffroi d’Anjou, who had married Henry I’s daughter Matilda, brought Normandy under his control in 1144 and won Louis’s support through the cession of Gisors and the Norman Vexin. When he returned from crusading in 1149, Louis, alarmed by Geoffroi’s power, revived the alliance with Stephen. Louis and Eustache, with limited success, campaigned against the Angevins in the summer of 1151 and again in 1152 after the marriage of Geoffroi and Matilda’s son Henry, count of Anjou and duke of Normandy, to Eleanor of Aquitaine. Stephen’s indirect role in French politics ended with the failure of these campaigns, Eustache’s death in August 1153, and the negotiated settlement with Henry, who would succeed Stephen as Henry II.

Heather J. Tanner

[See also: HENRY II; MATILDA]

Davis, Ralph H. C. King Stephen, 1135-54. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1967.

Warren, Wilfred L. HenryII. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1973.