Henry I ascended the throne when his brother, William II was struck down by an arrow (again, will these kings never learn? this WILL come up again- idiots!). He ascended in 1100. He was the youngest and certainly the most able of William I's sons. Henry was no fool, and shortly after his accession he married the niece of of the last surviving mail of the House of Wessex. He did this because he recognized the importance of English support against his elder brother and even his own barons.
In 1106, Henry's army, composed largely of Saxons, defeated an uprising by his elder brother. Henry gained further popularity when he issued the Charter of Liberties, in which he promised to abolish the evil practices of his brother, William II.
Once his kingdom was secured, Henry reorganized the judicial system and the methods of raising taxes. He created a royal court-of-all-work, the Curia Regis (King's Court), which acted as an advisory body and as a court of law. It also supervised taxation. Members of this court were sent out to bring even the remote districts into contact with royal taxation, as well as to make the people familiar with royal justice.
in 1120 Henry's two legitimate sons were drowned in the tragedy of the 'White Ship'. He nominated as his successor his daughter Matilda (or Maude, as some historians call her- a move which was to prove controversial to say the least), who had married Geoffrey, Count of Anjou (Geoffry Plantagenet).
When Henry died in 1135, the Council, considering a woman unfit to rule (bastards), offered the throne to Stephen of Blois, nephew of Henry and grandson of William I.
This caused a major kerfuffle and led to a civil war that would last the length of the reign of King Stephen.
next time... the mess of matilda vs stephen I.
question-- how many of you knew that there was a king stephen? the first time i heard that i thought someone was playing a joke on me.
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