exhorted not to fight on the solemn festival of the
Purification. But his courage was greater than his prudence or his
piety. He set forth to meet the insurgent earls. The best knights were
in his army; but the infantry of his rivals was far more numerous.
Stephen detached a strong body of horse and foot to dispute the passage
of a ford of the Trent. But Gloucester by an impetuous charge obtained
possession of the ford, and the battle became general. The King's
horsemen fled. The desperate bravery of Stephen, and the issue of the
battle, have been described by Henry of Huntingdon with singular
animation: "King Stephen, therefore, with his infantry, stood alone in
the midst of the enemy. These surrounded the royal troops, attacking the
columns on all sides, as if they were assaulting a castle. Then the
battle raged terribly round this circle; helmets and swords gleamed as
they clashed, and the fearful cries and shouts reechoed from the
neighboring hills and city walls. The cavalry, furiously charging the
royal column, slew some and trampled down others; some were made
prisoners. No respite, no breathing time, was allowed; except in the
quarter in which the King himself had taken his stand, where the
assailants recoiled from the unmatched force of his terrible arm. The
Earl of Chester seeing this, and envious of the glory the King was
gaining, threw himself upon him with the whole weight of his
men-at-arms. Even then the King's courage did not fail, but his heavy
battle-axe gleamed like lightning, striking down some, bearing back
others. At length it was shattered by repeated blows. Then he drew his
well-tried sword, with which he wrought wonders, until that too was
broken. Perceiving which, William de Kaims, a brave soldier, rushed on
him, and seizing him by his helmet, shouted, 'Here, here, I have taken
the King!' Others came to his aid, and the King was made prisoner."

After the capture of King Stephen, at this brief but decisive battle, he
was kept a close prisoner at Bristol Castle. Then commenced what might
be called the reign of Queen Matilda, which lasted about eight months.
The defeat of Stephen was the triumph of the greater ecclesiastics. On
the third Sunday in Lent, 1141, there was a conference on the plain in
the neighborhood of Winchester--a day dark and rainy, which portended
disasters. The Bishop of Winchester came forth from his city with all
the pomp of the pope's legate; and there Matilda swore that in