so foul a body lay beneath it.

CHAPTER IX.

HENRY I. AND STEPHEN.

HENRY I., =1100--1135=. STEPHEN, =1135--1154=.

LEADING DATES

The Accession of Henry I. 1100
Battle of Tinchebrai 1106
Death of Henry I. and Accession of Stephen 1135
The Civil War 1139
Treaty of Wallingford 1153
Death of Stephen 1154

[Illustration: Henry I. and his queen Matilda. (From the west front of
Rochester Cathedral.)]

1. =The Accession of Henry I. 1100.=--When the news spread that the
Red King had been slain in the New Forest, his younger brother, Henry,
hastened to Winchester, where he was chosen king by the barons who
happened to be there. At his coronation at Westminster he swore to
undo all the evil of his brother's reign. The name by which he came to
be known--the Lion of Justice--shows how well he kept his promise. He
maintained order as his father had done, and his brother had not done.
Flambard, the wicked minister of the Red King, was imprisoned in the
Tower, and Anselm, the good archbishop, recalled to England. Henry's
chief strength lay in the support of the English. To please them he
married Eadgyth, the daughter of Malcolm and Margaret, the descendant
through her mother of the old English kings. Through Eadgyth the
blood of Alfred and Ecgberht was transmitted to the later kings. It
was, however, necessary that she should take another name. Every one
at Henry's court talked French, and 'Eadgyth' was unpronounceable in
French. The new queen was therefore known as Matilda, or Maud. The
English called her the good queen. The Normans mocked her husband and
herself by giving them the English nicknames of Godric and Godgifu.

2. =Invasion of Robert. 1101.=--One danger at least Henry had to face.
The Norman barons yearned after the weak rule of Robert, who was again
in possession of Normandy. Once, we are told, he had to stay in bed
till noon, because his favourites had carried off his clothes, and he
had no others to put on. A duke who could not keep his own clothes was
not likely to be able to rule his duchy, and Normandy was again the
scene of fightings and plunderings which he made no effort to
suppress. Flambard, having escaped from prison, fled to Normandy, and