went to Winchester;
whither the legate, desirous to save appearances, and watching the
opportunity to ruin her cause, had retired. But having assembled all
his retainers, he openly joined his force to that of the Londoners,
and to Stephen's mercenary troops, who had not yet evacuated the
kingdom; and he besieged Matilda in Winchester. The princess, being
hard pressed by famine, made her escape; but in the flight, Earl
Robert, her brother, fell into the hands of the enemy. This nobleman,
though a subject, was as much the life and soul of his own party, as
Stephen was of the other; [MN Stephen released.] and the empress,
sensible of his merit and importance, consented to exchange the
prisoners on equal terms. The civil war was again kindled with
greater fury than ever.

[MN 1142.] Earl Robert, finding the successes on both sides nearly
balanced, went over to Normandy, which, during Stephen's captivity,
had submitted to the Earl of Anjou; and he persuaded Geoffrey to allow
his eldest son, Henry, a young prince of great hopes, to take a
journey into England, and appear at the head of his partisans. This
expedient, however, produced nothing decisive. Stephen took Oxford
after a long siege [MN 1143.]: he was defeated by Earl Robert at
Wilton: and the empress, though of a masculine spirit, yet being
harassed with a variety of good and bad fortune, and alarmed with
continual dangers to her person and family, at last retired into
Normandy, whither she had sent her son some time before. [MN 1146.
Continuation of the civil wars.] The death of her brother, which
happened nearly about the same time, would have proved fatal to her
interests, had not some incidents occurred which checked the course of
Stephen's prosperity. This prince, finding that the castles built by
the noblemen of his own party encouraged the spirit of independence,
and were little less dangerous than those which remained in the hands
of the enemy, endeavoured to extort from them a surrender of those
fortresses; and he alienated the affections of many of them by this
equitable demand. The artillery also of the church, which his brother
had brought over to his side, had, after some interval, joined the
other party. Eugenius III. had mounted the papal throne; the Bishop
of Winchester was deprived of the legatine commission, which was
conferred on Theobald, Archbishop of Canterbury, the enemy and rival
of the former legate. That pontiff also, having sum