STEPHEN and MATILDA ~ 1139 - 1140 THE ARRIVAL OF MATILDA

Empress Maud

(7) Matilda’s campaign for the English throne was starting to pick up speed, now that her brother Robert, Earl of Gloucester had joined her cause. Many of the barons who were supporting Stephen, were also plotting against him, paving the way for Matilda’s return to England.

Roger, Bishop of Salisbury was in secret correspondence with Matilda, on the expectation of her arrival in England, he never went abroad or attended court. As Henry’s chancellor, he had accumulated vast riches and although enjoying some of the highest offices bestowed on him, under King Stephen, he nevertheless supplied the castles of Devizes, Sherborne, Malmesbury, and Salisbury, with provisions, weapons, and ammunition, for the service of Matilda. His nephew Alexander, Bishop of Lincoln; and Nigel, Bishop of Ely followed the example of their uncle and never attended court without a body of armed men by their side. This dazzling display on the part of the three Bishops seriously angered the Count of Meulan and other friends of the King. They accused the Bishops of:

‘Enjoying their pre-eminence in the realm, their wealth and power for their own vain, glory and gratification, not for the honour of the sovereign, of raising splendid castles and towers, not to secure the kingdom to the king, but to deprive him of his royal dignity.’

They advised the King to order the arrest of the Bishops and compel them to surrender their castles. If the King would agree to deliver them into custody, as violators of his peace, he would himself be more secure and the realm more tranquil.

On the 24th of June 1139, an assembly of the magnates (VIPs, aristocrats) of the Kingdom was held at Oxford, which was attended by the three Bishops. A quarrel soon erupted between the retainers of the Bishops and those of Alan, Count of Brittany. Many of the Bishop’s men were wounded and at least one was killed, while the followers of Alan were quickly dispersed. The Bishops themselves, being aware of what had taken place, were contemplating their escape, when a band of armed satellites appeared, arrested the Bishops' of Salisbury and Lincoln, and marched them straight to the King. Nigel, Bishop of Ely, having intelligence of what was occurring, managed to escape and took refuge in his uncle’s castle of Devizes.

Church of St. John the Baptist Devizes

On hearing of Nigel’s escape, the King immediately adopted measures for gaining possession of the castles of the three Bishops. He took with him the other two Bishops and proceeded to the castle of Devizes, which is described as having extraordinary strength and beauty. They were built for ornamental purposes only, according to the Bishops, but in truth, these fortresses caused great injury to the Church. Some would say:

“They ought to be preachers of peace, not builders of structures that might serve as asylums to criminals.”

By the King’s order, the captive Bishops were kept apart from each other in abominable conditions. One was contained in the stall of a cow-house, the other in a vile hovel, they were also kept from obtaining any food. He ordered for Chancellor Robert of Salisbury to be brought forward, with a halter round his neck, threatening to hang him before the gates of the castle, unless the Bishop of Ely surrendered forthwith. After three days Nigel finally surrendered the castle. All three Bishops then submitted and surrendered their secular offices and castles. They were, however, allowed to retain their dioceses.

This bold move on the part of Stephen was viewed in very opposite lights. By some, it was said that the Bishops were justly deprived of the castles, which they had erected in defiance of the Prohibition of the Canons. This was the firm belief of Stephen’s closest friend, Hugh, Archbishop of Rouen. Others believed, among who was the King’s brother, Henry, Bishop of Winchester, that if bishops swerved from the path of right, judgement on them, was not of the King, but of the Canons. Without a public ecclesiastical council, they should not be deprived of any possessions. It was said that the King had not acted from any love of right, but solely for his own advantage, by not restoring the castles to the churches, at whose cost and on whose lands they were erected. This had caused a huge divide between King and Church. Henry, Bishop of Winchester, given that his words made little impact on the King, summoned him to answer for his conduct before a council, which he appointed to be held on the 29th of August at Winchester.

On that day, Theobald, Archbishop of Canterbury and almost all the Bishops, assembled at Winchester, were, after reading the decree of Pope Innocent II, conferring on him the legitimate authority, the Bishop of Winchester addressed the meeting in a Latin speech. He expressed his indignation at the seizure of the Bishops' of Salisbury and Lincoln. On finishing his speech, the Bishop of Winchester concluded by informing the Bishops that Stephen, after repeated warnings to atone for his outrage, had displayed no objection to the summoning of a council. He, therefore, called on the Archbishop and others to deliberate as to the steps necessary to be taken, adding that, although brother to the King and running the risk of losing his possessions or even his life, he would not fail in the execution of their decree.

While the Bishop was speaking the King sent some of his Earls into the assembly, to inquire why he had been cited? They were answered by the Bishop that it was unsuitable of anyone, who remembered he was a follower of the faith of Christ, to be aggrieved if summoned by the ministers of Christ to atone for a crime such as the one witnessed. The King should now act wisely and either justify his deed or submit to a canonical sentence and that it was his duty to show favour to the Church, by supporting it and not with the aid of an army. The Earls departed, but returned shortly, accompanied by Aubrey of Vere, a man well skilled in legal knowledge.

Aubrey reported the King’s answer and with his utmost power, while abstaining from the use of violent language, aggravated the cause of Bishop, Roger of Salisbury.

The king, he said, had suffered numerous insults at the hands of that bishop, who rarely came to court, but his followers, taking for granted the power of that bishop, caused an altercation, as recently as Oxford. They had assailed men and the nephew of Count Alan of Brittany, also the retainers of Herve of Leon, a man of very high nobility and pride on the account of an old grudge that the Bishop of Lincoln had against count Alan of Brittany.

He reported on the fact that the Bishop of Salisbury was secretly favouring the King’s enemies, though for a time he had succeeded in disguising his treachery. It was widely known that as soon as Matilda landed, he and his nephews, with their castles, would be at her disposal. Aubrey also claimed that Roger of Salisbury was not arrested as a bishop, but as a servant of the King, who had the administration of his affairs and received his pay. He explains that the King had not seized the castles by violence, but that both Bishops had gladly surrendered them, to escape from the consequences of having excited a riot in the Kings court. The money that was found by the King in the castles, it was said, was lawfully his, Roger of Salisbury, in the time of King Henry, had amassed it from the returns of the royal revenue. Both the monies and the castles had been delivered up from fear of the consequences of their acts against the King.

In response to these words of Aubrey, Roger of Salisbury loudly exclaimed that he had never been an official of King Stephen nor received any wages. Moreover, he threatened that if justice was not done for him, with respect to what had been taken from him, he would seek it in a higher court. Aubrey observed the fact that Roger of Salisbury seemed more concerned about his possessions rather than trying to prove that he and the other Bishops have acted appropriately in the eyes of the church.

Aubrey concluded by saying: It had reached the ears of the King that the Bishops were holding out threats and preparing to send some of their numbers to Rome, to plead against him.

“And this,” added he, “the king advisers you not to do because if anyone, contrary to his will and the dignity of the realm, departs from England, he may, perhaps, find it difficult to return. Moreover, the king feeling himself aggrieved, spontaneously appeals against you to Rome.”

The meeting went on for a few days, with Stephen constantly making excuses as to why he could not attend. The council was finally dismissed on the 1st of September without deciding anything. The King refused to submit to the Canons and the Bishops made the sensible decision not to pronounce any judgement on him, either because they thought it dangerous to excommunicate a King without the sanction of the Pope, or because they could see and hear swords being drawn around them. Part of the problem facing the Bishops was that Stephen had not removed Roger of Salisbury’s family from their ecclesiastical offices, only their secular ones. Nevertheless, the Bishop of Winchester and Archbishop Theobald making a last effort to fulfil their duty, threw themselves at the King’s mercy, pleading with him to show pity on the church and on his own soul and reputation. Their attempt at this proved futile. The King stood his ground against the Church, which can be a dangerous thing to do in medieval England, but before long the King would have more important things to worry about.

William of Mohun had erected the castle of Dunster, on the coast of the Bristol channel, in Somersetshire. He had assembled a considerable body of knights and soldiers to oppose Stephen’s authority. From the stronghold of the castle, they laid waste and plundered the surrounding country, putting to the sword and burning all who shown any resistance. He inflicted hideous torture on those suspecting on having wealth, renewing the horrors that these lands have already suffered.

Dunster Castle

Stephen, on hearing of these enormities, quickly raised a large army to repress William of Mohun, but on arriving at the castle, he soon realised that this was not going to be so easy. Dunster Castle was a huge structure, washed by the sea on one side and its walls strongly guarded, on the other sides. The castle was also surrounded by many outworks and deep trenches. On listening to the advice of others, Stephen ordered a fort to be erected in front of the castle, where he could keep watch and give greater security to the surrounding areas.

Before long, Stephen was needed elsewhere, so he delegated his authority to Henry of Tracy, an experienced and valiant soldier and ordered him to vigorously come down on the enemy at whatever cost. From his hometown of Barnstaple, Henry of Tracy carried out his orders with such energy, not only did he repress the garrison at Dunster, but on one occasion captured a hundred and four knights, in an encounter of cavalry and reduced William of Muhun to humble himself and cease from any further hostilities against the King. Thereupon, the surrounding land was restored to a comparative degree of tranquillity and immune from all causes of unrest.

However, William of Mohun was not the only one who Tracy forced into obedience, William Fitz-Odo was also forced to submit to the King’s authority after being weakened by various conflicts with Tracy. One-night, Tracy received intelligence from his spies that the castle of William Fitz-Odo was deserted by its defenders, who had gone on a plundering expedition. In the dead of night, Tracy made his way to the castle and having eluded the watch, he ordered for lighted torches to be thrown through the windows of a tower, whereby the interior was soon engulfed in flames. The Lord of the castle was badly burnt and eventually, he was carried off by Tracy, together with all his treasures. Henry of Tracy made it quite clear that his loyalties lie with the King and anybody who rose up against him would feel his wrath.

During this state of unrest, Baldwin of Redvers, who Stephen had exiled from Exeter back in 1136, had fled to Anjou and jointed forces with Matilda. At the beginning of August 1139, he landed in England with a considerable body of men. His orders were, to establish a maritime base for Matilda’s planned invasion. On arriving at Wareham and being unable to take it, he soon headed for Corfe Castle, where the garrison turned traitor and allowed him and his men to enter. The news of this soon reached the ears of other supporters of Matilda, and they too rose up in revolt.

Baldwin prepared to oppose Stephen, who was fast approaching the castle. It is unknown how many men arrived at Corfe with Stephen, but Stephen was fully aware of the castle’s massive fortified strength and its superb defensive positioning. He ordered his troops to construct a ‘counter-castle’, just 320 yards west of Corfe castle and settled in for a long siege. After a considerable time passed, the King had expected to overcome his enemy, either by means of military engines or by hunger, but Baldwin held out. Stephen then received some very worrying intelligence. He eventually conceded to the advice of his followers and allowed Baldwin to withdraw unharmed.

The intelligence that Stephen had received was to have dire consequences on the country. Empress Matilda and her brother Earl of Gloucester were on the eve of invading England. Stephen had ordered for all the ports to be closely watched, day and night before his march on Corfe, but this did not prevent the Empress from landing at Arundel on the 30th of September 1139 (arguable).

Matilda landed on the coast of Sussex with a small body of knights, accompanied by Guy of Sableuil. She found safety in the castle of Arundel which belonged to William of Aubigny, who had married Adela, the Queen dowager, and step-mother of Matilda.

Arundel Castle

Matilda’s supporters were ‘alert and eager’ to rise up against the King, while Stephen’s supporters felt ‘depressed and thunder-stricken’, the Earl of Gloucester was a powerful man and they knew it. This was the major beginnings of the civil war, some would say.

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