Henry I | The first of the Henrys

Henry I is the son of William the Conqueror and the younger brother of William II. He ascended the throne following the suspicious death of his brother William on a hunting trip. Rather than help when his brother was shot by an arrow and killed, he raced off to Winchester to secure the Royal Treasury and then headed to London to be crowned before either Archbishop arrived. While Henry was racing around the country, the fellow nobles that were out hunting with the brothers left William where he fell. Which is why so many people think that Henry orchestrated his brother’s death.  

Quick Facts:  

Born: c.1068, Selby, Yorkshire, England 
Died: 1st December, 1136 (aged around 66), Saint Denus en Lyons, Normandy 
Reign: 5th August 1100 – 1st December 1135 
Parents: William the Conqueror and Matilda of Flanders 
Predecessor: William II (brother)  
Successor: Stephen of Blois (nephew) 
Spouse: Matilda of Scotland 
Children: Empress Matilda (Holy Roman Empress) and William Adelin (Duke of Normandy). Also Robert 1st Earl of Gloucester, Aline Lady of Montmorency, Juliane de Fontevrault, Matilda Countess of Perche, Richard of Lincoln, Syilla Queen of Scots, Reginald 1st Earl of Cornwall, Matilda Duchess of Brittany, Robert Lord of Okehampton and Matilda Abbess of Montvillers – all illegitimate. 
Royal House: Normandy  

Henry not only ascended his brother William, he also fought and defeated his other brother, Robert, who by rights, should have inherited William’s lands in the event of his death. For someone who wasn’t supposed to have the crown, Henry ended up with double the amount of land he was left in his father’s will and got an awful lot done during his reign.  

Much like his brother before him, Henry also had a nickname, he was known as Henry Beauclerc and was king of England from 1100 until his death in 1135. As the youngest of William the Conqueror’s sons, it is likely that Henry was born in England, as his father had become king by the time of his birth. Historians believe that he was educated by the church and that his parents likely intended for him to become a member of the clergy. Whatever the original plan for him, we do know that he was given military training and was knighted by his father. Skills that would become useful later in his life and probably weren’t the sort of lessons undertaken by priests.   

 Sibling Rivalry 

Following the death of William the Conqueror, his three sons inherited various parts of his estates. The oldest son Robert was given the Duchy of Normandy, the second oldest and arguably, favourite, son, William received the kingdom of England. Henry’s inheritance consisted of money and the promise that he would also be given his mother’s lands on her death.  
William Ist’s decisions weren’t popular among his sons, Robert immediately launched a plan of attack on the new English king, determined to seize England for himself. William II thought he should have also been given Normandy considering how rebellious Robert had been.  It was a fight that would continue for years.  
While Henry didn’t have any lands, he did happen to be in France at the time of his father’s death and so, headed to the Duchy of Normandy and took up a position in Robert’s court, in retaliation, William stole Henry's new estates leaving him landless. Robert then demanded some of Henry’s inheritance to pay for an invasion, which Henry refused. The relationship between the three brothers was difficult for much of their lives, but eventually, Robert and Henry made amends, as Robert made Henry the Count of Western Normandy. 

As Count, Henry did well, managing to win the hearts of his fellow nobles and subjects. So much so, that when Robert tried to take the lands back, he was unable to, Henry's subjects fought for him, which caused additional tension between the brothers. Henry travelled back to England in the hope that he could convince William to give him back their mother’s lands and strengthen his coiffers. Robert took the opportunity to accuse Henry of conspiracy, an imprisonable offence. On his return, Henry was arrested and Robert took his titles. The Norman nobility rebelled and won Henry his freedom. Robert was forced to conceed that his brotehr was better as a friend than an enemy and allowed him to join his army. Henry's exploit in battle earned him even more favour among the Normans and he would go on to become a pawn in the ongoing fight between Robert and William. 

Robert and William came to further blows over the years but would eventually sign a truce, naming each other as heirs and excluding Henry from either line of succession. Fresh fighting between the brothers would break out whenever either brother extended favours to Henry. Eventually, their treaty was abandoned and William began to support Henry financially to encourage him to campaign against Robert.  

Journey to the crown 

 
If William believed that in doing so, Henry would be loyal to him, he was very much mistaken. Henry re-settled in England and on 2nd August 1100, the brothers headed out on a hunting trip with a group of nobles from William’s court.  During the hunt, William was struck by an arrow and killed. Rather than aid his brother, Henry immediately set off to claim the crown. He was hastily crowned in Westminster Abbey on 5th August promising to undo many of his brother’s mistakes, particularly in regard to his treatment of the clergy.  

Henry’s actions have led many to believe that he orchestrated William’s death in order to take the crown. Later that year, he married the daughter of Malcom III of Scotland, Matilda, securing an alliance of sorts between England and Scotland.  Not content with ruling England, Henry wanted Normandy too. Something that wasn’t too surprising considering how much animosity there was between the brothers. Robert was spoiling for a fight, especially as he believed himself to be the rightful heir of William’s lands, even if the treaty had been abandoned. Robert invaded England, leading to another short lived treaty. Henry retaliated by invading Normandy and taking Robert prisoner. As he had no way of legally removing the Duchy from Robert but wanting to be acknowledged as ruler in his place, Henry avoided using the title. Instead, he went by Guardian of Normandy, which he claimed was his right as King of England and son of William I. 

Though not as well remembered as their father, as king, Henry was actually much more popular than William II. He expanded the royal administration and stabilised the law. He is considered by many to be a harsh but effective ruler and managed to skilfully manipulate the various barons in both England and Normandy to his favour. He formed the Court of the Exchequer to handle financial matters and raised additional money for the kingdom by creating and selling charters to towns to enable them to elect their own local administrators and manage themselves. He also worked to undo the issues that William had with the church and restored order in Normandy, creating a similar system to the one he created in England.  

While he might not have been all that pious, he did donate to the church regularly, founded leper hospitals and expanded nunneries. Though his reign was interlaced with church affairs, Henry did go against a couple of religious rules. For one, his wife Matilda, though technically not a nun, had lived in a convent, so there were some issues over whether they could get married. Archbishop Anselm eventually confirmed that it could go ahead and it wasn’t long before they had children. 

During his reign, Henry had many illegitimate children and affairs, the majority of which were held quite openly in front of his wife. At least nine of his sons and thirteen of his daughters were illegitimate, he recognised and supported all of them, providing them with the same advantages as his legitimate children. His wife gave him three children, two of which survived childhood, William Adelin and Matilda, who he betrothed to the future Holy Roman Empire, securing alliances in Europe, something Henry needed following the ascension of Louis VI in France. Both Henry and Louis had a fractious relationship, though they did come to an alliance of sorts with Louis recognising William Adelin as the rightful heir of England and the Duchy of Normandy.  

The succession 

Perhaps because Henry had come to the crown and the Duchy through nefarious means, he became obsessed with the idea of having an heir and securing the line of succession. He planned for his son, William to be the next king, however, during a trip back to England from the continent, his ship sank, killing almost the entire crew. Though this obviously threw a spanner in the works in terms of succession, reports say that Henry collapsed with grief at the news, indicating that unlike many nobles, he had affection for his children and wasn't opposed to showing it. 

The death of William Adelin meant that the line of succession was once again up for discussion. Aside from his oldest illegitimate son, Robert of Gloucester, Henry’s only real options were his nephews. He considered one nephew, Stephen of Blois but it would seem that he would rather have named Robert or his daughter Matilda. In order to try and secure another heir, Henry took a second wife, Adeliza of Louvain, however they remained childless. Following the death of the Holy Roman Emperor, Henry had his daughter, the Empress Matilda remarry, this time to Geoffrey of Anjou to secure an alliance and the pair had two sons in his lifetime, giving him more male descendants to consider.  Despite relations between Henry and Empress Matilda being somewhat strained in his later years, Henry did name her as his heir, however, once again, his plans were scuppered.  

Henry I died in December 1135 following an illness which was apparently brought on after eating too many lampreys against medical advice. He was interred at Reading Abbey and only weeks later, his nephew Stephen of Blois seized power with the help of his half brother, one of Henry's leading bishops,  and was crowned on 22nd December while Empress Matilda was still on the continent. The Empress and Stephen would then fight over the crown in the following years spurring the beginning of a prolonged era of civil war, which became known as The Anarchy.  

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Places to visit: 

Cirencester Arch, Gloucestershire
The arch is all that remains of a former abbey, which was founded by Henry I

Devizes Castle, Wiltshire
Henry held his brother Robert captive here before sending him to Cardiff Castle. 

Dunstable Priory, Bedfordshire
The priory was founded by Henry. 

Norwich Castle, Norfolk
The castle was started by William I, Henry's father, but he completed it. 

Queenhithe Dock, London
The dock was named for Queen Matilda, Henry's wife

Reading, Berkshire
Henry I was interred at Reading Abbey which was demolished during the Dissolution of the monasteries. The exact location of his grave site is now unknown but is believed to be on the site of the former abbey in a built up area of central Reading.  

Selby, Yorkshire 
Historians believe this is the place of Henry’s birth.  

St Giles in the Fields, London
The church is on the site of a former leprosy hospital founded by Henry's wife, Matilda

The New Forest, Hampshire
The hunting trip that resulted in William II’s death was held in the New Forest on what is thought to now be land at the Beauleau estates. A stone stands at the spot that it is believed he was shot. 

Westminster Abbey
Henry is buried here, he was also married here. 

Windsor Castle, Windsor
Henry was the first monarch to live here.