Matilde Loyalists
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The territories that were loyal to Empress Matilde, the daughter of the late King of England Henry I, during the so-called Anarchy in England.
Establishment
January 1135: Robert of Gloucester, illegitimate son of Henry I and half-brother of the Empress Matilda, one of the most powerful Anglo-Norman barons, as he controlled large estates in Normandy and was Earl of Gloucester, rebelled against the king in Kent and south- west of England.
Chronology
Interactive Chronologies with maps are available in the section Changes Navigation
Was a civil war in England and Normandy between 1138 and 1153 that followed the death of King Henry I.
January 1137: In 1136, following the Welsh victory in January at the Battle of Llwchwr, in the county of Glamorgan, and the successful ambush of Richard Fitz Gilbert de Clare in April of the same year, a rebellion broke out in south Wales.
January 1139: Dover surrendered to the forces of Stephen.
January 1139: Still as part of the maneuvers aimed at stemming the now rampant civil war, Stephen himself went west in an attempt to regain control of Gloucestershire, first striking in the north of the Welsh Marches, taking Hereford and Strewsbury, and then moving towards Bath.
November 1139: Matilda now controlled a compact block of territories: in the southwest from Gloucester and Bristol up to Devon and Cornwall, in the west in the Welsh Marches and in the east up to Oxford and Wallingford (see the situation shown on the map).
April 1140: Nigel, Bishop of Ely, was a supporter of Matilda, who was in a power struggle with King Stephen for the English throne. After having his castles confiscated by Stephen, Nigel rebelled against the king in 1140 in Ely.
January 1141: Stephen brought an armada into the Fens and using pontoon bridges to form a causeway which enabled him to make a surprise attack on Ely island. Nigel managed to escape from Gloucester but his men and castles were captured, thus restoring order to the east.
February 1141: Battle of lincoln.
June 1141: On June 24, shortly before the planned coronation, the city of London rose against Matilda and Geoffrey de Mandeville. Matilda and her supporters managed to escape in a chaotic retreat towards Oxford.
August 1141: Godfrey of Anjou invaded Normandy again and, in the absence of Waleran of Beaumont, who was still fighting in England, took possession of all the duchies south of the Seine and east of the Risle.
December 1142: Shortly before Christmas, Empress Matilda managed to flee the castle on foot, crossed the frozen river and reached Wallingford, leaving the castle garrison free to surrender the following day.
February 1144: Godfrey of Anjou finished securing southern Normandy and in January 1144 advanced as far as Rouen, the capital of the duchy, concluding his campaign. Louis VII of France recognized him as Duke of Normandy shortly thereafter.
Disestablishment
January 1145: Geoffrey V of Anjou was duke of Normandy by conquest from 1144.
