The Norman kings

Press, 17 June 1980, Page 16

The Norman kings

The regime of the powerful Norman kings who ruled Britain from 1066 to 1135 died out on a note of defeat at the end of Stephen’s short reign in 1154. The Norman invaders were a race of warriors. Their Viking ancestors had left Norway about the year 911 with their chieftain, Rollo, to settle on land. granted to him by the King of France. Their new land was called Normandy. . William, Duke of Normandy, was crowned at Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day 1006 and he became William I of England. He was a strong ruler, but harsh in his treatment of the AngloSaxons he had conquered at the famous Battle of Hastings. After the death of William in 1087, his two sons succeeded to the throne — William II who died in 1100, and Henry I who ruled until 1135. With the death of Henry I, law and order gave Way to chaos. His son, the heir to the throne, had been drowned in 1120, and the barons could not agree who should be the ruler. Both of the possible heirs were grandchildren of William the Conqueror — Matilda, the daughter of Henry I, and Stephen, the son of the Conqueror’s daughter. Stephen became king, but it cannot be said that he ruled, because he did not have the support of the barons.

Divided among themselves, and greedy for power, the barons began to fight for land and property, and the disciplined order maintained by the three Norman kings ended in civil war during the reign of Stephen (11351154). Fortunately he was succeeded by a strong king. Henry 11, the first of the Plantagenet kings, followed Stephen. The son of Matilda (grandchild of William the Conqueror).

and Geoffrey Plantagenet, Henry II (1154-1189) governed vast French possessions for some years before he became King of England. In England he restored peace, and improved upon the sound ’government established by the Norman kings. Henry II was followed by his son, Richard I (1189-1199), a crusading hero who spent most of his time fighting in the Holy Land and in France. After Richard’s death in battle, his brother John (1199-1216) became king. He was neither popular nor heroic, but his reign is remembered for the Magna Carta signed in 1215. The document sought to check the power of the king. It also contained a clause dealing with the civil rights of freemen. The legendary character Robin Hood, of whom I wrote recently is an extreme example of a person deprived of civil rights. To some extent the legend describes the conditions of many unfortunate people in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, but they did not retaliate against unjustice as Robin Hood did. According to the legend Robin Hood was born about 1160, and he is supposed to have been a victim of the anarchy that prevailed during the reign of" Stephen, and for years after he died in 1154. It is possible that Robin’s father lost his lands and wealth to the thieving barons, and that Robin was deprived of his inheritance at an early age. Although he led an adventurous life the brave outlaw seems to have survived for a long time — nearly 70 years. He lived through the reigns of three kings — Henry 11, Richard I, and John. He died during the reign of Henry 111 (1216-1272). However, the story of Robin Hood is legend and not history.