The Reign of King Stephen: 1135-1154

"This is an authoritative account of the troubled reign of King Stephen by David Crouch, a leading scholar of the Anglo-Norman world. KEY TOPICS He examines every aspect of the period including the king and empress, the aristocracy, the Church, government and the nation as large, showing particularly how in Stephen's reign the idea of England as a separate entity acquired significant meaning. He also examines the wider dimensions of the story, in Scotland, Wales, Normandy and elsewhere. The book is paints a convincing picture of a complex age which, for all its dislocations and local conflicts, adds up to far more than the general anarchy of tradition. For anyone interested in early English history or medieval history. ALSO AVAILABLE IN HARDCOVER: 0-582-22658-9.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 343-353) and index.

The causes of civil war: Stephen as count and king, 1113-1139. The Count of Mortain ; Succession ; Wales and Normandy ; The summer of rebellions, 1138 ; Radicalism and conspiracy -- The civil war, 1139-1147. Civil war in England ; The ideology of civil War ; Lincoln ; Lords and order ; The failure of the empress ; The failure of King Stephen ; The end of the civil war -- Settling the kingdom, 1147-1154. War, peace and the magnates, 1147-1152. The solution -- The impact of Stephen's reign. The church ; The nation.