Henry I of England, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

    

Henry I of England

King of England

Date of Birth: 01-Jan-1068

Place of Birth: Selby, England, United Kingdom

Date of Death: 01-Dec-1135

Profession: writer

Zodiac Sign: Capricorn


Show Famous Birthdays Today, World

👉 Worldwide Celebrity Birthdays Today

About Henry I of England

  • Henry I (c.
  • 1068 – 1 December 1135), also known as Henry Beauclerc, was King of England from 1100 to his death in 1135.
  • He was the fourth son of William the Conqueror and was educated in Latin and the liberal arts.
  • On William's death in 1087, Henry's elder brothers Robert Curthose and William Rufus inherited Normandy and England, respectively, but Henry was left landless.
  • He purchased the County of Cotentin in western Normandy from Robert, but his brothers deposed him in 1091.
  • He gradually rebuilt his power base in the Cotentin and allied himself with William against Robert.
  • Present at the place where his brother William died in a hunting accident in 1100, Henry seized the English throne, promising at his coronation to correct many of William's less popular policies.
  • He married Matilda of Scotland and they had two surviving children, William Adelin and Empress Matilda; he also had many illegitimate children by his many mistresses.
  • Robert, who invaded in 1101, disputed Henry's control of England; this military campaign ended in a negotiated settlement that confirmed Henry as king.
  • The peace was short-lived, and Henry invaded the Duchy of Normandy in 1105 and 1106, finally defeating Robert at the Battle of Tinchebray.
  • Henry kept Robert imprisoned for the rest of his life.
  • Henry's control of Normandy was challenged by Louis VI of France, Baldwin VII of Flanders and Fulk V of Anjou, who promoted the rival claims of Robert's son, William Clito, and supported a major rebellion in the Duchy between 1116 and 1119.
  • Following Henry's victory at the Battle of Brémule, a favourable peace settlement was agreed with Louis in 1120. Considered by contemporaries to be a harsh but effective ruler, Henry skilfully manipulated the barons in England and Normandy.
  • In England, he drew on the existing Anglo-Saxon system of justice, local government and taxation, but also strengthened it with additional institutions, including the royal exchequer and itinerant justices.
  • Normandy was also governed through a growing system of justices and an exchequer.
  • Many of the officials who ran Henry's system were "new men" of obscure backgrounds rather than from families of high status, who rose through the ranks as administrators.
  • Henry encouraged ecclesiastical reform, but became embroiled in a serious dispute in 1101 with Archbishop Anselm of Canterbury, which was resolved through a compromise solution in 1105.
  • He supported the Cluniac order and played a major role in the selection of the senior clergy in England and Normandy. Henry's son William drowned in the White Ship disaster of 1120, throwing the royal succession into doubt.
  • Henry took a second wife, Adeliza of Louvain, in the hope of having another son, but their marriage was childless.
  • In response to this, he declared his daughter Matilda his heir and married her to Geoffrey of Anjou.
  • The relationship between Henry and the couple became strained, and fighting broke out along the border with Anjou.
  • Henry died on 1 December 1135 after a week of illness.
  • Despite his plans for Matilda, the King was succeeded by his nephew, Stephen of Blois, resulting in a period of civil war known as the Anarchy.

Read more at Wikipedia

See Also