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OverviewThe Anarchy was the first civil war in post-Conquest England, enduring throughout the reign of King Stephen between 1135 and 1154. It ultimately brought about the end of the Norman dynasty and the birth of the mighty Plantagenet kings. When Henry I died having lost his only legitimate son in a shipwreck, he had caused all of his barons to swear to recognize his daughter Matilda, widow of the Holy Roman Emperor, as his heir and remarried her to Geoffrey, Count of Anjou. When she was slow to move to England on her father's death, Henry's favourite nephew Stephen of Blois rushed to have himself crowned, much as Henry himself had done on the death of his brother William Rufus. Supported by his brother Henry, Bishop of Winchester, Stephen made a promising start, but Matilda would not give up her birthright and tried to hold the English barons to their oaths. The result was more than a decade of civil war that saw England split apart. Empress Matilda is often remembered as aloof and high-handed, Stephen as ineffective and indecisive. By following both sides of the dispute and seeking to understand their actions and motivations, Matthew Lewis aims to reach a more rounded understanding of this crucial period of English history and asks to what extent there really was anarchy. 'A thoroughly researched yet accessible account of the civil war of the twelfth century; Matthew Lewis takes an even-handed approach to his two protagonists while rightly questioning how 'anarchic' the Anarchy really was. The result is an informative, pacy and compelling read about an exciting period of English history' - Catherine Hanley, author of Matilda: Empress, Queen, Warrior (Yale University Press, 2019). AUTHOR: Matthew Lewis trained in law and is now a full-time author of historical fiction and non-fiction. He also blogs on his website, Matt's History Blog, and can be found on Twitter as @mattlewisauthor. His main interest is medieval history and he has written several books on that topic, including Stephen & Matilda's Civil War: Cousins of Anarchy, Richard, Duke of York: King by Right and Richard III: Loyalty Binds Me. 32 illustrations Full Product DetailsAuthor: Matthew LewisPublisher: Pen & Sword Books Ltd Imprint: Pen & Sword History ISBN: 9781399021821ISBN 10: 1399021826 Pages: 280 Publication Date: 30 May 2024 Audience: General/trade , General Format: Paperback Publisher's Status: Forthcoming Availability: Not yet available This item is yet to be released. You can pre-order this item and we will dispatch it to you upon its release. Table of ContentsReviews"""I enjoyed the book very much and compliment the author on his work.""-- ""The UK Historian""" Author InformationMatthew Lewis trained in law and is now a full-time author of historical fiction and non-fiction. He also blogs on his website, Matt’s History Blog, and can be found on Twitter as @mattlewisauthor. His main interest is medieval history and he has written several books on that topic, including Stephen & Matilda’s Civil War: Cousins of Anarchy, Richard, Duke of York: King by Right and Richard III: Loyalty Binds Me. Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |