King Stephen did swim the Isis to scale the town walls. He even built two mounds from which he could use his mangonels but he did not use them. Instead he prepared to starve the garrison to death. The Empress escaped just as the food was about to run out. Robert D'Oyly died before the Empress escaped. I have made up the manner of his death. I just know he died and not the intimate details. The Empress' escape from Oxford castle is well known however a word of caution to any who use Wikipedia for research. The article about the Empress Matilda has her escaping in early 1143 or late 1142. I lean to late December 1142 however the Wikipedia article about Oxford castle has her escaping Stephen in December 1141- patently impossible as he was in London being crowned and did not besiege Oxford until the following year. For those interested I have put the links to three sites so that you can compare for yourself.
http://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/Empress-Maud/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford_Castle
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empress_Matilda
The Earl of Gloucester spent the summer and autumn of 1142 in Normandy helping Geoffrey to recapture more territory from Stephen's supporters. By 1143 the Norman campaign was over.
Counter castles were built close to a castle under siege. A force besieging a castle would build one to mount their own war machines. There would be a palisade around it to prevent a sortie. The two at Oxford were called Jew's Mount and Mount Pelham. For some reason they were not used.
There was an alleged invasion of England by young Henry in 1147. He apparently arrived with a small band of mercenaries. He was met by Stephen and deserted by his men because of lack of funds. In the legend Stephen was supposed to have paid the mercenaries and then paid for Henry to be taken back to Normandy. I found the story hard to believe. J.H. Round provided the evidence to disprove the invasion as a piece of propaganda. Henry was in Normandy from 1146 until 1149. He was not in England when his uncle died in 1147. The legend also says that he appealed to his mother for funds and she refused it. All my research shows that Matilda and Henry were very close; far closer than Geoffrey and Henry. I have ignored the flimsy evidence of this invasion. This is another reason to double check everything which appears in Wikipedia.
The Earl of Gloucester did die peacefully in 1147 and his sister returned to Normandy soon after. Following her meeting with her husband and son she chose to live in the Notre Dame du Pré priory south of Rouen. Henry built her a palace and she ended her days there.
Following 1147 and until Henry arrives in England in 1149 the war went into a quiet phase. Barons and earls consolidated what they had. The battles were smaller in nature. The Earl of Gloucester did die peacefully and the fates of her leaders are as I wrote.
Ranulf Earl of Chester did escape captivity and joined the Empress once more. As far as I know there was no alliance with Hainaut but there were wars between Hainaut and Flanders. Henry was alleged to have invaded England in 1147. There is not a great deal of evidence for this. The story goes that he invaded with a few knights and he was defeated by Stephen who, according to the stories, paid off Henry's knights and paid for his passage back to Normandy. I do not believe this story. It has all the hall marks of some propaganda written by Stephen's biographers at the time. I have tried to make the invasion more plausible.
The meeting with King David and Henry did take place. I have just brought it forward by a few months. The next book will be the last one to reference the anarchy and will begin with the fateful meeting with King David. The series will, however, continue for William of Stockton is now a crusader!
Books used in the research:
The Varangian Guard- 988-1453 Raffael D’Amato
Saxon Viking and Norman- Terence Wise
The Walls of Constantinople AD 324-1453-Stephen Turnbull
Byzantine Armies- 886-1118- Ian Heath
The Age of Charlemagne-David Nicolle
The Normans- David Nicolle
Norman Knight AD 950-1204- Christopher Gravett
The Norman Conquest of the North- William A Kappelle
The Knight in History- Francis Gies
The Norman Achievement- Richard F Cassady
Knights- Constance Brittain Bouchard
Knight Templar 1120-1312 -Helen Nicholson
Feudal England: Historical Studies on the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries- J. H. Round
Armies of the Crusades-Helen Nicholson
Knight of Outremer 1187- 1344 - David Nicholle
Griff Hosker
November 2016
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By
Griff Hosker
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Table of Contents
Published by Sword Books Ltd 2016Copyright © Griff Hosker First Edition
PrologueStockton Castle
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Epilogue
GlossaryAl-Andalus- SpainAldeneby - Alston (Cumbria)
Maps and Illustrations
Historical note
Other books By Griff Hosker