When Christ and His Saints Slept: The Anarchy

Описание: When Christ and His Saints Slept: The Anarchy
Following the death of King Henry I in 1135, England was plunged into a devastating nineteen-year civil war known as The Anarchy. The conflict arose from a bitter succession dispute between Henry's daughter and designated heir, Empress Matilda, and her cousin, Stephen of Blois, who seized the throne and had himself crowned king.
For nearly two decades, the land was ravaged by a grueling war of attrition. Powerful barons built unlicensed castles, terrorized the populace, and switched allegiance between Stephen and Matilda as it suited their own interests. Royal authority collapsed, and the rule of law disintegrated into chaos. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle famously described this period as a time when "men said openly that Christ and his saints slept," reflecting the widespread suffering, famine, and violence that gripped the kingdom.
The stalemate was finally resolved in 1153 with the Treaty of Wallingford. Stephen was allowed to remain king for his lifetime, but he adopted Matilda's son, Henry Plantagenet, as his heir. Upon Stephen's death in 1154, Henry ascended the throne as King Henry II, ending the anarchy and founding the long-ruling Plantagenet dynasty.
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