Name: King of England 8/5/1100 after the death of his brother.
Name:
Name: "to him the kingdom seemed to pertain as of right since he was the ony one of William's sons who was born when his father was a king. He was early instructed in the liberal arts, and so throughout imbibed the sweets of learning that no warlike
distrubance and no pressure of business could erase them from his noble mind...his learning...though obtained by snatches assisted him much in the science of government" Wiliam of Malmesbury, The Deeds of the Kings of the English
Name:
Name: Though brought up in England, like his father, William I, and his brother, Henry regarded Normandy as equally important. Strong and stocky, later tending to fat, with black hair and a cheerful disposition, he was cruel, lustgul, avaricious, and
a sterm judge. Well educated, even studious, by the thirteenth century he was known as "clerk". Largely landless in his youth, when Rufus was killed (1100), he made staight for Winchester and after a difficult moment was delared rightful king
by the witan. Henry shrewdly disowned the harsher aspects of his brother's rule, and his "coronation charter" offered reconciliation as did the return of the exiled Archbishop Anselm. But this was mostly propaganda, for he continued his
brother's policies and methods, extending them to the point of administrative innovation. A restless monarch, he spent much of the time in Normandy, which he eventually (1106) seized from his brother Robert, whom he imprisoned for life. He was
a decisive and energetic rulet, and determined to ensure security for both his dominions: he established peaceful relations with Scotland (partly by his marriage to Matilda, daughter of Malcolm Canmore), and in Wales asserted his power over
Welsh kings on a broad front. He set great sotre by marriage diplomacy. Henry's imagination is apparent in government; he centralized the administration of England and Normandy in the royal court and patronized officials and families who owed
all to him. Henry had one legitimate son, William, whose drowning in the White Ship (1120)j posed a succession problem. Henry sent (1126) for his only legitimate daughter, Matilda, widow of the German emperor who was widely accepted as his
successor; she married Geoffrey, son of the count of Anjou (1128). When Henry died, after eating too many lampreys, civil war broke out between Matilda and his nephew Stephen. Henry's achievements stood squarely on those of William I and
William Rufus, taking their policies to a new level. The fatal flaw was his family. 