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As the eldest son Robert the Duke of Normandy was in Italy Henry seized his chance and the throne of England. It was to be another six years, however, before he was able to control the duchy from Robert at the battle of Tinchbray.
As his name suggests he was the first literate King of England since Alfred the Great, who incidentally was also a youngest son who had to wait for four elder brothers to die before becoming King. He ruled in literate times and a full picture of him can be read from contemporary sources such as Oderic Vitalis, William of Malmesbury, the chronicles of John and Florence of Worcester, Henry of Huntingdon and Robert of Torigny. His funding of religious centres such as a new Benedictine monastery in Reading and the restoration of the Basilica of Cluny iii meant that he got a good press from these religious scribes.
While Henry may be seen as the studious one in comparison with Rufus and Robert, whose reigns could be seen more as continuous series of debauched pub crawls across the country, he nevertheless holds the record of any British monarch for the most recognised illegitimate children at 20, of which 14 were said to be girls.
He put these children to good use, the sons such as Robert of Gloucester were to become powerful landowners and supporters while his hoard of daughters were married off to a variety of French and Norman magnates, together with Welsh and Scottish princes. Normandy had no natural southern frontier where it was especially vulnerable to attacks from Anjou over it’s long running dispute over who controlled Maine. Unfortunately it was the barons in charge of the castles which controlled the border who were often the must rebellious so the policy of marrying them to a daughter was often the safest way of keeping them sweet.
This idea didn’t work well with Eustace of Breteuil, however, who was the husband of Juliana. He joined the 1119 rebellion against Henry over a dispute with the Constable of Ivry, Ralph Harnec. To stop the quarrel a hostage exchange occurred involving Ralph’s son and Eustace’s two daughters. For reasons that were unclear Eustace blinded the young man and the Constable demanded the right to do the same to the girls. When Henry allowed him to do this, for good measure he raised the ante by cutting off their noses, Juliana asked to speak to her father.
When they met she drew a crossbow and fired a bolt at the Duke. Annoyed but probably realising this to be an understanable reaction Henry had her locked in a tower. She escaped by throwing herself out of a window and landing in the frozen waters of the moat.
Henry had united the bloodline of the Normans with the Saxon royal family by marrying Matilda the neice of Edgar Aetheling. Ironically though he had so many children he only had the one legitimate male heir William Adelin. Once the rebellion had been defeated the royal party was in celebratory mood as they came to the port of Barfleur to return to England in November 1120. William was on board the White Ship and in a state of drunken revelry encouraged the oarsmen to row faster. They faile to notice a large rock lying outside the port which can still be seen today. The ship capsized and all were drowned except one, a Burold the butcher from Rouen. The prince is said to have drowned while trying to save his sister Matilda of Perche.
Henry was to never have another son and in 1135 he was to famously die after overdosing on palphrey pie. His daughter Matilda who had married Geoffrey of Anjou was his chosen successor but many Norman nobles didn’t want an Angevin ruling them, so his nephew Stephen of Blois was anointed King. This was to lead to the havoc of civil war and emphasise with his loss what a great leader Henry had been.