Henry I (1100–1135)

Throughout British history, many kings and queens have come and go, and some have gone in pretty unusual ways. Richard II starved to death in Pontefract (luckily, Pontefract now has a Greggs, so this type of thing doesn’t happen anymore); Charles I was executed by parliament; and James II of Scotland got too close to one of his own canons.

Yet, the title of silliest royal-death probably goes to Henry I, who — according to tradition—succumbed to “a surfeit of lampreys.” In other words, Henry died from scoffing down too many lampreys, a type of eel-like fish. Pretty stupid way to go. (NB: don’t google “lampreys” before bedtime; they have these sucker like mouths with rows of sharp teeth. Absolutely terrifying.)

Whether Henry I’s death was actually down to this terror-fish or not, it was a pretty bad blow for England.

Henry is generally regarded to have been a good king. In his 35 years on the throne, he helped strengthen the institutions of the Crown, especially in regards to justice and finance. For example, the earliest evidence for the Exchequer — a body to manage royal revenues and expenditure — comes from his reign. (Interesting fact: the word Exchequer comes from the practice of using a checked tablecloth to help count and record sums of money). He also reunited the Kingdom of England with the Norman’s ancestral lands in, well…, Normandy, obviously. Okay, he did have to fight a bitter civil war with his elder brother to achieve this, but medieval kings were always feuding with their families for power (just wait until we get to Henry II!)

For the most part, Henry left England and Normandy in stronger states than when he found them. All except in one vital area: he died without a male heir.

Henry’s only son, William Adelin, had perished in the sexily named White Ship disaster. In 1120, the White Ship had sunk in the English Channel, killing William Adelin (along with 300 or so less important people). Following this tragedy, an inconsolable Henry named his daughter, the Empress Matilda, as heir. Unfortunately for her, 12th-century Europe was a pretty sexist place; there was serious doubt that a queen could/should rule. What made things even worse for Henry’s nobles was that Matilda was married to Geoffrey, Count of Anjou, Normandy’s chief rival for power and influence.

So would the barons of England and Norman accept Matilda as their ruler after Henry has met his lamprey-induced end? Find out in the next exciting instalment…