The Anarchy

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss The Anarchy, the civil war that took place in mid-twelfth century England. The war began as a succession dispute between the Empress Matilda, daughter of Henry I, and her cousin, Stephen of Blois. On Henry’s death Stephen seized the English throne and held it for a number of years before Matilda wrestled it from him, although she was chased out of London before she could be crowned. The Anarchy dragged on for nearly twenty years and is so called because of the chaos and lawlessness that characterised the period. Yet only one major battle ever took place, the Battle of Lincoln in 1141, and any other fighting associated with the conflict was fairly localised. This has led historians to question the accuracy of labelling the civil war as The Anarchy, a name only bestowed on the era in the 19th century. But why did Matilda fail to become the monarch, and what impact did it have on the way England was ruled in centuries to come?

→ Play on BBC Sounds website

Guests

• John Gillingham 2 episodes
  Emeritus Professor of History at the London School of Economics and Political Science
• Louise Wilkinson 3 episodes
  Reader in Medieval History at Canterbury Christ Church University
• David Carpenter 3 episodes
  Professor of Medieval History at Kings College London

Reading list

• Stephen and Matilda: The Civil War of 1139-1153
  J. Bradbury (Sutton, 2005) Google Books →
• The Penguin History of Britain: The Struggle for Mastery: Britain 1066-1284
  David Carpenter (Penguin, 2004) Google Books →
• The Empress Matilda: Queen Consort, Queen Mother and Lady of the English
  Marjorie Chibnall (Wiley-Blackwell, 1993) Google Books →
• The Reign of King Stephen, 1135-54
  David Crouch (Longman, 2000) Google Books →
• King Stephen, 1135-54
  R. H. C. Davis (Longman, 1990) Google Books →
• The Angevin Empire
  John Gillingham (Bloomsbury, 2000) Google Books →
• King Stephen
  Edmund King (Yale University Press, 2012) Google Books →
• King Stephen
  Donald Matthew (Hambledon, 2007) Google Books →
• The Reign of Stephen: Kingship, Warfare and Government in Twelfth-Century England
  Keith Stringer (Routledge, 1993) Google Books →

Related episodes

• The Battle of Lincoln 1217
  
  4 May, 2017 940 History of Europe
• The Tudor State
  
  26 Oct, 2000 940 History of Europe
• Margaret of Anjou
  
  24 May, 2018 940 History of Europe
• The Wars of the Roses
  
  18 May, 2000 940 History of Europe
• The Peasants’ Revolt
  
  16 Nov, 2006 940 History of Europe
• The Battle of Stamford Bridge
  
  2 Jun, 2011 940 History of Europe
• The Danelaw
  
  28 Mar, 2019 940 History of Europe
• Alfred and the Battle of Edington
  
  7 Apr, 2005 940 History of Europe
• The Norman Yoke
  
  10 Apr, 2008 940 History of Europe
• The Battle of Bosworth Field
  
  26 Apr, 2012 940 History of Europe

---

Programme ID: b01nl963

Episode page: bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01nl963

Auto-category: 942.03 (Norman period, 1066-1154)

Hello (First sentence from this episode)

Hello, here's a quotation from a 12th century source.