HENRY I BEAUCLERK ap William the Conqueror
By the Grace of God,
King of the English and Duke of the Normans
Henry I depicted in Cassell's History of England (1902)
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| BIRTH: 1068 in Selby, Yorkshire, England DEATH: 1 Dec 1135 in Lyons-La-Foret, St. Denis, Normandy, France BURIAL: 4 Jan 1136 in Reading Abbey, Reading, Berkshire, England FATHER: PEUEREL, Guillaume 'William The Conqueror' - BIRTH: 1027 in Normandy, France MOTHER: BAUDOUIN, Matilda verch - Countess of Flanders - BIRTH: 1031 in Flanders, France
FIRST MARRIAGE: 11 Nov 1100 - MALCOLM, 'Edith' Matilda verch (of Scotland) - Westminster, London, Middlesex, England CHILDREN: 1. BEAUCLERK, Matilda verch Henry I - BIRTH: Abt 5 Aug 1102 in London, Middlesex, England
2. BEAUCLERK, William Atheling ap Henry I - BIRTH: Abt Aug 1103 in Selby, Yorkshire, England 3. BEAUCLERK, Elizabeth verch Henry I - BIRTH: Abt 1104 in Selby, Yorkshire, England
FIRST MISTRESS: Abt 1100 - FITZHORNE, Edith Eda - in Selby, Yorkshire, England CHILDREN:
4. BEAUCLERK, Matilda verch Henry I - BIRTH: Abt 1100 in Greystoke, Cumberland, England 5. BEAUCLERK, Maud verch Henry I - BIRTH: Abt 1101 in Greystoke, Cumberland, England 6. BEAUCLERK, Robert Fitzedith ap Henry I-BIRTH: Abt 1102 in Greystoke, Cumberland, England 7. BEAUCLERK, Adeliza verch Henry I - BIRTH: Greystoke, Cumberland, England
SECOND MISTRESS: Abt 1101 - Ansfirde of England in Selby, Yorkshire, England CHILDREN: 8. BEAUCLERK, Richard ap Henry I - BIRTH: Abt 1101 in Selby, Yorkshire, England 9. BEAUCLERK, Juliane verch Henry I - BIRTH: Abt 1102 in Selby, Yorkshire, England
THIRD MISTRESS: Abt 1102 - RHYS, Nest verch Deheubarth in Dynevor, Llandilo, Carmarthenshire, CHILDREN: 10. BEAUCLERK, Henry Fitz ap Henry I - BIRTH: Abt 1103 in Dynevor, Llandilo, Carmarthenshire, Wales
FOURTH MISTRESS: Abt 1089 - ROBERT, Sibyl Adela Lucy verch in Caen, Normandy, France CHILDREN:
11. BEAUCLERK, Robert ap Henry I - BIRTH: Abt 1090 in Caen, Normandy, France
12. BEAUCLERK, Sibyl Elizabeth verch Henry I - BIRTH: Abt 1092 in Domfront, Normandy, France 13. BEAUCLERK, Constance verch Henry I - BIRTH: 1098 in England
14. BEAUCLERK, Alice Aline verch Henry I - BIRTH: 1099 in Selby, Yorkshire, England 15. BEAUCLERK, Gundred verch Henry I - BIRTH: 1101 in England 16. BEAUCLERK, William ap Henry I - BIRTH: Abt 1103 in England 17. BEAUCLERK, Rohese verch Henry I - BIRTH: in England 18. BEAUCLERK, Eustacie verch Henry I - BIRTH: 1104 in England 19. BEAUCLERK, Joan Elizabeth verch Henry I - BIRTH: 1104 in England 20. BEAUCLERK, Matilda Maud verch Henry I - BIRTH: 1105 in England 21. BEAUCLERK, Emma verch Henry I - BIRTH: 1106 in England 22. BEAUCLERK, Sybilla(of Falaise)verch Henry I - BIRTH: 1110 in England
23. BEAUCLERK, Rainald Richard ap Henry I - BIRTH: Abt 1112 in England 24. BEAUCLERK, Gilbert ap Henry I - BIRTH: Abt 1130 in England SIXTH MISTRESS: 1096 - TURGIS I, Gieva verch in Bradnninch, Devonshire, England CHILDREN:
25. BEAUCLERK, William ap Henry I - BIRTH: 1097 in Bradnninch, Devonshire, England 26. BEAUCLERK, Euphamia verch Henry I - BIRTH: Jul 1101 in London, Middlesex, England
SEVENTH MISTRESS: Abt 1119 - ROBERT, Isabel De Beaumont verch CHILDREN: 27. BEAUCLERK, Isabel verch Henry I - BIRTH: Abt 1120 in Leicester, Leicestershire, England 28. BEAUCLERK, Maud Fitzroy of Montivillers verch Henry I - BIRTH: Abt 1122 in Leicester, Leicestershire, England
SECOND MARRIAGE: 29 Jan 1120 - GODFREY I, Adelicia of Louvain verch in Windsor Castle, Berkshire, England |
BIRTH: Abt 1070 in Flanders, Belgium
William of Malmesbury describes Henry thus: "He was of middle stature, greater than the small, but exceeded by the very tall; his hair was black and set back upon the forehead; his eyes mildly bright; his chest brawny; his body fleshy."
Henry was left no land upon his father's death. His brother William II, King of England, died in 1100 and his oldest brother Robert was absent at the time as he was Duke of Normandy. So Henry took advantage of his absence and seized the royal treasure and had himself crowned King of England at Westminster. Henry secured his postion with the church and nobles by issuing a Charter of Liberties which acknowledged the feudal rights of the nobles and of the church.
On 11 November 1100 Henry married Edith, daughter of King Malcolm III of Scotland. Since Edith was also the niece of Edgar Atheling, the marriage united the Norman line with old English line of kings. The marriage greatly displeased the Norman barons, however, and as a concession to their sensibilities Edith changed her name to Matilda upon becoming queen. The other side of this coin, however, was that Henry, by dint of his marriage, became far more acceptable to the Anglo-Saxon populace.
Robert invaded England in 1101 but Henry persuaded him to withdraw and promised him a pension and military aid. In 1106 Henry defeated Robert at Tinchebray, France and won Normandy and Robert became his prisoner until his death. During the rest of his reign there were constant uprisings which threatened his rule in Normandy. In 1107 Anselm, archbishop of Canterbury and King Henry had disagreements over the question of investiture (appointment of church officials by the king). The compromise left the king with substantial control in the matter.
Henry died on 1 Decmber 1135 at Lyons-La-Foret, Normandy and his daughter Matilda became his heiress as he had no surviving male heir.
Stephen of Blois, Henry's nephew, usurped the throne which plunged the country into a civil war that ended with the accension of Matilda's son, Henry II in 1154.
Henry I, King of England, Microsoft Encarta 97 Encyclopedia
Eleanor of Aquitaine and the Four Kings, Amy Kelly, Harvard Univ. Press, 1950
SOURCES:
Wikipedia.com - Henry I, King of England