The Anarchy

Battle of The Standard 1138

The Anarchy 

By 

Frank Pendlebury

Part One

Anarchy in the Dis-United Kingdom

The Battle of The Standard 1138

{Battle of Northallerton}

King Stephen {Stephen of Blois}    

    Now here's an English warrior king many a modern, patriotic Englishman will not have heard of. Add to that the fact most of those same Englishmen might even aspire to be such a Prince, if only in some of their dreams.

    Stephen's reign lasted longer than most monarchs of the medieval period.  It began under a cloud of feverish, furtive activity. Following the death of his uncle, Henry I, the Grandson of William the Conqueror took the throne with great haste. Upon the news he rode with his followers to Winchester, the home for English monarchs at the time. Taking power the same day by seizing the treasury, the royal accoutrements and other symbols of office.  An unwilling Archbishop crowned him King on Boxing Day, 1135.

    Stephen had become a Usurper King. For Henry I had made it plain; he wished his daughter Matilda to succeed him. This he had stated following the death of his son and heir William, in the White Ship disaster of 1120. A tragedy which almost claimed Stephen's life too, but somehow he'd survived alone. England now faced a dilemma, for there existed a rival contender to the throne.      

   The Empress Matilda. Stephen's own cousin and grand-daughter of The Conqueror. Eldest surviving heir to Henry I.      
   
Matilda had her followers and supporters, and much of Stephens' long reign suffered the haunt of warfare. Manifested by uprisings amongst his nobility and constant struggles against the forces supporting the Empress' cause.

       The most significant and memorable of the encounters between the two opposing factions of this dynastic struggle occurred just outside the walls of Lincoln Castle. There were several other pitched battles over the years, though all failed to decide the issue. However these were all nonetheless bloody and brutal encounters, resulting in heavy slaughter.

    The first significant clash attributed to the conflict occurred just North of Alverton, (modern Northallerton) on the Great North Road, which has become known to history as The Battle of The Standard.

The Battle of The Standard.

August 22nd 1138

    Here is a battle that had been brewing for some time. The King of Scotland, David, became one of the first to declare his support for Empress Matilda, which wasn't difficult for him as she was his niece, though he also had selfish reasons.

    Since the Norman Conquest of 1066, Scotland suffered a succession of weak kings. After the reign of Malcolm III, (first of the new Norman Kings of Scotland, he moved the seat of power into the Lowlands) a division had begun between Scots of the Highlands and Islands, and the Lowland Scots and Borderer's. Apart from the political divide, a language barrier developed, as more and more dispossessed Angles and Saxons migrated North and settled in the Borders and Lowlands.    

    Malcolm's wife had also driven out the older Scottish Celtic Church and implanted Norman clergy and prayers. Practices less than welcome in many quarters of the fledgling nation. By the early 12 century, Scotland needed a strong king to unify its disparate peoples and leaders into a common cause.

King David chose to offer his subjects the opportunity to enrich themselves through warfare.
He marched deep into northern England, capturing and dismantling strongholds and castles on the way, even being gifted some, as their owners chose to fight for Matilda's claim, rather than face an expensive siege.