Rout of Winchester

Rout of Winchester
Part of The Anarchy
Date 14 September 1141 Location Winchester, England Coordinates: 51°03′38″N 1°18′45″W / 51.060494°N 1.312523°W / 51.060494; -1.312523 Result Blesevin victory
Belligerents
Blesevins	Angevins
Commanders and leaders
Queen Matilda Henry of Blois William of Ypres	Empress Matilda Robert of Gloucester (POW) Reginald of Cornwall
Strength
Unknown	Unknown
Casualties and losses
Light	Main body destroyed, rear guard captured

In the Rout of Winchester (14 September 1141) the army of imprisoned King Stephen of England, led by his wife, Queen Matilda of Boulogne, Stephen's brother Bishop Henry of Blois, and William of Ypres, faced the army of Stephen's cousin Empress Matilda, whose forces were commanded by her half-brother Earl Robert of Gloucester. After Empress Matilda's army besieged a castle on the edge of Winchester, Queen Matilda's army arrived and blockaded the Angevin army within the city. Cut off from supplies, the Angevin army gave up the siege, then was crushed as it began to retreat. Robert of Gloucester was captured and was subsequently exchanged for Stephen, who was returned to the throne of England. However, the civil war known as The Anarchy dragged on with neither side gaining an advantage.

When William Adelin drowned in the White Ship, King Henry I of England was left with no male heirs. A second marriage to 18 year old Adeliza of Louvain would produce no children, leaving the widowed Empress Matilda as his only legitimate surviving child. Henry declared Matilda his heir and the English nobility agreed. The first person to swear fealty to Matilda was Stephen of Blois who was the son of Adela of Normandy, the daughter of William the Conqueror. Henry arranged for Matilda to marry the much younger Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou, and though the marriage was stormy, it finally produced a son, Henry Plantagenet.

When King Henry died in the Duchy of Normandy he reiterated that Empress Matilda was his heir. Nevertheless, Stephen immediately set out for England. He crossed the English Channel from Wissant to Dover and then made his way to London with a few retainers. The people of London acclaimed him king, followed by the nobility and the dead king's ministers. Stephen was crowned on Christmas Eve 1135. During this time, Empress Matilda was powerless to act because her husband Count Geoffrey was busy trying to put down a rebellion in Anjou. Very soon, Stephen's poor leadership attracted enemies. A Scottish army under King David I invaded the north but was beaten at the Battle of the Standard in August 1138. Empress Matilda and Robert of Gloucester, an illegitimate son of Henry I, landed at Portsmouth with 140 men.

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