HENRY Ⅰ

The first biography to offer a fully rounded treatment of the life of Henry I, the youngest son of William the Conqueror, this book presents a major new interpretation of the man and his methods. Judith Green argues that although Henry’s primary concern was defence of his inheritance this did not preclude expansion where circumstances were propitious, notably into Welsh territory. His skilful dealings with the Scots permitted consolidation of Norman rule in the northern counties of England, while in Normandy every sinew was strained to defend frontiers through political alliances and stone castles. Green argues that although Henry’s own outlook was essentially traditional, the legacy of this fascinating but ruthless personality included some significant developments in governance. The book also offers a fresh perspective of Henry’s court, which, it is suggested, made an important contribution to the flowering of court culture throughout twelfth-century Europe.

JUDITH A. GREEN is Professor of Medieval History at the University of Edinburgh. She is the author of The Government of England under Henry I (1986) and The Aristocracy of Norman England (1997) and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

Frontispiece. The visions seen by King Henry I in a dream in Normandy, 1130. Worcester Chronicle, twelfth century. Corpus Christi College, Oxford/The Bridgeman Art Library.

HENRY Ⅰ

King of England and Duke of Normandy

JUDITH A. GREEN

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo

Cambridge University Press
The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 2RU, UK

Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York

www.cambridge.org
Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521591317

© Judith Green 2006

This book is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception
and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements,
no reproduction of any part may take place without
the written permission of Cambridge University Press.

First published 2006

Printed in the United Kingdom at the University Press, Cambridge

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN-13 978-0-521-59131-7 hardback
ISBN-10 0-521-59131-7 hardback

Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this book, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

Contents

Preface

It is a great pleasure to be able to express in some small way my gratitude to those who have in different ways rendered assistance during the years that this book has been in preparation. Many have advised on particular problems, from sailing at Barfleur to lampreys, or sent copies of their own work, often at short notice and sometimes in advance of publication, and to all I am most grateful, especially Mathieu Arnoux, Robert Babcock, David Bates, Marjorie Chibnall, David Crouch, Elizabeth Danbury, Alistair Fair, Jim Holt, Peter Jupp, Katherine Keats-Rohan, Edmund King, Andrew McDonald, Evelyn Mullally, Bruce O’Brien, Daniel Power, Richard Sharpe, Keith Stringer, Kathleen Thompson and Liesbeth Van Houts. The late Warren Hollister, with characteristic generosity, shared his deep knowledge of Henry I with me on several memorable occasions.

   Particular thanks are owed to staff at Queen’s University Belfast, especially the Inter-Library Loans librarian Florence Gray, and Computing Services, especially James Jackson. At Caen M. Claude Lorren, Director of the Centre de Recherches Archéologiques et Historiques Médiévales, Université de Caen Basse Normandie, and his colleagues, made my visit in December 2001 especially productive. Without the assistance and continuing friendship of Pierre Bauduin and Véronique Gazeau my knowledge of ducal Normandy and its archives would have been materially impoverished. Likewise thanks to members of faculty at Boston College, in particular Robin Fleming and her students, during an exchange visit in fall 2000; to Lindy Grant at the Conway Library, Courtauld Institute, University of London, for help and advice over architectural matters; to M. Emmanuel Poulle at the Ecole des Chartes, Paris, for a helpful discussion of the abbey of Savigny and its records; to Ivan Nelson, who, first as an undergraduate and then more recently, has advised me from first-hand experience of the hazards of sailing round the coasts near Barfleur; to Steve Flanders, for many invigorating discussions about early twelfth-century politics, and for his help with the genealogical tables; to Richard Sharpe and his colleagues at the Anglo-Norman Acta Project at the University of Oxford for sharing information about the writs and charters of Henry I; to Bill Davies, Simon Whitmore, Rosemary Williams and their colleagues at Cambridge University Press for keeping faith in the project; and to the two readers for the Press, one of whom subsequently identified himself as Nicholas Vincent, and both of whom commented fully and constructively on the text.

   To those learned societies and organisers of conferences where I have had the opportunity to present papers on Henry I, at Battle, Queen’s University Belfast, Boston, Caen, Cambridge, Dublin, Poitiers, the Haskins Society and the International Medieval Congress at Leeds, I express my thanks. I should like to thank, too, Queen’s University Belfast for granting two periods of study leave, 1997–8 and 2001–2, and for funding replacement teaching for parts of those years; also the Leverhulme Trust, for a Research Fellowship in 1998, and the AHRB, for a grant under its Research Leave scheme in 2002.

   Above all, I should like to express my gratitude to Ian Green, for his support, encouragement and the generosity with which he has given his time in devoting hours to reading and discussing drafts of the book, and for companionship on field expeditions to many places associated with Henry I. The latter included a memorable afternoon at Gatteville in Normandy watching the tide ebb from the rocks outside the harbour of Barfleur. Without Ian, this book would not have been finished.

Abbreviations