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It was the feel-ing that the female heir could pass the title on to her son,rather than that she could hold it herself.William of Malmesbury states, in his account of theseevents, that he had often heard Bishop Roger of Salisburysay that he considered himself released from this oath toMatilda because it had been taken on condition that sheshould not be married out of the kingdom except with thecounsel of the The writer takes pains at the sametime to say that he records this fact rather from his sense ofduty as a historian than because he believes the statement.It has, however, a certain amount of inherent probability.To consult with his vassals on such a question was so fre-quently the practice of the lord, and it was so entirely in linewith feudal usage, that the barons would have had someslight ground on which to consider themselves released fromthis oath, even if such a specific promise had not been made,nor is it likely that Henry would hesitate to make it if heIt is indeed quite possible that Henrythought it desired.had not yet determined upon the plan which he afterwardscarried out, though it may very likely have been in his mind,and that he was led to this by events which were taking placeat this very time in France.Matilda s return to her father, and Henry s evident inten-tion to make her the heir of his dominions, of Normandy aswell as of England, seem to have moved King Louis to someimmediate action in opposition.The separation of the duchyfrom the kingdom, so important for the interestsof thetian house, could not be hoped for unless this plan wasdefeated.The natural policy of opposition was the supportof William Clito.At a great council of his kingdom, meetingat the same time with Henry s court in which Matilda sship was recognized, the French king bespoke the sympathyand support of his barons for William of Normandy. Theresponse was favourable, and Louis made him a grant of theWilliam of sec.452.VOL.II. THECHAP.French a point of observation and of easy approachto Normandy.At the same time, a wife was given Williamin the person of Jeanne, half sister of Louis s queen, anddaughter of the Marquis of Montferrat.A few weeks laterWilliam advanced with an armed force to Gisors, and madeformal claim to Normandy.It was hardly these events, though they were equivalent toa formal notification of the future policy of the king ofFrance, which brought Henry to a decision as to his daugh-ter s marriage.On March the Count of Flanders, Charlesthe Good, was foully murdered in the Church oftian at Bruges.He was without children or near rela-tives, and several claimants for the vacant countshipappeared.Even Henry I is said to have presented hiswhich he would derive from his mother, but he seems neverseriously to have prosecuted it.Louis, on thecontrary, gavehis whole support to the claim of William Clito, and suc-ceeded with little difficulty in getting him recognized bymost of the barons and towns as count.This was a new andmost serious danger to Henry s plans, and he began at onceto stir up troubles for the new count among his vassals, bythe support of rival claimants, and in alliance withing princes.But the situation demanded measures of directand Henry was led to take the decisive step, soeventful for all the future history of England, of marryingMatilda a second time.Immediately after Whitsuntide of1127, Matilda was sent over to Normandy, attended byRobert of Gloucester and Brian Fitz Count, and at Rouenwas formally betrothed by the archbishop of that city toGeoffrey, son of Fulk of Anjou.The marriage did nottake place till two years later.For this marriage no consent of English or Norman baronswas asked, and none was granted.Indeed, we are led tosuspect that Henry considered it unlikely that he could obtainconsent, and deemed it wiser not to let his plans be knownuntil they were so far accomplished as to make oppositionuseless.The natural rivalry and hostility between Nor-mandy and Anjou had been so many times passed on fromfather to son that such a marriage as this could seem to theNorman barons nothing but a humiliation, and to the vins hardly less than a triumph.The opposition, however, CHAP.spent itself in murmurs.The king was too strong.bly also the political advantages were too obvious to warrantany attempt to defeat the scheme.Matilda herself is said tohave been much opposed to the marriage, and this we caneasily believe.Geoffrey was more than ten years her junior,and still a mere boy.She had but recently occupied theposition of highest rank in the world to which a woman couldShe was naturally of a proud and haughty spirit.attain.We are told nothing of the arguments which induced her toconsent; but in this case again the political advantage, thenecessity of the marriage to the security of her succession,must have been the controlling motive.That these considerations were valid, that Henry was fullyjustified in taking this step in the circumstances which hadarisen, is open to no question, if the matter is regarded as oneof cold policy alone.To leave Matilda s succession to the soleprotection of the few barons of England, who were likely tobe faithful, however powerful they might be, would have beenmadness under the new conditions.With William Clito likelyto be in possession of the resources of a strong feudal state,heartily supported by the king of France, felt by the greatmass of Norman barons to be the rightful heir, and himselfof considerable energy of character, the odds would be deci-dedly in favour of his succession.The balance could be re-stored only by bringing forward in support of Matilda s claima power equal to William s and certain not to abandon hercause.Henry could feel that he had accomplished this bythe marriage with Geoffrey, and he had every reason tobelieve that he had converted at the same time one of theprobable enemies of his policy into its most interestedfender.Could he have foreseen the early death of William,he might have had reason to hesitate and to question whethersome other marriage might not lead to a more sure success.That this plan failed in the end is only a proof of Henry sforesight in providing, against an almost inevitable failure, thebest which ingenuity could devise.William Clito s tenure of his countship was of but littlemore than a year, and a year filled with fighting.Boulognewas a vassal county of Flanders but the new count, Stephen, FOREIGN180CHAP.undoubtedly carrying out the directions of his uncle, refusedhim homage, and William endeavoured to compel his obedi-ence by force.Insurrections broke out behind him, due in partto his own severity of rule; and the progress of one of his rivalswho was destined to succeed him, of Elsass, was alarm-ing.Louis attempted to come to his help, but was checkedforward move of Henry with a Norman army.The tideseemed about to turn in Henry s favour once more, when itsuddenly impelled that way by the death of William.Wounded in the hand by a spear, in a fight at he dieda few days later.His father was still alive in an Englishprison, and was informed in a dream, we are told, of this finalblow of fortune.But for Henry this opportune death notmerely removed from the field the most dangerous rival forMatilda s succession, but it also re-established the Englishinfluence in Flanders [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]