Henry I is perhaps best known for his death from a surfeit of lamphreys and the tragic losses of his children, nieces and close friends and advisors on the White Ship in 1120. However, there was so much more to the king’s political, social, family life and reign as England’s king, as Judith Green explains in her new biography.
The Childhood of King Henry I of England
Although there is comparatively little information about the childhood of Henry I, the author describes the king’s upbringing against the background of the politics going on around him.
Henry was the only one of the children of William the Conqueror and Matilda who was born after his parents’ coronation. He is believed to have spent much of his childhood in Normandy, separated from his older siblings. The author believes that Henry’s education may have been tailored with a future career in the church in mind
Henry was fifteen when his mother died and he was knighted by his father at the age of eighteen, after which his public life began in earnest.
Henry I and the Conquest of Normandy
Henry’s struggles with his brother Robert for control of Normandy was to dominate his life for several years and cost him dearly, both in terms of money and life. In this section of the book, Judith Green explores Henry’s expeditions to Normandy, the people who supported him and those who worked against him and explains why these military campaigns kept Henry away from England for so long.
It was very rare that Henry could feel that his overseas territories were secure and the fast-changing politics made it difficult for the king to judge who he could trust.
Henry I and the Loss of the White Ship
The sinking of the White Ship and the ensuing loss of so many of Henry I’s family, friends and advisors is covered by the author in a detailed and interesting way. Not only does Judith Green explain the facts of the tragedy, she also explores what this set of events meant to Henry.
The loss of his son and heir, when the King was over the age of fifty, placed the succession to the crown into question and left Henry facing the prospect of marriage to produce another heir at a time when he was suffering deep personal grief.
The White Ship had been viewed as a fine vessel, to which the king could entrust his relatives and advisors. However, on the day of the disaster, the ship appears to have been manned by sailors who had had too much to drink and this, combined with the difficulties of sailing the ship out of the notoriously difficult route from the harbour of Barfleur, caused the tragedy, when the ship, carrying 300 people, hit rocks. Although many bodies were recovered, that of Prince William, Henry I’s heir was never found.
The Death of Henry I
In 1135, at the age of around 68, Henry I was still in good health and few could have predicated that his death was so near. In her account of Henry’s death, the author explains how Henry had been planning to go hunting the following day and had feasted on a supper of lampreys, going against the advice of his doctor. Like many kings and queens in the Middle Ages, Henry was fond of feasting and banqueting. He suffered a fever during the night, from which he never recovered.
Nevertheless, he was able to confess his sins and arrange for the payment of his debts, dying what was known as a ‘good death’.
Summary
Henry I King of England and Duke of Normandy is a masterful and engrossing biography of one of England’s most fascinating and perhaps least known monarchs. The author uses primary sources to excellent effect, enlivening and enriching the text with fascinating contemporary facts. There is a comprehensive biography, a set of family trees and even a diagram of the harbour of Barfleur, where the White Ship sank.
Publication Details
Green, Judith A Henry I King of England and Duke of Normandy [Cambridge, 2009]
ISBN 9780521744522, 392 pages.
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