4. Henry II and The Rise of House Plantagenet

Battles continued for years and Robert almost succeeded to capture Stephen in the Battle of Wilton in 1143. The same year, the Earl of Essex rebelled against Stephen, and in 1144 the Earl of Chester revolted once again. From the South, Robert didn’t stop his attacks, Matilda kept control over several lands and castles while Geoffrey was recognized as Duke of Normandy by the king of France Louis VII in 1144. Robert died in 1147 and Matilda’s son Henry took the leadership of the army to invade England again. Nobles started leaning to the peaceful environment by making peace treaties with each other whilst Stephen tried to change his policy with Henry.   

           Matilda and Geoffrey worked on elevating Normandy without neglecting her son’s right to the throne of England. In 1149, being named the Duke of Normandy by his father, Henry went back to England; where he managed to make alliances with Earl of Chester with the help of his great uncle the King of Scotland in order to control the North. In 1152, Henry got married to Eleanor of Aquitaine, who divorced from the French King, and had control over several assets which made him win more supporters. Stephen felt the danger Henry represented, as he controlled more and more lands, and accepted to sign a truce with him.

         Finally, in November 1153, the Treaty of Winchester was signed where Stephan recognized Matilda’s son Henry as “his adopted son and successor, as long as Henry gave homage to him. Stephen’s son William would, in turn, pay homage to Henry and renounce his claims to the throne in return for the security of his lands”. The period of Anarchy officially ended when Stephen died on October 25th 1154 and Henry was crowned Henry II in December 1154 King of England and Duke of Normandy.