King Henry I of England has been portrayed in various cultural media.

Theatre

''Henry I of England'', a play by Beth Flintoff, was first performed in November 2016 at St James's Church, Reading. The drama follows the story of the three sons of

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...

and ends with the early reign of Henry I. The narrative continues in Flintoff's second play ''Matilda the Empress'' which depicts the king's later life and The Anarchy period after his death when his daughter

Matilda Matilda or Mathilda may refer to: Animals * Matilda (chicken) (1990–2006), World's Oldest Living Chicken record holder * Matilda (horse) (1824–1846), British Thoroughbred racehorse * Matilda, a dog of the professional wrestling tag-team The ...

and her cousin

Stephen Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...

were rivals for the succession.

Fictional portrayals

Henry I has been depicted in historical novels and short stories. They include:Nield (1925), p. 28-29 *''Pado, the Priest'' (1899) by

Sabine Baring-Gould Sabine Baring-Gould ( ; 28 January 1834 – 2 January 1924) of Lew Trenchard in Devon, England, was an Anglican priest, hagiographer, antiquarian, novelist, folk song collector and eclectic scholar. His bibliography consists of more than 1,2 ...

revolves around Henry's conflict with the Welsh. *''A Saxon Maid'' (1901) by Eliza Frances Pollard. Reportedly "a good short story of the Norman devastations", taking place in the reigns of William II and Henry I. The latter being a prominent character.Nield (1925), p. 28-29 *"Old Men at Pevensey" by

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work. ...

, a short story included in the collection ''

Puck of Pook's Hill ''Puck of Pook's Hill'' is a fantasy book by Rudyard Kipling, published in 1906, containing a series of short stories set in different periods of English history. It can count both as historical fantasy – since some of the stories told of ...

'' (1906). Features both Henry I and

Robert Curthose Robert Curthose, or Robert II of Normandy ( 1051 – 3 February 1134, french: Robert Courteheuse / Robert II de Normandie), was the eldest son of William the Conqueror and succeeded his father as Duke of Normandy in 1087, reigning until 1106. ...

.Nield (1925), p. 28-29 *"The Tree of Justice" by Rudyard Kipling, a short story included in the collection ''

Rewards and Fairies ''Rewards and Fairies'' is a historical fantasy book by Rudyard Kipling published in 1910. The title comes from the poem "Farewell, Rewards and Fairies" by Richard Corbet, which was referred to by the children in the first story of Kipling's ...

'' (1910). Features both Henry I and Rahere.Nield (1925), p. 28-29 *''The King’s Minstrel'' (1925) by Ivy May Bolton. The title character is

Rahere Rahere (pronounced ), or Raher or Raherius, was an Anglo-Norman priest and monk. He was a favourite of King Henry I and is most famous for having founded the Priory of the Hospital of St Bartholomew in 1123. Many of the details of Rahere's li ...

, depicted as "part jester, part priest, and more wizard than either". The King of the title is Henry I who is "prominently introduced". *Henry appears in two novels by George Shipway, ''The Paladin'' (1972) and ''The Wolf Time'' (1973). In these books, Henry is depicted as organizing the death of King William II. *Henry appears briefly in the short story "A Light on the Road to Woodstock" (1988) by

Ellis Peters Edith Mary Pargeter (28 September 1913 – 14 October 1995), also known by her ''nom de plume'' Ellis Peters, was an English author of works in many categories, especially history and historical fiction, and was also honoured for her transla ...

, one of her

Brother Cadfael Brother Cadfael is the main fictional character in a series of historical murder mysteries written between 1977 and 1994 by the linguist-scholar Edith Pargeter under the name "Ellis Peters". The character of Cadfael himself is a Welsh Benedic ...

stories. "A Light on the Road to Woodstock" is collected in '' A Rare Benedictine: The Advent of Brother Cadfael''.Lewis, Margaret. ''Edith Pargeter : Ellis Peters''. Bridgend Seren 2003. (pg. 91) *''

The Pillars of the Earth ''The Pillars of the Earth'' is a historical novel by British author Ken Follett published in 1989 about the building of a cathedral in the fictional town of Kingsbridge, England. Set in the 12th century, the novel covers the time between the ...

'', a 1989 novel by

Ken Follett Kenneth Martin Follett, (born 5 June 1949) is a British author of thrillers and historical novels who has sold more than 160 million copies of his works. Many of his books have achieved high ranking on best seller lists. For example, in the ...

, set during the Anarchy period. In the miniseries based on the book King Henry was portrayed by

Clive Wood Clive Wood (born 8 May 1954) is an English actor, known for his television roles in ''Press Gang'' (1989–93), ''The Bill'' (1990), '' London's Burning'' (1996–99), and as King Henry I in ''The Pillars of the Earth'' (2010). His stage roles inc ...

References

Sources

* {{Cultural depictions of English and British monarchs

Henry I Henry I may refer to: 876–1366 * Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936) * Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955) * Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018) * Henry I of France (1008–1060) * Henry I the Long, Margrave of the ...

Henry I of England