King Stephen of England (c. 1092/6 – 25 October 1154) was a grandson of William the Conqueror, and has been depicted in various cultural works. He was

King of England The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies (the Bailiw ...

from 1135 to his death, and also the

Count of Boulogne Count of Boulogne was a historical title in the Kingdom of France. The city of Boulogne-sur-Mer became the centre of the county of Boulogne during the ninth century. Little is known of the early counts, but the first holder of the title is recor ...

jure uxoris ''Jure uxoris'' (a Latin phrase meaning "by right of (his) wife"), citing . describes a title of nobility used by a man because his wife holds the office or title ''suo jure'' ("in her own right"). Similarly, the husband of an heiress could becom ...

''. His reign was marked by a civil war with his cousin and rival the

Empress Matilda Empress Matilda ( 7 February 110210 September 1167), also known as the Empress Maude, was one of the claimants to the English throne during the civil war known as the Anarchy. The daughter of King Henry I of England, she moved to Germany as ...

, in a period called

the Anarchy The Anarchy was a civil war in England and Normandy between 1138 and 1153, which resulted in a widespread breakdown in law and order. The conflict was a war of succession precipitated by the accidental death of William Adelin, the only legiti ...

which has been dramatized by Beth Flintoff in her play ''Matilda the Empress'', first performed in November 2017 at

St James's Church, Reading St James's Church is a Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic church situated in the centre of the town of Reading, Berkshire, Reading in the England, English county of Berkshire. The church is located next to Reading Abbey ruins, between the Forbu ...

. Stephen was succeeded by Matilda's son, Henry II, the first of the Angevin kings.

Popular fiction

Early appearances by Stephen in fiction included the novels ''For King or Empress'' (1904) by C. W. Whistler and ''Armadin'' by Alfred Bowker (1908). Stephen appeared in the 1921 novel '' The Fool'' by

H. C. Bailey Henry Christopher Bailey (1 February 1878 – 24 March 1961) was an English author of detective fiction. Life Bailey was born in London. He studied Classics at Oxford University, earning a B.A. in 1901.William L. DeAndrea, ''Encyclopedia Myster ...

.McGarry, Daniel D., White, Sarah Harriman, ''Historical Fiction Guide: Annotated Chronological, Geographical, and Topical List of Five Thousand Selected Historical Novels''. Scarecrow Press, New York, 1963 (pgs.64-65). The 1958 novel ''To Keep This Oath'' by Hebe Weenolsen centres on the power struggle between Stephen and the future Henry II. Stephen is a prominent character in Sharon Kay Penman's 1995 novel ''

When Christ and His Saints Slept ''When Christ and His Saints Slept'' is a historical novel written by Sharon Kay Penman, published in 1994. It is the first of Penman's Plantagenet trilogy, (ultimately five books) followed by '' Time and Chance'', ''Devil's Brood'', '' Lionhea ...

,'' portrayed as a loving husband and good warrior, but an indecisive monarch who cannot control his barons. King Stephen is depicted in Ellis Peters' historical detective series '' Brother Cadfael'', which take place during Stephen's reign. He appears in two of them. ''One Corpse Too Many'' (1979), set in August 1138, takes place against the background of Stephen's conquest of

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...

and his decision - described as "uncharacteristically harsh" - to execute all members of the former garrison which had held the city for Empress Maud. In ''Brother Cadfael's Penance'' (1994) much of the plot takes place during and in the immediate aftermath of an abortive peace conference organised by the Church in November 1145 in an effort to reconcile Stephen with his cousin Matilda and end the civil war. Cecelia Holland's 1971 novel ''The Earl'', also published as ''Hammer for Princes'', depicts the old and quite tragic King Stephen, facing the death of his own son Eustace and the inevitability of recognizing Prince Henry, his rival's son, as his heir.'' Stephen is portrayed in Ken Follett's #1 ''New York Times'' Bestseller '' The Pillars of the Earth'' (1990). He only appears a few times in the historical fiction novel, and is depicted as more of a warrior than a king. The novel was re-released in 2010.

The Janna Mysteries ''The Janna Mysteries'', a medieval crime series by Felicity Pulman, follows Janna (Johanna is her full name) and her quest to find her father in order to seek vengeance for the death of her mother. The novels are set in England in the 1140s du ...

Felicity Pulman Felicity Pulman (born 1945) is an Australian author with an interest in crime, history and fantasy. Her novels include ''Ghost Boy'', the ''Shalott trilogy'' and ''A Ring Through'', as well as her medieval young adult crime series ''The Janna Mys ...

posits a love-affair between Matilda and Stephen. Stephen is also depicted as a young lover of Matilda in ''The Fatal Crown'', by Ellen Jones. Stephen appears in the historical thriller ''Winter Siege'' (2014) by Ariana Franklin and Samantha Norman.

Film and television

Stephen has rarely been portrayed on screen. He was played by Frederick Treves in the 1978 BBC TV series '' The Devil's Crown'', which dramatised the reigns of Henry II, Richard I and John, and by Michael Grandage in "One Corpse Too Many," the first episode of the

television adaptation An adaptation is a transfer of a work of art from one style, culture or medium to another. Some common examples are: * Film adaptation, a story from another work, adapted into a film (it may be a novel, non-fiction like journalism, autobiography, ...

of the ''Cadfael'' novels (1994). In the TV mini-series adaption of '' The Pillars of the Earth'', (which premiered in the US and Canada in July 2010) King Stephen was played by Tony Curran."Don't Miss: The Pillars of the Earth"
'' New York Post'', July 25, 2010. Retrieved 14 April 2020. In the mini-series Stephen is depicted in a more villainous role than in the books. In the mini-series he is responsible for the shipwreck and murder of the future king and heir to the throne of England, which in the book is caused by barons who want a weaker king they can control. Stephen then lies and swears an oath of allegiance to Maud the daughter of the dying king. But as soon as the king dies Stephen usurps the throne, beginning a bloody civil war with Maud, contesting for the crown. Stephen is haunted by visits from the ghost of the betrayed King of England who shows him visions of the downfall of the pretender.

References

{{Cultural depictions of English and British monarchs Stephen Stephen Stephen, King of England