Henry I
Henry I (c.1068-1135) was the son of William the Conqueror, and succeeded to the throne when his brother, William Rufus, died under suspicious/ ludicrous circumstances. Rufus was struck by an arrow fired by Sir Walter Tirel that rebounded off a tree trunk whilst hunting in the New Forest. Henry had his father’s ruthlessness, but proved himself an effective ruler. He saw off several rebellions led by his vainglorious and disloyal older brother, Robert Curthouse, who had also rebelled twice against William the Conqueror. Henry utterly destroyed Robert’s army at the Battle of Tinchebrai, and imprisoned him in Cardiff Castle.
Henry was frequently called away from England to attend to matters in Normandy, but developed a system of bureaucracy that ensured England could be governed effectively by others in his absence, which set the tone for the reigns of his successors. Tragedy struck Henry in 1120, however, when his son and heir, William, was drowned in the White Ship disaster, leaving him to name his daughter, Matilda, as his successor. His death brought about a bloody civil war over the succession, despite his retainers swearing oaths to support Matilda. This period of internal strife is known as The Anarchy.
Described by the chronicler Henry of Huntingdon as ‘great in wisdom, profound in counsel, famous for his far-sightedness, outstanding in arms, distinguished for his deeds, remarkable for his wealth’, Henry still suffered a truly inglorious end. Like his father, Henry was very fond of hunting, and in November 1135 he went hunting in Lyons-la-Forêt, France, and seemed to be in good health. He sat down to dinner, where he ate ‘a surfeit of lampreys [an eel-like fish]’, which he loved despite his physicians’ warnings. Unfortunately, this killed him: Henry is most famous for dying from ‘a surfeit of lampreys’.