Excerpt from Legend of Reading Abbey

There are thus two aspects of this reign, which it is necessary to bring before the reader, the local aspect at Reading and the national aspect. I think it will serve the purpose the better if I first of all deal with the national events.

The most important, as it is the most obvious, fact to bear in mind in considering this reign is that the King, Stephen of Blois, was not king by hereditary right. Both his immediate predecessors had seized the crown to which their elder brother Robert should have succeeded if hereditary right had prevailed, but, in these cases a strong brother had replaced a weak one. Hereditary right of the eldest was clearly not sufficiently established as a result of the Norman conquest to secure succession to the crown whatever might be the circumstances. At later dates, other kings, John, Henry IV, Richard III, Henry VII, William III, George I, were not kings by hereditary right, but in these cases there was some special reason, the personal villainy of the usurping monarchs in causing the death of the rightful sovereign, the political conditions, or the popular demands, which brought about the position. With King Stephen it was not an act of personal villainy, it was not political conditions or popular demands which settled that he was to reign over the newly formed English kingdom for nineteen years. He was the grandson of William the Conqueror, but grand son through his mother Adeliza, daughter Of the Conqueror, and not even the eldest grandson of this branch, for his elder brother Theobald lived and was worthy. Matilda, the daughter of the late king, Henry Beauclerk, claimed the throne as hereditary heir, and by the oaths of the barons, among whom was Stephen, Count of Blois, taken before her father's death. Thus if his two uncles, William Rufus and Henry Beauclerk, had set aside the principle Of hereditary right as between brothers of one family, Stephen set it aside still more violently - in truth the Obstacles to his claim as hereditary heir were overwhelming and yet he not only claimed but obtained the crown and kept it during his life, though after severe struggles. What then were King Stephen's claims and how were they enforced? This question IS a large one, but it is worth a little attention.

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com

This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.