Henry I

Henry I, king of England

Henry I, 1068–1135, king of England (1100–1135), youngest son of William I. He was called Henry Beauclerc because he could write. He quarreled with his elder brothers, William II of England and Robert II, duke of Normandy, and attempted with little success to establish a territorial base for himself on the Continent. When William II was killed, Henry seized the treasury and had himself elected and crowned king while Robert was away on crusade. Henry issued a charter promising to right injustices inflicted by William and to refrain from unjust demands on the church and the barons. He also recalled Anselm from exile. His marriage (1100) to Edith (thereafter known as Matilda), daughter of Malcolm III of Scotland and niece of Edgar Atheling, gained him some popularity with his English (as opposed to Norman) subjects. Robert invaded England in 1101, but the brothers reached an agreement by which Robert renounced his claim to the English throne in return for the promise of a pension and the surrender of Henry's possessions in Normandy. In the succeeding years Henry defeated and banished Robert's leading supporters in England. He then invaded (1105) Normandy, defeated (1106) Robert at Tinchebrai, and became duke of Normandy. In the meantime Henry had become involved in a quarrel with Anselm over the lay investiture of bishops and abbots. In a compromise settlement (1107) the king gave up investiture but retained the right to receive homage from the prelates. Henry's reign continued to be troubled by uprisings in Normandy centering about Robert's son and encouraged by Louis VI of France, who was almost constantly at war with Henry. Henry's only legitimate son, William Atheling, was drowned (1120), and Henry I's second marriage was childless. The latter years of his reign were marked therefore by his attempts to secure the succession for his daughter Matilda. Henry's reign in England was one of order and progress. Royal justice was strengthened and expanded; the Norman legal system gradually fused with the old Anglo-Saxon. The first of the extant pipe rolls and the first appearance of the court of Exchequer date from this reign.

Bibliography

See A. L. Poole, From Domesday Book to Magna Carta (2d ed. 1955); F. Barlow, The Feudal Kingdom of England, 1042–1216 (2d rev. ed. 1962).

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Henry I, king of France

Henry I, c.1008–1060, king of France (1031–60), son and successor of King Robert II. To defend his throne against his mother, his brothers Robert and Eudes, and subsequently against the count of Blois, he secured, at the cost of territorial concessions, the aid of Robert I, duke of Normandy, and of Geoffrey Martel, count of Anjou. After the submission of his brother Robert, Henry unwisely invested him with the duchy of Burgundy, setting up a powerful rival to the French kingdom. He found the chief enemy of his later reign in Robert of Normandy's son William, later William I of England, who successfully resisted two invasions by Henry. Henry was succeeded by his son Philip I.

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Henry I, Spanish king of Castile

Henry I, 1204–17, Spanish king of Castile (1214–17), son and successor of Alfonso VIII. At his death after a short, uneventful reign, his sister Berenguela renounced her rights to the crown in favor of her son, Ferdinand III.

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Henry I, German king

Henry I or Henry the Fowler, 876?–936, German king (919–36), first of the Saxon line and father of Otto I, the first of the Holy Roman emperors. Henry succeeded his father as duke of Saxony in 912. A foe of King Conrad I, who futilely tried to subdue the rebellious Henry, he was nevertheless named (918) by Conrad as his successor. Designated king by Saxon and Franconian nobles in 919, Henry refused to be crowned by the bishops, thus maintaining his independence of the church. As king he immediately turned to restoring monarchical authority, which had been whittled away by the dukes. By 921 he had secured recognition of his royal authority from the dukes of Swabia and Bavaria. In 925 he won Lotharingia from its allegiance to France. Henry also dealt with the Magyar raids, which Conrad had failed to halt. In 924 after a Magyar invasion of Saxony, Henry arranged a nine-year truce and agreed to pay yearly tribute to the Magyars. He used this respite to introduce military reforms in Saxony and Thuringia. Saxon soldiers were trained for mounted combat, and the new efficiency of his army enabled him to take Brandenburg from the Wends. In the marches, or frontier regions, Henry built large fortresses, primarily for military purposes; however, he attracted some permanent settlers in these regions. In 933 the truce with the Magyars ended when Henry refused to pay tribute; he defeated the Magyars in a great battle at Riade, near the Unstrut River. He expanded his frontier at Danish expense in 934. Before his death Henry secured from the nobles the succession of his son as Otto I. His wife, Matilda, founded many monasteries, including Quedlinburg, where she lies buried with her husband. She is a saint of the Roman Catholic Church; her feast is Mar. 14.

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Henry I

 known as Henry Beauclerc (French: “Good Scholar”)

Henry I, miniature from a 14th-century manuscript; in the British Library (Cottonian Claud D11 45 …

(credit: By permission of the British Library)

(born 1069—died Dec. 1, 1135, Lyons-la-Forêt, Normandy) King of England (1100–35) and ruler of Normandy (1106–35). The youngest son of William I, he became king on the death of William II. His eldest brother, Robert Curthose (Robert II), returned from the First Crusade to claim the English throne in 1101; Henry placated him by giving him Normandy, but Robert ruled it badly, and in 1106 Henry seized Normandy and imprisoned his brother. Henry quarreled with Anselm of Canterbury over the issue of investiture (see Investiture Controversy), but they were reconciled in 1107. He maintained control of Normandy, despite attacks by Robert's son, and named his daughter Matilda his heir.