1140s in England

Events from the1140s inEngland.

Incumbents

• Monarch–Stephen(to 8 April 1141),Matilda(8 April to 1 November 1141), thenStephen

Events

• 1140
  • December –The Anarchy:EarlRanulf of ChestercapturesLincoln.
  • Dryburgh Abbeyfounded.
• 1141
  • 2 February – The Anarchy: At theFirst Battle of Lincoln,Robert, 1st Earl of GloucesterandEmpress Matildawrest control of the throne fromKing Stephen,who is captured and imprisoned.
  • 8 April – The Anarchy: Matilda is proclaimed "Lady of the English".
  • 24 June – The Anarchy: Matilda is forced to fleeWestminsterduring a royal banquet, and flees toOxford.
  • July – The Anarchy:Matilda I of Boulogne,wife of Stephen, recaptures London.
  • 14 September – The Anarchy:Rout of Winchester:Robert of Gloucester captured by forces loyal to Stephen during fighting atWinchester.
  • 1 November – The Anarchy: Stephen and Robert exchanged as prisoners ending the reign of Matilda.
• 1142
  • Matilda grants the church ofOakley, Buckinghamshire,with its chapels ofBrill,BoarstallandAddingrove,to the monks of thePriory of St Frideswide, Oxford.
  • Matilda's sonHenrycomes to England for the first time.
  • In 1142, a group ofAnglo-Normanindependent crusadersled by William and Ralph Vitalus helped KingAfonso I Henriquesof Portugal on a failedSiege of Lisbon (1142)before continuing on their way to the Holy Land.
  • 26 September – The Anarchy: Stephen captures Oxford, and besieges Matilda inside the castle.
  • December – The Anarchy: Matilda escapes fromOxford Castleacross the snow in a white cape for camouflage, according toHenry of Huntingdon.
• 1143
  • 1 July – The Anarchy:Battle of Wilton–Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester,defeats Stephen atWilton.
  • The Anarchy:Geoffrey de Mandeville,a supporter of Matilda, is deprived of his castles inEssex,but subsequently capturesElyand campaigns inCambridgeshire.
  • Robert of Kettonmakes the first European translation of theQur'anintoLatin.
• 1144
  • 11 February –Robert of Chestercompletes the translation ofBook on the Composition of AlchemyfromArabicto Latin. It is the first book in Europe to describealchemy.
  • 22 March – A youngapprentice,William of Norwich,is murdered, a crime attributed to theJewsby theNorwichmob, the first knownmedievalaccusation ofblood libel against Jews.
  • 28 November–24 December – theSiege of Edessaby Muslims led byImad ad-Din Zengieliminates the Crusader principality ofOutremer,the news causing the pope to preach a new Crusade.
  • Matilda's husbandGeoffrey V of Anjou,completes the conquest ofNormandy.
• 1145
  • The Anarchy: Stephen capturesFaringdon Castle.
  • Woburn Abbeyfounded.
  • Robert of Chestermakes the first translation of analgebratext from Arabic into Latin.
• 1146
  • The Anarchy: Ranulf of Chester is captured, but released after surrendering his castles.
  • Many knights and barons leave England to take part in theSecond Crusade.
• 1147
  • The Anarchy: Henry arrives in England to fight for Matilda, but is defeated in skirmishes, and returns to Normandy.
  • The Anarchy: Ranulf of Chester lays waste to the land aroundCoventry,but fails to capture the city itself.
  • Late Spring – An expedition of Crusaders leaves fromDartmouth, Devon,for theSecond Crusadeto theHoly Land,Englishmen together with forces fromFlanders,Frisia,Scotlandand some German polities. Leadership is provided byHervey de Glanvill,a Norman nobleman and constable ofSuffolk,who leads a fleet of some 200 ships. Bad weather forces them to take refuge at the mouth of theDouroin Portugal on 16 June.
  • 24 October – English crusaders captureLisbonfrom theMoors.
• 1148
  • February – The Anarchy: Empress Matilda forced to return toNormandy.
• 1149
  • 22 May – KingDavid I of Scotlandknights Henry, and cedes northernLancashireto Ranulf of Chester, in return for control ofCarlisle.
  • KingDavid I of Scotlandattempts towrest controlof theBishopric of Durhamand theArchbishopric of Yorkfrom Stephen, but fails.

Births

• 1140
  • William FitzRalph,futureSheriff of NottinghamandseneschalofNormandy
• 1146
  • William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke,soldier and statesman (died1219)
• 1147
  • Hugh de Kevelioc, 3rd Earl of Chester(died1181)

Deaths

• 1140
  • 6 February –Thurstan,Archbishop of York(born c. 1070 in Normandy)
• 1141
  • Aubrey de Vere,Lord Great Chamberlain(born1062)
• 1142
  • Orderic Vitalis,chronicler (born1075)
• 1143
  • William of Malmesbury,historian (born1080)
• 1144
  • Geoffrey de Mandeville, 1st Earl of Essex
• 1147
  • 31 October –Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester,politician (born c.1090)
• 1148
  • 3 January –Anselm of St Saba,abbot of Bury St Edmunds (born 1136 in Italy)
  • 6 January –William de Warenne, 3rd Earl of Surrey(born1119;killed on crusade)
  • 30 January (approximate date) –Serlo (abbot of Cirencester)
  • Gilbert de Clare, 1st Earl of Pembroke(born c.1100)