Henry I - Youngest Son of the Conqueror Quiz

Answer: 3

The eldest brother was Robert who became Duke of Normandy. The second brother was Richard who was killed in a hunting accident in about 1075. The third brother was William who became William II known as William Rufus.

Answer: Matilda of Flanders

Adela was Henry I's sister who married Stephen of Blois, the father of the future King Stephen. Constance was another sister who married the Duke of Brittany and Sybilla was Henry I's sister-in-law. She is the one that married Robert, his eldest brother.

Answer: It was because he could write.

Henry was an unusual monarch in that he didn't have to rely totally upon church educated clerks to transact all his business without him being able to check it.

Answer: Matilda

Matilda was thus the name of his mother - Matilda of Flanders, the name of his wife - Matilda of Scotland who was previously called Edith, and the name of his daughter - Matilda the Empress of Germany.

Answer: She was descended from the Saxon English royal family.

Matilda was the daughter of Malcolm III of Scotland and St. Margaret of the English Royal Line. Thus her line can be traced back to Edmund Ironside and thus ultimately to King Alfred. This meant that the children that Henry I and Matilda had would unite the Saxon and Norman royal blood.

Answer: Yorkshire

He was born in September 1068 at Selby in Yorkshire. He died at St.Denis Le Fermont near Gisors on the 1st of December, 1135. His death is often attributed to eating too many eels. His body was buried in Reading Abbey.

Answer: He went to Winchester to demand the crown and the other royal treasures.

The treasurer, William de Bretevil, at first refused to admit Henry to Winchester and he reminded him that his elder brothers Robert and William had signed a treaty each making the other the heir to the kingdoms of Normandy and England if they died first. Under threat of death the treasurer finally handed over the keys.

Answer: Westminster Abbey

The ceremony took place on the 5th August, 1100, only three days after his brother William's death. Robert, his other brother, was still on his way back from the Crusade to the Holy Land.

Answer: He assisted the invasion of England that was made on behalf of Robert.

Henry had ensured that the Scots would not invade by marrying King Malcolm's daughter. Robert de Belleme was caught and exiled to Normandy. Later he was taken in battle and had to spend the rest of his life in imprisonment.

Answer: Count Fulk of Anjou

Henry's aim was to unite the adjacent territories of Normandy and Anjou. Unfortunately his son was drowned in the tragedy of "The White Ship" in the English Channel. Later Henry's daughter, Matilda, was married to Geoffrey of Anjou.

Answer: William

Some reports suggest that the tragedy happened because everyone on board the ship was drunk. The only survivor was a butcher who reputedly told this story to the King.

Answer: She was his second wife.

Adelicia (sometimes spelled Adeliza) married Henry on 29th January, 1122 in Westminster Abbey. However, she remained childless throughout their marriage. After Henry's death she married the Earl of Arundel.

Answer: Henry defeated Robert and became Duke of Normandy as well as King of England.

The battle was decisive. Henry was finally undisputed as King of England and his brother Robert was locked up for all the remaining years of his life. Henry's life did not become easier because he now had to defend Normandy as well as England.

Answer: Anselm

Henry had little time for the Church and was said to have chosen his chaplain on account of the rapid speed at which he said the mass. Henry loved money and was responsible for the keeping of the accounts which became known as the Exchequer.

Answer: More than 20

It is said that he fathered 26 acknowledged illegitimate children. There may have been more ! However, he had only two legitimate children - William, who died in the White Ship and Matilda, the Empress whose second marriage to Geoffrey of Anjou was deeply unpopular in England.

The Norman barons were not keen on the idea of a female monarch and hence we have the disputed succession between Stephen, Henry's nephew, and Matilda, his only remaining legitimate child.