Adela of Normandy, of Blois, or of England (c. 1067 – 8 March 1137), also known as Saint Adela in the Catholic Church, was a daughter of William the Conqueror and Matilda of Flanders. She later became the countess of Blois, Chartres, and Meaux by marriage to Stephen II of Blois. Her husband greatly benefited from the increased social status and prestige that came with a marriage into such a wealthy and powerful family. She was regent of Blois during the absence of her spouse in 1096–1100 and 1101–02, and during the minority of her son from 1102 until 1120. Her marriage also laid the groundwork for a period of extended strife in the Anglo Norman lands. Adela was the mother of King Stephen of England whose taking of the throne in preference to her niece Empress Matilda led to the civil war known as The Anarchy.
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Adela of Normandy in the context of Stephen of Blois
Stephen (1092 or 1096 – 25 October 1154), often referred to as Stephen of Blois, was King of England from 22 December 1135 to his death in 1154. He was Count of Boulogne jure uxoris from 1125 until 1147 and Duke of Normandy from 1135 until 1144. His reign was marked by the Anarchy, a civil war with his cousin and rival, the Empress Matilda, whose son, Henry II, succeeded Stephen as the first of the Angevin kings of England.
Stephen was born in the County of Blois in central France as the fourth son of Stephen-Henry, Count of Blois, and Adela, daughter of William the Conqueror. His father died as a crusader while Stephen was still young, and he was brought up by his mother. Placed into the court of his uncle Henry I of England, Stephen rose in prominence and was granted extensive lands. He married Matilda of Boulogne, inheriting additional estates in Kent and Boulogne that made the couple one of the wealthiest in England. Stephen narrowly escaped drowning with Henry I's son, William Adelin, in the sinking of the White Ship in 1120; William's death left the succession of the English throne open to challenge. When Henry died in 1135, Stephen quickly crossed the English Channel and took the throne with the help of his brother Henry, Bishop of Winchester, arguing that the preservation of order across the kingdom took priority over his earlier oaths to support the claim of Henry I's daughter, the Empress Matilda.
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Henry of Blois (c. 1096 – 8 August 1171), often known as Henry of Winchester, was Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey from 1126, and Bishop of Winchester from 1129 to his death.
He was the son of Stephen II, Count of Blois and Adela of Normandy, a younger brother of Stephen, King of England, and a grandson of William the Conqueror. Henry was also a major patron of the arts, funding the Winchester Bible and the font in Winchester Cathedral. He founded the Hospital of St Cross and built much of Wolvesey Castle.
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