Stephen, King of England in the context of "David I of Scotland"

The Angevin Empire (/ˈændʒɪvɪn/; French: Empire Plantagenêt) was the collection of territories held by the House of Plantagenet during the 12th and 13th centuries, when they ruled over an area covering roughly all of present-day England, half of France, and parts of Ireland and Wales, and claiming overlordship and some influence over the remaining parts of Wales, Scotland and Ireland. It may be described as an early example of a composite monarchy. The empire was established by Henry II of England, who succeeded his father Geoffrey as duke of Normandy and count of Anjou (from the latter of which the term Angevin is derived). Henry married Eleanor of Aquitaine in 1152, acquiring the Duchy of Aquitaine, and inherited his mother Empress Matilda's claim to the English throne, succeeding his rival Stephen in 1154. Although their title of highest rank came from the Kingdom of England, the Plantagenets held court primarily on the continent at Angers in Anjou and at Chinon in Touraine.

The influence and power of the Angevin kings of England brought them into conflict with the kings of France of the House of Capet, to whom they also owed feudal homage for their French possessions, bringing in a period of rivalry between the dynasties. Despite the extent of Angevin rule, Henry's son King John was defeated in the Anglo-French War (1213–1214) by Philip II of France following the Battle of Bouvines. John lost control of most of his continental possessions, apart from Guyenne and Gascony in southern Aquitaine. This defeat set the scene for further conflicts between England and France, leading up to the Hundred Years' War (1337–1453), in which the Plantagenets re-established dominion over much of western, central, and northern France before losing their possessions again, this time permanently.

The House of Normandy (Norman: Maison de Nouormandie [mɛ.zɔ̃ d̪e nɔʁ.mɛnde]) was a noble family originating from the Duchy of Normandy. The House of Normandy's lineage began with the Scandinavian Rollo who founded the Duchy of Normandy in 911.

The House of Normandy includes members who were dukes of Normandy, counts of Rouen, as well as kings of England following the Norman conquest of England. It lasted until Stephen of the French House of Blois seized the Duchy of Normandy in 1135. The house emerged from the union between the Viking Rollo (first ruler of Normandy) and Poppa of Bayeux, a West Frankish noblewoman. William the Conqueror and his heirs down through 1135 were members of this dynasty.

The Angevins (/ˈændʒɪvɪnz/; "of/from Anjou") were a royal house of French origin that ruled England and Ireland and in France in the 12th and early 13th centuries; its monarchs were Henry II, Richard I and John. Henry II won control of a vast assemblage of lands in western Europe that would last for 80 years and would retrospectively be referred to as the Angevin Empire. As a political entity this was structurally different from the preceding Norman and subsequent Plantagenet realms. Geoffrey of Anjou became Duke of Normandy in 1144 and died in 1151. In 1152, his heir, Henry, added Aquitaine by virtue of his marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine. Henry also inherited the claim of his mother, Empress Matilda, the daughter of King Henry I of England and Matilda of Scotland (who was also the remaining descendant of the royal House of Wessex), to the English throne, to which Henry II succeeded in 1154 following the death of Matilda's cousin Stephen.

In 1189, Henry was succeeded by his third son, Richard, whose reputation for martial prowess won him the epithet "Cœur de Lion" or "Lionheart". He was born and raised in England but spent very little time there during his adult life, perhaps as little as six months. Despite this Richard remains an enduring iconic figure both in England and in France, and is one of very few kings of England remembered by his nickname as opposed to regnal number.

The Anarchy was a civil war in England and Normandy between 1138 and 1153 which resulted in a widespread breakdown in law and order. The conflict was a war of succession precipitated by the accidental death of William Adelin—the only legitimate son of King Henry I—who drowned in the White Ship disaster of 1120. Henry sought to be succeeded by his daughter, Empress Matilda, but was only partially successful in convincing the nobility to support her. On Henry's death in 1135, his nephew Stephen of Blois seized the throne with the help of his brother Henry of Blois, who was the bishop of Winchester. King Stephen's early reign saw fierce fighting with disloyal English barons, rebellious Welsh leaders, and Scottish invaders. Following a major rebellion in the southwest of England, Matilda invaded in 1139 with the help of her half-brother Robert of Gloucester.

In the initial years of civil war, neither side achieved a decisive advantage; Matilda came to control southwest England and much of the Thames Valley, while Stephen remained in control of the southeast. Barons who refused to support either side held much of the country. The castles of the period were easily defensible, so the fighting was mostly attrition warfare comprising sieges, raiding and skirmishing. Armies mainly consisted of knights and infantry, many of them mercenaries. In 1141 Stephen was captured following the Battle of Lincoln, causing a collapse in his authority over most of the country. When Matilda attempted to be crowned queen, she was forced instead to retreat from London by hostile crowds; shortly afterwards, Robert of Gloucester was captured by Stephen's wife, Matilda of Boulogne, at the rout of Winchester. The two sides agreed to a prisoner exchange, swapping the captives Stephen and Robert. Stephen then almost captured Matilda in 1142 during the Siege of Oxford, but she escaped from Oxford Castle across the frozen Thames to safety.

Matilda I of Boulogne (c. 1105 – 3 May 1152) was Countess of Boulogne in her own right from 1125 and Queen of England from the accession of her husband, King Stephen, in 1135 until her death in 1152. She supported Stephen in his struggle for the English throne against their mutual cousin Empress Matilda. She played an unusually active role for a woman of the period when her husband was captured, and proved herself an effective general who managed to force the Empress to release Stephen. Under the agreement that settled the civil war, the Queen's children did not inherit the English throne but her three surviving children ruled Boulogne in turn as Eustace IV, William I, and Marie I.

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.