Question 1
Evaluate the interpretations in both of the two passages and explain which you think is more
convincing as an explanation of the significance of the dismissal of Roger of Salisbury.
Passage A
Henry I’s administrative reforms had enhanced the power of the bishops. The dynasty of Roger of Salisbury possessed vast estates. By 1138 the initial enthusiasm for Stephen was cooling. He was not carrying out all his promises. He had disturbed the church and was worrying the barons by taking no notice of their demands for favours. But by the end of 1138 Stephen had dealt with his first problems. The king’s success in secular matters in 1138 explains his temporary firmness in ecclesiastical matters. In 1139, Stephen may have thought that he could divide and rule. Encouraged by his barons, he decided to destroy the over-mighty family of Roger, bishop of Salisbury. Stephen feared this family would change sides if the rumoured Angevin (Matilda’s) invasion occurred and believed that such a concentration of power threatened his security. This action was successful but it alarmed Henry of Winchester. However, the church was divided in opinion. The Council of Winchester broke up without having taken action against Stephen. Stephen had both destroyed his enemies and stifled the church’s resentment. If the king’s suspicions of Roger of Salisbury were justified, he did well to put paid to the danger while he was still strong. Moreover, the disgrace of the bishops and death of Roger brought him treasure and military stores. Some of the booty went to the French king to confirm their alliance: one of the happy consequences of the fall of a powerful family.
Adapted from: Frank Barlow, The Feudal Kingdom of England 1042–1216, published in 1972.
Passage B
On 22nd June 1139 an incident was provoked which gave the king a flimsy pretext for the arrest of Roger, bishop of Salisbury, his nephew, and his son. Roger’s other nephew managed to escape. Bishop Roger and his family had, until June 1139, a firm grasp upon the country’s central administration. Their loyalty to Stephen was suspect: an Angevin attempt on England was widely expected in 1139 (it occurred at the end of September) and Stephen’s supporters feared that bishop Roger and his family were planning to help Matilda. There may have been good grounds for the suspicion which attached to the members of this distinguished family of royal servants and administrators, and their defection to the empress would have been a very serious matter for Stephen. There was justification for some action to prevent such a defection but the action taken was clumsy and brutal. This unfortunate business had two major results. One was that the administrative structure so painstakingly built up under Henry I was severely shaken and the effective government of the country put in jeopardy. The other result was the alienation of the church, led by Stephen’s brother, Henry of Blois, who summoned Stephen to appear at a legatine council. There was no reconciliation, no settlement. The ‘arrest of the bishops’ completed the break between Stephen and Henry and probably convinced Miles of Gloucester that there was no future for him with Stephen. If it was true for Miles, it was probably also true for other old servants of Henry I.
Adapted from: H. A. Cronne, The Reign of Stephen, published in 1970.
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Answer
