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Summary

The first battle of Lincoln fought on the 2nd February 1141 between Stephen King of England and the earls Ranulf and Robert, supporters of Matilda (the rival claimant for the throne).

Full description

A battle fought on the 2nd February 1141 between Stephen King of England and the earls Ranulf and Robert, supporters of Matilda (the rival claimant for the throne). Stephen was officially king of England and had been since the year 1135, but was opposed by Matilda, who with the assistance of her half brother Robert of Gloucester in 1139 seized control of Bristol and much of the West Country. In 1140 Ranulf of Gernons the earl of Chester, and his half brother William of Roumare joined the rebellion against Stephen and captured Lincoln Castle. The capture of the castle was achieved by trickery. Ranulf and William sent their wives on a friendly visit to the castle and when Ranulf appeared with three escorts, ostensibly to escort the women home, he was readily admitted. Once inside however, Ranulf and his men overpowered the guards, seized control of the gatehouse and admitted William who then arrived with a small force of knights to seize control of both the castle and the city of Lincoln itself. Stephen, after Christmas, assembled an army and marched on Lincoln. He seized control of the town and laid siege to the castle still occupied by Ranulf of Gernons and his brother. Ranulf however managed to escape during the night and sped back to Chester to raise an army of his own. He made contact with Robert of Gloucester. Stephen made plans to retake the castle, while the earls of Chester and Gloucester combined forces and marched on Lincoln to raise the siege. King Stephen decided to fight. The core of Stephen's force was composed of some Breton and Flemish mercenaries, under the command of William of Ypres and Alan of Dinan respectively but against him was the combined force of the two earls Ranulf of Gernons of Chester and Robert of Gloucester together with a large force of Welsh foot soldiers. Stephen sent troops forward to prevent the army of the two earls crossing a nearby ford, but the opposition charged his lines, seized the ford and proceeded to engage the main body of his army. The two earls had the advantage of numbers and the tide of battle swung in their favour. Both William of Ypres and Alan of Dinan withdrew from the field and a number of other Norman and English knights then abandoned Stephen as well. Stephen fought on and eventually had to surrender to Robert of Gloucester. Robert handed Stephen over to his half sister Matilda. The citizens of Lincoln, immediately following the king's defeat, abandoned their homes and fled towards the River Witham seeking to escape by boat across the water. Many were drowned when the boats capsized in the general panic to escape. Subsequent to this battle, Stephen was taken to Gloucester before being imprisoned in Bristol Castle. Matilda travelled to Winchester where the assembled clergy hailed her as the Lady of the English before proceeding to London where she began arrangements for her coronation as Queen of England. Matilda's general arrogance and petulant demands for money so angered the citizens of London that they rose up against her and drove her out. Stephen's wife raised an army herself, and managed to defeat and capture Robert of Gloucester at the battle of Winchester. Matilda was forced to release Stephen in exchange for her brother Robert. {1}{2}{3}

<1> HILL, J.W.F., 1948, Medieval Lincoln (Bibliographic Reference). SLI1087.

<2> JONES M, 1993, LINCOLN HISTORY AND GUIDE, p.20 (Bibliographic Reference). SLI1075.

<3> Lindley, P. (ed.), 2004, The Early History of Lincoln Castle, pp.66 - 78 (Bibliographic Reference). SLI10788.

Monument Types

• BATTLEFIELD (2 February 1141, Medieval - 1141 AD to 1141 AD)

Sources and further reading

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