After that it was disputed between William's grandchildren, Matilda, whose husband Geoffrey was the founder of the House of Plantagenet, and Stephen of the House of Blois (or Blesevin dynasty).
↑ Matilda's inheritance was usurped by her cousin Stephen of England in 1135. She recovered Normandy, but ruled in England only in 1141 as Lady of the English. However, Matilda maintained her dynastic rights until she abdicated them in favour of her son Henry II of England in 1153 following the Treaty of Wallingford.
Stephen, often referred to as Stephen of Blois, was King of England from 22 December 1135 to his death in 1154. A younger son of the Count of Blois, 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.
William I, usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman monarch of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 1087. He was a descendant of Rollo and was Duke of Normandy from 1035 onward. By 1060, following a long struggle to establish his throne, his hold on Normandy was secure. In 1066, following the death of Edward the Confessor, William invaded England, leading an army of Normans to victory over the Anglo-Saxon forces of Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings, and suppressed subsequent English revolts in what has become known as the Norman Conquest. The rest of his life was marked by struggles to consolidate his hold over England and his continental lands, and by difficulties with his eldest son, Robert Curthose.
Geoffrey V, called the Handsome, the Fair or Plantagenet, was the count of Anjou, Touraine and Maine by inheritance from 1129, and also the duke of Normandy by conquest from 1144. His marriage to Empress Matilda, daughter of King Henry I of England, led to the centuries-long reign of the Plantagenet dynasty in England. The name "Plantagenet" was taken from Geoffrey's epithet. Geoffrey's ancestral domain of Anjou gave rise to the name Angevin, and what became known as the Angevin Empire in the 12th century.
The White Ship was a vessel that sank in the English Channel near the Normandy coast off Barfleur, on 25 November 1120. Only one of approximately 300 people aboard survived, a butcher from Rouen. Those who drowned included William Adelin, the only in-wedlock son and heir of King Henry I of England, his half-sister Matilda of Perche, his half-brother Richard, Richard d'Avranches, 2nd Earl of Chester, and Geoffrey Ridel. William Adelin's death led to a succession crisis and a period of civil war in England from 1135–53 known as the Anarchy.
Robert the Magnificent was the duke of Normandy from 1027 until his death in 1035.
The Duchy of Normandy grew out of the 911 Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte between King Charles III of West Francia and the Viking leader Rollo. The duchy was named for its inhabitants, the Normans.
In the Middle Ages, the Duke of Normandy was the ruler of the Duchy of Normandy in north-western France. The duchy arose out of a grant of land to the Viking leader Rollo by the French king Charles III in 911. In 924 and again in 933, Normandy was expanded by royal grant. Rollo's male-line descendants continued to rule it until 1135. In 1202 the French king Philip II declared Normandy a forfeited fief and by 1204 his army had conquered it. It remained a French royal province thereafter, still called the Duchy of Normandy, but only occasionally granted to a duke of the royal house as an apanage.
Richard II, called the Good, was the duke of Normandy from 996 until 1026.
Richard I, also known as Richard the Fearless, was the count of Rouen from 942 to 996. Dudo of Saint-Quentin, whom Richard commissioned to write the "De moribus et actis primorum Normanniae ducum", called him a dux. However, this use of the word may have been in the context of Richard's renowned leadership in war, and not as a reference to a title of nobility. Richard either introduced feudalism into Normandy or he greatly expanded it. By the end of his reign, the most important Norman landholders held their lands in feudal tenure.
The Angevin Empire describes the possessions of the Angevin kings of England who held lands in England and France during the 12th and 13th centuries. Its rulers were Henry II, Richard I (r. 1189–1199), and John (r. 1199–1216). The Angevin Empire is an early example of a composite state.
William I Guillaume de Boulogne was the count of Boulogne and earl of Surrey jure uxoris from 1153 until his death. He was the second son of King Stephen of England, and Countess Matilda I of Boulogne.
Robert II or Robert the Dane, Archbishop of Rouen, and Count of Évreux was a powerful and influential prelate, and a family member of and supporter of five dukes of Normandy.
William Longsword was the second ruler of Normandy, from 927 until his assassination in 942.
William FitzEmpress was the youngest of the three sons of Empress Matilda and Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou. His brothers were Henry II of England and Geoffrey, Count of Nantes.
The House of Blois is a lineage derived from the Frankish nobility, whose principal members were often named Theobald.
The House of Tosny was an important noble family in 10th and 11th century Normandy, though it did not include any comtes or vicomtes. Its founder was Raoul I of Tosny.
William Martel was a steward of the royal households of King Henry I and King Stephen of England. He was castellan of Sherborne Castle until 1143.
William Paynel was an Anglo-Norman nobleman and baron.
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