Henry I (Penguin Monarchs): The Father of His People

by Edmund King

The youngest of William the Conqueror's sons, Henry I (1100-35) was never meant to be king, but he was destined to become one of the greatest of all medieval monarchs, both through his own ruthlessness and intelligence and through the dynastic legacy of his daughter Matilda, who began the Plantagenet line that would rule England until 1485. A self-consciously diligent and thoughtful king, his rule was looked back on as the real post-invasion re-founding of England as a new realm, integrated into the continent, wealthy and stable.

Edmund King's wonderful portrait of Henry shows him as a strikingly charismatic and thoughtful man. His life was dogged by a single great disaster, the death of his teenage heir William in the White Ship disaster. Despite astonishing numbers of illegitimate sons, Henry was now left with only a daughter. This fact would shape the rest of the 12th century and beyond.

Genres: History, Biography, Nonfiction, Royalty, Medieval History, British Literature, Medieval

144 pages, Paperback

First published July 26, 2018

About the author

Edmund King is Emeritus Professor of Medieval History at the University of Sheffield. He took his bachelor and doctoral degrees at the University of Cambridge, where he was a student of M. M. Postan. He joined the History department at Sheffield in 1966 and has held a chair since 1989.

He has held visiting fellowships at the Huntington Library, USA (where he was a Fulbright Scholar), and at All Souls College, Oxford, and he has taught also at the universities of Connecticut and Michigan in the USA.

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite the title for a man who had over 20 undisputed illegitimate children and likely several others. Henry did pretty much go about single-handedly fathering the nation. William of Malmesbury tells us that, so he hears, Henry had sex “from the love of begetting children, not to gratify his passions.” A keen procreative enthusiasm that seems to have gone entirely uncurbed.

Henry comes off like a character from fiction here, in the sense that he’s rather fully realized. It’s not surprising that he’s a lot more so than his brother William Rufus, since we know so much more about Henry. (So much of what’s strong or weak in these volumes is to do with the monarchs themselves, and their lives and records. It must have been exciting, if intimidating, to receive the commission from Penguin for a book on Richard III, Henry VIII or Elizabeth I, but perhaps less so for others.) And there’s so much of narrative and historical interest in the orderly reign of Henry Beauclerc, including an interesting flip in the relationship between England and Normandy in the space of the generation between William the Conqueror and his youngest son: from a Norman duke seizing England to an English king seizing Normandy. And of course, there’s also the king-killing feast of lampreys.

Unlike Gillingham’s account of William Rufus, which mostly refuses to engage with the great story of the king’s life (the suspicious circumstances of his death), here King (an author born and certainly named for this writing assignment) handles rather well the great tragic story of Henry Beauclerc’s life: the loss of his son and heir William in the sinking of the White Ship in the English Channel, an event after which Henry was said never to have smiled again. King does the best he can and for the most part succeeds at sketching the subsequent events of the Anarchy within the space limitations of this short book. Despite all the illegitimate children, Henry was actually short of legitimate ones, and the loss of William led to something of a scramble, as Henry controversially named as his heir his daughter the empress Matilda, mother of the eventual Henry II and one of the many, many Matildas of the period. (If you’re not a William or a Henry in the twelfth century, there’s a good chance you’re a Matilda).

[Carolyn Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

The latest installment in the Penguin Monarchs series is a short biography of King Henry I, the youngest and most successful son of King William the Conqueror. Both Henry and his elder sister Adela (the mother of Henry's successor King Stephen) were born after the Norman Conquest of 1066 and may have viewed themselves as having a special status as the children of a reigning King of England. The author discusses the King's rise to power in detail then focuses on his administration and legacy. His grandson Henry II surrounded himself with long lived advisors who were familar with Henry I's reign.
The book also provides a detailed analysis of Henry I's queen, Edith of Scotland, who is described as "a tactile woman" who comforted people who were grieving the loss of family members and washed the feet of lepers (to the disgust of her younger brother, King David I of Scotland). The author notes parallels between Edith's public image and that of Diana, Princess of Wales. I would have been interested to read more about Henry I's illegimate children as only the most historically significant ones are named in the biography. A good introduction to Henry I and Edith of Scotland and their impact on English history and the subsequent royal family.

[Sally O'wheel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting. Henry was the youngest son of William the Conk. His older brothers, Robert and William had fought over the crown of England and Normandy. William was killed in a hunting accident ??? in the New Forest and Henry took the throne. Robert was a bit of problem and spent quite a lot of time going on Crusades to the Middle East. William had him locked up so Henry was free to take the crown. He married Edith who was a Scottish princess, descended from Alfred and that lot - so not a Viking. She changed her name to Matilda. They had two children - although Henry had lots of kids on the wrong side of the blanket. The son died in a shipping accident and Henry wanted his daughter to be the next in line. She was also Matilda. There were Matildas everywhere in those years. It must have been the most popular name for girls. When he died, after a longish and fairly stable reign, the crown was seized by Stephen, who was the son of William the Conk's daughter. Stephen and Matilda were both grandchildren of William the Conk. Then there were battles. The next book in the Penguin Monarch series is Stephen but I am going to read one about Matilda before I read Stephen's.

Interesting trivia. Henry built the Westminster Hall which was the largest hall in Europe at the time and is still in use. Pretty good.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice and concise, not too highbrow and simply written so that the average laymen can understand it. Most importantly, it covers Henry's reign in some detail without it being boring. I’ll look forward to reading other 'Penguin Monarchs' if this is the standard set.

[Carl · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Whole Norman Dynasty As A Customised Collection!

I was so excited to learn that there is a series of every English Monarch all with their own separate book in the Pengiun Monarchs Series.

They are quite small with around 90 pages but it gives you the history.

This being, i expected these to be an easy read but as with William 1st & William ii it is quite heavy going, quite bland and difficult to understand as with the William ii book.

Though i do recognise if these were to be 300 plus page books there would be more scope to spread things out and to maybe include the much needed descriptiveness to make it a more pleasant and smoother read.

But I respect the nature of these handy books.

In addition I'd purchased another 4 as I wanted a decent book about the Norman Dynasty and how England was under Norman rule from start to finish but i couldn't seem to find a book that was selling me that specific content (though i was close to buying Marc Morris' Norman Conquest book but it doesn't mention if it includes the full aftermath and Norman rule) so I thought it a wonderful idea to buy from this series William 1st, William ii, Henry 1st, Stephen & Henry ii (descendant from Norman to Plantagenet).

I learned a hell of a lot about the aftermath of 1066 and their Monarchs the first 20 years being the William 1st book then up to 1100 with William ii. Though not so much about Henry i up until 1135.

The only decent chapter in the book was the last one being The Henrician Age though this wasn't about Henry i but it was a chapter of great clarity unlike the previous chapters.

There's not much on how normal people were affected, it focuses on the Monarchy, Religion and the military campaigns.

I'm looking forward to its continuation with the King Stephen book next.

So I now have that Dynasty as a lovely collection as Penguin Monarchs so I'm hoping for good reads! The only one so far being William 1st.

The paperbacks of this series are so bland here with its paperback version, but on saying that, the hard covers look amazing but they are so expensive to get hold of now.

The paper quality is poor and the cover much worse in look and feel.

There are some illustrations in the centre of the book in black & white which are a nice touch.

I'm very satisfied that i chose to have the literature presented this way by means of a collection with each monarch being a separate book giving me the Norman Dynasty as a whole.

Highly recommended for obtaining the history as a quick read and for creating a customised collection!

Though don't expect any excitement from these books!

[Meg · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a just okay biography. It's very short, and he doesn't do well in introducing important people, or reminding the reader who he is talking about. A lot of the history is missed, but it seems like this series of biography by Penguin is only a taste of each monarch. You can tell that the author is more of a historian of King Stephen and not as much about Henry I, as much of the last chapter or two is actually after Henry I died. I don't think the intro to the Anarchy should have been included in this volume, but it was. Something I noticed as well was the lack of discussion on Anselm, who became the Archbishop of Canterbury. He is a hugely important discussion in the reign of Henry I, and he was mentioned maybe once and as a side note.

[Best British Biographies]

One of the qualities of the “Penguin Monarchs” series that I have come to appreciate is the caliber of the authors the editors employed to produce their short works. The names read like a catalog of some of the leading historians in their fields: John Gillingham, Anne Curry, John Guy, Mark Kishlansky, and David Cannadine, who are just some of the renowned names adorning the volumes that have been produced. Seeing their names attached to brief biographies aimed at a general audience can at times seem like overkill, but with them comes the depth of study that can bring real insight to even a cursory overview.

For the rest of my review, click on the link:

https://www.bestbritishbios.com/2022/...

[Chris Stott · Rating 4 out of 5]

A slender but pacey, highly readable summary of Henry I's reign, which gives a clear depiction of Henry's character and style of leadership, providing a helpful overview of the main events in under 100 pages. Just rather surprised in a book of this size that the final chapter focuses on events after his death! Recommend as a good introduction, perhaps backed up by 'The White Ship' (Charles Spencer's recent book).

[Matthew Prissick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as dry as some of these histories by academics can be - I really felt as though I got a bit of insight into Henry’s character here. He was a king I knew precious little about beyond the drama of The White Ship so this was a brilliant intro.

[Cindy Lou · Rating 4 out of 5]

Succinct. Pithy. Informative. No protracted details about battles or subterfuge. Henry seems a nice guy and his people loved him. His daughter, however, was a pistol. Read Eleanor of Aquitaine by Marion Meade for a comprehensive picture of those generations. Eleanor was a badass. My spirit animal.

[Paging Snidget · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

The author seemed to have a thesis statement that he wanted to explore but didn’t really show evidence to back it up. Lacklustre.

[Ivan Monckton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent, apart from the bit about cutting off all the moniers googlies….

[Jodie Payne · Rating 3 out of 5]

*3.25

[Frank Allinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting introduction to the reign of King Henry 1st. I would like to follow this up by readinga more in depth book if I can find one.

[Jack O’Flaherty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Concise and highly readable summary of the life of the ‘Infertile’ Henry I

[Chris Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short but informative biography of a significant king about whom I knew virtually nothing. I'd be interested to read more about him, but this was a really good starting point.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting general walk through the life of Henry I

Plenty of detail clearly and pithily presented. A useful overview of a fascinating life from which to dive in deeper.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

He died from eating a 'surfeit of lampreys' - possibly. If anyone knows anything about King Henry I, it is generally this. This books tells us much more about William the Conqueror's fourth son than the way he might have died. I really enjoyed learning about Henry, particularly the way in which the death of his only legitimate son at sea resulted in the civil war in England known as 'The Anarchy'. A well written book by an authority on his subject.