Empress Matilda landed at Arundel in September 1139 and was received by Queen Adeliza (widow of Henry I). Stephen besieged the castle but then made the chivalric — or strategically disastrous — decision to allow Matilda safe conduct to Bristol, where she had strong support. This moment is seen as a crucial blunder by Stephen that allowed the civil war of the Anarchy to continue. Why Stephen let Matilda go is still debated: chivalry, over-confidence, or political calculation.
Aubrey generates in-depth historical research for any location in Britain — drawing on Domesday records, scheduled monuments, Victorian OS maps, geological data and archaeological archives to tell the full story of a place.
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