How Appropriate is the term ‘The Anarchy’ when Applied to the Period 1135-1154?

The ‘Anarchy’ was a turbulent time when ‘Christ and his saints slept’, as described by the Peterborough Chronicle, with England submerged into a civil war from 1135-54. Traditionally, it has been recognised by three defining characteristics. Firstly, the ‘Anarchy’ exhibited the collapse of royal authority. This meant that the economy was capitulated, the administration of Stephen was weak, and the military strength of the crown was pitiful. Secondly, ‘Anarchy’ saw the rise of baronial tyranny, with ‘devils and evil men’ exploiting the population and defying the crown regularly. Finally, ‘Anarchy’ has also typically been characterised by the widespread breakdown of law and order. This idea that the entirety of England devolved into nothing more than violence at unchecked baronial hands alongside the lack of central jurisdiction, however, is unconvincing. Consequently, in recent scholarship, this view has been heavily challenged. Huscroft points out that ‘many parts of England were untouched by fighting’ with Crouch even arguing that ‘barons acted to establish local stability, not prey on the defenceless’. Purser adds weight to this viewpoint by questioning how Henry II was able to bring peace alongside functioning governance ‘smoothly within just 2 years’ if the kingdom was ‘devastated by warfare and limited government’? However, it’s important to not overstate the lack of ‘Anarchy’ also. The traditional version of ‘Anarchy’ is undoubtedly melodramatic at parts, yet, to claim that ‘Anarchy’ was not present would also be naïve. Therefore, using the term ‘Anarchy’ when comprehensively describing the period from 1135-54 would not be appropriate, however, when applied to certain areas, time periods and institutions during Stephen’s reign it would, of course, be suitable.
For example, royal authority had certainly collapsed, bar specifically the Crown’s (contextually unimportant) economic jurisdiction which had merely become devolved. Comprehensively, however, after 1140 (with the Battle of Lincoln and expulsion of Roger le Poer), the Crown suffered 13 years of unprecedented weakness, making the term ‘Anarchy’, when describing the state of the Crown, justified. The debate becomes more complex when looking at baronial influence during the civil war, however. While some barons showed the upmost cruelty, it can be said that such acts were concentrated to the most powerful, such as Maleran of Muelan or Robert Fitz Hubert. As Huscroft states, barons should ‘not be damned as a class’, as many ‘recognised that Anarchy would destroy their estates (Carpenter) and so ‘acted to establish local stability’ (Crouch). This ultimately led to many areas being ‘untouched by fighting’. Moreover, with the help from the Church and ideological movements like the Peace of God, the negative impacts of a weak royal authority were mitigated, as shown by places like Rockingham, which ‘flourished’. This doesn’t suggest that ‘Anarchy’ didn’t exist, but it breaks the idea that ‘Anarchy’ was a blanket that encompassed England for ‘19 long winters while Stephen was King’ according to contemporaries. Such exaggeration is understandable. Firstly, the Chroniclers were ecclesiastics, who disliked Stephen’s tensions with the papacy and Stephen’s sinful behaviour. Secondly, chroniclers like the author of the Gesta Stephani had close links with Stephen’s enemies e.g. Earl Robert. Thirdly, many contemporaries like the Peterborough Chronicler were writing in war torn areas. And finally, Stephen was judged harshly alongside his predecessor, Henry I, and successor, Henry II who were considered to be strong Kings. Hence, it’s clear that the traditional account of ‘Anarchy’ was only apparent in certain areas, like Yorkshire and East Anglia, or certain time periods, like Lincoln in 1140. Therefore, in conclusion, the term ‘Anarchy’ is not appropriate when applied to the period 1135-54, but rather better suited to describing certain institutions such as the army, certain areas such as Yorkshire, and certain time periods such as 1140.