The Anarchy The Anarchy The Anarchy was a civil war in England and Normandy between 1135 and 1153, which resulted in a widespread breakdown in law and order. The conflict was a succession crisis precipitated by the accidental death of William Adelin, the only legitimate son of Henry I, in a shipwreck in 1120. Henry's attempts to install his daughter, the Empress Matilda, as his successor were unsuccessful and on Henry's death in 1135, his nephew Stephen of Blois seized the throne with the help of Stephen's brother, Henry of Blois, Bishop of Winchester. Stephen's early reign was marked by fierce fighting
Henry of Bohemia appointed his brother-in-law regent. Upon Wenceslaus' assassination on August 4, the Přemyslids became extinct in the male line and Henry was elected his successor by the Bohemian nobility—against the will of his former ally King Albert I of Germany, who intended to install his eldest son Rudolf of Habsburg on the Bohemian throne. King Albert's troops immediately campaigned Bohemia, besieged Prague Castle and deposed Henry, who had to yield to their superior forces. Nevertheless, Rudolf of Habsburg (mocked as "král kaše", "King Porridge") was never accepted by the Bohemian nobles, and after his sudden death on 4 July 1307, Henry