The Anarchy England. An illegitimate son of Henry I and the half-brother of the Empress Matilda, Robert was one of the most powerful Anglo-Norman barons, controlling estates in Normandy as well as the Earldom of Gloucester. In 1138, Robert renounced his fealty to Stephen and declared his support for Matilda, triggering a major regional rebellion in Kent and across the south-west of England, although Robert himself remained in Normandy. Matilda had not been particularly active in asserting her claims to throne since 1135 and in many ways it was Robert that took the initiative in declaring war in 1138. In France, Geoffrey
Henry I the Long, Margrave of the Nordmark Henry I the Long, Margrave of the Nordmark Henry I the Long (c.1065 - died 27 June 1087), Margrave of the Nordmark, also Count of Stade (as Henry III), son of Lothair Udo II, Margrave of the Nordmark, and Oda of Werl, daughter of Herman III, Count of Werl, and Richenza of Swabia. Henry married Eupraxia of Kiev, daughter of Vsevolod I, Grand Prince of Kiev, and his second wife Anna. There were no children as a result of this marriage, and Eupraxia, widowed, married next Henry IV, then King of Saxony, who became Holy Roman Emperor. Raffensperger suggests that