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
Simon I, Duke of Lorraine Simon's father had been quashed by Henry V's father Henry IV. Though Adalberon excommunicated him, Pope Innocent II lifted it. He was a friend of Bernard of Clairvaux and he built many abbeys in his duchy, including that of Sturzelbronn in 1135. There was he interred after his original burial in Saint-Dié. Simon I of Lorraine married Adelaide, daughter of Henry III of Leuven. Their children were: Simon I, Duke of Lorraine Simon I (1076 – 13 or 14 January 1139) was the duke of Lorraine from 1115 to his death, the eldest son and successor of Theodoric II and