Cultural depictions of Stephen, King of England civil war with Maud, contesting for the crown. Stephen is haunted by visits from the ghost of the betrayed King of England who shows him visions of the downfall of the pretender Stephen played by Tony Curran. The Janna Mysteries by Felicity Pulman posits a love-affair between Matilda and Stephen. Stephen is also depicted as a young lover of Matilda in "The Fatal Crown", by Ellen Jones. Cultural depictions of Stephen, King of England King Stephen of England (c. 1092/6 – 25 October 1154) was a grandson of William the Conqueror, and has been depicted in various cultural works. He
Norman conquest of England the invasion, intermarriage between the native English and the Norman immigrants had become common. By the early 1160s, Ailred of Rievaulx was writing that intermarriage was common in all levels of society. The impact of the conquest on the lower levels of English society is difficult to assess. The major change was the elimination of slavery in England, which had disappeared by the middle of the 12th century. There were about 28,000 slaves listed in "Domesday Book" in 1086, fewer than had been enumerated for 1066. In some places, such as Essex, the decline in slaves was 20 per cent