Stephen, King of England 1125. They had children: King Stephen's illegitimate children by his mistress Damette included: Stephen, King of England Stephen ( – 25 October 1154), often referred to as Stephen of Blois, was King of England from 1135 to his death, as well as Count of Boulogne from 1125 until 1147 and Duke of Normandy from 1135 until 1144. Stephen's reign was marked by the Anarchy, a civil war with his cousin and rival, the Empress Matilda. He was succeeded by Matilda's son, Henry II, the first of the Angevin kings. Stephen was born in the County of Blois in central France;
The History of the Norman Conquest of England He was much involved in politics and not unreasonably regarded participation in government as useful training for a historian…Above all, he had tremendous zest. Marjorie Chibnall added that in his knowledge of medieval chronicles Freeman had no rival. As a set-off to this list Barlow noted Freeman's dogmatism, pugnacity and indifference to various subjects he considered irrelevant to his survey of 11th century England: theology, philosophy, and most of the arts. Freeman went on to publish a history of "The Reign of William Rufus" (1882), in two volumes. He also wrote a series of works on the Anglo-Saxon and Norman