All England was in a ferment, men everywhere arming and marching. All
Normandy was in turmoil, soldiers of fortune crowding to every port,
eager to take part in the harrying of the island realm. The Norman
nobles of England were everywhere fortifying their castles, which had
been sternly prohibited by the recent king. Law and authority were for
the time being abrogated, and every man was preparing to fight for his
own hand and his own land. A single day, almost, had divided the Normans
of England into two factions, not yet come to blows, but facing each
other like wild beasts at bay. And England and the English were the prey
craved by both these herds of human wolves.
There were two claimants to the throne: Matilda,--or Maud, as she is
usually named,--daughter of Henry I., and Stephen of Blois, grandson of
William the Conqueror. Henry had named his daughter as his successor;
Stephen seized the throne; the issue was sharply drawn between them.
Each of them had a legal claim to the throne, Stephen's the better, he
being the nearest male heir. No woman had as yet ruled in England.
Maud's mother had been of ancient English descent, which gave her
popularity among the Saxon inhabitants of the land.
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