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Anarchy: The real civil war that inspired 'House of the Dragon'

2026-08-14 22:33:54Histori SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Anarchy: The real civil war that inspired 'House of the Dragon'
The real civil war that inspired 'House of the Dragon'

“House of the Dragon” takes viewers into a fantasy world filled with intriguing characters, betrayals, and conspiracies. But behind the fire-breathing dragons lies a story that bears strong resemblance to true events from the Middle Ages. The series, based on the novel “Fire & Blood” by George RR Martin, draws inspiration from a period known as the Anarchy (1135–1153), a long civil conflict in which a controversial queen fought for her throne against a usurper.

"It's a civil conflict where you have two sides fighting for power and it all depends on which one manages to secure enough support to make its claim valid," says David Routt, a historian of the Middle Ages at the University of Richmond.

A shipwreck paves the way for conflict: The Tragedy of the White Ship

King Henry I ruled England from 1100 to 1135. “He had about two dozen illegitimate children by different women, perhaps more,” says Routt. He had only two legitimate children: William and Matilda.

In 1120, tragedy struck. William, 17, and his friends, drunk, hijacked a ship and attempted to cross the English Channel at night. The ship struck a rock, and William and his friends perished. About 300 people drowned in the event, which is now known as the White Ship Tragedy.

Anarchy: The real civil war that inspired 'House of the Dragon'
'The Sinking of the White Ship' – Illustration from 1864.

“At that point, Henry no longer had a male heir and his queen was already dead,” says Routt. “He made a very interesting decision: to make Matilda queen.” Queens usually served as wives of kings and bore children, Routt explains, but did not run the government of a kingdom. However, King Henry I forced his nobles to swear allegiance to his daughter.

In 1114, when she was just 8 years old, Matilda was betrothed to Henry V, King of the Romans, and sent to live in Germany. There she was educated in government as Empress of the Holy Roman Empire. “In terms of her upbringing, she is almost more German than English,” says Routt. Her husband died in 1125.

Matilda's right to the throne is questioned

After Matilda was declared heiress to the throne, her father pressured her to ensure the continuity of the dynasty. She reluctantly married Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou, and together they had three sons.

"It's an interesting relationship, because the Count of Anjou was a traditional enemy of the Dukes of Normandy, so many English nobles considered this marriage problematic from the start," says Routt.

Then came another crisis. During a hunting trip to Normandy in 1135, King Henry I ate “an excessive amount of eels” and died shortly afterwards, probably from food poisoning, says Routt. After his death, carefully laid plans for the succession collapsed.

While Matilda was pregnant in France, her cousin, Stephen of Blois, rushed to London and took the throne. Stephen's experience at court had given him strong connections with the nobility. His brother, Henry of Blois, was Bishop of Winchester, so Stephen also had the support of the Catholic Church. Ironically, Stephen was supposed to be on the White Ship, but was hampered by dysentery and never boarded the ship.

“The nobility forgot their oaths [to Matilda] because of the misogyny that was ingrained in English society,” says Routt. Moreover, Matilda and her husband were seen as outsiders. Stephen’s supporters spread rumors that Matilda’s father had disowned her on his deathbed.

Anarchy, a 19-year civil war

Empress Matilda was not one to sit idly by. After gathering her forces, she returned to England in 1139, with the support of her illegitimate half-brother, Robert of Gloucester, and her uncle, King David I of Scotland. Robert raised a rebellion in southwest England, while David attacked from the north and her husband, Geoffrey of Anjou, fought from Normandy.

Sieges and bloody battles swept across England, as Stephen's government lost control over the powerful local barons. At the Battle of Lincoln in 1141, Robert of Gloucester's forces captured Stephen and imprisoned him. For a brief period, it seemed that Empress Matilda was close to taking the throne.

But when she arrived in London, her subjects rejected her, partly because she wanted to impose new taxes. “Some sources describe her as conceited,” says Routt, “as arrogant and as someone who made no effort to behave like an Englishman.”

With Stephen in prison, Empress Matilda faced a new and powerful opponent, also coincidentally named Matilda, the wife of Stephen of Blois. As the queen rallied forces in support of her husband, Empress Matilda's position began to weaken. At the Battle of Winchester, Stephen's forces captured Robert of Gloucester, leading to a prisoner exchange: Robert for Stephen. After his release, Stephen retook the throne.

Another blow came in 1142, when Stephen's forces besieged Empress Matilda inside Oxford Castle. According to accounts, she managed to slip through enemy lines wearing a white cloak, which camouflaged her in the snow.

In 1147, Robert of Gloucester, the Empress's most powerful ally, died. The following year, Matilda retreated to Normandy and focused on securing the throne for her eldest son, Henry II. When Henry II married Eleanor of Aquitaine, he added large swathes of France to his dominions. With a new and powerful force, he crossed the English Channel in 1153 to claim the throne. By then, nearly two decades of conflict had exhausted both sides.

The Treaty of Winchester Ends Anarchy

Stephen had hoped that his eldest son, Eustace, would succeed him to the throne, but efforts to secure his son's succession failed due to opposition from the Catholic Church and ongoing civil war. Eustace died suddenly in 1153.

Under the Treaty of Winchester, King Stephen agreed to recognize Henry II as heir to the throne. Stephen died a year later of natural causes.

Although Empress Matilda failed to hold the English crown herself, she did not give up the fight for her dynasty. Until her death in 1167, at the age of 65, she remained a staunch advisor to her son, helping to secure the inheritance he had been unable to claim himself./ History.com


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