Background
During The Anarchy King Stephen, a nephew of Henry I of England, contended with Henry's daughter Matilda (also called Maud) for the throne Stephen had usurped. At the Battle of Lincoln on February 2, 1141, rebel barons Robert of Gloucester and Ranulf of Chester defeated and captured Stephen. Empress Matilda went on to seize London but its residents forced her out of the city on June 24. The forces of Stephen's queen, also named Matilda (Matilda of Boulogne), soon occupied London.
Stephen's brother, Henry, Bishop of Winchester, who had earlier defected to Empress Matilda's Angevin faction, changed sides again to support Stephen's queen. With a small force Henry laid siege to the royal castle at Winchester situated at the southwest corner of the city walls. Empress Matilda sortied from Oxford in late July with a substantial army commanded by Robert of Gloucester.
Read more about this topic: Rout Of Winchester
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