Henry of Blois

1096–1171

Henry of Blois was bishop of Winchester, abbot of Glastonbury and the younger brother of King Stephen. As papal legate he became one of the most powerful churchmen in England during the Anarchy. He initially supported Stephen, then negotiated with Empress Matilda after Stephen’s capture, and later returned to his brother’s side. A great builder and art patron, Henry remained influential after the civil war and survived into the reign of Henry II.

Henry appears in Sharon Kay Penman’s When Christ and His Saints Slept and is part of the political background to Ellis Peters’s Brother Cadfael mysteries. Historical fiction often portrays him as subtle, wealthy and opportunistic, moving between family loyalty and ecclesiastical authority. His dual position gives novelists a way to show that the church was not outside the civil war but deeply involved in its diplomacy and resources.

Ellis Peters’s An Excellent Mystery places Henry of Blois within a narrative shaped by crime, espionage and covert power, social change and the pressures of ordinary life, and military command and battlefield decision-making. Ellis Peters’s The Raven in the Foregate places Henry of Blois within a narrative shaped by crime, espionage and covert power, social change and the pressures of ordinary life, and military command and battlefield decision-making. Other novels featuring Henry of Blois include Ellis Peters’s Brother Cadfael’s Penance.

Historical context

Historical periods linked to Henry of Blois

The Anarchy 1135–1154 CE

Series

Series featuring Henry of Blois (1 series)

Chronicles of Brother Cadfael in Order

by Ellis Peters 19 books 4.5

The Chronicles of Brother Cadfael follow a former soldier and crusader who has become the herbalist of Shrewsbury Abbey. Between 1137 and 1145, Cadfael investigates deaths, disappearances and disputed identities while working within the rhythms of Benedictine life and the law of medieval England. The twenty novels unfold…

All books in this series