Talk:The Anarchy

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I have been doing some research online to determine the historical accuracy of the novel Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet. I have read this novel four times in the last few years. It is set against the period known as the Anarchy and incorporates the various battles and persons of the time including Thomas Becket a religious saint and martyr.

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All the instances of "Matilda" were changed to "Maude", based on Penman's book, which I reverted. If there's a good reason for doing that I don't object, but I do object to changing it based purely on the usage in a novel, when it was done simply as a matter of narrative convenience. Everyking 08:56, 17 Mar 2005 (UTC)

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Does this page really need a section on novels written about this period? It seems a bit trivial.

Why not? It doesn't do any harm, and some may find it interesting. 84.70.129.167 14:24, 20 January 2007 (UTC)

Contents 1 William of Ypres 2 Most of Article is written in unprofessional manner 3 There appears to be a factual contradiction in this article 4 Anachronistic Concepts

[edit] William of Ypres

I have changed "mercenary captain, William of Ypres." to "Flemish captain[1], William of Ypres, Earl of Kent". because during the middle ages claiming someone was a mercenary does not mean the same as in the modern era. Who says he was a mercenary? What made him a mercenary? For example was he paid more than others who did a similar job? Did he pay homage to King Stephen of England? As he was Earl of Kent he must have done so. If he did then he was not a mercenary. --Philip Baird Shearer 09:02, 9 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Most of Article is written in unprofessional manner

Most of this article is written in a folksy, story-telling manner with lots of unnecessary phrases, cliches, flowery language and full of subjective comments. Things like "with great speed he entered London" ; "but it went against the grain" ; "Ranulf got wind of this" ; "muster a force of knights" and "Thus the stage was set for battle." I could go on, there is plenty more. It is fine for a children's bedtime story, but not an encyclopedia article. It is not professional and needs to be tightened up. The article could easily be half the length with the same content. It should just stick to the facts. People can read "exciting" narratives about The Anarchy elsewhere.70.56.162.141 18:41, 22 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] There appears to be a factual contradiction in this article

In paragraph 2 of the section, Conflict Between Stephen and Matilda, the article states that after Stephen was captured and imprisoned, "Matilda temporarily ruled from London" - yet in the final sentence of the section, After Matilda's escape, it states that "Matilda never ruled in her own right". I assume this means that she was de facto ruler for a short period but was never actually crowned monarch. However if this is so then the contradiction needs to be explained. Carnivalist 01:38, 16 November 2007 (UTC)

It is impossible to state in a matter of fact way who was the ruler during the Anarchy as although Matilda was the official ruler by right of inheritance of Henry I, Stephen was [i]de facto[/i] ruler in that it was he who commanded the support of the barons. It is fair to say however from contemporary sources (see The History of William Marshal & Matthew Paris' Chronica Majora) that Stephen was generally considered king [i]at the time[/i]. ChuckStone (talk) 02:29, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Anachronistic Concepts

Phrases referring to the "election" of Theobald and the "ratification" of his kingship are suggestive of a very different political structure to that which existed in 12th Century England. Medieval England did not have a specific law structure with which to choose a monarch that this suggests. —Preceding unsigned comment added by ChuckStone (talk • contribs) 02:38, 19 February 2008 (UTC)