Gesta Stephani (c. 1148 - 1153)

 

There is strong evidence that the chronicle known as Gesta Stephani was written by Robert of Lewes, Bishop of Bath (1136-66). He was close to Henry of Blois, Bishop of Winchester and brother of King Stephen, and the work takes a strongly pro-Stephen line over the civil war with the forces of the Empress Matilda. However, it provides the only detailed contemporary history of his reign. The first part was written in c.1148 and in 1955 a continuation, written after 1153 and covering the last part of the king’s reign, was discovered.

 

Bibliography

- Potter, K.R. and Davis, R.H.C., 1976. Gesta Stephani (Oxford)