Siege of Oxford (1142) 1142
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 1142 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | Medieval (500–1499) | derived from year |
| Location | England | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | The Anarchy | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 51.7519, -1.2578 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The siege of Oxford took place during the Anarchy, a period of civil war following the death of Henry I of England without a male heir, in 1142. Fought between his nephew, Stephen of Blois, and his daughter, the Empress Matilda (or Maud), who had recently been expelled from her base in Westminster and chosen the City of Oxford as her new headquarters. Oxford by now was effectively a regional capital and important in its own right. It was a well-defended city with both rivers and walls protecting it, and was also strategically important as it was at a crossroads between the north, south-east and west of England, and also not far from London.
By now the civil war was at its height, yet neither party was able to get an edge on the other: both had suffered swings of fate in the last few years which had alternately put them ahead, and then behind, their rival. Stephen, for instance, had been captured by Matilda's army in 1141, but later in the year, Matilda's half-brother and chief military commander, Robert, Earl of Gloucester was captured by Stephen's army. Likewise, Matilda had been recognised as "Lady of the English" but had not long afterwards been run out of London.
Stephen believed that all it would take to win the war decisively would be to capture Matilda herself; her escape to Oxford seemed to present him with such an opportunity.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Siege of Oxford (1142) (revision 1366176817), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Siege of Oxford 1644 · 0 km
- Battle of Chalgrove Field 1643 · 16 km
- Battle of Radcot Bridge 1387 · 24 km
- Battle of Ashdown 871 · 24 km
- Battle of Aylesbury 1642 · 32 km
- Battle of Englefield 871 · 36 km
Other battles of the The Anarchy
- Battle of Clitheroe 1138
- Battle of the Standard 1138
- Battle of Lincoln (1141) 1141
- Rout of Winchester 1141
- Battle of Wilton 1143
All 6 battles of the The Anarchy →
Browse more: battles in England · Europe · Medieval battles