Stephen King

Stephen, KING (1104-54), was the son of the Count of Blois, by a daughter of William the Conqueror. On the death of Henry I. he claimed the English Crown, and succeeded in obtaining and holding it by bribery and other nefarious methods. The Scots harassed him greatly, but they were finally defeated at the Battle of the Standard, and by the aid of his brother, the Bishop of Winchester, he managed to reign during his comparatively short career, and, after a disastrous battle with Henry's daughter and son, Gloucester, it was agreed that Henry Plantagenet should succeed him.