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Stephen was born at Blois in France, the son of Stephen, Count of Blois, and Adela of Normandy daughter of King William I of England, and thus the brother of Henry of BloisHenry of Blois ( 1111- 1171) was bishop of Winchester from 1129 to his death. Henry was son of Stephen, Count of Blois, by Adela of Normandy daughter of William the Conqueror, and therefore brother of King Stephen. Henry was educated at Cluny and promptly, bishop of WinchesterThe diocese of Winchester is one of the oldest and most important in England. During the middle ages it was one of the wealthiest English sees, and its bishops have included a number of politically prominent Englishmen. The Bishops of Winchester had their. He became Count of MortainMortain is a small town in the departement of Manche, France, the chief town of an arrondissement and seat of a sub-prefect. It is beautifully situated on a rocky hill rising above the gorge of the Cance, a tributary of the Selune. The parish church of St in about 1115Events Clairvaux Abbey is founded by St. Anselm of Laon becomes archdeacon of Laon. Hugh of St. Victor joins the Victorines in Paris. Pierre Abelard becomes canon of Notre Dame. Stephen of England becomes count of Mortain. The title of Duke of Atholl is c, and married Matilda, daughter of the Count of BoulogneBoulogne-sur-Mer became the centre of the County of Boulogne in the 9th century. The founder of the dynasty seems to have been Hernequin of Boulogne, who married Bertha of Ponthieu around 850. Later that century it was frequently raided by the Vikings., in about 1125Events May 23 Lothar of Saxony becomes Holy Roman Emperor on the death of Henry V. War ends between Toulouse and Provence. The castle of Nassau is built. Albert of Aix begins his Historia Hierosolymitanae expeditionis''. Magnus the Strong becomes ruler of.

Before the death of King Henry I of EnglandHenry I (c. 1068 December 1, 1135), called Henry Beauclerk or Henry Beauclerc because of his scholarly interests, was the youngest son of William the Conqueror. He reigned as King of England from 1100 to 1135, succeeding his brother, William II Rufus. in 1135, the majority of the barons of England swore to support Matilda (Empress Maud) , Henry's daughter, and her claim to the throne. Stephen of Blois however, who claimed descent from William the Conqueror through his mother, Adela, and had been raised at Henry's court, laid claim to the throne. Once Stephen was crowned, he gained the support of the majority of the barons as well as Pope Innocent II. The first few years of his reign were peaceful, but by 1139 he was seen as weak and indecisive, setting the country up for a civil war, commonly called The Anarchy.

In April, 1141, Stephen was defeated and imprisoned at Bristol. His wife, Matilda, kept faith, and Empress Matilda was forced out of London. With the capture of her most able lieutenant, her illegitimate half-brother, Robert of Gloucester, Matilda was obliged to release Stephen from captivity, and he was restored to the throne in November of the same year. In December 1142, Empress Matilda was besieged at Oxford, but she managed to escape.

Stephen maintained his precarious hold on the throne for the remainder of his lifetime. However, following the death of his son and heir, Eustace, in 1153, he was persuaded to reach a compromise with Matilda whereby her son, Henry (from her second marriage to Geoffrey of Anjou), would succeed Stephen on the English throne.

Stephen died at Dover, and was buried in Faversham Abbey, which he had founded with Matilda in 1147.

Besides Eustace, Stephen and Matilda had two other sons, Baldwin (d. before 1135), and William of Blois , Count of Mortain and Boulogne and Earl of Surrey or Warenne. They also had two daughters, Matilda and Mary. As well as these children, Stephen fathered at least three bastards, one of whom, Gervase, became Abbot of Westminster.

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (the Peterborough Chronicle second continuation) provides a moving and succinct appraisal of Stephen's reign:

"In the days of this King there was nothing but strife, evil, and robbery, for quickly the great men who were traitors rose against him. When the traitors saw that Stephen was a good-humoured, kindly, and easy-going man who inflicted no punishment, then they committed all manner of horrible crimes . . . And so it lasted for nineteen years while Stephen was King, till the land was all undone and darkened with such deeds, and men said openly that Christ and his angels slept".

The monastic author says, of The Anarchy, "this and more we suffered nineteen winters for our sins."