The siege ended with Empress Matilda's legendary escape across snow-covered ground, prolonging the Anarchy civil war for over a decade.
Key Facts
- Siege start date
- 26 September 1142
- Siege duration
- Nearly three months
- Matilda's escape route
- Postern door or rope from St George's Tower
- Matilda's disguise
- White clothing as snow camouflage
- War's continuation after siege
- 11 more years of conflict years
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
During the Anarchy, a civil war between King Stephen of Blois and Empress Matilda, Matilda was expelled from Westminster and established Oxford as her new headquarters. Stephen, believing her capture would end the war, raised a large army and advanced through the Thames Valley, taking Wareham and other towns, isolating Oxford as her last major base outside the south-west.
Stephen's army approached Oxford on 26 September 1142, swam across the surrounding rivers, and surprised Matilda's small garrison, seizing the city while she and her remaining forces retreated into the castle. Stephen then besieged the castle for nearly three months using the latest siege technology, waiting for the garrison to be starved into submission.
After nearly three months, conditions in Oxford Castle became dire. Matilda escaped one December evening dressed in white, slipping through Stephen's lines to Wallingford and then Abingdon. Oxford Castle surrendered to Stephen the following day, but Matilda's escape denied him the decisive victory he sought, and the civil war continued for another eleven years.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Stephen of Blois.
Side B
1 belligerent
Empress Matilda, Robert, Earl of Gloucester, Brian Fitz Count.