King Henry I of England has been portrayed in various cultural media.

Theatre

Henry I of England, a play by Beth Flintoff, was first performed in November 2016 at St James's Church, Reading.^[1]^[2]^[3] The drama follows the story of the three sons of William the Conqueror and ends with the early reign of Henry I. The narrative continues in Flintoff's second play Matilda the Empress which depicts the king's later life and The Anarchy period after his death when his daughter Matilda and her cousin Stephen were rivals for the succession.^[4]^[5]

Fictional portrayals

Henry I has been depicted in historical novels and short stories. They include:^[6]

Pado, the Priest (1899) by Sabine Baring-Gould revolves around Henry's conflict with the Welsh.^[7]
A Saxon Maid (1901) by Eliza Frances Pollard. Reportedly "a good short story of the Norman devastations", taking place in the reigns of William II and Henry I. The latter being a prominent character.^[6]
"Old Men at Pevensey" by Rudyard Kipling, a short story included in the collection Puck of Pook's Hill (1906). Features both Henry I and Robert Curthose.^[6]
"The Tree of Justice" by Rudyard Kipling, a short story included in the collection Rewards and Fairies (1910). Features both Henry I and Rahere.^[6]
The King’s Minstrel (1925) by Ivy May Bolton. The title character is Rahere, depicted as "part jester, part priest, and more wizard than either". The King of the title is Henry I who is "prominently introduced".^[6]
Henry appears in two novels by George Shipway, The Paladin (1972) and The Wolf Time (1973). In these books, Henry is depicted as organizing the death of King William II.^[8]
Henry appears briefly in the short story "A Light on the Road to Woodstock" (1988) by Ellis Peters, one of her Brother Cadfael stories. "A Light on the Road to Woodstock" is collected in A Rare Benedictine: The Advent of Brother Cadfael.^[9]
The Pillars of the Earth, a 1989 novel by Ken Follett, set during the Anarchy period. In the miniseries based on the book King Henry was portrayed by Clive Wood.

References

Sources

Nield, Jonathan (1925), A Guide to the Best Historical Novels and Tales, G. P. Putnam's sons, ISBN 0833725092

v t e Cultural depictions of English and British monarchs
Kingdom of the English 886–1066	Alfred the Great Edward the Elder Æthelflæd Ælfweard Athelstan the Glorious¹ Edmund the Magnificent¹ Eadred¹ Eadwig the Fair¹ Edgar the Peaceable¹ Edward the Martyr Æthelred the Unready Sweyn Forkbeard Edmund Ironside Cnut¹ Harold Harefoot Harthacnut Edward the Confessor Harold Godwinson Edgar the Ætheling
Kingdom of England 1066–1649	William I William II Henry I Stephen Matilda Henry II² Henry the Young King Richard I John² Henry III² Edward I² Edward II² Edward III² Richard II² Henry IV² Henry V² Henry VI² Edward IV² Edward V² Richard III² Henry VII² Henry VIII² Edward VI² Jane² Mary I² with Philip² Elizabeth I ² James I³ Charles I³
Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland 1653–1659	Oliver Cromwell⁴ Richard Cromwell⁴
Kingdom of England 1660–1707	Charles II³ James II³ William III and Mary II³ Anne³
Kingdom of Scotland 843–1707 (traditional)	Kenneth I MacAlpin Donald I Constantine I (II) Áed Giric Eochaid Donald II Constantine II (III) Malcolm I Indulf Dub Cuilén Amlaíb Kenneth II Constantine III (IV) Kenneth III Malcolm II Duncan I Macbeth Lulach Malcolm III Canmore Donald III Duncan II Donald III Edgar Alexander I David I Malcolm IV William I the Lion Alexander II Alexander III Margaret John Robert I David II Robert II Robert III James I James II James III James IV James V Mary I James VI ⁵ Charles I⁵ Charles II⁵ James VII⁵ Mary II⁵ William III⁵ Anne⁵
British monarchs after the Acts of Union 1707	Anne George I George II George III George IV William IV Victoria Edward VII George V Edward VIII George VI Elizabeth II Charles III
¹Overlord of Britain. ²Also ruler of Ireland. ³Also ruler of Scotland and Ireland. ⁴Lord Protector. ⁵Also ruler of England and Ireland. Debatable or disputed rulers are in italics.